Valid feedback is essential for the administrators, educators, parents and, of course, for children to be able to steer their development in a sustainable way. Key influential theorists such as Montessori, Piaget, Vygotsky, and others all used observations extensively to understand how children learn and use knowledge about children's learning to improve pedagogies and children's lives. However, most adults including teachers in the ECEC settings have not always observed children and tracked their growth. Based on the research and professional development programs conducted in Finland, Taiwan and Hong Kong with more than 100,000 observations, we found some relationships between young children's involvement, adaptation and agency in early childhood settings through systematic observations. We will introduce observation strategies with video clips and demonstrate our latest mobile application for observation for practitioners to contribute to a big data pool aimed to enhance the teaching quality in ECEC settings. Copyright © 2018 EARLI.

The changes in maternal involvement during the transition to primary school and the bidirectional relations between maternal involvement and school adjustment were explored in this study using a two-wave longitudinal design with a 8-month interval. The participants were children (mean age: 5 years 10.39 months at Time 1 and 6 years 4.98 months at Time 2), mothers, and kindergarten and primary school teachers from 324 and 247 Hong Kong middle- and upper-middle-class families at Time 1 and Time 2, respectively. Approximately three months before the children finished kindergarten (Time 1), and 3 months after they entered primary school (Time 2), mothers and teachers reported on the mothers' involvement and teachers rated the children's school adjustment. Data related to children's school adjustment were also collected in a child assessment session. Results revealed that mothers' involvement in language and cognitive activities during kindergarten predicted better school adjustment after the school transition. Mothers were also more involved at their children's primary schools when their children demonstrated lower cognitive skills in kindergarten. The findings highlight the importance of examining both home-based and school-based involvement over time during the transition to primary school and the bidirectional relations between maternal involvement and children's school adjustment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Although the contribution of family support and peer support to university adjustment has been examined separately, few attempts have been made to explore the mechanism underlying this relation. This is the first study in the Asian context to test the role of self-esteem in mediating the effect of social support on first-year university adjustment outcomes. Self-esteem is a measure of one's positive or negative attitudes toward oneself (Rosenberg, 1965). Higher self-esteem is vital to a variety of developmental outcomes in early adulthood, such as the transition to university, whereas lower self-esteem has been related to poorer adjustment (Hickman, Bartholomae, & McKenry, 2000). Perceived self-esteem stems from social attachments to others that reflect positively on oneself and provide interpersonal support (Friedlander, Reid, Shupak, & Cribbie, 2007). High self esteem developed as a result of social support from family and peers may increase individuals' belief in their ability to solve problems, leading to better university adjustment. The authors hypothesized that self-esteem mediates the impact of family support and peer support on university adjustment. The participants in this study were 418 first year university students (mean age 19.94 years; 65% female) at an education university in Hong Kong, China, offering mainly education related subjects. As expected, findings showed that first-year university students receiving greater family and peer support reported better adjustment outcomes overall, which provides additional evidence of the universally beneficial effects of multiple support figures on university adjustment. Such findings corroborate the previous argument that parental support plays an important role throughout adolescence and early adulthood, even as reliance on support from peers increases.
[Copyright of Journal of College Student Development is the property of The Johns Hopkins University Press.]

繼介紹了香港教育的均衡教育後,本文主要介紹並討論香港教育中的最重要一環,即價值觀教育。以前,香港教育對此重視得不多,現在隨著教育的現代化與國際化,價值觀教育己被公認為是教育的一個核心部分,尤為重要。

繼介紹了香港教育的均衡教育後,本文主要介紹並討論香港教育中的最重要一環,即價值觀教育。以前,香港教育對此重視得不多,現在隨著教育的現代化與國際化,價值觀教育己被公認為是教育的一個核心部分,尤為重要。

The present research aimed to explore how family functioning influenced self-determination among students with and without special educational needs. The Chinese version of the Self-Report Family Instrument and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) Self-Determination Scale were administered to 575 Hong Kong senior secondary school students without SEN and 106 with SEN in the present research. Results showed that the Chinese version of the Self-Report Family Instrument and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) Self-Determination Scale were reliable and valid among students with and without SEN. Furthermore, for students with SEN, family health significantly positively predicted self-determination. For students without SEN, family health significantly positively predicted self-determination, while family pathology significantly negatively predicted self-determination. Significance, limitations, and implications of the present research were discussed.

This paper examines issues of affordability and justice using the concept of “basic structure” as developed by Iris M. Young in order to produce a more nuanced account of the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme. We draw on the experiences of Hong Kong mothers of different socio-economic status who have participated in the voucher scheme. The scheme aims to provide affordable quality early education by giving parents a flat-rate voucher so as to assist them in enrolling their children in non-profit local kindergartens. We base our arguments on the central premise that socially just policy requires meticulous attention to the basic structure that determines distributive patterns. We go on to argue that the basic structure is governed by institutional assumptions, rules, and practices about class, gender, and markets. Our analysis references both quantitative and qualitative data of a three-phased mixed-method study with > 1400 mothers. The key findings reveal how mothers of different socio-economic backgrounds experienced the voucher scheme where power structures and relations are legitimized, thus contributing to the structural processes that reproduce constraints and injustice. Mothers' articulation regarding the policy recommendation of free early education adds insights into the constraints they experience and a notion of collective responsibility in supporting the education of young children.
[Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.]

It has recently been asserted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that “education is a basic right, one that is vital in restoring hope and dignity to people driven from their homes. It helps them to get back on their feet and build a better future” (A Basic Right for a Better Future, UNHCR, 2016, p.1). Asylum seekers, both here in Hong Kong and elsewhere, struggle to be self-sufficient, and it is education that can equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge. Education empowers refugees and is the key to better future that helps bring stability and hope. The study to be reported here asses explores refugee family responsibilities and the Hong Kong SAR Government’s responsibility for educational provision in relation to refugee children in Hong Kong. The preliminary findings indicate that refugee children in Hong Kong encounter many difficulties and problems (such as financial, psychological). Many of them, however, embrace their education opportunities and excel academically with support from teachers and schools. This study highlights issues which refugee children encounter and also provides a narrative in understanding the complicated and extraordinary childhoods of refugee children and youth in Hong Kong. While the study is set in the Hong Kong context, the findings are likely to be of interest of other countries which to improve educational provision for refugees.

This study explored two under-researched areas on students' attitudes towards science, that is, the structural models representing these attitudes and the role played by school bands in moderating the gender differences in such attitudes. The participants were 360 ninth graders in Hong Kong from 3 school bands. The structural equation modelling method was adopted to compare four hypothetical models for students' attitudes towards science. Results reflect that (i) the data supported the three-factor structure of the behavioural domain of students' attitudes towards science; (ii) the four lower level dimensions of the attitudes towards science (i.e. value of science to society, self-concept in science, anxiety towards science and enjoyment of science) could be further integrated into broader categories; (iii) male students demonstrated significantly more positive attitudes towards science in five dimensions (i.e. self-concept in science, enjoyment in science, learning science in and outside the classroom and future participation) and (iv) school bands played a prominent moderating role in gender differences in students' attitudes towards science. Implications for studying and developing students' attitudes towards science are discussed in the paper.