The contribution of parental involvement and investment to children's education has been a major topic in current educational reform around the world. The purpose of this study is to identify the parental involvement and investment factors which make the greatest contribution to children's self-esteem in Hong Kong. Data for this study was obtained from questionnaires collected from a sample of about 2100 middle grade students (Grades 6-9) and their parents, as well as parents of first grade students, from 18 schools. The study employed factor analysis and Hierarchical Linear Modeling. First, the different dimensions of parental involvement and investment manifest in Hong Kong were clarified. Secondly, the association between parental involvement and investment and family socioeconomic status was estimated. Finally, whether student self-esteem is related to different types of investment and involvement after controlling the background factors was examined.
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The responses of 712 high achieving and low achieving students at the Open University of Hong Kong were analysed to investigate gender differences in factors that contribute to successful achievement in distance education. The analysis indicated a number of gender differences, including in the areas of organisation and use of study materials, confidence about studies, and independent versus collaborative study. Based on these, some questions have been raised about the need to develop some different treatment for male and female students in order to maximise the achievement of both groups.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02680510120050307]