課本是教育系統中的重要環節，也是重要的教學內容、系統知識的組織、課程與教學間的連結。然而，香港對課本的探討仍然不足，課本的品質亦有待提升。本文嘗試評析教育局在香港課本編審機制中的作用。全文主要分為兩部分，首先會探討教育局在課本編審機制中的作用，然後提出加強教育局作用的建議。本文作者認為，教育局在課本編選機制中扮演非常重要的角色；然而，除維持現有角色外，教育局也應與其他相關的組織配合以及統籌與課本有關事宜，進行更多的課本研究，以及研究優化編審課本的機制。Textbooks, crucial in educational systems, consist of essential teaching materials and represent the organization of systematic knowledge and the bringing together of curriculum and teaching. Hong Kong, however, needs to carry out more research of textbook and to improve the quality of textbooks. This article discusses the roles of the Education Bureau in textbook editing and selection mechanism and suggests ways to enhance those roles. The authors confirm that the Education Bureau plays crucial roles in the textbook mechanism. We suggest, however, that in addition to its present roles, the Education Bureau should cooperate with other relevant organizations to coordinate textbook affairs, conduct more textbook research, and strive to improve the textbook mechanism. Copyright © 2010 國家教育研究院.

香港推行校本課程剪裁計劃，目的是將其課程作適當的剪裁，以切合學業成績稍遜學生的需要。1994年9月，共十間中學參加試驗計劃，結果顯示計劃確能使學業成績稍遜學生獲益。試驗計劃成功協助錄取大量成績稍遜的學生，是在於採取了三方面的策略：1.調整課程內容，重新鞏固學生學習基礎；2.改善教材、教法，切合學生的需要；3.重視提高學生的學習動機。本文透過課程剪裁計劃，反思香港教育及課程改革的規模是否過大，以致未能集中處理學與教的問題。 Copyright © 2008 華東師範大學.

The literature on how to develop competence in giving academic presentations (AP) (e.g. Zappa-Hollman, 2007) shows that apart from basic communication skills (i.e. the ability to speak accurately, fluently and appropriately), university students are expected to perform specific roles and develop advanced skills for intellectual exchange and the construction of new knowledge (e.g. skill in expressing their personal voice through evaluation). However, these advanced speaking skills are often neglected by English as a Second Language (ESL)/English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in Asian contexts, such as Hong Kong, as generally observed by English for Academic Purposes' (EAP) instructors (e.g. Bankowski, 2010). Although there has been some discussion on factors that potentially inhibit the development of ESL/EFL learners (e.g. Confucian education values and an exam-dominated culture), more research is needed on the design of EAP courses to cater for learners' needs. To fill this gap, this article reports the results of a needs analysis of a group of undergraduates (N=81) in Hong Kong. The study was based on a triangulation of data which included sources, and included questionnaires administered to both students and the course instructors of their major subject disciplines to identify the perceived importance of specific AP skills/features and learning needs, semi-structured follow-up interviews, and a diagnosis of students' AP competence using a research-based assessment rubric. The findings reveal gaps in students' understanding of their required roles and performance in both EAP and content courses, gaps in expectations between the students and their content course instructors, and gaps in their AP competence (e.g. ability to use linguistic and discourse features to structure interpretations and facilitate the audience's understanding of the information they present). An EAP instruction course design framework is then proposed to develop ESL/EFL learner competence

This study compares the teaching effectiveness of cram school tutors and schoolteachers of English based on the perceptions of senior secondary students in Hong Kong. It adopts a sequential mixed-methods approach. The result from the online survey (N = 477) indicates that tutors are perceived to be more effective than schoolteachers in all identified aspects of effective teaching. However, the qualitative data from focus group interviews (n = 64) reveals a more complex picture. By problematising students' perceptions with reference to the wider social, cultural and educational context, three themes were generated: (1) students' utilitarian learning orientations in an examination-oriented system, (2) the commodification of education in a consumer culture, and (3) students' immediate psychological needs in the process of learning. This study sheds light on the complex relationship between private tutoring and mainstream schooling and offers implications for policymaking and teaching in the private and mainstream sectors. Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mathematics has be stereotyped as a male-dominated subject, and there is considerable evidence to support this belief. There has been much research in the past three decades on gender-related differences in elementary and secondary school mathematics. The research found that teachers possess different beliefs about male and female students that influence their teaching behaviour, which then directly or indirectly impact their students' behaviours, beliefs, and achievements in mathematics. Based on data collected from teacher questionnaire surveys in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, this study examines teachers' beliefs about the achievements of boys and girls in mathematics. The study also compares the findings in the two regions surveyed. Results showed that teachers gave more attention to boys than girls, regardless of the teacher's gender. Not only are teachers more likely to recall more boys than girls, but also more boys than girls with average academic standards. Copyright © 2013 Korean Society of Mathematical Education.

Classroom instructions in Hong Kong secondary school context often involve code-switching/code-mixing, with textbooks in English yet the lessons being taught in Cantonese (A variety of spoken Chinese) or a Cantonese/English mix. The code-switching/code-mixing instruction has been a common practice in Hong Kong classroom teaching. However, the Education Commission of Hong Kong considered code-switching/code-mixing instruction as the primary reason for students’ inadequate levels of English and Chinese. Therefore, the Government adopted the policy of ‘mother-tongue teaching’ to promote Chinese-medium instruction so as to reduce code-switching/code-mixing instruction. In this paper, firstly, a summary of the historical background of the Hong Kong language polices will be introduced. Secondly, the role of code-switching/code-mixing instruction in classroom teaching will be discussed by illustrating examples from a case study in a Hong Kong secondary school. Finally, the reasons behind using mixed code and its impact on student learning will be analyzed and discussed. A number of research methods were employed: questionnaire survey, student focus group interviews and classroom discourse analysis. The research findings show that students in the case study school found the use of mixed code beneficial even though the school language policy does not encourage code-switching/code-mixing instruction. We anticipate that this study will shed some light on the study of code-switching/code-mixing. Copyright © 2019 GRDS Publishing.

The possible roles of culture, gender, and age-related factors in decision making about socioscientific issues (SSIs) have been underexplored. To study the impact of culture and cross-cultural understanding on students’ decision-making, and how these impacts are possibly mediated by age and gender-related variables, 106 11–13 year old students and 60 15–17 year old students from three Hong Kong schools and four UK schools were engaged in decision-making about shark fishing. Data were collected on how students make decisions before and after interacting with their own peers and considering the views of their international counterparts, using discussion records, supplemented with focus group interviews. The findings show that students associated with the culture of shark eating do not necessarily identify with shark fishing. Three dimensions characterise students’ decisions: the human activities to be controlled, the ways to address issues arising from shark fishing, and the concerns underlying students’ decisions. Although students showed support for conserving sharks, there were nuanced differences between the two cultural groups, which were possibly mediated by gender and age factors. The findings provide support to the impact of cultural exchange on their own and others’ views on broadening students’ perspectives and stimulating their critical reasoning. Copyright © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Drawing on two surveys conducted before and after the 2014 Umbrella Movement, this paper discusses the dynamics of how Hong Kong (HK) university students constructed their own ideals of citizenship. The former survey reveals that HK university students’ ideas about citizenship were mainly associated with their visceral sense of HK belonging. They aspired to social movements as a site for learning and exercising citizenship. However, the findings of the later survey show that students’ sense of HK pride, identity, attachment, and interest in voting were in decline. Such changes were partially due to their feeling of political exclusion and disappointment, and partially due to their unpreparedness to make informed decisions or judgement in the contested political sphere. I argue that students’ experiences mirrored unresolved problems in HK politics and citizenship education, and have implications for the civic role of HK higher education alongside the global wave of youth activism. Copyirght © 2019 British Association for International and Comparative Education.

Existing research on the psychological and academic experiences of China-born students studying outside of China has mainly been conducted in Western English-speaking countries. Using a coping resources framework, we investigated the predictors of psychological and academic adaptation of 2,201 mainland Chinese students (74% female) studying in universities in Hong Kong, China’s Special Administrative Region and a former British colony. We found that academic self-efficacy, social support, and low levels of perceived discrimination predicted both psychological and academic adaptation. Language competence in English and the local dialect Cantonese was found to be additional factors in mainland Chinese students’ academic adaptation. Implications for future research and higher education policies and practices are discussed. Copyright © 2019 Society for Research into Higher Education.

This study explores two novice nontraditional teacher educators' identity (re)construction in different universities in Hong Kong. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews, field observation, and informal communication, the findings demonstrate how the two novice teacher educators, without formal school teaching experience, underwent different identity change trajectories (i.e., from identity conflicts to identity deficits and vice versa), influenced by their personal beliefs and aspirations as well as contextual demands in higher education. The findings provide insights into the under-researched area of nontraditional teacher educators' professional development and offer useful implications on how to prepare and develop effective and committed teacher educators in Hong Kong and similar educational contexts where teacher education is mainly housed in higher education institutions. Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.