In recent years, instructors have had an increasing interest in integrating Internet based technologies into their classroom as part of the learning environment. Compared to studies on other information systems, student users' behaviour towards e-portfolios have not been assessed and thoroughly understood. This article analyses the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in order to examine students' behavioural intention to use an electronic portfolio system, meaning how students use and appropriate it within the specific framework of a course. An E-Portfolio Usage Questionnaire was developed using existing scales from prior TAM instruments and modified where appropriate. Seventy-two undergraduate students enrolled in Bachelor of Education (BEd) Programmes at the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) completed the survey questionnaire measuring their responses to perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), attitudes towards usage (ATU) and behavioural intention to use (BIU) the e- portfolio system. The content of the e-portfolio for each of the four pilot courses focused on student reflections upon the artifacts uploaded to the Blackboard 9 learning management system. Students were required to upload their work which included posting video clips and assignments and capturing parts of their reflections or other evidences to justify their claims of 'improvement'. The results of the study indicated that students' perceived ease of use (PEOU) had a significant influence on attitude towards usage (ATU). Subsequently, perceived ease of use (PEOU) had the strongest significant influence on perceived usefulness (PU). The research further demonstrated that individual characteristics and technological factors may have a significant influence on instructors to adopt e-portfolios into their courses. Results suggest that TAM is a solid theoretical model where its validity can extend to an e-portfolio context.
[Copyright of Australasian Journal of Educational Technology

Despite the common belief that information and communication technology (ICT) has the potential to support certain fundamental changes in learning, few have examined ICT implementation conceptually within a wider context of educational change. Methodologically, researchers are by and large limited to building simple models that accommodate only a single dependence relationship among variables. Framing ICT implementation as a process of interactions among pedagogical and organisational factors in bringing about changes in student learning, this article used data collected from 1076 teachers in 130 primary and secondary government schools in Hong Kong to construct a structural equation model (SEM), from which the authors are able to examine multiple interrelated dependence relationships in a single model. Results indicated that from teacher perspectives, the collegial capacity of ICT implementation strategies played a central and mediating role in effecting changes in student learning, of moving away from a teacher-centred approach to one that is more student-centred. Specifically, ICT brought about these changes in the context of establishing collegiality in fostering pedagogical innovations in schools. Implications for both researchers and practitioners are discussed.
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http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/]

In the past, the Curriculum Development Council in Hong Kong [Curriculum Development Council (CDC). (1996). Guide to the pre-primary curriculum. Hong Kong: Government Printer; CDC. (2000). Consultation document: Learning to learn: The way forward in curriculum development. Hong Kong: Government Printer; CDC. (2001). The way forward in curriculum development – Learning to learn: Life-long learning and whole-person development. Hong Kong: Government Printer; CDC. (2006). Guide to the pre-primary curriculum. Hong Kong: Government Printer], has issued a number of consultation documents regarding the overall aims of the twenty-first century and its implementation, particularly in pre-primary education. These documents provide the backdrop for our research on the implementation of language policies in Hong Kong kindergartens. Data were collected via questionnaires, focus group interviews, and classroom observations in pre-school settings. This paper discusses the provision of bilingualism in Hong Kong pre-schools, especially the teaching and learning of English.
[Copyright of Early Child Development and Care is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2013.788816]

The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) framework has been adopted by many educational technologists and teacher educators for the research and development of knowledge about the pedagogical uses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in classrooms. While the framework is potentially very important, efforts to survey teachers' TPCK efficacy has yet to identify all seven factors postulated by the framework. This study attempted to validate a TPCK efficacy survey by implementing it on an Asian group of 550 preservice teachers from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. The seven factors underlying the TPCK framework were identified which suggested the research instrument to be valid and reliable. The structural equation model proposed based on the TPCK framework supported eight out of 12 hypotheses about the relationships between TPCK constructs. The results indicate that the positive effects of the basic knowledge factors of CK, PK, and TK were indirect, occurring through the second layer of knowledge factors (TPK, TCK, and PCK). Implications for preservice teacher professional developments are discussed.
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http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet.html]

The study aimed to uncover the conceptions of creativity among early childhood teachers in Hong Kong. The sample comprised 563 early childhood teachers. Factor analysis supported the multidimensional hypothesis of teachers' conceptions of creativity. Five dimensions were found: novelty, product, problem solving, cognitive processes and personal attributes. Early childhood teachers in Hong Kong ascribed high importance to these dimensions as defining characteristics of creativity, with a person's cognitive processes and personal attributes being ascribed relatively more important while product as relatively less importance. In particular, imagination, multiple perspectives and curiosity were perceived as very important concepts of creativity. Teachers with different teaching backgrounds shared very similar conceptions of creativity. Significant results were found with regard to product only. The findings have implications for early childhood teacher education programmes and professional development in Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2012.735645]