This study examined the ecological challenges teachers faced in integrating Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) among 159 in-service Hong Kong EFL teachers from 2019 to 2024. Analysis of 470 entries revealed that 50% of the challenges stem from exo-system factors (e.g., heavy workloads), 23% were from macro-system factors (e.g., examination-focused education system). Individual factors (e.g., inadequate pedagogical skills) represented 15%, meso-system factors (e.g., parental disapproval) made up 8%, and micro-system factors (e.g., varied learner styles) constituted 4%. With 73% of challenges rooted in exo- and macro-system levels, the study highlights the urgent need for policy changes and administrative support. Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). 

Schools in HK are facing the need to deliver quality education and demonstrate accountability, which has resulted in performance pressure on schools. The effective implementation of SCT is crucial for enhancing the quality of education in schools. However, implementing SCT presents challenges in teacher learning and pedagogical design due to limited time and resources. Therefore, the adoption of KM is crucial in addressing these challenges.Applying purposive sampling, this study selects two aided primary schools, namely X School and Y School, as the cases for investigation due to their differing levels of instructional capacity and attractiveness in parental choice. It is noteworthy that Y School has been more successful than X School in this regard. Documentary review, lesson observation, and in-depth interviews with principals, vice-principals, PSMCD, middle managers, teaching mentors, and novice teachers are utilized for data collection from X School and Y School. A mixed approach of deductive coding and inducive coding is used to analyse the documentary, lesson observation, and interview data collected.The study is guided by the SECI KM model of knowledge creation and transfer, which functions as an analytical lens for the development and execution of Collaborative Lesson Preparation activities in X School and SCT Learning Circles activities in Y School, respectively. These activities serve as crucial KM tools and strategies for SCT knowledge creation and transfer within their respective schools.Its goal is to establish a connection between three-tiered knowledge leadership practices, KM, and SCT implementation in primary schools. This study utilizes cross-case studies with rich empirical data to develop a testable theory regarding knowledge leadership in HK primary schools.The study concludes that the strategies of codification and personalization within KM can assist schools in addressing the identified problem and promoting effective SCT implementation. KM not

This chapter explores the flipped classroom approach, which shifts content delivery to online video lectures, freeing up class time for student-centred activities. Widely adopted in K-12 science education in Western countries, its use is expanding in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The chapter reviews the background of flipped classrooms, including their origin, definition, practice, and theoretical framework. It also examines trends in their use in K-12 science education in these regions. Several studies on flipped science classrooms in China and Hong Kong are reviewed, comparing their designs, instructional practices, impacts, and challenges. A case study in a Hong Kong secondary school demonstrates the implementation of a flipped classroom using the technology-enhanced predict-observe-explain (POE) strategy, offering practical guidance for educators. The chapter concludes with insights and implications for future research and practice in flipped science classrooms in China and Hong Kong. Copyright © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Timo Ehmke and John Chi-Kin Lee; individual chapters, the contributors.

This chapter discusses the importance of innovative teacher training amid the fourth industrial revolution, with a focus on overcoming resistance to change, particularly in Chinese regions. It highlights a design thinking pedagogy used in a teacher training programme in Hong Kong, aimed at fostering creative lesson planning among prospective teachers (n = 43). Their lesson plans (n = 9) were assessed using a six-dimensional rubric, evaluating innovativeness in learning objectives, teacher and student roles, ICT use, connectedness, and learning outcomes. While ICT use scored highest, connectedness was the lowest, indicating gaps in integrating lessons with real-world contexts. The analysis also identified four pedagogical types that illustrate varying levels of innovativeness. The findings suggest that advanced ICT use does not necessarily lead to more innovative teaching. Conceptual gaps among prospective teachers may hinder the development of truly innovative lesson designs, and the chapter discusses the implications for future teacher training. Copyright © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Timo Ehmke and John Chi-Kin Lee; individual chapters, the contributors.

This paper evaluates the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education, specifically its capacity to replace or assist human teachers. By reviewing relevant literature and analysing survey data from students and teachers, this mixed-methods study provides a comprehensive perspective on the future role of educators in the face of advancing generative AI technologies. An online survey was conducted to explore the perceptions of 399 university students and 184 teachers across different disciplines in eight higher education institutions in Hong Kong concerning the use of generative AI technologies. Findings suggest that although some believed generative AI may eventually replace teachers, the majority of participants argued that human teachers possess unique qualities, including critical thinking and emotions, which make them irreplaceable. Similarly, findings also emphasized the importance of social-emotional competencies developed through human interactions, something which generative AI technologies cannot currently replicate. Crucially, this study further found that students value and respect their human teachers, even as generative AI becomes more prevalent. As such, the authors propose that teachers can seek to effectively integrate generative AI to enhance teaching and learning without viewing it as their replacement. To do so, they must understand how generative AI can work well with teachers and students, avoid potential pitfalls, develop AI literacy, and address practical issues including ethics and privacy. Recommendations are offered on how universities, teachers, and students can adopt generative AI technologies in an approach that balances the strengths of human educators with generative AI technologies. As the future of education lies in the synergy between human teachers and generative AI, teachers, students, and universities should all understand and refine their unique qualities in order to effectively navigate the integration

Existing studies have measured the effect of video-based feedback on student performance or satisfaction. Other issues are underacknowledged or merit further investigation. These include sociocultural aspects which may shape the design and implementation of video-based feedback, the ways students use technology to engage in feedback, and the processes through technology may transform learning. This study investigates the design and implementation of a video-annotated peer feedback activity to develop students' presentation skills and knowledge of climate science. It explores how their use of a video annotation tool re-mediated established feedback practices and how the systematic analysis of contradictions in emerging practices informed the subsequent redesign and reimplementation of the approach. Employing a formative intervention design, the researchers intervened in the activity system of a first-year undergraduate education module to facilitate two cycles of expansive learning with an instructor and two groups of Hong Kong Chinese students (n = 97, n = 94) across two semesters. Instructor interviews, student surveys, and video annotation and system data were analysed using Activity Theory-derived criteria to highlight contradictions in each system and suggest how these could be overcome. The findings highlight the critical importance of active instructor facilitation; building student motivation by embedding social-affective support and positioning peer feedback as an integrated, formative process; and supporting students' use of appropriate cognitive scaffolding to encourage their interactive, efficient use of the annotation tool. Conclusions: In a field dominated by experimental and quasi-experimental studies, this study reveals how an Activity Theory-derived research design and framework can be used to systemically analyse cycles of design and implementation of video-annotated peer feedback. It also suggests how the new activity system might be consolidated and

The pedagogical approach-Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)-has been widely adopted around the globe with its dual aims of developing students' second language (L2) proficiency and mastering content knowledge simultaneously. However, its effectiveness remains inconsistent. This inconsistency has led researchers to call for an investigation into the perspectives of CLIL students to understand the factors behind the success and failure of CLIL implementation. To address this gap, this study explores CLIL students' perspectives through the lens of self-regulation and examines the relationships between CLIL students' self-regulation levels, linguistic challenges, and learning outcomes. Involving 167 junior secondary students from three schools in Hong Kong that adopted different CLIL models in Hong Kong, the study revealed moderate self-regulation levels and varying linguistic challenges among CLIL students, with listening being identified as the most difficult skill. A significant, moderately positive correlation was found between self-regulation levels and perceived linguistic challenges. Multiple regression analysis also found that motivation was a key predictor of both L2 proficiency and content subject achievement, while other self-regulation constructs (self-preparation, self-monitoring, and self-reflection) showed non-significant predictive values. Pedagogical implications are provided to develop students' self-regulation skills and address perceived linguistic challenges, ultimately enhancing the learning experience and outcomes for CLIL students of diverse abilities. Copyright © 2025 Taylor and Francis Ltd.

Translanguaging has been empirically proven to have constructive and even transformative effects, as it provides linguistic minority learners with access to various educational and linguistic resources. Nevertheless, there is limited research on its use in the context of Chinese writing as a second language and, more specifically, on how it supports the co-construction of knowledge between Chinese teachers and non-Cantonese-speaking (NCS) students. This study examines NCS students' perceptions of and experiences with translanguaging in Chinese writing classrooms while illuminating the role that translanguaging plays in Chinese as a second language (CSL) writing classes in Hong Kong secondary schools. The findings of this ethnographic study indicate that NCS students' attitudes toward and experiences with translanguaging are largely positive, particularly in terms of cognitive and emotional scaffolding. They reveal that NCS students developed more complex thinking skills, metalinguistic awareness and criticality through the translanguaging space that they co-constructed in the classroom. This study also discusses the roles played by both spontaneous and planned translanguaging in NCS students' speech and writing development. Copyright © 2024 Wiley.

While the importance of linguistically responsive teaching (LRT) in multilingual classrooms is well documented, preservice English teachers' conceptions of LRT and the pertinent sociocultural processes that shape their LRT conceptions and practices remain under-researched. Qualitatively examining the experiences and understandings of 15 preservice English teachers in Hong Kong shared in interviews and written reflections, this study reveals a positive attitude towards LRT in general, but a dissonance between LRT consciousness and LRT knowledge/skills. The study also identifies three distinct profiles of LRT teachers (Explorers, Activists, and Initiators) as well as a range of enabling and debilitating factors in understanding and implementing LRT. These findings call for attention to a need for revisiting mainstream English language teacher education trends and embracing more socio-politically informed linguistically responsive approaches. Copyright © 2024 Taylor and Francis Ltd.

Due to the prevalence of information and communication technologies (ICT) among secondary school students and the increasing significance of digital reading, exploring the impact of ICT on students' digital reading performance in English seems necessary. The current research aimed to examine the effects of ICT competencies factors on secondary school students' English digital reading performance. Data were obtained from 7703 15year-old students from three East Asian economies, Macau, Hong Kong, and Singapore, from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 dataset. The results of hierarchical regression analysis revealed that students' ICT literacy was negatively correlated with their English digital reading performance, while the influence of attitudes toward ICT varied across the three East Asia economies. Additionally, males had lower English digital reading achievement, while students with higher socioeconomic status (SES) had higher English digital reading performance. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier.