Due to the challenges of all-round development, higher-education students are increasingly demanding more flexible learning that goes beyond the on-campus/online dichotomy. However, university students miss learning opportunities because of the conflict of time and space. Blended learning is an effective way to create more learning opportunities and support university students’ flexible learning, but its implementation varies across contexts. This study proposed an alternative blended teaching and learning approach to solve practical problems defined in the context of a traditional classroom in a university in Hong Kong when students pursue flexible learning and global learning. A three-round action research approach was used to improve the effects of blended synchronous teaching and learning. Data collection and analysis in each round showed that the students positively rated the implementation of blended learning according to their needs, the quality of the technologies adopted, and the benefits gained. This blended synchronous teaching and learning mode was structured based on the implementation of different actions in three rounds, bridging the gap between research and practice in blended synchronous learning.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge.]

With the aim to provide proper educational support for socially and economically deprived students, the present study examined a homework tutoring programme that focused on self-regulated learning (SRL) and implemented at an afterschool setting in Hong Kong. The programme was designed according to Zimmerman's SRL model, integrated explicit and implicit instruction, and took a social psychologist perspective. The findings from multiple sources of data showed that the overall effect of the programme was observed as small to moderate yet the tutees' positive changes in the use of four SRL strategies were reported: managing time, monitoring the use of cognitive strategies in doing homework, maintaining motivation and handling distraction, and arranging the sequence of assignments. The present study confirms the role of SRL-based homework tutoring in the promotion of deprived pupils' SRL capacity. This result may encourage more research efforts in the future to explore proper educational support for deprived students at after-school settings, with an ultimate aim to reduce the gap of inequality in education. Copyright © 2020 ASPE.

Research on intrinsic and extrinsic future goals has mostly focused on their impact on wellbeing with relatively lesser attention being focused on key learning outcomes. This study investigates how the pursuit of different future goals (i.e., society-, family-, career-, wealth-, and fame-oriented goals) affects students' self-control, and whether self-control mediates the relationship between future goals and distal learning outcomes (i.e., students' affect to school and academic achievement 1 year later). The study adopted a longitudinal design involving 8,354 secondary students from 16 schools in Hong Kong. Students had to complete English and Mathematics achievement tests and answer questionnaires measuring the key variables. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated intrinsic future goals were more adaptive compared to extrinsic ones. In particular, results revealed the importance of society-oriented goal on self-control and distal learning outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
[Copyright of Psychology in the Schools is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.]

Existing research on the psychological and academic experiences of China-born students studying outside of China has mainly been conducted in Western English-speaking countries. Using a coping resources framework, we investigated the predictors of psychological and academic adaptation of 2,201 mainland Chinese students (74% female) studying in universities in Hong Kong, China’s Special Administrative Region and a former British colony. We found that academic self-efficacy, social support, and low levels of perceived discrimination predicted both psychological and academic adaptation. Language competence in English and the local dialect Cantonese was found to be additional factors in mainland Chinese students’ academic adaptation. Implications for future research and higher education policies and practices are discussed. Copyright © 2019 Society for Research into Higher Education.

This longitudinal study investigated the bidirectional relationships between executive functioning (EF), visual skills, Chinese and English word reading abilities in children transitioning to primary school. A total of 165 children in Hong Kong were followed from the third year of kindergarten (Time 1) (mean age: 62.80 months, SD: 3.74) to the first year of primary school (Time 2) (mean age: 77.25 months, SD: 4.60). Assessments for measuring EF, visual skills, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and Chinese and English word reading were administered to the children at the two time points. Results of cross-lagged panel analyses revealed that after age, phonological awareness, and morphological awareness were controlled, EF and visual skills exhibited a bidirectional relationship. Furthermore, EF and word reading in Chinese or English reciprocally predicted each other during the school transition period after other skills were controlled. However, visual skills and word reading in Chinese or English did not predict each other. These findings highlight the close associations between EF and visual skills as well as the importance of EF in learning to read Chinese and English in kindergarten and early primary school. Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in children's depressive symptoms using CES-DC depression scale during the first year of primary school in Hong Kong, as well as examine similarities and differences in the results as a function of rater—mother versus child. Children from two primary schools were studied—one primarily serving higher SES families and one primarily serving lower SES families. Children showed high levels of depressive symptoms at the beginning of primary school in both schools. Six year old children (N = 99, 55% were male) in the two schools showed different patterns of change over time. Mothers did not appear to recognize the changes in their children's depressive symptoms, reporting high levels of depressive symptoms in their children at each time point, showing no changes in depressive symptoms over time. Mother and child ratings of depressive symptoms showed a low positive correlation (similar in size to correlations found in studies of older children in Western samples), and in general, mothers reported higher levels of depressive symptoms in their children than did their children. Based on the findings, implications for future studies and early intervention services for strengthening young children's coping strategies during the transition to primary schools are discussed. Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This study examined the design of a computer-supported environment using online discussion for alignment of learning, collaboration and assessment. Participants were 155 student teachers attending a course in psychology of classroom learning in a teacher education program in Hong Kong. The design included students contributing to online forum; engaging in regular discussion; and reflecting on their discourse. For reflective assessment, student teachers identified three best examples (clusters of notes) from the class community’s discourse and explained why they were important for their inquiry. Data consisted of questionnaires on epistemic beliefs and collaboration; students’ postings on online forum; reflective assessment notes (3 best clusters of notes); and end-of-term theory-practice summary paper. Correlation analysis show that students’ beliefs about collaboration was related to their beliefs about knowledge (development); as well, regression analysis indicate that reflective assessment scores significantly predict summary paper (domain understanding). Implications of examining both individual and community learning through reflective assessment in computer-supported environments are discussed. Copyright © 2018 EARLI.

This paper examines dominant views in Hong Kong with regard to the pedagogy of teaching and proposes a new perspective. The alternative view employs the Theory of Variation, which has its theoretical foundations in the phenomenographic approach to learning proposed by Marton and Booth (1997). The theory argues that learning takes place when the learner discerns “something” in a new and meaningful way. This theory argues that problems in learning lie in the failure in discerning the critical aspects for a particular way of seeing a phenomenon, or certain aspect of reality, i.e. the object of learning. Therefore, instead of attributing poor learning outcomes to the student’s innate incompetence, which teachers may be able to do little about, teaches should focus on changing students’ way of seeing what is/are intended for the learning, or developing an object of learning. The paper compares this conceptual framework with some other influential theories including the behavioristic, cognitive and constructivist learning theories. It also analyses how this approach to teaching and learning is able to enhance student learning, teacher professional development and school improvement.