Quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) has become an increasing concern in recent years. The issue has been regularly discussed by different stakeholders. However, the rising concern regarding quality in ECEC has not seriously taken into account children's perspectives. Hong Kong, with its academic-driven education system, is no exception. Children's perspectives have been neglected under the impact of neoliberalism on education in Chinese society. Engaging with children's perspectives has thus become an important matter in Hong Kong society. In April 2019, a children's pretend-play project was started in an open playground in Hong Kong. This project aimed to help children regain their subjectivities and share their thoughts through the process of pretend play. Children in this project were invited to create, pretend and imagine themselves in the role of superheroes so that they could express their perspectives. This alternative practice opened a space for children to liberate themselves through pretend-play activities, while reworking the conventional pedagogies found in the neoliberal education system. The findings offer critical reflections on how to improve quality in ECEC by redeveloping trust and respect among adults and children through listening to children's perspectives. Copyright © 2024 Wiley.

Effective professional development (PD) in teaching writing involves supporting teachers' knowledge of the writer's craft, including their thinking processes, linguistic knowledge and practical strategies for teaching these. Grammar-for-writing approaches support teachers' knowledge of how grammar creates meaningful effects in writing. While training initiatives support teachers' knowledge of writing processes, more is needed to transfer process knowledge into effective teaching. Synthesising writerly processes with grammar-for-writing strategies may support teachers' classroom practice. This article explores the development of a workshop for teachers on a novel imaginative embodiment approach for teaching narrative writing, which links imaginative thinking and linguistic knowledge. The article reports on a study with Year 5 international school teachers in Hong Kong and their perceived efficacy of the approach after trialling it in their classrooms throughout a narrative writing unit, with the purpose of informing future teacher training. Findings from semi-structured interviews showed that teachers perceived imaginative embodiment as supporting their insider understanding of writing processes through purposeful and specific strategies resulting in student improvements. However, unfamiliarity with the approach and insecure linguistic subject knowledge resulted in a steep learning curve. It is argued that imaginative embodiment training may develop teachers' understanding of, and strategies for, teaching the link between narrative imagination and grammatical choice, but training should cater to teachers' prior linguistic knowledge. Copyright © 2024 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Informed by self-determination theory, this study investigates the motivations behind students' voluntary pursuit of a master's thesis and the crucial role of supervisory support in their academic journey. The study also explores the impact of writing a master's thesis on their growth and well-being. Data were collected through interviews with 20 students from diverse disciplines in government-funded universities in Hong Kong. The interviews centred on critical themes such as students' motivations, expectations, feedback practices, supervisor-student relationships, challenges, and engagement levels. Thematic analysis revealed that the students were primarily driven by well-internalised and autonomous extrinsic motivations to write a master's thesis, with the aim of laying the foundation for a future PhD and achieving personal and professional development goals. The interaction between these motivations and the supervisory support, particularly in meeting students' needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, significantly contributed to their academic, professional, and personal growth and well-being. The implications of these findings for supporting students' engagement and development are discussed. Copyright © 2024 Routledge.

Although artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more commonly integrated into our everyday lives, homes, and schools, there needs to be more research regarding parental attitudes toward using AI technologies and AI literacy education to understand better and advance AI and AI literacy in kindergarten. To address this gap, this study explored kindergarten parents' perceptions of using AI technologies and AI literacy education in kindergarten. In Study One, 215 parents completed a survey regarding their views and concerns about the use of AI technologies and AI literacy education in kindergarten, the challenges encountered in AI literacy education in kindergarten and their opinions on the use of AI technologies in kindergarten. In Study Two, we interviewed five parents to gain further insight into their perspectives. The results indicated that 74.4%, 19.1%, and 6.5% felt positive, neutral, and negative towards using AI technology in kindergarten settings, respectively, illustrating that most parents remained positive. Results showed that most parents reported that it is suitable for kindergarten children to learn about AI tools and AI literacy. The kindergarten level may be an appropriate starting point for learning AI literacy. We found that the four main challenges that parents reported their children encountered when learning about AI literacy are limited comprehension ability, time constraints, the difficulty of the AI learning content, and uncertainty regarding the appropriateness of AI learning content for children. The findings indicate that Hong Kong parents positively perceive using AI in kindergartens. Still, designing AI-based educational tools for kindergarten children must address the challenges identified while ensuring equal access for all children. Copyright © 2025 Springer.

PurposeThis study introduces a non-orthodox approach to the dominant policy-based approaches to graduate employability through contextualizing international students' everyday experiences within their educational and wider structural contexts of the labour market.Design/methodology/approachThe study used narrative frames to collect data from 180 international students from China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Nepal at a New Zealand tertiary institution. Narrative frames as a research tool in educational contexts are used to ellicit the experiences of individuals in the form of a story as participants reflect on their experience. The frames use sentence starters to draw responses from participants about their experiences (Barkhuizen and Wette, 2008).FindingsThis study argues that, through a socialization process, international students develop identities that fit an ever-changing labour market. This process is catalysed by a higher education landscape that produces career-ready subjects capable of appropriating different social spaces that prepare students and graduates to enter the labour market. Further, it argues that graduate employability should be understood as a complex process through which students and graduates socialise themselves through negotiating the socioacademic spaces by (1) familiarising themselves with the dominant workspace norms, (2) positioning themselves as more career-ready individuals, and (3) imagigining employable selves capable of meeting the needs of the job market.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has limitations. Only one data collection source has been used. It would have been great to use narrative frames along with interviews. In addition, the data would have been stronger if the researcher could have used classroom observations, which could be a future initiative.Practical implicationsThis study could provide practical insights to tertiary institutions about international students' developing capabilities and identities

A rise of nationalism worldwide presents complex challenges for international schools, which have long been regarded as archetypes of cosmopolitanism in education. In this article, we apply the concept of cosmopolitan nationalism to investigate how interplays between cosmopolitanism and nationalism manifest in practice at international schools. We conducted a multi-site case study of five international high schools in the Pearl Delta River region in Southern China, covering cases in Guangdong Province (Guangzhou and Shenzhen), Hong Kong (two schools), and Macao. Through field observations, website analyses, and interviews (n = 105) with principals, teachers, parents, and students, we provide descriptive snapshots of each case. Three major findings demonstrated a 'tug-of-war' between cosmopolitan and national forces: (1) diversity in how cosmopolitan education is interpreted and implemented, (2) a growing influence of nationalism on educational objectives and practices, and (3) counterbalancing resistance to nationalistic elements grounded in cosmopolitan values. These points are discussed in light of a newly adapted schematic depiction of cosmopolitan nationalism at the school-level. To conclude, we reflect on how a balance of rootedness linked to national belonging, pride, and traditions along with cosmopolitan learning environments that promote openness to the world may represent the future of international schooling. Copyright © 2025 Taylor & Francis.

Introduction This study examined the ways in which different influences on student motivation and the development of independent learning (IL) skills might be constituted across students learning within different educational cultures. Previous studies on student motivation and IL have suggested the potential for differing conceptualizations of IL and its strategies (ILS), prompting questions as to the sources of these distinctions. One theory is that they might be influenced by differing cultural constructions of these concepts or may be linked to different motivations with respect to the purposes and outcomes of education.Methods This study addressed a research gap with respect to these differences in the British and Chinese contexts by examining the responses of students sampled from a university in Scotland and a university in Hong Kong. Through mixed-methods research comprising quantitative analysis of questionnaires and thematic analysis of interview data, this research project compared conceptualizations of IL and ILS across both these contexts and highlighted the role that student motivation might play in either context.Results The analytical results showed differences in the conception of IL and the implementation of ILS potentially due to differing cultural contexts.Discussion Further cross-cultural comparative research is needed with a study design that excludes the influence of institutional and demographic factors to better isolate the influence of culture on perception of IL and use of ILS. Copyright © 2024 Frontiers Media SA.

Ability grouping has attracted worldwide attention in relation to various subjects among different countries and regions. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between ability grouping and students' mathematical academic achievement in the Confucian Asian countries. Thus, in this study, we aimed to determine how different types of interclass ability grouping impact students' academic achievement in mathematics. We analysed PISA2022 data for 34,968 students from 923 schools in six countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, using a hierarchical linear model and propensity score matching. We found that overall, multi-level ability grouping reduced students' mathematics achievement, and this negative effect was particularly significant among high-ability students, while it promoted the mathematics achievement of low-ability students to some extent. Copyright © 2024 Routledge.

Research Findings: This study investigated the effectiveness of a home-based intervention in increasing the intrinsic reading motivation and Chinese oral vocabulary of minority South Asian children in Hong Kong. A quasi-experiment was conducted with 78 children (Mage = 51.54 months; control: 37 children, intervention: 41 children) and their parents. Intrinsic reading motivation was measured by parent report and oral vocabulary was measured by child direct assessment. The intervention group received picture books, prerecorded stories, and guidance on carrying out home activities over four weeks. The control group received two wordless picture books. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, Multivariate Analysis of Covariance revealed a significant Group X Time interaction. Follow-up tests revealed that children in the intervention group scored higher in posttest intrinsic reading motivation and oral vocabulary than children in the control group. Practice or Policy: These findings support the development of evidence-based interventions to cater for Chinese language learning of South Asian children in Hong Kong and have the potential to inform the design of future intervention programs that aim to enhance the Chinese language proficiency of minority children in Hong Kong and other settings where Chinese is used as a second language. Copyright © 2025 Routledge.

Despite the importance of socioemotional competence, few social and emotional learning programs have been developed for and evaluated with non -Western communities. The Early Prevention, Early Identification, and Early Intervention Program is a tiered, school-based program targeting the socioemotional skills of all secondyear kindergarten students in Chinese communities with the Little Garden Curriculum and providing additional training to third-year kindergarten students with socioemotional difficulties with the Little Greenhouse Curriculum. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial, this study examined the impacts of the program on 999 children (mean age in the pretest = 4.25 years; 48 % were girls) from 18 kindergartens from Hong Kong, China. Using kindergartens as clusters, children were randomly assigned to undertake the Little Garden Curriculum (n = 624) or join the wait-list control group (n = 375). Furthermore, children who had completed the Little Garden Curriculum but still showed socioemotional difficulties were randomly assigned to undertake the Little Greenhouse Curriculum (n = 87) or join the wait-list control group (n = 50). In other words, the intervention kindergartens used for the evaluation of the Little Garden Curriculum were randomly assigned into a new intervention group or a new wait-list control group for the evaluation of the Little Greenhouse Curriculum. In pre- and posttests, teachers rated children's socioemotional competence and behavioral adjustment, and children completed reading and arithmetic tasks. Results indicated that-controlling for child age, gender, and prior scores-children who had completed the Little Garden Curriculum showed better socioemotional competence, behavioral adjustment, and pre-academic skills (ten out of 12 outcome variables). Moreover, children who had completed the Little Greenhouse Curriculum showed higher scores on six out of 12 outcome measures. Findings highlighted the utility of using culturally relevant