Although the contribution of family support and peer support to university adjustment has been examined separately, few attempts have been made to explore the mechanism underlying this relation. This is the first study in the Asian context to test the role of self-esteem in mediating the effect of social support on first-year university adjustment outcomes. Self-esteem is a measure of one's positive or negative attitudes toward oneself (Rosenberg, 1965). Higher self-esteem is vital to a variety of developmental outcomes in early adulthood, such as the transition to university, whereas lower self-esteem has been related to poorer adjustment (Hickman, Bartholomae, & McKenry, 2000). Perceived self-esteem stems from social attachments to others that reflect positively on oneself and provide interpersonal support (Friedlander, Reid, Shupak, & Cribbie, 2007). High self esteem developed as a result of social support from family and peers may increase individuals' belief in their ability to solve problems, leading to better university adjustment. The authors hypothesized that self-esteem mediates the impact of family support and peer support on university adjustment. The participants in this study were 418 first year university students (mean age 19.94 years; 65% female) at an education university in Hong Kong, China, offering mainly education related subjects. As expected, findings showed that first-year university students receiving greater family and peer support reported better adjustment outcomes overall, which provides additional evidence of the universally beneficial effects of multiple support figures on university adjustment. Such findings corroborate the previous argument that parental support plays an important role throughout adolescence and early adulthood, even as reliance on support from peers increases.
[Copyright of Journal of College Student Development is the property of The Johns Hopkins University Press.]

繼介紹了香港教育的均衡教育後,本文主要介紹並討論香港教育中的最重要一環,即價值觀教育。以前,香港教育對此重視得不多,現在隨著教育的現代化與國際化,價值觀教育己被公認為是教育的一個核心部分,尤為重要。

繼介紹了香港教育的均衡教育後,本文主要介紹並討論香港教育中的最重要一環,即價值觀教育。以前,香港教育對此重視得不多,現在隨著教育的現代化與國際化,價值觀教育己被公認為是教育的一個核心部分,尤為重要。

The present research aimed to explore how family functioning influenced self-determination among students with and without special educational needs. The Chinese version of the Self-Report Family Instrument and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) Self-Determination Scale were administered to 575 Hong Kong senior secondary school students without SEN and 106 with SEN in the present research. Results showed that the Chinese version of the Self-Report Family Instrument and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) Self-Determination Scale were reliable and valid among students with and without SEN. Furthermore, for students with SEN, family health significantly positively predicted self-determination. For students without SEN, family health significantly positively predicted self-determination, while family pathology significantly negatively predicted self-determination. Significance, limitations, and implications of the present research were discussed.

Conceptual Framework: This study is founded on the framework of life satisfaction (Huebner, 2001), spiritual health (SH) (Fisher, 1999; 2008), academic engagement (AE) (Appleton et al., 2008) and civic engagement (CE) (Schulz et al., 2008). Objective: To investigate the structural relationships among SH, SE and CE of secondary students. Method: The study employs an integrated questionnaire survey to unfold the complex relationships among the three factors: SH, SE and CE. Over 8500 students aged 12 – 19 were surveyed in 2015. The following hypotheses were tested: (H1) SH is positively predictive for SE. (H2) SH is positively predictive for CE. (H3) Students’ SE is predictive for their CE. (H4) The effect of SH on CE is mediated by SE. Results: Our findings confirm the structural relationships with SH having a significant direct effect on SE (0.883***) but not directly on CE (-0.028). Moreover, SE contributes significantly and positively to CE (0.753***). Spiritual health does not have a significant impact on civic engagement. However, a significant indirect effect of SH on CE via SE (0.665***) was confirmed. Discussion and conclusion: Our overall findings have supported the aforementioned hypotheses with one indirect effect between SH and CE. The study concludes that SH is a core factor with regard to positive student development academically and socially. Additionally, desirable school engagement is linked with students’ future societal engagement such as obeying rules and laws, serving others, expressing their views on civic issues and voting etc. Implications for developing a success for all engagement framework are discussed.

It is increasingly recognized in the field of gifted education that giftedness is asynchronous development, which posits that the combination of advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity and sensitivity in the gifted population creates inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. The asynchronous development of the gifted renders them vulnerable particularly in the social-emotional aspects (Silverman, 1993). The purpose of this chapter is to look into the social-emotional characteristics of gifted students. It is further asserted that the social-emotional challenges or inner conflicts experienced by the gifted students were actually the driving force of the personal development for the gifted students. Implications on effective counselling for the gifted are also discussed with the aim to facilitate an optimal personal development of the gifted in a Hong Kong school context.

香港是一個東西文化交融的國際都會，社會價值既矛盾又多元，加上崇尚自由和傳媒發達等因素，要有效地在小學推行校本價值教育並不容易。為了支持以校本形式推行價值教育，香港初等教育研究學會於 2014-2015 年主辦「支援小學推行校本價值教育」計劃，這次分享會除介紹計劃成果外，亦將邀請不同學校介紹推行校本價值教育的經驗。

This paper explores the changes in the higher education systems of Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China in terms of their ‘Chineseness' as a potentially unifying regional identity that can be counterposed to Westernisation. The recent and polyvalent theme of ‘Greater China' is invoked in this paper to describe and interpret the institutional frameworks, within which higher education is developing in this imaginary region, as well as to establish possible discursive linkages in the continuing transformation and strategic reorientation of higher education and its role in the recent economic, political and socio-cultural developments. In this regard, the interrelated discourses of Chineseness and Greater China have the following functions: they imply regionalism; they enable a break with their imperial and colonial past; and they provide the basis for different kinds of hybridisation between Chinese and Western intellectual, educational and cultural traditions and values.

Self-directed learning is an important element in the recent education reform in Asian-Pacific countries. This study explores differences and similarities in the self-directed learning of primary students in Hong Kong and Macau. Data from samples of 1,253 students from 10 Hong Kong schools and another 1,562 students from 10 Macau schools who were currently enrolled in primary-3 and primary-5 in the two locations were analyzed. Three-way comparisons (location, gender and year levels) on primary students’ perceptions of the usefulness of self-directed learning strategies were undertaken. The students’ deployment of self-directed learning strategies was also compared. Results were discussed in terms of implications to education reform in Hong Kong and Macau.
[Copyright © 2005 International Self-Directed Learning Symposium Group.]

Previous studies conducted in university and high school students confirmed that physical self-perceptions were hierarchically organized in 3 tiers, with global self-esteem at the apex, physical self-worth in the middle, and four physical self-perception sub-domains (sport competence, condition, body attractiveness, and strength) at the bottom. However, it is not clear whether children age 10 or under also exhibit similar pattern. In this study the 3-tier model was tested in 800 Hong Kong Chinese primary 4 and 5 pupils using structural equation modeling. Further more, how perceived importance and goal orientations affect physical self-perceptions at different level of generalities was considered.