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 study aims to develop and validate a comprehensive scale for assessing students’ sustainability competence in education for sustainable development (ESD). Existing ESD assessment tools have faced criticism for lacking rigorous design and validation. Following a three-phase procedure proposed by Boateng et al., the study utilized qualitative and quantitative methods to develop and validate the scale. The scale was administered to 708 students participating in an extracurricular eTournament on Sustainable Development Goals organized by a Hong Kong university. The validation process involved expert panels, cognitive interviews, factor analyses, and assessments of internal consistency. Using Wiek et al.'s five-competence framework, 16 ESD learning outcomes were generated, forming the basis for the scale items. The survey included a mini-scenario introduction to enable students’ evaluation of sustainability practices, even with limited experience. Data analysis revealed a four-factor structure that could be both distinguished and integrated under a single upper-level factor. The scale is developed with the aim to better measuring tertiary students’ sustainability competence via a holistic and integrated approach, which completes the constructive alignment of current ESD, particularly in extracurricular settings. Copyright ©2024 Taylor & Francis.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, attending after-school activities now becomes a luxury to students, which used to establish interests, friendships and social networks in an informal setting. Students lost contact with peers and teachers and were forced to attend blended courses at home, which may constitute threats to their non-academic issues, especially social needs and mental health of the most vulnerable students. This article overviews a new interpretation of extracurricular activities (ECAs) to teach artificial intelligence (AI) via a social networking site (SNS) among junior secondary school students in Hong Kong. A three-stage action research with the use of semi-structured interviews, motivational surveys and lesson observation was conducted. Based on how students perceived such pedagogical changes, the teachers employed various strategies to transform the “after-school” activities online. The investigation presented the planning processes on how to transform the informal learning activities to an online mode via SNSs that can reach the roles of ECAs in schooling. Our study indicated that meaningful activities rely on teachers’ leading role to build a collaborative social media environment in order to facilitate social engagement among students. Copyright © 2021 Redfame Publishing Inc.

This article compares two learning units developed by elementary schools in Japan and Hong Kong to engage students in learning about and taking action to promote social cohesion through community participation. We choose two similar learning units for comparison, both focusing on issues related to older people in the community. Based on our analysis of their activity design and practices, we outline five directions for educational practitioners interested in promoting community participation for social cohesion in Hong Kong and Japan: practicing service-learning, promoting social cohesion, learning authentic skills, integrating community participation into the curriculum, and helping students become active members of society. This paper argues for the importance of developing such learning units to foster young citizens' contribution to their communities in post-industrial, ageing societies. Copyright © 2023 OpenED Network.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of extracurricular music participation on preschool children’s social skills in Hong Kong. This study was quantitative dominant, whilst qualitative data was collected to triangulate with the quantitative data. Phase one was the intervention and quantitative data collection whilst individual interviews and class observations were conducted in phase two. Interventions were three different extracurricular activities including: 1) group music training; 2) piano lesson; and 3) drawing class. The duration of the interventions was 24 weeks and the instrument used to collect data was the Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scale (SSIS-RS). Participants were 180 preschool children aged from four to five (n1=72, n2=72, n3=36).Interviewees were teachers and parents from the different intervention groups. Results of ANOVAs revealed that extracurricular activities have positive effects on participants’ social skills. Tukey post hoc tests revealed that the effects of group music training on participants’ social skills was significantly higher than the piano lesson and the drawing class in all seven subscales; effects of piano lesson on participants’ social skills were significantly higher than the drawing class in four subscales. Qualitative data indicated that parents’ understanding of social skills was similar with each other. Parents’ expectations of extracurricular activities were varied between groups, but were similar within each studied group. Teachers’ perception of social skills and their perception of their role and responsibilities were diverse between groups. Teachers’ perception of effects of extracurricular lessons on young children’s social skills was diverse too. Qualitative data showed that parent’ expectations on the extra-curricular activities, teachers’ beliefs and instructional strategy might influence the results.This study indicated that music education can play a role in young children’s development

Objectives: This pilot study developed an adventure-based cognitive behavioral intervention (aCBI) program and tests its effectiveness in improving the mental health of Chinese university students in Hong Kong. Method: A total of 217 undergraduate students participated in an aCBI program in the form of an interdisciplinary general education course in a university in Hong Kong. A battery of standardized online questionnaires was administered to the students before joining and upon completion of the course, and at a 3-month follow-up test. Results: The participants showed a significant reduction of psychological distress, perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and negative thoughts and emotions and a significant increase of positive thoughts upon immediate completion of the program. The positive effects maintained at the 3-month follow-up test. Conclusion: The integration of cognitive behavioral intervention and adventure training in a class setting might be an effective and feasible approach for the mental health counseling of university students. Copyright ©2021 SAGE Publications.