This article seeks to investigate whether the improvement of the status of women in Hong Kong in recent decades, effected through various efforts to promote the values of equal opportunity concepts, is reflected in patterns of gender representation in primary school textbooks used in Hong Kong. A comparison of a popular series of primary school English-language textbooks that was published in 2005 with the same series published in 1988 (12 books in total) revealed increase in gender equity in the more recent books, including increased visibility of women both visually and textually. Nevertheless, the findings also revealed a perpetuation of some stereotyped images of the two genders and portrayals of women in a more limited range of social roles than men. The 'male-first' phenomenon and the visual and textual under-representation of women were still prevalent in the contemporary textbooks. The potential impacts on children of unbalanced gender representation in textbooks are discussed within the framework of social cognitive theory.
[Copyright of Gender & Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2014.916400]

This study investigates the perspectives of service providers working with Chinese lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young people in Hong Kong secondary schools and maps the relationships between same-sex sexualities, religion, education and self-harm. Sixteen service providers, including secondary school teachers, social workers based on and off school sites, and lesbian/transgender activists working in non-governmental organisations serving the LGB and transgender communities, participated in in-depth qualitative interviews. In addition, extensive participant observation was carried out. A grounded theory approach was adopted to code the data, as themes emerged with each successive round of coding. Study findings highlight four main themes: barriers to discussing sexuality at school, the effects of personal disinclination and religion, lesbian and gay youth being perceived as especially susceptible to self-harm, and the similarities in professionals' perceptions of self-harmers and LGB youth. Findings suggest that conservative religious beliefs at both the personal and structural levels act as deterrents to providing counselling and mental health services supportive of LGB youth in Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Sex Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2014.920249]

Over the past two decades, the feminisation of primary school teaching has been identified by the media and government officials in Western countries as an important contributing factor to boys' academic problems. This panic, which has been criticised by feminists as a backlash and a form of recuperative politics, has promoted the development of research into gender and education, particularly studies related to the gendered culture of primary schools and on the masculinities of male teachers. However, male primary principals remain relatively under-researched in the literature, despite the importance of their structural position and increasing concern over the masculinisation of school leadership. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion by critically analysing the interpretive frameworks of 12 male primary school principals. The findings reveal not only the complex, contradictory and at times culturally specific gendered discourses that some male principals employ, but also their feminising and masculinising effects on the school workplace and leadership.
[Copyright of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2011.611041]

This study had three purposes: (a) to compare the prevalence of boys' and girls' gender-atypical behaviors (GABs) in a sample of Chinese school-aged children, (b) to examine the developmental pattern of GABs in Chinese boys and girls over the age range in question (6-12 years), and (c) to test the effects of being an only child on children's GAB expression. Parents of 486 boys and 417 girls completed a Child Play Behavior and Activity Questionnaire (CPBAQ) in regard to their own children, and a demographic information sheet. The frequency distribution for each gender-related behavior was calculated. The associations between sex, age, and only-child status, and CPBAQ scale scores were examined. Although most GABs (by their very nature) were exhibited infrequently in Chinese children, it was found that girls displayed GABs more frequently than boys did. The prevalence of GABs rose for girls as they grew older, but fell slightly for boys. The expressions of GABs in only children did not differ from that in children with siblings. Possible effects of Chinese culture (including the current only-child policy) on children's GABs are discussed.
[Copyright of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224491003774867]