Academic stress is widely recognized as a prominent source of stress for children in Hong Kong. What can be done to enhance children's resilience to this type of stress? The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between academic stress, children's anxiety, and academic attainment in senior primary school children in Hong Kong. Specifically, the objective is to investigate the moderating and mediating mechanisms through which parental support and children's resourcefulness might modify stress outcomes. To better determine the relationship patterns of these variables, a cross-sectional quantitative research design was used. Proportional stratified sampling, cluster sampling and random sampling methods were employed in various phases to locate suitable informants. Nine primary schools and a total of 1,644 senior primary school students participated in the study.
Three academic stress domains were generated from the Academic Hassles Scale.These were "academic inefficacy and fear of failure", "expectations and demands from significant others" and "academic demands and overload". Domain analysis proved to be more sensitive to gender difference when compared with the global academic hassles measure. Girls were more disturbed by "academic inefficacy and fear of failure" and boys were more affected by "expectations and demands from significant others" and "academic demands and overload". Correlation of the domains with factors in the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale indicated that the manifestation of anxiety was different in these domains.
Time spent by parents communicating with their children, parental emotional, informational and instrumental supports and children's resourcefulness were beneficial to children's emotional and academic adjustment independent of the stressors. When the support was delivered in overprotective and authoritarian ways, adverse outcomes were the result. Interaction effects were found only in the domain "academic demands

本文報告了新近發展的跨文化（中國人）個性測量表－青少年版（CPAI-A）對香港中學生人格特徵的性別差異評估結果。CPAI-A是在CPAI-2（成人版）基礎上發展而來的。研究發現性別是影響香港中學生人格特質的關鍵因素，並且性別差異在不同年齡組之間存在明顯的延續性和發展性趨勢。結合對已有研究的比較分析，文章從發展角度討論了人格特質的性別差異特性在青少年不同年齡組之間的情形。文章還基於CPAI-2中國人常模的數據，比較分析了青少年與成人之間人格特徵性別差異的特點。文章最後認為性別差異特徵是體現人格特質在青少年期的不同年齡階段，以及從青少年到成人階段的發展性與穩定性的重要內容。
Gender difference has been studied extensively in the field of personality. Many studies have demonstrated significant gender difference in personality traits (e.g., self-esteem, extraversion) among people from different age groups and cultural contexts. Although the stabilities and changes of personality structure from adolescence to adulthood have also been investigated, few studies have explored gender difference in personality traits from a developmental perspective.
This paper compared gender difference in the Cross-cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory – Adolescent Version (CPAI-A) among three age groups of secondary school students in Hong Kong. The CPAI-A was based on the adult version of the CPAI-2 which was developed using a combined emic-etic approach. The participants were 2,506 (1135 males, 1371 females) Hong Kong secondary school students aged 12 to 18 (M = 15.25, SD = 1.72) drawn from a representative sample of secondary schools. The participants were divided into three age groups which corresponded to the phases of the secondary school system in Hong Kong: 12–14 years, 15–16 years, and 17–18 years. We used MANOVA to examine the overall group differences, followed by further univariate analysis to examine the specific gender difference in personality traits among three age groups.
The results indicated that gender was a key factor that contributed to group difference in personality traits among secondary school students in Hong Kong. Three typical developmental features of gender difference in personality traits were found: (1) There were consistent gender differences in some general and clinical personality traits across the three groups.

In the search for time-sensitive, brief and effective interventions for school problems, a practical approach is suggested for Hong Kong teachers. This approach endorses the competency orientation of the humanistic tradition, offers the advantages of systems thinking, and provides a theory of change with cognitive-behavioral and solution-focused strategies of intervention that is complementary with the constraints and needs of the school environment. Specifically, based on these assumptions, three general intervention guidelines are suggested and illustrated with corresponding case examples, demonstrating successful applications of this practical approach for brief interventions in the school setting. Implications for the use of this practical approach are discussed in the context of the whole school approach to guidance in Hong Kong schools and the movement toward a constructivist perspective in school guidance and counseling.
本文針對香港教師如何處理校內的學生問題提出一個快捷、簡易和有效的實用取向介入模式。此介入模式源自傳統「人本主義」中的能力取向，配合學校環境的限制和需要，著重從「系統思考」、「認知行為」和「尋解導向」實施介入輔導。基於這些假設，本文提出三個一般的介入原則，配合真實的個案例子，說明如何能夠成功地將有關的介入模式應用在學校的實際環境中。討論部分結合了香港學校現行的校本輔導取向，探討如何從「建構主義」的角度建立有效的學校輔導模式。
[Copyright of Asian Journal of Counselling is the property of The Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association at http://www.hkpca.org.hk/]

Background: In Hong Kong, secondary school students face high levels of stress due to the examination oriented curricula. According to Sun (2006), some secondary school students cannot bear the pressure when facing the examinations, and some of them may exhibit destructive behaviors such as suicide and bullying. Therefore, cases of school bullying break out frequently (Ming Pao, 2003, 2004). Moreover, school alienation contributes to the risk of bullying while support from teachers and peers decreases one's tendency towards bullying (Natvig et al., 2001).
Aims: The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between students' stress and bullying. Based on an insight into prevention of bullying in school, some applicable strategies to prevent students' academic and interpersonal stress will be suggested.
Sample: Altogether 340 Fung Kai No. 1 Secondary School students, 200 boys and 140 girls, participated in the present study.
Methods: Students completed and returned two questionnaires: the Subjective Stress Scale (Li and Ng, 1992) and the Bullying Checklist (Chui, 2001), in class.
Results: The results show that girls felt more stressed than boys in the family, and they also exhibited more social bullying than boys did. Both interpersonal and personal stress are factors leading to bullying.
Conclusion: In the present study, girls felt more stressed than boys in the family. They were eager to be more independent from the family. This arouses conflict between parents and daughter. It was found that Form 3 perceived higher levels of academic and personal stress than Form 1 students. It is understood that they were experiencing identity formation and making decisions on future study in art or science. Provision of a one-week orientation program for Form 1 students before the commencement of the school term is recommended. Finally, workshops for parents were introduced to enhance parent-child relationships and to help them communicate

Background: A limited amount of research has been conducted on children and adolescents who are low achievers. In Hong Kong, educators describe low achieving students in terms of academic performance, they seldom focus on socio-emotional aspects, such as self-esteem, peer affiliation, and inter-personal relationships. However, low achieving students could also be described differently in different contexts. Students who experience difficulties academically are characterized as having difficulties in studying, completing assignments and organizing information Therefore, this study attempts to explore the impact of the transitions from primary school to secondary school among low achieving students on their peer affiliation and the reciprocal effect of self-esteem and academic outcomes, using data triangulation and methodological triangulation (different methods, i.e., observation, journal entries, portfolios and interviews) (Denzin, 1978).
Aims: This study examined the effects of a peer support programme in smoothing the transition to adolescence and secondary school for students in the first year of secondary school by enhancing self-esteem, peer affiliations and academic performance.
Sample: Participants in the study were students from a secondary school in Hong Kong. Seven form-one students participated three times weekly in groups facilitated by a trainer and older students. Method: The methods of data triangulation and time series design were employed. Data was collected from teacher interviews, observational field notes, inter-rater checklists, and conversations with students.
Results: The results suggested that the peer support programme has significant effects on students' academic outcomes and peer affiliations.
Conclusion: Three major findings arise from this investigation. First, the overall effectiveness of the peer support programme could enhance the students' academic performance and peer affiliations, this was agreed by the participants

漫畫(尤其是武打技擊連環圖)在香港甚為流行。本研究嘗試了解其所潛藏的價值和性別意識，以時下流行之武打漫畫，進行內容分析。發現其對兩性、英雄感和暴力等的描繪都是扭曲及誤置的，估勿論對成年或青少年的讀者，在道德判斷上，也可產生不良的影響。基於相關的發現，為學校和教育工作者所能作的，提出建議。
Comic books, especially those related with martial art and violence, are popular in Hong Kong. This research tries to study the values and gender concepts conveyed in such comics. This study, which is based on content analysis of comics, finds the portrayal of sex, heroism and violence to be both distorted and disproportionate. This can have devastating impact on the moral judgment of the readers, who can be adults as well as teens. Based on the findings, suggestions about how schools and educators can tackle the problem are made.
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

Emotional Intelligence has been a hot topic for both parents and educators in Hong Kong in recent years. Conceptually, emotional intelligence should be related to students' life satisfaction, positive attitudes towards life, and the attainment of various education goals. However, despite its growing popularity, there is relatively little empirical evidence showing these relationships. The purpose of the present study is to provide some empirical evidence to examine these effects in Hong Kong. A group of 30 university students helped generate emotional intelligence items and 20 of these items were selected empirically from the responses of another 100 university students. Then a sample of 225 six formers completed a questionnaire which measured their perceived emotional intelligence, life satisfaction, and powerlessness in their lives. Their form masters evaluated their performance in moral and social development. Attainment in intellectual education of these students was estimated by their HKCEE results. As expected, results indicated that emotional intelligence is positively related to life satisfaction, and performance in moral, social and intellectual development. It is also negatively related to powerlessness in life. Limitations for this study and implications for future emotional intelligence research are discussed.
近年情緒智商成為香港的家長和教育工作者的熱門話題，理論上，學生的情緒智商應與其生活滿足感、正面的生活態度及不同的教育目標有關，但有關的實微証據則不多，本研究的目的是在香港探索這幾個概念的關係，我們先以三十名大學生提供情緒智商的測量項目，然後以一百名大學生的資料選取其中最佳的二十項，接著我們請225 名預科生回答問卷，而他們的班主任則評估他們在德育和群育的表現，智育表現則以他們中學會考成績為指標，結果証明情緒智商與生活滿足感、生活態度、德、群和智育有關。最後，我們討論了本研究的限制及未來研究的方向。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

The objectives of this study were to examine (i) behavioral differences in popularand unpopular children; (ii) the ability of kindergarten teachers to identify children with peer interaction difficulties; and (iii) strategies teachers use to guide appropriate social behaviour in the kindergarten classroom. Forty-eight 4-5 year-olds completed sociometric interview. Eight children including two Popular, two Rejected, two Average and two Controversial were observed during free play. Popular children had good social skills; they were able to initiate and maintain peer contact, communicated clearly and were co-operative. On the other hand, Rejected children were more physically and verbally aggressive with peers and showed low levels of co-operative behaviour. Teachers had some difficulties to identify the social status of children in their class, suggesting that they placed more emphasis on academic development than social development. They did not typically interact with children during free play. However, they occasionally tried to enhance the cognitive complexity of children's play. The implication of these findings for teacher-training are discussed.
本文旨在探究i)幼稚園內受歡迎與被拒絕的兒童之行為差異; ii)幼稚園老師對於辨別兒童與兒童之間難於彼此互動的能力; 及iii)老師在課室引導兒童適當社交行為的策略。 48 位四至五歲的兒童獲邀完成了面談, 而其中8 位兒童被選為觀察對象: 包括了2 位受歡迎的兒童、2 位被拒絕的兒童、 2 位表現平均的兒童和2 位表現較爭議性的兒童。受歡迎的兒童有良好的社交技巧, 他/她們能展開和維持與同伴的接觸、具清楚的溝通能力和表現合作的行為。相反地, 被拒絕的兒童愛用言語和身體攻擊同伴,並有不合作的行為表現。教師對於辨別兒童在課室內之社會地位表示有些困難, 因教師們較著重兒童學術發展多於社交發展。兒童在自由活動的時段內, 教師沒有與兒童互動,但她們也偶然地嘗試提升兒童遊戲的複雜認知能力。有關教師培訓會從結果中顯示出來。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]