In 2007, the Comparative Education Research Centre at the University of Hong Kong co-published with Springer a book entitled Comparative Education Research: Approaches and Methods (edited by Mark Bray, Bob Adamson and Mark Mason). The book was well-received. It was translated into six languages (Chinese, Farsi, French, Italian, Japanese and Spanish), and became a core text for comparative education courses in five continents. It has also been a core text in the editors' own courses, especially at the masters and doctoral levels. In 2013, the editors and authors decided to embark on a second edition which was published at the beginning of 2014. Some chapters were dropped, one was added, and all were revised. This presentation will reflect on the strengths of the book and will summarize the changes. It will consider on the one hand the ways in which the changes for the second edition respond to the evolving field, and on the other hand the ways in which the editors and authors hope to shape further evolution.

踏入21世紀，面對全球化的趨勢、隨著知識型經濟的驅策，香港作為一個國際城市，已在教育體制和課程變革之上作出回應，主張以全方位的、終身的學習來取代傳統的學習模式。在眾多全方位學習的範疇中，有關提升思維能力及精神健康等主面尤其重要。有些學校正是在不同的重點上，按著自己特定的情況，安排相關的課程及活動，使學生能得著益處。這些都以打破傳統死記硬背的讀書方法及課室局限為本。本文集中探討高思維提升方法及學生自我形象改善計劃等。這些學校的經驗都是寶貴的，既可作為香港其他學校的借鑒，或者也可以作為其他地區學校的參考。

正當香港仍為中小學應否推行小班教學躊躇不前之際，香港的幼稚教育在過去 10年已逐步由大班教學走向多元化的課堂教學模式－即全班教學、分組活動和小組教學的「三環式」結構。師生比例的改善和教師專業的進修，給香港幼兒教師重新檢視課室空間的調配，為改良教學法提供了契機，一方面既可保持學生群體交往的機會，而另一方面也可透過小組學習，增加了學生的參與和思考交流。從教室觀察所得，學習支援的性質確有不同。小組教學的成效還有待研究的發現去確定，但可以說的是它提高了有思考交流的對談和討論的可能性。
[Copyright © 2007 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

The purpose of this study was to establish the factorial construct validity and dimensionality of the Metacognitive Orientation Learning Environment Scale – Science (MOLES-S) which was designed to measure the metacognitive orientation of science classroom learning environments. The metacognitive orientation of a science classroom learning environment is the extent to which psychosocial conditions that are known to enhance students’ metacognition are evident within that classroom. The development of items comprising this scale was based on a theoretical understanding of metacognition, learning environments and the development of previous learning environments instruments. Four possible hypothesized structure models, each consistent with the literature, were reviewed and their merits were compared on the basis of empirical data drawn from two populations of 1026 and 1223 Hong Kong secondary school students using confirmatory factor analysis procedures. The scale was calibrated using the Rasch rating scale model using data from the 1223 student sample. The results suggest that there is strong evidence to support the factorial construct validity of the MOLES-S but that, on the basis of the Rasch analysis, there are still suggestions for further refinement and improvement of the MOLES-S.
[Copyright © 2004 Journal of Applied Measurement.]