Digital technology plays a crucial role in modern second/foreign language education. Enormous changes in technology and the growing emphasis on 21st century skills raise a concern about English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ competencies in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) more than ever. In response to the mounting concern, this study investigates pre-service EFL teachers’ readiness in the use of CALL in the Hong Kong context. It explores the experiences and self-efficacy of participants with respect to the evaluation of the current English teacher education curriculum for CALL at a university in Hong Kong and factors affecting the participants’ acceptance and willingness to use CALL. In-depth interviews were conducted with six pre-service EFL teachers to reveal the reality of the teachers’ attitudes, perceptions and experiences regarding the use of technology. Findings provide insights into the significance of language teacher education in CALL and ways for fostering pre-service EFL teachers’ knowledge and skills in the implementation of CALL. Practical implications are made for effective teacher training for CALL in EFL contexts.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge.]

Due to the challenges of all-round development, higher-education students are increasingly demanding more flexible learning that goes beyond the on-campus/online dichotomy. However, university students miss learning opportunities because of the conflict of time and space. Blended learning is an effective way to create more learning opportunities and support university students’ flexible learning, but its implementation varies across contexts. This study proposed an alternative blended teaching and learning approach to solve practical problems defined in the context of a traditional classroom in a university in Hong Kong when students pursue flexible learning and global learning. A three-round action research approach was used to improve the effects of blended synchronous teaching and learning. Data collection and analysis in each round showed that the students positively rated the implementation of blended learning according to their needs, the quality of the technologies adopted, and the benefits gained. This blended synchronous teaching and learning mode was structured based on the implementation of different actions in three rounds, bridging the gap between research and practice in blended synchronous learning.
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Developing students’ interest in STEM careers in STEM education is important. This study explored the impacts of STEM instruction involving scientists or engineers on 224 Hong Kong students’ interests in STEM careers and their stereotypes about STEM professionals. The teachers who participated in professional development, namely “School-STEM professional collaboration”, implemented the STEM instruction with support from educational researchers and invited STEM experts. Throughout the STEM instruction, students were provided with STEM role models, and were engaged in authentic and hands-on activities to mimic the research work of invited STEM experts. Data were collected through pre- and post-surveys and were analysed using descriptive statistics, t tests, and ANOVAs. The results revealed increased interest in STEM careers, and more positive perceptions of STEM professionals among the students after the instruction. In addition, the impacts of the instruction were found to be influenced by gender-matching between students and STEM professionals. Girls were more likely to improve their interests and alter stereotypes with exposure to female role models. It can be concluded that the STEM instruction diversifying the stereotypes of STEM people can be beneficial to students. This study has implications for supporting more effective STEM education in primary schools. Copyright © 2020 National Institute of Education, Singapore.

Teaching young people to understand and appreciate diversity is crucial in Hong Kong efforts for a just and inclusive multicultural society. History is the main place where the cultural identity and values of Hong Kong society have been reflected on, questioned, and problematized in the curriculum, as changes to this curriculum interface with larger social and political changes of the society. Although diversity is emphasized in Hong Kong history curricula, representations of ethnic minorities provided in education may not always be effective toward multicultural aims. This research explores how multicultural content is expressed in Hong Kong Chinese history textbooks. In particular, we focus on how relationships between Han and minority cultures are represented in the texts, using qualitative content analysis. Based on the analysis, we elaborate three main descriptive codes and themes: (1) only majority perspectives are provided, (2) cultural superiority of the dominant group (the Han), and (3) plural monoculturalism, where minority views are treated as threatened and/or as threatening in relation to the society as a whole. We argue that these codes are in contrast with a multicultural stance that aims to enhance social justice and equity in relation to diversity, through providing balanced perspectives, including positive ethnic minority recognition and support for just forms of pluralistic integration. Copyright © 2019 National Institute of Education, Singapore.

Cosmopolitanism and its application for education in western societies has been well examined. Yet cosmopolitanism in society and in education has not been systematically explored in many Asian societies. Facing a large number of people from diverse backgrounds, the society and its education system in Hong Kong are troubled by issues similar to those found in western postindustrial societies, related to cultural and national belonging and identity. Prejudice and racism towards ethnic minorities – particularly those from South Asia and Africa, is quite common. Additionally, animosity and hostility to mainland Chinese newcomers has increased and intensified in the context of Hong Kong’s “repoliticization” after its 1997 handover. This article aims to explore how cosmopolitanism is understood, valued, and approached in Hong Kong education. We start by exploring the role of decolonization and nationalization in political education in Hong Kong. We then discuss cosmopolitanism, and consider how it impacts particular social and educational issues in Hong Kong. We also provide an analysis of discourses on cosmopolitanism taken from Hong Kong General Studies and History textbooks, to identify challenges faced in facilitating cosmopolitan values, a balance of identities, and global citizenship in Hong Kong education. Copyright © 2020 National Institute of Education, Singapore.

The applications of technology-enhanced learning spaces have become a topical subject of research, with many studies conducted on the impact of technology-enhanced learning spaces on students' learning; however, only a small number of these focus on how the spaces affect students' learning. This article will elaborate on how technology-enhanced learning spaces facilitate the learning of students and explain in detail the impact of such spaces on them. Interviews were conducted with 48 postgraduate students who had experienced learning in technology-enhanced learning spaces. The interview data were analysed using the grounded theory approach and a theoretical model was proposed for the process of student learning in technology-enhanced learning spaces. The results demonstrate that three factors: academic motivation, extension of time and space, and externalization and expression, can facilitate student engagement in learning in technology-enhanced learning spaces. In addition, student characteristics is an influential factor in student engagement, while pedagogies also determine the effectiveness of these spaces.
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Ethnic minority parents often appear to be less involved in school functions and activities than their culturally dominant counterparts. Their invisibility is usually assumed due to a lack of either interest or parental capacity to oversee their children's education. However, the simplistic equation between parental involvement in children's education and their participation in school is largely informed by middle-class cultural norms that ignore diversity. Data drawn from home visits and in-depth, semi-structured interviews amongst Pakistani parents and children in Hong Kong reveals that the involvement of these parents only seems less visible because it is largely based at home rather than in schools. The parental involvement of this ethnic minority is influenced by socio-economic and cultural factors that separate school from home, divide parental responsibilities by gender, and set expectations for children with primary reference to the parents' own experiences. These research findings on how such characteristics shape the outcomes of parental involvement can inform school practices to build more effective home-school collaboration and enhance children's academic achievement.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge.]

Private tutoring is one of the unintended outcomes of high-stakes testing and has become a widespread global phenomenon. It is called shadow education because it mimics the mainstream curriculum. From the critical perspective, this study investigated the role of private tutoring in a context of high-stakes testing through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. It explored 18 Secondary Six (Grade 12) students’ reflections on their learning experiences in private tutoring in Hong Kong for one year. Conceptualized with Freire’s Pedagogy of the oppressed, the findings reveal that while students are being oppressed in the washback of high-stakes testing under neoliberalism, shadow education further oppresses the students by (1) intensifying the “banking” concept of education, (2) teaching as the “authority”, (3) emphasizing performativity and (4) offering “false generosity”. The findings provide implications for potential educational change in contexts where education systems increasingly rely on accountability and selection through high-stakes testing. By problematizing the role of private tutoring through the conceptual lens of oppression, the study calls for research to take a closer look at the impact of shadow education on learners’ experiences in the current neoliberal era. Copyright © 2020 National Institute of Education, Singapore.

The current New Senior Secondary curriculum was implemented in Hong Kong in 2009. This educational reform promotes a paradigm shift in learning and teaching strategies, with the ultimate goal to prepare secondary school students for meeting the changing needs of the workplace and for lifelong learning. This paper reports empirical findings by investigating the impact of such a paradigm shift in education on student learning through comparing the perceptions of different stakeholders (i.e., school heads, teachers and students). The data were collected from a self-reported questionnaire, involving 91 secondary schools, 1,439 school heads, Key Learning Areas coordinators/panels heads, Secondary 6 teachers, and 4614 Secondary 6 students. Key findings are: (1) seven dimensions of student learning were identified (in terms of generic skills, personal growth and well-being, values and attitudes) and these are regarded as the important paradigm shift in the secondary education curriculum; (2) school heads were more optimistic than Key Learning Areas coordinators/panel heads and frontline teachers about the performance of Secondary 6 students; and (3) Secondary 6 students had a more positive outlook than their teachers regarding world views, pluralistic views, communication skills, critical thinking and creativity. Implications and recommendations are discussed.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge.]

Teacher professional development (TPD) is regarded as crucial to fostering teacher improvement. Recent calls for the internationalization of teacher education and professional development, including teachers undertaking courses taught abroad, have enhanced the scope of TPD opportunities. Yet, little is currently known about how such international experiences of TPD shape the perspectives of these teachers. It is also unclear how the learning these teachers experience in foreign settings is reflected in their engagement in the practices and activities of schools and classrooms upon returning to their home country. Therefore, this paper reports the results of a study that explores the perspectives and experiences of one group of in-service mainland Chinese teachers who undertook professional development in Hong Kong. Grounded in a theory of teacher identity construction and using in-depth interviews, results suggest that the teacher’s identities were shaped by the learning they experienced during professional development. However, following their return to teaching positions in mainland China, relations of power within their schools blocked the construction of their preferred teacher identities in practice. Suggestions are made for supporting the identity construction aims of teachers who undertake international professional development and implications for future research are considered. Copyright © 2020 National Institute of Education, Singapore.