While extensive quantitative research has shed light on the cognitive mechanisms of dyslexia, few mixed-methods studies have been conducted to examine the perceptions of and attitudes towards learning in children with dyslexia, especially in Hong Kong, a bilingual context. In addition, the validity of the metaphor elicitation technique, which was adopted in previous interview studies, has not yet been examined in children. Therefore, 30 children with dyslexia (age range: 8–13; 10 females) in Hong Kong were interviewed for metaphors regarding six domains: Chinese reading, Chinese writing, having Chinese lessons, English reading, solving maths problems, and dyslexia. Word reading fluency and parent-rated learning interest and confidence were measured to validate the use of the metaphor elicitation method in assessing children’s reading attitudes in both Chinese and English using correlation analyses. Perceptions were examined by way of qualitative analyses based on the metaphor entailments. Results showed that children who expressed more positive attitudes towards English reading performed better in English reading. Moreover, the attitudes also positively correlated with the corresponding parents’ ratings. These findings suggested that the metaphor elicitation technique is a valid method for assessing attitudes towards English reading in children with dyslexia. Furthermore, their perceptions of dyslexia and learning generally corresponded to those from previous interview studies despite differences in languages and contexts. Importantly, descriptions related to multiple themes, including metalinguistic awareness, cognitive skills, coping strategies, and dyslexia, were well-aligned with scientific findings, demonstrating that children already have a good understanding of dyslexia and various learning domains. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.

Purpose: This study explored the mathematical dispositions of Hong Kong mathematics pre-service teachers (PSTs). It also constructed a mathematical disposition framework comprising their affective, cognitive and functional dispositions towards the subject. Design/methodology/approach: Thirty-one participants completed three structured metaphor tasks and one open-ended metaphor task in which they shared their views on mathematics. Responses were examined qualitatively and quantitatively. Coding based on thematic analysis was utilized to summarize the specific contents of the mathematical dispositions expressed by the PSTs, and a 5-level scoring scale was employed to evaluate the strength of the dispositions as represented by different metaphor types. Findings: The findings suggest that the mathematical dispositions of pre-service mathematics teachers were generally positive. However, the overall level was not high. The most prevalent metaphors used to describe mathematics were “rice”, “blue” and “dog”. Research limitations/implications: Hong Kong mathematics PSTs' mathematical dispositions are examined by using metaphorical tasks. Three categories are identified: affective, cognitive and functional dispositions towards mathematics. Originality/value: This study has proposed an original framework for describing mathematical disposition. Copyright © 2023 Emerald Publishing Limited.

This article investigates the use of metaphors for education in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's (SAR) educational reform proposals by analysis of the government's Review of Education System Reform Proposals-Consultation Document (hereafter referred to as the Consultation Document; May 2000). It discovers six or seven major metaphorical schemata for education: commodity acquisition, mechanism, building construction, a path or journey of exploration, growth and nurture, with a subschema of catering. The reforms are intended to encourage internal motivation in students that will lead to their creating knowledge and to their all-round development, and the metaphorical schemata are evaluated in terms of whether they tend to reinforce or undermine these goals. Growth/nurture and journey of exploration tend to reinforce the goals of the reforms, building construction and paths seem to be neutral or ambiguous, whereas commodity acquisition, mechanism, and catering would appear to undermine them. The article also considers the ways in which metaphorical interactions such as multivalency and literalization can lead to confused thinking and argument.
[Copyright of Metaphor & Symbol is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327868MS1704_2 ]