When solving word problems, many children encounter difficulties in making sense of the information and integrate it into a meaningful schema. This is the fundamental phase on which subsequent problem solution depends. To better understand the processing underlying this fundamental phase, this study examined the roles of schema construction and knowledge of mathematical vocabularies in word problem solving. The participants were 139 Chinese third graders studying in Hong Kong. Path analysis showed that there were two kinds of pathways to word problem solving: language-related and number-related. In particular, reading fluency was related to word problem solving in two mediated language-related pathways: one via schema construction, the other via knowledge of mathematical vocabularies. In the number-related pathway, arithmetic concept was related to word problem solving via knowledge of mathematical vocabularies. These findings highlight the specific roles of schema construction and mathematical vocabulary in word problem solving, thereby providing useful implications of how best to support children in understanding and integrating the information from the problem. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research Findings: This study surveyed 216 pre-service early childhood teachers in Hong Kong to examine their levels of confidence in teaching different topics of sexuality. It also sought to explore the relationships of their different perceptions about sexuality education to their behavioural intentions towards children’s curiosity. Results showed that the participants reported the highest level of confidence in teaching about self-protection and the lowest level of confidence in teaching about body parts of the two sexes and origin of life. Surprisingly, there was no significant relationship between overall confidence and behavioural intentions. Perceived benefits of sexuality education and embarrassment of talking about sexuality were associated with the avoidance intention, but only the former was associated with the approach intention.Practice or Policy: Our findings suggest that teacher educators should seek ways to help pre-service teachers realise the benefits of sexuality education and reduce their discomfort of talking openly about sexuality. Copyright © 2020 International Review of Finance Ltd.