Background: Empirical attention on infant-toddler early learning following attendance at early childhood care and education (ECCE) group settings has been scant. Aims: This study examines the quality of ECCE programmes designated for children from birth to three years, and considers how ECCE programme quality works with teacher-child relationships to shape early learning in very young children. Sample: Participants were 128 two-year-old toddlers (Mage = 33.11 ± 3.56 months) from Hong Kong who were enrolled in ECCE programmes and their teachers. Methods: The toddlers were tested on early language, literacy, and mathematics abilities. Teacher Behaviour Rating Scale, an observational tool which captures both the quantity and quality of early childhood teachers’ instructional behaviour, was used to measure ECCE programme quality. Teacher-child relationships was reported by the early childhood teachers using Student-Teacher Relationships Scale. Results: (i) ECCE programme quality and teacher-child closeness positively predicted the toddlers' early academic skills; (ii) teacher-child conflict was not associated with the toddlers' early academic learning; (ii) ECCE programme quality mediated the link between teacher-child closeness and the toddlers’ gains in early language skills three months later. Conclusions: The findings are novel in revealing the role of teachers' practice as indexed by programme quality in explaining the association between teacher-child relationship and toddlers’ early academic abilities, adding to our knowledge of how relationship-based curriculum and pedagogy for infants and toddlers foster learning in our youngest citizens. Copyright © 2025 The Authors.

Encouraging active participation in physical activities among kindergarten children is a key priority in Hong Kong’s Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide (Curriculum Development Council [CDC], 2017), under the learning area of Physical Fitness and Health. Despite this emphasis, there is limited knowledge on physical activities and fundamental movement skills (FMS) teachers practice in kindergartens. Moreover, little is known about how the Education Bureau (EDB)’s inspectors assess the quality of the physical activities implemented by teachers.This dissertation portfolio draws on Stork and Sanders’s (2008) theoretical framework of high-quality physical activity programs in early childhood education. The aim of the dissertation was to depict the landscape of physical activity practices in Hong Kong kindergartens. To achieve the aim, three empirical studies were conducted. Studies 1 and 2 were survey studies involving 526 kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong. Specifically, Study 1 examined the frequency of various types of physical activities conducted by Hong Kong teachers in kindergarten across different grade levels (K1, K2, K3) and the availability and utilization of venues for these activities. Study 2 explored the frequency of various FMS practiced in the physical activities conducted by these same teachers and the association among these FMS based on the frequency of use in classrooms across the three grade levels. Data were analyzed using descriptive and parametric statistical analyses. Study 1 revealed the prevalent use of low-intensity and low-risk physical activities. Indoor venues were commonly found in kindergartens and utilized more often for such activities than outdoor venues. Study 2 highlighted an imbalance in the types of FMS practiced by teachers. Some skills, such as “riding on pedal tricycles or bikes,” were frequently practiced, whereas others, like “digging in sandbox,” were rare. Findings highlighted the crucial role of the variable grade level

Under the influence of globalization, Asian countries have borrowed educational notions and policies from Western societies in recent years. One of these notions is that of creativity. In Hong Kong, Arts and Creativity is included as one of the six learning areas in the Kindergarten Curriculum Guide. The Guide encompasses four art forms: visual arts, music, drama, and dance. Kindergarten teachers are expected to design lessons that support children to develop creativity through active exploration in art activities. However, the literature in this area has important research gaps. There is no research on how kindergarten stakeholders (specifically teachers, principals, and teacher educators) understand the notion of creativity. Similarly, there has been no research to examine how stakeholders perceive the teaching and learning of Arts and Creativity in Hong Kong. Furthermore, local studies have focused on documenting the presence of individual art forms in the classroom, without considering the content of the four art forms in an integrated fashion.Drawing on the constructs of policy borrowing and glocalization (i.e., hybridization of global and local perspectives in education), this dissertation includes three empirical studies which aim to address the above-mentioned research gaps.• Study 1 is an interview study exploring how Hong Kong ECE stakeholders defined the notion of creativity in relation to young children. This study showed that all stakeholders have a relatively partial understanding of creativity.• Study 2 is an interview study on how stakeholders perceived Arts and Creativity and its viability in kindergarten settings. The results showed that this learning area is not perceived to be implemented in accordance with the curriculum framework.• Study 3 is a survey study examining the provision of the four art forms and its relationship with teachers' demographics. This study provided an overview of the status of arts education in Hong Kong kindergartens. Results

Despite the importance of socioemotional competence, few social and emotional learning programs have been developed for and evaluated with non -Western communities. The Early Prevention, Early Identification, and Early Intervention Program is a tiered, school-based program targeting the socioemotional skills of all secondyear kindergarten students in Chinese communities with the Little Garden Curriculum and providing additional training to third-year kindergarten students with socioemotional difficulties with the Little Greenhouse Curriculum. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial, this study examined the impacts of the program on 999 children (mean age in the pretest = 4.25 years; 48 % were girls) from 18 kindergartens from Hong Kong, China. Using kindergartens as clusters, children were randomly assigned to undertake the Little Garden Curriculum (n = 624) or join the wait-list control group (n = 375). Furthermore, children who had completed the Little Garden Curriculum but still showed socioemotional difficulties were randomly assigned to undertake the Little Greenhouse Curriculum (n = 87) or join the wait-list control group (n = 50). In other words, the intervention kindergartens used for the evaluation of the Little Garden Curriculum were randomly assigned into a new intervention group or a new wait-list control group for the evaluation of the Little Greenhouse Curriculum. In pre- and posttests, teachers rated children's socioemotional competence and behavioral adjustment, and children completed reading and arithmetic tasks. Results indicated that-controlling for child age, gender, and prior scores-children who had completed the Little Garden Curriculum showed better socioemotional competence, behavioral adjustment, and pre-academic skills (ten out of 12 outcome variables). Moreover, children who had completed the Little Greenhouse Curriculum showed higher scores on six out of 12 outcome measures. Findings highlighted the utility of using culturally relevant

Educators and researchers are becoming interested in cultivating computational thinking (CT). However, in the Hong Kong context, CT-related studies regarding young children are rarely found. The present study aimed to use an unplugged digital arts activity to examine the CT concepts that children performed and document their CT developmental trajectories. Constructionism theory highlights the importance of children engaging in hands-on activities and developing independent thinking skills. Meanwhile, social constructivism theory emphasizes the role of teachers as scaffolders, supporting children in their learning processes. A sample of children (N = 27, aged 3-6) was recruited from a nursery school in Hong Kong to participate in an animation art workshop. A total of 540 min of video data was recorded and collected for content analysis. The teaching team (N = 4) for this workshop were invited to write up their reflective journals, capturing their observations of the scaffolding strategies employed and their perspectives on how children at various levels demonstrated their understanding of CT concepts throughout the entire process. Within an analytical framework based on powerful ideas, the findings from the observations and field notes revealed that the children's CT concepts and practices could be linked with the CT conceptual framework. In this study, older children showed a sophisticated competency and a more complicated mind structure in terms of the CT concept. Our findings highlight the importance of designing an age-appropriate curriculum for nurturing the computational thinking of young children through animation art. Copyright © 2024 Springer.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) has attracted criticism for its Eurocentricity and Western-centricity (Bunnell et al., 2017; Walker, 2010). This article explores international mindedness, questioning whether the IB perpetuates culturally hegemonic, colonial, and Westernised ideas. The paper draws on research data collected in two International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) international schools in the Hong Kong SAR. We observed IBDP lessons and interviewed teachers about their uses of local and global culture and content in their teaching, considering whether the adaptation of curriculum based on cultural significance and perspectives functions to shift the Western-centric discourses for which the IB is commonly criticised. Our analysis suggests that attempts to decentre the West in the curriculum are challenging, resulting from factors including a lack of critical understanding among teachers, demands and expectations regarding assessment, the aspirations of students and their parents, and a lack of time and space within the timetable and curriculum. Drawing on literature and teacher practices, we propose considerations to move beyond recognitive politics to a more critical set of practices unsettling hierarchies of knowledge and power. The task of de-centering the IBDP's Western epistemology requires further consideration and research. In this paper, we contribute to this ongoing inquiry through providing an analysis of a particular set of circumstances in Hong Kong and providing a framework to enable critical reflection of curriculum and teaching practices that could be considered across IB programmes. Copyright © 2025 Routledge.

This study examines 'Faux Comprehension' and 'Pseudo-Understanding' among middle leaders and teachers in curriculum development, where apparent agreement masks deeper misalignments. Through a comparative case study and theoretical lens of action-driven sensemaking, the study analyzes four Hong Kong schools using questionnaires, interviews, and observations. Findings reveal: Faux Comprehension, where teachers superficially comply with leaders' directives, and Pseudo-Understanding, where misaligned goals are concealed by overconfidence. Both reflect overbearing leadership and cognitive biases. The study enriches sensemaking literature by incorporating compliance and cognitive bias perspectives, while recommending clearer guidelines and communication strategies to align educational practices with reform goals and enhance engagement. Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). 

Hong Kong’s self-financed taught postgraduate (TPg) programmes have experienced significant growth, primarily driven by mainland Chinese students. The marketisation orientation of these programmes may gradually change these students’ self-identification of seeing themselves as ‘customers’ or ‘students’. This study aims to explore how mainland Chinese students perceive their identities based on their learning experiences in these self-financed TPg programmes. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study collected 303 responses, and 17 of them joined the follow-up semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that mainland Chinese students are generally satisfied with the self-financed TPg programmes in Hong Kong for their cost-effectiveness compared to similar degrees from Western universities and for receiving internationally competitive higher degrees. In their studies, most mainland students view themselves primarily as students pursuing qualifications for career development, but some have transitioned to seeing themselves as customers due to unsatisfactory experiences and influences from teachers and peers. The study aims to contribute to understanding mainland Chinese students’ learning experiences when studying abroad and provide practical insights for self-financed TPg programme providers in Hong Kong to enhance the programme quality. Copyright © 2025 The Author(s).

Contributions: This study examined the effectiveness of making activities in fostering the competency development of school-age children engaged in a making program. The findings suggest that community-based makerspaces can provide autonomous and informal learning experiences, facilitating their competence development. When integrated with formal learning in schools, these experiences can facilitate a well-rounded education that nurtures 21st century skills in the younger generation. Background: The making program, hosted by community youth centers in Hong Kong, comprised a series of five workshops. These workshops provided guidance throughout the creative processes, encouraging participants to invent artefacts under the theme of “smart design for living.” Research Questions: What generic skills and other attributes can school-age children develop through making activities? What factors influence their development of generic skills and other attributes? What disparities emerged between their community-based and school-based making experiences? Methodology: The study utilized a mixed-method approach, encompassing of a pre- and post-test questionnaire survey involving school-age children who took part in the making workshops ([Formula Omitted] 232), as well as semi-structured interviews with a subset of the participants ([Formula Omitted] 25). Findings: Survey results revealed significant enhancements in participants’ information technology skills, communication skills and divergent thinking, along with a favorable acceptance of the making tools. Pertinent topics related to competency development, including age-related effects, computer accessibility, and mobile device ownership, were examined and discussed within the context of the study. Copyright ©2024 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE).

This chapter argues for a school curriculum in Hong Kong that prioritizes student well-being over academic success. It explores the challenges that have hindered curriculum reform in Hong Kong, including the exam-oriented culture, high-stakes assessment, and competitive educational environment. Despite the commitment to whole-person development, young students often feel overwhelmed and lack internal motivation to learn. To address these issues, the chapter proposes an approach based on self-determination theory (SDT) that prioritizes the basic psychological needs satisfaction of students for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. By encouraging students to take ownership of learning and internalize their motivation, a more person-oriented curriculum can be developed that promotes student well-being and supports social justice values. The chapter concludes by providing examples of SDT-based curricula and showcasing the planning and outcomes associated with their implementation. By embracing an SDT philosophy, Hong Kong can adopt change and offer students a more engaging, fulfilling, and holistic educational experience. Copyright © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Huixuan Xu; individual chapters, the contributors.