PurposeDespite the growing interest in the applicability and value of educational research for improving educational policy and practice, few studies have demonstrated how English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers apply research findings in their second language (L2) teaching. This paper reports on a study in which four Hong Kong ESL teachers were given research findings about L2 vocabulary teaching and learning and how they engaged in professional development (PD) sessions with a researcher specialising in vocabulary teaching and learning to make sense of the research findings.MethodologyIn addition to the dialogues between the researcher and teachers, individual semi-structured interviews with the participating teachers were audio-recorded and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.FindingsOur analysis revealed how ESL teachers made sense of the research literature to inform their L2 vocabulary teaching practices by (1) bridging the gap between the school culture and practices and empirical research findings; (2) connecting the researcher's explanations of the theoretical literature to real-life pedagogical practices; and (3) explaining how research findings can be applied to future classroom teaching and learning.Originality/ValueBased on the findings, we argue that professional dialogues between teachers and a researcher can facilitate the creation of a dialogic space for teachers to deploy their knowledge, including but not limited to pedagogical knowledge and beliefs, prior language learning experiences, and teaching experiences, to better understand research findings, thereby challenging their existing thinking and teaching. Such a dialogic space provides an opportunity for teachers to reflect on their pedagogical practices, which can promote quality teaching. Copyright © 2024 Routledge .

This study aims to examine the published scientific studies on computational thinking (CT) from the past to the present, based on the Web of Science (WoS) database. In this context, 3123 documents with CT content from the past to the present were evaluated. Articles and proceeding papers accessed from the database were analyzed with the help of bibliometric analysis under the titles of scientific productivity, network analysis, conceptual structure and thematic map. Within scientific productivity, the distribution of studies and citations by years, productive authors, most cited studies, productive institutions and productive countries were considered. A collaboration between authors, sources, institutions and countries was examined in network analysis. Keyword -based techniques were used to determine the intellectual structure of the CT topic. Finally, trend content and thematic changes were analyzed based on the conceptual structure and thematic map. The study analyzed 3123 scientific documents published by 6467 authors representing 83 countries. According to the findings, the number of scientific studies and citations on CT is increasing. Dagiene, V., Biswas, G., and Kong, S. C. are prolific authors. The Education University of Hong Kong, North Carolina State University and Natl Taiwan Normal University are among the most productive institutions. The USA, China, Spain, Brazil, and Italy are productive countries for CT. According to the network analysis, Computers & Education and Communications of the ACM journals stand out. As a thematic change, there are evolutions towards innovative approaches with skill and goal content in studies. At the end of the Multiple Correspondence Analysis performed to determine the conceptual structure in CT, dimension reductions were found to be approximately 43% of the total As some on the future of CT were shared. Copyright © 2024 Hacettepe University.

Research with economic utility and social value has been increasingly valued. Such an emphasis can be evidenced by the newly included assessment element of 'societal impact' in performance-based research funding (PBRF) schemes in different higher education systems around the world. This paper investigates how the non-academic impact is constructed and perceived in the Hong Kong Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2020, taking into account the local socio-cultural characteristics in the context of Hong Kong. Data sources include 13 impact case studies in the education panel submitted for the Hong Kong RAE 2020 and semi-structured interview with 17 education academics in Hong Kong. Findings revealed that the non-academic impact was constructed through a narrative pattern: (1) problem identification: tensions and synergies between local and international discourse; (2) problem resolution: prioritization of the evidence-based applied education research (with funding); (3) resolution dissemination: strategic employment of promotional genre. The paper discusses how decolonization, academic entrepreneurialism and collectivist culture have characterized the framing and understanding of the non-academic impact in the Hong Kong academia, contributing to the discourse on neoliberalism in higher education by providing a nuanced, local perspective on the impact agenda. Policy implications for a more localized and flexible impact agenda are also provided. Copyright ©2024 Oxford University Press.

The implementation of a research-based curriculum that enables students to develop essential capabilities for this complex world is challenging. There is limited understanding of the implementation of a research-based curriculum in a whole degree programme, and few studies examined how faculty members and students perceived such a curriculum. This study explored faculty members’ perceptions and students’ experiences of four research-based curricula in two research-intensive universities in Hong Kong. Based on document review, 18 faculty interviews, and 113 student interviews, we discovered an overall positive view of research-based curricula but also substantial differences between faculty members’ perceptions and students’ experiences. For example, faculty members emphasised the learning and critical evaluation of knowledge. In comparison, students focused on exploring specific interesting issues and collecting and analysing information without fully recognising the potential of research in generating, applying, and validating knowledge. Moreover, students’ experiences of research-based curricula contained a broader scope of activities than the curriculum perceived by faculty members. These gaps demonstrate that the fundamental goals of research-based curricula to develop ‘powerful knowledge’ and induct students into disciplinary ways of thinking have yet to be fully achieved. The study implies a need to enhance communication between students and faculty members and build a consensus on designing and supporting undergraduate research across the curriculum. Copyright ©2024 Springer.

This study explores how master’s students perceive their research experiences and interpret the concept of research. Master’s education has been regarded as a steppingstone for doctoral study for several decades in many higher education systems; however, the meaning of ‘master’ has transformed academically and socially. Accordingly, the research requirement in many master’s programmes has become flexible or been replaced by other learning outcomes. This raises the question: what meanings do ‘thesis’ and ‘research’ have in the context of master’s education? In this study, we interviewed 73 master’s students from various universities and fields of study in Hong Kong to explore their perceptions of research. The thematic analysis showed that research was interpreted via multiple perspectives among the master’s students, such as learning outcomes, learning processes, and separate tasks. Three themes, namely eligibility, accountability, and agency, were identified as key elements of writing a thesis and understanding the research. The interpretations of research varied according to aspects of the students’ backgrounds, such as their academic discipline and work experience. Most importantly, research supervision was found to play a central role in shaping the students’ perceptions of research. This study suggests how research can be meaningfully integrated into today’s master’s education. Copyright ©2024 Springer.

This article analyses performance-based research evaluation for the higher education sector in a postcolonial context through a Foucauldian lens. Using Hong Kong as an example, this paper examines the formulation of and receptions towards the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). It is argued that Hong Kong academics, especially those working in the humanities and social sciences, associate the key concepts of 'world-leading' and 'internationally excellent' research in the RAE framework with Western knowledge that undermines local and regional research. They respond to RAE in four main ways: pragmatic compliance; refusal to conform to the demands of RAE; adoption of a dualistic strategy by publishing internationally and locally; and re-imagining of research assessment coupled with the promotion of indigenous knowledge. Two significant implications are highlighted in this article. First, the preservation of a research evaluation mechanism inherited from a colonial government perpetuates and entrenches external control and dominance in the former colony. Secondly, there is a need to re-construct the research appraisal apparatus as well as advance indigenous and hybrid knowledge in a postcolonial educational landscape. Copyright ©2024 Routledge.

Twenty-first century transformations have taken place within the framework of globalisation of the economy, the spread of information technology and global migration resulting in increased cultural diversity in many societies. This qualitative study investigated perspective transformation in 18 research students, from Australia, Hong Kong SAR, and Sweden, participating in an international online course by using Mezirow's theory of perspective transformation and Kiely's six forms of transformative change (intellectual, moral, political, cultural, personal, and spiritual). The approach to learning facilitated global networking and a commitment to support growth in the students' research practice. Validating the link between research students' learning experiences and perspective transformation theory encourages educators to develop future online educational materials to promote cognitive flexibility and reflexivity and increase students' cultural awareness to inform their research practices. Copyright ©2025 American Association for Adult and Continuing Education.

The hegemonic wave of neoliberalism in higher education does not eradicate academic freedom in universities one by one. The possibility of resistance necessarily exists within the configuration of contemporary power relations. This study contributes to the theoretical debate on how global neoliberal forces are reproduced with local characteristics by providing a Hong Kong case. Based on interviews with 15 academics, their reactions and responses to a specific research evaluation system in Hong Kong, namely the Research Assessment Exercise 2020, are examined. The findings suggest that academic freedom has survived by adopting different forms of ‘masked resistance’ in the highly performative culture of Hong Kong academia. Such masked acts of resistance include ‘criticisms behind the curtain of conformity’, ‘scepticism and feigned compliance’, ‘cautious acceptance with substantial reservations’, ‘no reaction as an expression of muted dissatisfaction’, and ‘defence without rupture’. The ‘specificity’ of such inconsistent, ambivalent and nuanced responses is discussed by drawing on several local contextual factors: the political–educational culture, the government–institution relationship, and the disciplinary knowledge tradition. This study calls for greater flexibility in assessment regimes to make room for academics’ professional autonomy, which in essence enables, rather than dismantles, accountability in managerial reforms. © International Association of Universities 2021.

This study systematically maps the research trends in the domain of “shadow education” over the last 40 years using metadata extracted from the SCOPUS database. The results reveal that the outputs of shadow education research have grown exponentially within the last decade. Bray and his colleagues from the University of Hong Kong, East China Normal University, and the Education University of Hong Kong have been the most prolific and influential research team. They are followed by Park and Byun from the USA, who have mostly worked on East Asian contexts. The USA, Hong Kong, South Korea, and the People’s Republic of China, have been the main sources of contributions and the University of Hong Kong has been the leading university in this field. Educational studies, economics, psychology, linguistics, and sociology have been the main disciplines researched within shadow education. Shadow education studies have revealed how shadow education can be a major instrument for maintaining and exacerbating social inequalities. They have also largely focused on the tangible (quantifiable) benefits related to improving students’ examination results. This study’s results stress the importance of regulating the private tutoring market, suggesting areas for ongoing research. © 2023 Emerald Group Publishing Limited.