The purpose of this study was to examine the underlying structure of the second edition of the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (Ulrich, 2000) as applied to Chinese children. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2 was administered to 626 Hong Kong Chinese children. The outlier test with standard scoring was utilized. After data screening, a total of 614 cases (N = 614) were used for further analysis. The two-factor structure of the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 was tested using confirmatory factor analysis with maximum likelihood estimation to compute parameter estimates and to select the appropriate item for each factor. The goodness-of-fit indices supported that the model was tenable (goodness-of-fit index = .95, root mean square error of approximation = .06, standardized root mean square residual = .04, comparative-fit index = .97). The findings of this study suggested that the two-factor structure proposed by Ulrich (2000) fit the data of Hong Kong Chinese children.
[Copyright of Measurement in Physical Education & Exercise Science is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10913671003726968]

Parents in Hong Kong believe that play is harmful to children's studies and socio-emotional development. However, the term 'eduplay' was first introduced by Rao and Li, a form of play-based education with 'Chinese characteristics'. This term captures the beliefs of teachers and parents about how learning could happen through play and how it occurs in Chinese early childhood education settings. Nevertheless, the concept of 'playing to learn' is becoming more accepted by Chinese parents. In many Chinese schools today, eduplay activities are designed to enhance children's social competency. In the present study, a pre-post study was conducted to select 60 preschool students aged from three to five years. Thirty students were randomly assigned to the 'experimental group' to receive 10 eduplay sessions, whereas the remaining 30 students were assigned to the 'control group'. The Child Behaviour Checklist was distributed to the teachers before and after 10 eduplay sessions to assess the students' social competence. An analysis of covariance was used to assess whether the internalising problems reduced more significantly in the students in the experimental group than in the students in the control group. The results indicate that the students' social competence was significantly enhanced after 10 eduplay sessions. Suggestions were given to the school, teachers, and parents on how to apply eduplay in children's learning and classroom teaching.
[Copyright of Early Child Development and Care is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004431003611487]

Background: Whilst past studies have established the joint influence of student learning experience and study behaviour on academic achievement, few attempts have been made to determine their causal ordering in a longitudinal framework.
Purpose: This study explored the reciprocal relationship between learning experience and study behaviour, and examined their relative impact on university students' academic performance.
Sample: Participants were 396 undergraduate students from a university in Hong Kong (191 men, 205 women).
Design and methods: Students' learning experience and study behaviour were evaluated using the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI). A two-wave cross-lagged structural model was constructed to examine the reciprocal effects between learning experience and study behaviour measured over a 12-month period.
Results and conclusions: The findings showed that after controlling for previous academic achievement, student learning experience measured at Time 1 exerted significant influence on study behaviour measured at Time 2, and study behaviour measured at Time 1 also exerted significant impact on learning experience at Time 2. Both constructs were significantly predictive of current academic performance.
Conclusions: Results from this study outlined linkages between learning experience and study behaviour in influencing academic achievement. As the current study is based on students from a single university, further studies with different student populations are recommended. The implications of fostering motivation and enhancing university learning experience are discussed.
[Copyright of Educational Research is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2010.524754]

This article describes the introduction of creative movement activity in three Hong Kong kindergartens to promote children's creativity. The purposes of the study were to examine the effectiveness of creative movement activity in promoting children's creativity and teachers' perceptions of the activities. The movement activities were designed based on four aspects: (1) introduce the theme; (2) acquire and explore of movement skills; (3) creation and expression; and (4) performance and appreciation. The participants were 12 children and three class teachers. Torrance's test of creative thinking including fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration was employed to measure children's creativity and teachers' perceptions of creative movement activity provided insights into factors that influenced children's creativity. Results showed that children's movement responses became more varied and always gave surprise to the teachers but limited knowledge, skills and experiences of teachers seemed to be a challenge of Hong Kong kindergarten teachers to foster children's creativity.
[Copyright of Early Child Development and Care is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004430801931196]