The study explores the social psychological process of teachers’ emotional experiences. Twenty-one secondary schoolteachers in Hong Kong were interviewed. The findings show that the teachers generally felt caam² (a Cantonese adjective that covers a range of meanings like gloomy, dreadful, tragic, pitiful, pathetic, and miserable) in teaching. The social psychological process of the emotional experience of caam² involves how teachers interpret the significance of their actual work in attaining the teaching goal of making a difference. If they interpret their work as incapable of fulfilling the goal, they will experience negative emotions in teaching. The findings also suggest that the interpretation is affected by teachers’ power which is unequally distributed according to teachers’ teaching experience and managerial roles. Copyright © 2016 Tsang and Kwong.

Background: Recently, studies have found that more and more teachers in Hong Kong express negative feelings toward their work, such as feelings of dissatisfaction, exhaustion, meaningless and powerless. These negative emotional experiences may affect both their well-being and the quality of their teaching. In order to have a better understanding of this phenomenon, researchers employ the sociological concept of emotion management. Therefore, this paper reviews different sociological perspectives on the phenomenon in order to give recommendations for educational reforms and policies and for further research on teachers' emotional experiences at work in Hong Kong. Aims or focus of discussion: This article considers two major sociological approaches to understanding emotion management in teaching: Conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. At the end of the discussion, implications for educational reforms and policies and recommendations for further research are suggested respectively. Arguments/comments/suggestions: The article argues that symbolic interactionism is a more appropriate approach to understanding emotion management of teaching than conflict theory because it considers the effects of both structural conditions and teachers' agency on teachers' emotions. Thus, it may provide a more comprehensive and realistic account and framework for our investigation. Conclusion: The article suggests that we should study teachers' emotional experiences at work in Hong Kong from a symbolic interactionist perspective of emotion management of teaching. Accordingly, we should try to answer the following questions: What are teachers' expectations about their work? What are the conditions of their work? Are there gaps between their expectations and reality? What are the constraints that affect the realization of their expectations? What emotions do they actually experience at work? In order to answer these questions more effectively, this article recommends adopting in-depth

Self-financing higher education institutions (SfHEIs) in Hong Kong help boost the local higher education participation rate, but they are labeled as second-tier opportunities for those with academic weaknesses. Students at SfHEIs may develop a negative self-concept that deteriorates their academic performance and psychological wellness. Therefore, it is critical to understand their self-concept and how it is built. From the narrative perspective, a self-concept is the storied experiences or stories that are lived; therefore, this study employs narrative inquiry using 15 SfHEI students to represent the general pattern of the participants’ experiences. This study proves that students at SfHEIs tend to view themselves as losers or inferiors based on their low self-evaluations of their Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) results, SfHEIs, and career futures. Additionally, this study sheds new light that the loser identity is historically developed from childhood during interactions with parents and teachers, as parents and teachers continuously reinforce the message that enrollment at a publicly funded university is the only way to achieve success in life. Copyright © 2022 by the authors.

The aim of this qualitative study is to understand how children aged between three to four years of age acquire the identity of a “pre-school” student within a Chinese context. By drawing on Foucault’s work in relation to various related discourses, as well as Actor Network Theory (ANT), this ethnographic study also tries to appreciate the role and place of objects in terms of children becoming “preschoolers”.The fieldwork that underpins this study took place at three Hong Kong preschools. These schools were selected because of their differences, as well as their similarities, in terms of approaches in delivering the curriculum. Qualitative methods, including observations and interviews, were used to capture children’s interactions with one another, with adults, and, importantly, with objects. A journal was kept throughout the study period and this, together with photographs of classroom life, enabled me to critically reflect on the study, so as to make sense of the lived experiences of the preschool students.This study stems from the poststructuralism and posthumanism premise that there are no universal or absolute truths in relation to acquiring a preschool identity. As a consequence, there is no attempt to produce “findings” in a scientific sense. However, the study does add to our knowledge and understanding of the process by which children acquire a preschool identity, and explores the profound role that objects play within these processes.By drawing on two theoretical frameworks, I was able to make two significant moves. First, Foucault’s work enabled me to appreciate how children are disciplined and regulated into what constitutes the “normal” or “ideal” preschooler. Foucault also allowed me to recognize how children themselves can undertake three practices: “refusal”, “curiosity”, and “innovation”, so as to experience alternative modes of being.Second, ANT allowed me to appreciate that objects have agency and are therefore actors. As “lively matter”, objects

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of extracurricular music participation on preschool children’s social skills in Hong Kong. This study was quantitative dominant, whilst qualitative data was collected to triangulate with the quantitative data. Phase one was the intervention and quantitative data collection whilst individual interviews and class observations were conducted in phase two. Interventions were three different extracurricular activities including: 1) group music training; 2) piano lesson; and 3) drawing class. The duration of the interventions was 24 weeks and the instrument used to collect data was the Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scale (SSIS-RS). Participants were 180 preschool children aged from four to five (n1=72, n2=72, n3=36).Interviewees were teachers and parents from the different intervention groups. Results of ANOVAs revealed that extracurricular activities have positive effects on participants’ social skills. Tukey post hoc tests revealed that the effects of group music training on participants’ social skills was significantly higher than the piano lesson and the drawing class in all seven subscales; effects of piano lesson on participants’ social skills were significantly higher than the drawing class in four subscales. Qualitative data indicated that parents’ understanding of social skills was similar with each other. Parents’ expectations of extracurricular activities were varied between groups, but were similar within each studied group. Teachers’ perception of social skills and their perception of their role and responsibilities were diverse between groups. Teachers’ perception of effects of extracurricular lessons on young children’s social skills was diverse too. Qualitative data showed that parent’ expectations on the extra-curricular activities, teachers’ beliefs and instructional strategy might influence the results.This study indicated that music education can play a role in young children’s development

Children’s social-emotional learning (SEL) lays the groundwork for their later adjustment (Durlak et al., 2011). Although numerous SEL programs have been developed for children, few measures have been constructed to assess social-emotional competencies, namely self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making (CASEL, 2013). This study validated the 40-item Washoe County School District-Social-Emotional Competency Assessment (WCSD-SECA; Crowder et al., 2019) for use in Hong Kong. The sample consisted of 369 Chinese children (8-13 years old) and their parents. Children completed WCSD-SECA and International Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Short Form (Thompson, 2007). Parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman et al, 1997). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the original 8-factor model fit well to the data, χ2(698)=1116.16, p>.001, CFI=.91, TLI=.90, RMSEA=0.04. WCSD-SECA was associated with emotions and behavioral problems, ps<.05, thereby demonstrating concurrent and predictive validity. Hence, WCSD-SECA could be used to assess children’s social-emotional competence in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2021 HKERA-APERA International Conference.

Objectives: The current study examined whether hope and mindfulness were associated with changes in two maladjustment measures, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, during the COVID-19 pandemic and tested sense of coherence as a mediator. The salutogenic theory of health, which posits that sense of coherence is central to individuals’ well-being in stressful situations and that individuals derive their sense of coherence from their generalized resistance resources (GRRs), was used to guide the analyses. Methods: On two occasions separated by about 6 months, 253 Hong Kong college students (mean age = 21.0 years at time 1; 86% of them were women) filled in online questionnaires during the COVID-19 outbreaks. Path analysis was conducted to examine the interrelationships among hope and mindfulness, sense of coherence, and internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Results: Results indicated that hope and mindfulness at time 1 were associated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors at time 2, even after controlling for confounding variables and prior levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Moreover, sense of coherence at time 1 significantly mediated these associations. Conclusions: Findings pointed to the potential roles of hope, mindfulness, and sense of coherence in understanding Chinese college students’ adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research is needed to test whether sense of coherence and behavioral adjustment can be promoted through hope- and mindfulness-based intervention programs. Future research is also needed to examine the interrelationships among health-promoting assets, sense of coherence, and individual adjustment in samples of diverse cultural backgrounds. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

This edited book highlights the identities and practices of ethnically diverse families and schools in contexts where multicultural policies are not always a priority. In an era of globalization and ensuing population mobility, it places a focus on Asia-Pacific, a continent with diverse customs, populations, and languages, but grapples with what it might mean to be multicultural.The book features studies and frameworks that illustrate how minoritized communities engage with the diversity they live in and strategies in adjusting and adapting to their sociocultural environments, including practices that might support these efforts. This book represents initiatives and interdisciplinary scholarship from Japan, Hong Kong, mainland China, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan, which underscore the intersection of identities, cultural values, efforts, conflicts, and religions in making diversity work in their contexts. Collectively, these works make a unique contribution by invigorating debates on the flows and evolvement of cultural values and practices within and across families and institutions.This book will appeal to researchers, practitioners, and readers with interest in the current state of cultural diversity among minoritized families in Asia-Pacific and beyond. Copyright © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Jan Gube, Fang Gao and Miron Bhowmik; individual chapters, the contributors.

The mixed-method study reported here was designed to evaluate a strengths-based career intervention program for secondary school students with mild special educational needs (SEN). A sample of 32 SEN students (19 boys: 13 girls) from 5 inclusive schools in Hong Kong were recruited to a treatment group. An additional 32 SEN students (19 boys: 13 girls) were selected to form the control group matched for age, gender and parents’ education level. The special needs exhibited by both groups were in areas of literacy and numeracy, attention deficits, and social-emotional problems, but did not include severe or complex disabilities. Participants in both groups responded to pre- and post-intervention questionnaires covering career development self-efficacy, personal and social development self-efficacy, and meaning in life. As a follow-up, two teachers and three social workers providing support to SEN students, and the 32 participants were interviewed several months after the intervention. Interviews also took place with teachers, social workers and students to evaluate the perceived effects of the intervention. Findings indicated significant interactions between Time 1 and Time 2, and between groups (control vs. treatment) in personal goal-setting, career goal-setting, and the presence of meaning in life. Additionally, several themes were identified from the interviews suggesting that the intervention did have positive effects on SEN students’ career, personal and social development self-efficacy, and acquisition of meaning in life. Copyright © 2022 The International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) and Springer Nature B.V.