The responses of 712 high achieving and low achieving students at the Open University of Hong Kong were analysed to investigate gender differences in factors that contribute to successful achievement in distance education. The analysis indicated a number of gender differences, including in the areas of organisation and use of study materials, confidence about studies, and independent versus collaborative study. Based on these, some questions have been raised about the need to develop some different treatment for male and female students in order to maximise the achievement of both groups.
[Copyright of Open Learning is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02680510120050307]

The number of distance education providers and learning options has increased rapidly in recent years with the emerging flexible learning technologies. The main challenge facing Australian and other universities aiming to deliver distance education programs nationally or internationally is to find economical ways to encourage and enable effective learning at a distance and at the student's own pace. The authors state that this challenge cannot be met by computer technology alone, but rather by integrating this technology within flexible learning approaches based on the universality of learning processes and teaching and learning approaches that encourage deep learning. The article focuses on the question of quality in distance education and how quality relates to student learning and flexible learning technologies used for this purpose. A particular student-centred model for flexible learning that is based on this paradigm of quality is presented. The implementation of this model is discussed in greater detail using the experiences of the RMIT Mechanical Engineering distance education program offered in Singapore and Hong Kong.
[Copyright of European Journal of Engineering Education is the property of Taylor & Francis. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0304379032000129322]

Many distance learning programmes include an element of face-to-face tuition. This paper reports on a research project concerned with various issues related to face-to-face tutorials in the Open University of Hong Kong's distance education system, including students' expectations of the benefits they will gain; their reasons for attending; the approaches they prefer; and their overall satisfaction with what tutors actually provide. Some comparisons are drawn between students in the university's different schools-and the overall findings are compared with those reported for distance learners in the West, in an effort to assess the impact of cultural context on student attitudes to tutorials. The research found that the Hong Kong students' attendance at tutorials was very high compared to that found in other similar studies, possibly reflecting Hong Kong's geographical compactness, but also possibly reflecting a preference for face-to-face meetings; that the students looked for specific guidance and support from tutors within a largely directive framework; that even where the format of the tutorial departed from the students' expectations, the students did not necessarily give the tutorial a low evaluation, provided that it was a fruitful experience; and that the cultural context within which a distance education system operates affects students' expectations and learning styles.
[Copyright of Open Learning is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/026805100115452]

Because most previous studies on college student performance have focused on conventional learning environments in Western cultures, in this study the authors evaluated factors related to student performance in the open and distance-learning environment in Hong Kong. Using two-way cross-tabulations with chi-square testing and equality of academic performance by proposed factors, the authors examined 168 students in a distance-learning business communication course. Results show that tutorial attendance, gender, relevant academic background, previous academic achievement, and relevant learning experience were related to student performance. The results are mostly similar to those of prior studies despite differences in culture, teaching mode, and subject.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Business is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832320209599674 ]

As elsewhere, vocational education and training (VET) has a poor image in Hong Kong. To remove the stigma, the Vocational Training Council of Hong Kong embarked on pro-active strategic planning to make it more relevant and cost-effective, exposed long and widely held myths that VET is for dullards which leads only to low-paid and low-status jobs, provided a through-train education system to ensure that VET is no longer an educational cul-de-sac, and sought external accreditation aggressively. Though it is early days, there is strong evidence that these strategies have worked.
[Copyright of Journal of Education and Work is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13639080801957246]