The reciprocal relationship between mathematics achievement and self-concept is examined in this study to expand the existing knowledge to a cross-cultural setting. Based on analyses of educational data two years before and after Hong Kong's sovereignty switch in 1997, this investigation shows a weak reciprocal relationship among the eighth-grade students across gender categories. With the introduction of a new policy to promote Chinese instruction, changes in the perceived importance of English have been assessed by education stakeholders, and the results are used to indicate a latent factor of "English push" behind the learning process. In the context of cross-cultural transition, gender differences have been found in path coefficients toward mathematics achievement and self-concept. Limited by the four-year research period, one may speculate whether it would take longer to demonstrate a large effect size in the reciprocal relationship.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410500390863]

The purpose of this study was twofold: to examine how attitudinal and instructional variables differentiated 4th-grade students in Cyprus, Hong Kong, and the USA; and to determine how those variables were related to math performance on the TIMSS test. A discriminant analysis was performed to examine how those variables differentiated the students in the 3 countries. The most striking result was that the students from all 3 countries, who were similar to the average students in Cyprus, had the highest achievement within their countries. Thus, 4th-grade students who liked math, who thought it was important to do well in math for their friends, who did not need private instruction, and who had not been taught using computers or small group procedures, tended to be the better students. However, students who were similar to the average USA student had the lowest achievement within each of the 3 countries.
[Copyright of Educational Research & Evaluation is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1076/edre.8.1.129.6919 ]

This case study examines the changes that took place in a 5th-grade mathematics classroom in Hong Kong when an American-made technological artifact was introduced. Using classroom observation, videotaping, and daily interviews with the teacher and students, the study documents the changes that occurred in the classroom and the factors shaping those changes. Using the artifact prompted the teacher to make changes by altering the content, the sequence of instruction, and the social arrangements for class participation. In addition, the class engaged in extensive discussions about the social implications of solving complex mathematics problems. Most of these changes, however, were made after the attempts to maintain routine instruction broke down. The study suggests that new technologies that are not compatible with the existing practice may lead to intense and sometimes profound reflections about which aspects of the individuals, their environment, and the new artifact to adapt into a new classroom structure. A significant challenge is how to support participants' role shifting and their subsequent psychological changes when new technology is introduced.
[Copyright of Cognition & Instruction is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S1532690XCI1904_1]

This study examines young children's number sense in subjects from Finland (n=254), Hong Kong (n= 246), and Singapore (n = 130). Chinese, English and Finnish versions of the Early Numeracy Test (ENT; Van Luit et al, 1994) were used. Two highly correlated aspects of number sense were measured, one reflecting children's abilities to organize and compare quantities (i.e. relational skills), and the other pertaining to their ability to operate with number-word sequence (i.e. counting skills). The results showed significant age-related gain on the relational and counting scales. No gender or language differences were found. The children in Hong Kong and Singapore outperformed those in Finland in relational and counting tasks starting at the age of four years. The children in Singapore also had better relational and counting skills than those in Hong Kong. Differences in teaching were assumed to explain the findings.
[Copyright of International Journal of Early Years Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0966976042000268681]

Recent international studies have highlighted the success of students from Hong Kong in mathematics and problem-solving, and have begun to suggest some of the factors associated with this success. Other studies have suggested that Hong Kong students are averse to risk-taking, favouring memorisation and imitation in their solution strategies. Year 5 students in Hong Kong and Australia were given mathematics assessments of different types: orally presented mental computation problems, and a performance task that was undertaken in normal classroom conditions. Observations of the students' approaches to these tasks in the classroom and analyses of their responses revealed similarities and differences between the two countries. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of the curriculum diversity and differences in metacognitive skills.
[Copyright of Evaluation & Research in Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500790802485211 ]