This paper examines international students’ intercultural experiences during an online course on global media education that was co-organised in 2021 and 2022 by universities in Lapland, Finland and Hong Kong, China. The COVID-19 pandemic started an exponential ascent for teaching and learning in online environments. This is likely to continue in the globalising post-pandemic world, in which the participants are becoming increasingly international and from diverse backgrounds. For positive online intercultural encounters, online pedagogies that enhance intercultural understanding and the development of intercultural communication skills are needed. Through a content analysis of the students’ learning diaries, this paper investigates the ways in which cultural diversity was experienced during online teaching and learning and how the students’ perceptions and cultural sensitivity developed during the courses. The findings are reflected in the five pillars of the online pedagogical framework, which is then expanded to encompass the dimension of intercultural communication to support the development of intercultural sensitivity and interrelationships among students. We propose a pedagogical model for online teaching and learning in intercultural contexts that can support equity and quality in e-learning, or so-called e-quality. This paper concludes by recommending international collaborative teaching in authentic situations for the promotion of intercultural understanding and communication. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

In Hong Kong, the issue of teaching Chinese as a second language (CSL) to school children is receiving considerable attention in recent years due to the trending proportion of CSL students in classrooms. While the Hong Kong Government encourages the integration of these students into mainstream schools in which the medium of instruction is predominately Chinese, the inadequate support provided puts these school aged children in a disadvantaged position. In light of this, there is a need of developing effectual interventional strategies to support the CSL learning of these students at preschool, primary and secondary levels. This chapter introduces a new support mode, the Dynamic Enrichment Learning Mode (DELM), which has been specifically developed for an intervention programme for promoting CSL students’ proficiency in Hong Kong kindergartens. Pre-test and post-test data were collected from 146 CSL kindergarteners aged 4 to 5 years who received DELM activities (DELM group) and compared to that of 110 CSL kindergarteners of the same age group who learned Chinese by merely learning in an immersion setting (immersion group). Findings show that the DELM is more effective in promoting CSL kindergarteners’ overall Chinese proficiency levels when compared to an immersion setting. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

This chapter explores the themes of acculturation and identity transformation among seven Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong. These teachers, who initially taught Chinese as a first language in local Chinese schools, later transitioned to teaching Chinese as a second or near-native language in English-dominant international schools. This study utilises a qualitative research approach, focusing on the long-term teaching experiences of the participants to gain insights into their transformational experiences and acculturation processes from their narratives. We draw on flexible acculturation theory and teacher identity theory to examine the connections and disconnections between acculturation processes and identity change across schools. The findings underscore the participants’ profound meaning-making processes as they trainsitioned from teaching in local schools to international schools. The participants’ previous professional identities as L1 teachers allowed them to draw on multiple resources with a deeper understanding about language teaching and and self-assurance in their changing roles as language educators. They critically reflected on these changing experiences in their subsequent teaching practices within international school contexts. This study holds implications for teacher education and professional development programmes, suggesting the need for tailored initiatives designed to support Chinese language teachers during their transition to teaching in international schools. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

As varieties of the Chinese language, Mandarin and Cantonese are both tonal in nature and involve pitch cues for distinguishing characters and words. Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners often find Chinese tones difficult to grasp, especially for those at the preschool stage. In Hong Kong, Cantonese is the dominant variety of Chinese for daily communication and serves as the medium of instruction in local kindergartens, whereas Mandarin is used in Chinese language teaching in international kindergartens. Children’s songs are widely used to foster preschoolers’ CSL learning in the aforementioned settings. With adequate phonological input in a pleasurable learning environment, such an approach helps facilitate tone perception, which is key to the development of prosodic competence for better facilitation of reading comprehension. However, the tone-melody mismatches in children’s songs and their negative influence on CSL learners’ tone learning have long been underestimated. This chapter looks into the problems concerning teaching CSL through children’s songs from a comparative perspective. Based on a contrastive analysis of the Mandarin and Cantonese tone systems with reference to multimodal learning, the authors recommend that teachers and curriculum developers should be more sensitive to tone-melody relationships when selecting or creating children’s songs for pedagogical purposes to better support CSL literacy development. It is also important to raise the preschoolers’ tone awareness, particularly in Cantonese-medium CSL classrooms, given the distinct tonal features of the target variety. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

This paper explores the pedagogical approaches teachers employ and the strategies that school leaders implement to promote the use of an Adaptive Learning Platform (ALP) in a high school in Hong Kong. It assesses how such an AI-powered platform can support teachers in enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes. The study employs a case study methodology to identify the factors influencing the incorporation of ALP. Qualitative data were collected through teacher interviews, and an in-depth analysis was carried out to identify effective pedagogies and strategies for implementing adaptive learning. The findings of this study underscore the significance of supportive school leadership that encourages teachers to embrace ALP as a tool for promoting student learning. Additionally, effective implementation of ALP necessitates a shift in pedagogical practices from traditional teacher-centred approaches to more student-centred strategies. The study concludes that the integration of ALP into teaching practices can boost student engagement and elevate the quality of learning outcomes. In summary, this research contributes to understanding the successful implementation of ALP in high schools, emphasising the critical roles of school leadership support and the adoption of student-centred pedagogies. The findings provide valuable insights for educators, administrators, and policymakers interested in utilising ALP to improve student learning outcomes. Copyright © 2023 by the owner/author(s).

The rapid propagation of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in the East and Southeast Asian region, together with the continuing globalisation of education, has generated implementational opportunities and challenges for teachers within the IB network of schools. Based on semi-structured interviews with teachers and school leaders across 15 IB Diploma Programme (DP) schools within the three milieus of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, the study explored how DP's expansion fuelled ambiguities and inconsistencies in programme policy, which impacted on professional cultures and assessments. The analysis highlights the overreliance on the voluntary contribution of teachers and external examiners in supporting professional development and assessments as well as the connection of assessments to anxiety and dissonance in teachers. Copyright ©2023 Routledge.

This study investigates the impact of Filipina domestic workers (FilDWs), a marginalized group in Hong Kong (HK), on HK children's language development. It focusses on FilDWs' influence on the second language (L2) English of bilingual HK primary school children attending an English Medium of Instruction school. The elements investigated are L2 English spoken complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF), and reading accuracy and fluency. Participants comprise 34 children (17 boys and 17 girls, mean age 8;11) from homes with FilDWs and 30 (15 boys and 15 girls, mean age 8;11) from homes with no FilDW. Participants completed an English reading and speaking task, and an English working memory capacity (WMC) test. Participants from households with FilDWs scored significantly higher on all aspects of both English language measures, while no significant differences for WMC were observed. These suggest that FilDWs exert a positive impact on children's L2 English proficiency, placing them in a different position to the low status they are usually ascribed. These findings have implications for decolonizing and decentring language learning and teaching. Copyright ©2023 Oxford University Press.

To transform existing education practices in tackling different challenges and future uncertainties, it is essential to engage teachers as active agents in students' learning, collegial collaboration, school development and societal issues throughout the career. This study investigates the change and continuity of teacher professional agency associated with the individual position and socio-cultural factors in Hong Kong. Data from semi-structured interviews were collected with 14 teachers over a two-year period in 2018 and 2020, and narrative analysis was utilized to examine teacher agency. The changes and continuity were categorized into four types: 1) expanding, 2) strategic, 3) exploring, and 4) withering agencies. The way teachers took and made work-related actions and decisions on their career trajectories could be associated with the changes in individual positions, the organizational culture, and the leadership style in the socio-cultural context. This study contributes to the existing understanding of the temporal development and enactment of professional agency. Despite the strong hierarchical structure embedded in the school managerial practices, a trusting management and collaborative work community that allow channels to receive bottom-up suggestions and spaces to enable individual learning could support positive changes and the continuity of professional agency. Copyright ©2023 Routledge.

This study aimed at exploring kindergarten teachers' perceptions and usage of digital devices in their classrooms. A multiple case study (n = 4) was conducted to investigate how in-service experienced (n = 22) and novice (n = 24) kindergarten teachers interpreted the functional significance of digital devices, including the needs and challenges faced when applying digital devices in visual arts activities in their classrooms. A non-randomised convenience sampling strategy was used to recruit four local kindergartens in Hong Kong, whose teachers were invited to participate in focus group interviews. In total, 540 min of interview data were collected. We examined the in-service teachers' perceptions of the affordances of digital devices in terms of (1) transparency, (2) challenge and (3) accessibility. Based on the teachers' responses in the interviews, the findings indicated issues related to the use of digital devices in terms of these three areas here. The informants shared how their understandings of film language limited their intentions and usage patterns (including frequency of use) with respect to digital videos. Nevertheless, they admitted that digital videos were important tools for facilitating children's learning and communication with their parents. This study reflects the current situation of technology education in Hong Kong, including how teacher educators perceive the usage and roles of digital videos in early arts education. Copyright ©2024 Routledge.

Guided by a sociocultural perspective, this study aims to explore the views of kindergarten teachers on ChatGPT, its potential benefits and challenges in education, and the support and training required for effective implementation. The study involved 10 teachers from several kindergartens in Hong Kong. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. The findings revealed that teachers had mixed opinions about ChatGPT, with some considering it a powerful tool while others seeing it as mediocre. Potential benefits of using ChatGPT in education were identified in the areas of lesson planning, pedagogical and content knowledge, and twenty-first-century skills. However, teachers also highlighted concerns regarding hardware issues, lack of resources, and accuracy. To facilitate the effective use of ChatGPT in teaching practices, teachers identified the need for policy and school support, as well as teacher training. It is crucial for policymakers and school administrators to recognize the potential of ChatGPT in enhancing teaching and learning and to provide resources and develop supportive policies accordingly. Moreover, providing teachers with adequate training on how to utilize ChatGPT effectively can boost their confidence and competence in incorporating this technology into their classrooms. Copyright ©2023 Routledge.