This article reports on a project which involved enabling teachers in Hong Kong primary schools to use an online integrated learning environment (ILE) to design lesson plans to cater for students with different learning abilities. Teachers explored ways of using technology to enhance student learning. A case-study approach was used to collect data on individual teacher developments and document evolving classroom teaching strategies. The findings revealed that when using the ILE teachers were able to: 1. effectively design and create lessons which catered for different ability groups within the class; 2. employ varied teaching strategies to cater for different learning needs of students in the class; 3. shift from more traditional pedagogical approaches to embracing learner-centred principles which achieve a higher degree of classroom interaction; and 4. collaborate with others, discuss their feelings more honestly, evaluate and reflect on their own practice.
[Copyright of Technology, Pedagogy and Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14759390500200212 ]

Using data from Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this study examines the social disparity of family involvement. A total of 4,405 students from 140 Hong Kong secondary schools participated in the first cycle of PISA study identifying four types of family involvement: cultural communication, social communication, homework supervision, and cultural activity. Multi-level analysis was used to examine the major family factors related to these types of family involvement. Consistent with previous research, working-class, immigrant, and single-parent families tend to have lower levels of parental involvement. The effect of these structural factors decreased after family resources, family network, and family norms entered into the multi-level regression model. It can be argued that the social disparity of family involvement is mediated by the deprivation of useful resources, lack of network, and low educational aspiration of the disadvantaged families. The results also suggested that it is not only cooperation between home and school, but also connection between parents and their children's peers that provides the necessary chemistry for success. Educators, parents, and policymakers should be aware that family networking should be extended to include the peers of the teenagers if they want to enhance family involvement in education.
[Copyright of School Community Journal is the property of American Association of School Librarians.
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Working within the framework of a confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) model, this study adds another dimension to construct validation of both the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) and a Chinese version of the BDI-II (C-BDI-II; Chinese Behavioral Sciences Society, 2000). Specifically, we tested for measurement equivalence of the C-BDI-II with the original BDI-II across Hong Kong (N = 1771) and American (N = 501) adolescents, respectively. Provided with evidence of measurement equivalence, we then tested for differences in the latent factor means (i.e., subscale levels) of three first-order factors of negative attitude, performance difficulty, and somatic elements and one second-order factor of general depression. All procedures were based on analyses of mean and covariance structures (MACS) that took into account both the incompleteness and non-normality of the data. Findings revealed sound evidence of measurement equivalence of the C-BDI-II and BDI-II factorial structures, and latent factor means that pointed to higher levels of depressive symptoms for Hong Kong adolescents than for their American counterparts.
[Copyright of International Journal of Testing is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15305050701438058 ]

This article reports the original evidence-based outcome study on parent-child parallel group-designed Anger Coping Training (ACT) program for children aged 8-10 with reactive aggression and their parents in Hong Kong. This research program involved experimental and control groups with pre- and post-comparison. Quantitative data collection consisted of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Child Behavior Checklist Teacher's Report Form (CBCL-TRF), and Peer Observation Checklist (POC). Two pilot studies and the main study were conducted. Out of 34 applicants, 18 were selected and divided between two experimental groups and one control group in accordance with the rule of randomization. The effectiveness of the program has been consistently verified in lessening overall childhood aggression, especially for children's physical aggression, but not verbal aggression.
[Copyright of Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13632750500393300]

This paper examines the issue of social structure and individual agency in language learning through the life histories of three young engineering graduates in Hong Kong. English is identified as an important form of cultural capital, which to a considerable extent determines the development of the three individuals, each of whom comes from a modest family background. In spite of the undeniable role of cultural capital (a product of social structure), examples of individual agency, in the form of the degrees of "investment" made in their language learning, and the application of "creative discursive agency" (which is to a large extent not a result of the official school curriculum) can be seen as influential on the development of the three young men. The discussion section of the paper considers the relative importance of social structure and individual agency in language education in a post-colonial society such as Hong Kong and the roles of "investment" and "creative discursive agency". It argues that in order to tilt the balance in favor of agency over structure and to encourage more 'investment" on the part of learners, more attention needs to be given to creating opportunities for "creative discursive agency" in and outside the classroom.
[Copyright of Critical Inquiry in Language Studies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15427580802286173]

This study examines the processes adult students use to integrate part-time study with existing family, work and social commitments. Evidence is drawn from interviews with students in three countries. A causal network is proposed with a positive category where social obligations are accommodated with study demands. The alternative category results in external attribution of the failure to accommodate demands. For each category the three environments of work, family and social lives are examined. Three mechanisms are discussed for facilitating integration, namely support, sacrifice and negotiating arrangements. Negotiating sanctuaries of time or space for study are seen as important. The three mechanisms for accommodating part-time study mean that students with adverse circumstances are not pre-destined to fail and that there is a role for universities in counselling and assisting students in adapting to part-time study.
[Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079912331380178]

As a subject in Hong Kong secondary schools, Design & Technology (D&T) is influenced by four factors. First, for many years, the subject of Design & Technology was offered almost exclusively to boys, with girls only being allowed to take Home Economics. Recently however, girls are now having the opportunity to take D&T as a required subject in schools. Second, although some schools have allowed girls to take D&T for several years, some have only just started this practice. As a result, some girls have studied D&T from secondary one to three, while others may only be having their initial experience as a secondary three student. Third, the content and teaching of D&T varies from school to school, and depends on the type of syllabus followed and facilities available. Fourth, not all secondary schools in Hong Kong offer D&T, meaning a large number of both boys and girls have never experienced the subject.
To examine Hong Kong pupils' attitudes toward technology, a Pupils' Attitudes Toward Technology (PATT2-HK) study was conducted with over 2,800 students in 22 secondary schools. This study duplicated the first PATTHK research conducted earlier (Volk & Yip, 1999), and the findings were compared. More specifically, given the immense changes that occurred in just a few short years relating to D&T program availability, facilities, and subject content, this study was undertaken to determine whether or not the proactive measures to ensure that all students have the opportunity to participate in D&T were in fact having a positive impact on pupils' attitudes toward technology. From this PATT2-HK study and examination made of current factors, recommendations as to the impact and future direction of D&T in Hong Kong are made.
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The development of a humor measure was described in a brief report in this journal. In that report, a series of suitable congruous and incongruous pictures were developed with a community sample of children. The findings of that study were consistent with those reported by others (Chik, 2001; Masten, 1989; Schultz, 1972), indicating that incongruity is an essential component of humor appreciation. With a larger (n = 140) and more representative sample, we embarked on a follow-up validation study. The findings of the present study provide further support for the universality of the incongruity as an essential component of humor appreciation across age and cultures.
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This study examined relationships between the economic, human, social, and cultural capital of families and adolescents' academic achievement. Data were collected from 387 14-yr.-old Hong Kong students (187 girls, 200 boys), who completed questionnaires to assess their perceptions of the various dimensions of family capital. Academic achievement was measured by performance in Chinese language, English language, and mathematics. The findings indicated that different combinations of the dimensions of family capital combined to contribute to moderate amounts of variance in adolescent girls' academic performance, whereas social capital was the only family measure to have a meaningful and significant modest association with adolescent boys' academic achievement.
[Reproduced with permission of author(s) and publisher from: Majoribanks, Kevin, & Kwok, Yanny. Family capital and Hong Kong adolescents' academic achievement. Psychological Reports, 1998, 83, 99-105. © Psychological Reports 1998 Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://ammonsscientific.com/link.php?N=10332]