In Hong Kong, which transitioned from a colonial to post-colonial One Country-Two Systems structure, sustainability implementation rests on two institutional pillars: education, which drives the city’s knowledge-based economy, and family system. In light of the recent policy demands to strengthen higher education and family systems by capitalizing on the unique advantages of the post-colonial era, the purpose of this study was to: (1) describe and analyze sustainability values of the first-year university students; and (2) investigate roles of family and educational systems in the process of their formation. The mix-method study stressed the importance of discerning and analyzing sustainability value formation in order to create in-depth understanding of the curricular adjustments that align the sustainability mindset of Hong Kong students in the context of the One Country-Two Systems under the pressing demands of global economy. The study relied on the use of two systems theoretical frameworks employed within sustainability education (Sterling, 2003) and family (Bowen, 1957/1974) fields. Data sources included questionnaires of 4985 Hong Kong first-year university students; and 31 semi-structured interviews of Liberal Studies teachers. The quantitative findings showed that 85% of the students believed that their family influenced their environmental values; reported a significant negative coefficient (-0.044) between the two student cohorts in relation to family influence; and showed that family influence on students’ sustainability values differed by gender. The qualitative results revealed the overarching themes of Family Income, Role Modeling, and Shared Responsibility as three major descriptors of family influences on sustainability values of Hong Kong students. Copyright © 2022 Springer.

Opportunities for pre-service teachers to participate during their initial teacher education (ITE) in teaching-abroad experiences, where they spend time teaching in a foreign country, have become increasingly popular. However, studies to date have collected data during or soon after the participant’s return. Little is known about how recently qualified teachers (RQTs) who participated in such experiences during the ITE perceive their benefits. By collecting and analysing reflective writings of ten RQTs in Hong Kong, who participated in a teaching-abroad experience in China, this small-scale study sought to explore its impact on their perceived preparedness for their current roles in their home context. The findings suggest that the teachers feel that the experience added to their preparedness, in areas such as lesson preparation and planning, teaching confidence and flexibility and professional collaborations. The RQTs attributed these benefits to the unfamiliar teaching context and the additional teaching practice that the experience provided, as well as the opportunity to work closely with peers, course tutors and teachers in China. The study adds to the growing teaching-abroad literature by including the perspectives of RQTs, providing further justification for including such experiences in ITE programme curriculums. Copyright © 2022 Taylor & Francis.

This paper presents a systematic review of research on Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) education for ethnic minority students in Hong Kong SAR. Using three databases and screening with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, the study selected 38 empirical studies published in English-language peer-reviewed journals. We find that there has been a surge of publications in Hong Kong in the past decade (2010–2020), and they are mostly authored by scholars from three universities in Hong Kong. Most of the research took a phenomenological approach, using interviews as the main data collection method and focusing on underprivileged South Asian students in secondary schools. The thematic analysis showed that Hong Kong’s CSL adopted a poststructuralist paradigm for understanding and revealing social inequalities surrounding Chinese language education for ethnic minority students. The study concludes that Hong Kong must decolonise its education system to genuinely support ethnic minority students to achieve educational equality and social justice. Copyright © 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH.

The impact of neoliberalism in higher education has been widely discussed and debated, yet most analyses have viewed the changes on university governance and academic work in different countries as slavishly bound by more global neoliberal factors without paying sufficient attention to the local contextual factors. This empirical study foregrounds the local dimension by examining how the actual quotidian effects of RAE 2020 operate within higher education institutions and on working academics in Hong Kong. The paper reports on an interview-based study with 15 education academics from two government-funded universities in Hong Kong. Neoliberal forms of university governance based on a set of RAE-defined performance indicators were identified; academics’ divergent forms of ‘practice of freedom’ in coping with RAE 2020 were delineated. This study discusses why the universities displayed strong ‘reactivity’ to RAE 2020 and explains academics’ practicality and resilience in coping with policy changes by drawing upon Hong Kong's colonial history, government-university relationship and institutional culture in the specific academic environment. This article calls for greater flexibility in assessment regimes to restore trust and autonomy to the professions and development of alternative patterns of academic prestige to elicit a healthy diversity of policy responses. Copyright © 2022 Taylor & Francis.

Purpose>This review study focuses on the framework for pre-primary education and language acquisition for non-Chinese-speaking students (NCS students) from ethnic minority families (EM families) in Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approach>This paper adopts a multidisciplinary perspective that involves both assessing the broader governing framework and researching their specific needs. In its overview of the significant changes made in recent years and an exploration of the gaps in the framework, with reference to other jurisdictions, along with input from developmental psychology as it relates to the issues faced by NCS students.Findings>This study contributes to the literature on how to shape further policies and reforms to optimize learning of NCS children in Hong Kong from a young age. This helps NCS students and families achieve their right to education and equal opportunities and schools to cater the needs of these students and families, which is essential to providing an enriched learning environment for our children regardless of their ethnicity.Originality/value>This study uses multidisciplinary approach to study pre-primary education and Chinese language acquisition of ethnic minority students in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2022 Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The paper explores teachers’ endorsement of pastoral care, based on their socially and historically developed and interactively shaped understandings of teacher care, and how it surfaces in their practices. Participants are 25 academics in a self-financing teaching-oriented college in Hong Kong, in which teachers are also academic advisors for an assigned number of students and professional counselling is provided as another form of student support. The study identified three groups of teachers regarding their endorsement and enactment of pastoral care, namely, the supporters who are the overwhelming majority, the opponents and the bystanders. The author suggests that the relatively high level of endorsement and enactment of pastoral care found among the participants can be explained by its institutional, societal and cultural contexts. Implications of encouraging and facilitating teachers taking pastoral care as shared responsibility with professional counsellors in higher education are discussed. Copyright © 2022 Taylor & Francis.

The COVID‐19 pandemic has triggered an unexpected digital revolution, speeding up universities' digital transformation worldwide. It has brought heavy disruptions to travel and mobility worldwide, but it drives the opportunity for hosting region‐wide or even international academic exchanges through learning programs, workshops, and conferences via an alternative online mode. This study reports on a case study of a 1‐month online aviation learning program that engaged 108 university students from Mainland China and Hong Kong during the lockdown. At first, we first recruited students in Hong Kong; however, the program registration was unsatisfactory. This could be attributed to the students' perceived future aviation career prospects and readiness of emergent remote teaching during the pandemic. In the program, we designed an alternative blended learning approach to attract students to sustain their aviation learning. First, we transformed the activities from face‐to‐face (F2F) to online settings using digital technologies including flight simulation and virtual visits in a web‐conferencing environment. Second, we extended the reach of the event and attracted a larger audience in the neighbouring regions in Mainland China. It turned out that we could successfully recruit 108 students from 20 cities. In the end, students' interviews and motivational surveys indicated that this online learning experience could effectively enhance students' knowledge and motivational gain. Since the government has relaxed the policy of homeschooling, we organised two F2F meetings for students in Hong Kong to connect them together. This blended mode of teaching favoured the students in Hong Kong who showed a greater motivation than those in Mainland China. Furthermore, follow‐up interviews for teachers revealed how they invest in new technological equipment and knowledge to support the radical changes. Overall, the virtual event eliminates geographical barriers which successfully motivate

Few large-scale studies have examined how prepared early childhood educators feel to teach music and movement to young children. This paper is part of a survey study conducted with 1,019 Hong Kong kindergarten teachers. We investigated their prior music and movement educational experiences (extracurricular activities, pre-service courses, in-service professional development), their perceived usefulness of such experiences, as well as their perceived confidence and readiness to teach music and movement in kindergartens. Differences according to teaching experience and educational qualifications were analyzed. Findings reveal the need to strengthen teachers’ preparation in music and movement, especially among beginning educators. Limitations are discussed. Copyright © 2022 Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

We report on an action research study conducted by two mathematics teacher educators in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. The project consisted of three phases, the first two taking place in our respective teacher education courses and a final phase in which prospective mathematics teachers from both locations engaged in dialogue through a speculative fiction task. Our aim was to explore how our prospective mathematics teachers can be supported in becoming mathematics teachers for sustainable futures by innovating our own mathematics teacher education curricula. This study suggests that generative methods which support teachers in speculating on paths to potential futures as teachers of mathematics, can provide access to how prospective teachers negotiate issues in relation to the climate crisis and ways in which they conceive of related changes in their practices. By identifying the aspects of mathematics teaching that are viewed by the prospective teachers as contingent, and through offering tasks that support an expansion of this view, teacher educators are better placed to support the development of teaching practices needed for sustainable futures. Copyright © 2022 Taylor & Francis.

This study investigates factors affecting university student-to-student interaction within online learning platforms. A new model was proposed based on the United Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The single-stage cluster-sampling method was employed, and 113 university students in Hong Kong were respondents. It was found that Information Quality, Social Influence, and Facilitating Conditions affect students’ intention to interact with each other. A quasi-full mediation model was established of the mechanism from Facilitating Conditions to students’ interaction behavior. The direct effect of Facilitating Conditions on students’ interaction and the effect of System Quality on the intention of student interaction were not significant. A fast network, computing facilities, and mobile-friendly software are possible candidates of the virtual environment conditions affecting the intention of student-interaction behavior within online learning platforms. Copyright © 2022 MDPI AG.