This study investigated the pedagogical interactions between teachers and young children in six sampled Chinese kindergarten classrooms. Altogether 4320 turns of dialogue were coded from 27 videotaped pedagogical activities, and the 12 class teachers were surveyed and interviewed. The results revealed a unique Chinese pedagogical interaction that is a fusion of participatory and transmissive pedagogies: teachers directed the interactions with open-ended questions and whole-class dialogues, whereas children responded with short answers based on the learning content. This was reported by the teachers to be associated with the joint influence of related child, teacher, and cultural factors.
[Copyright of Teaching and Teacher Education is the property of Elsevier Ltd.]

Extending Shulman’s work, this study investigated kindergarten teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge in developing play-based learning. Data were collected from focus group interviews with 29 teachers, head teachers, and principals in Hong Kong. Findings suggested the development of play-based learning is contextual. Teachers believed that ongoing complexities and dilemmas regulating their practice which required them to modify pedagogical strategies. Situated forms of knowledge were found as dispensable component shaping their professional practice. This study highlighted how teachers developed pedagogical wisdom to complement their practice involving the construction of effective play-based learning. Copyright © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The exam-oriented education system in Hong Kong has created a language learning environment that is largely confined to traditional classroom settings, which may not take best advantage of students' abilities to relate what they have learnt in class to real-life scenarios. Such learning environments may have implications for the way second language learners learn a new language. Numerous studies suggest that drama activities used in language classrooms can enhance second language learning. These studies put forward tasks that generate pleasant and rewarding experiences, enhance confidence and subsequently increase motivation to learn a language. By focusing on students studying in a beginning French course at a tertiary institution in Hong Kong, this article reports on how drama activities make a target language more enjoyable and easier to recall. Classroom observations and interviews with students (N = 30) revealed that learning French via drama had a number of positive effects on second language learners especially in terms of their confidence. The learning of French through drama may provide a language learning environment that enables students to apply their French language skills more effectively in real-life situations. Copyright © 2019 Adam Mickiewicz University Press. All rights reserved.

This paper investigated online collaborative learning on students' learning outcomes in higher education with an online platform called GMoodle that was implemented at The Education University of Hong Kong. To discover the benefits and drawbacks of online collaborative learning, students were invited to join this exploratory study and complete the pre and post questionnaires to evaluate their learning outcomes. The quantitative and qualitative studies of 75 undergraduate students were conducted based on the questionnaires and focus group interviews, and the results showed that students' learning outcomes especially self-management skills and collaborative skills were enhanced through the online collaborative activities. Before launching GMoodle, trainings were provided for the in-service and pre-service teachers. Most of them reflected that GMoodle is a useful platform for educators to understand students' learning progress, promote active collaboration and facilitate team teaching across different disciplines. Not only the students but also the teachers benefited from this online learning platform for collaborative learning, fair assessment, and team teaching. Copyright © 2019 Association for Computing Machinery.

The paper reports on an empirical study on adopting an innovative pedagogical design in project-based learning to improve upper primary students' problem solving skills in science learning. A Grade 6 class in a Hong Kong primary school was involved in this study. The findings show that the students produced high group artifacts/projects in problem-solving quality and were positive in facing challenges in their project-based learning process. This indicates that project-based learning with PF instructional design can be an effective way to develop students' problem solving skills. Copyright © 2018 authors.

Classroom instructions in Hong Kong secondary school context often involve code-switching/code-mixing, with textbooks in English yet the lessons being taught in Cantonese (A variety of spoken Chinese) or a Cantonese/English mix. The code-switching/code-mixing instruction has been a common practice in Hong Kong classroom teaching. However, the Education Commission of Hong Kong considered code-switching/code-mixing instruction as the primary reason for students’ inadequate levels of English and Chinese. Therefore, the Government adopted the policy of ‘mother-tongue teaching’ to promote Chinese-medium instruction so as to reduce code-switching/code-mixing instruction. In this paper, firstly, a summary of the historical background of the Hong Kong language polices will be introduced. Secondly, the role of code-switching/code-mixing instruction in classroom teaching will be discussed by illustrating examples from a case study in a Hong Kong secondary school. Finally, the reasons behind using mixed code and its impact on student learning will be analyzed and discussed. A number of research methods were employed: questionnaire survey, student focus group interviews and classroom discourse analysis. The research findings show that students in the case study school found the use of mixed code beneficial even though the school language policy does not encourage code-switching/code-mixing instruction. We anticipate that this study will shed some light on the study of code-switching/code-mixing. Copyright © 2019 GRDS Publishing.

Aim: Although the reasons behind the stigmatization of psychosis are manifold, poor mental health literacy among the general public is likely to be a major factor. In Hong Kong, the Early Psychosis Foundation (EPISO) was established in 2007 to tackle this issue by providing educational and mental health promotional activities, among other aims and services. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based interventional programme, the School Tour, developed by EPISO.; Methods: The School Tour differentiates itself from other interventional programmes by supplementing a traditional psychoeducational talk with 2 additional elements: an engaging drama performance and exercise demonstrations. Twelve secondary schools, with a total of 4520 students, participated in the study. Knowledge and attitudes towards psychosis were evaluated before and after the school programme.; Results: The School Tour was found to improve both students' knowledge of psychosis (P < .001) and their attitude (P < .001) towards the illness.; Conclusions: Its effectiveness in reducing the stigma towards psychosis validates the use of novel strategies like drama performances to engage adolescent students, and urges the government to support increased student participation in the programme by providing funding to the relevant organizations.
[Copyright of Early Intervention In Psychiatry is the property of Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia.]

Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with ethnically Chinese adolescents enrolled into a school-based mentoring programme at a private secondary school in Hong Kong. Interview data were analysed thematically and two themes developed: 'experiencing mentoring' and 'experiencing the mentor'. The mentees, although initially sceptical about mentoring, were surprised by its helpfulness. Through the development of an informal and collaborative relationship in which students experienced their mentor as a trustworthy, mature and objective adult, students found an important source of emotional support and practical help which benefited their academic work. Students' experience was influenced by their mentors' role in the school, length of service and gender match. School-based mentoring programmes in a Hong Kong context have the potential to offer emotional and academic support to students. Cultural factors may have an impact on the experience of mentoring which schools should take into account when setting up such programmes.
[Copyright of Asia-Pacific Education Researcher is the property of Springer.]

Using a holistic support framework, this study investigated teachers' conceptions of effective play-based learning development and how their perceptions of its effectiveness related to whole-child development. Data were collected from a mixed method study. A total of 286 questionnaires from 50 Hong Kong kindergartens were collected and then 29 principals, head teachers and teachers were interviewed after the completion of the survey. Results of quantitative analyses showed that school collaborative culture facilitated various aspects of children's development through the mediation of teachers' enactment of play pedagogy and home-school cooperation. Qualitative interview data also confirmed the survey results that the roles and functions of parents and teachers were significant in supporting the implementation of play-based learning in kindergarten settings. Findings of the study have shed light on the conceptualizations of effective play-based learning which are perceived by teachers as part of a school collaborative culture, teachers' enactment of play pedagogy and home-school cooperation. The practical and policy implications of the study may suggest adopting a holistic support model in the analysis and actively seeking to integrate parents, teachers and kindergartens in constructing an optimal play learning experience for young children.
[Copyright of Early Childhood Education Journal is the property of Springer Netherlands.]

兒童天生有好奇心、愛玩、也愛結交朋友，並喜歡主導自己的學習。對兒童來說，遊戲與學習兩者實為不可分割。遊戲驅使兒童學習，兒童也從遊戲中獲得寶貴的成長經驗。因此自由遊戲是超越了教學目標的工具，而且是自我成長的空間。幼稚園教育指引（2017）的推出，鼓勵教育工作者推行自由遊戲。當大家只聚焦於時間及空間不足對推行自由遊戲的阻礙，往往忽略了成人「不當的介入」，會削弱了自由遊戲的成效。智樂與11間種子學校及香港教育大學合作，創設了一個超越時間及空間限制的自由遊戲模式。透過種子學校Playwork培訓計劃的設立，亦有助加強教育工作者實踐自由遊戲的能力。此計劃不單改變教育工作者對實踐自由遊戲的信心，更啟發他們在設計教學模式時，重視兒童的看法及自主學習。Children are born with innate curiosity, playfulness and sociability to direct their own experience. For children, play and learning are inseparable - Play drives children to learn, at the same time children also acquire valuable learning experience through playing. Therefore, play, especially free play should go beyond a learning tool but a self-development space. The implementation of the Kindergarten Education Curriculum (2017) encouraged educators to try out free play. While many teachers believe that “lacking of time and space” is the greatest barrier for free play, not many of them realize that “adulteration” – the inappropriate intervention from adult, would significantly undermine the effectiveness of free play. In partnership with 11 seed schools and the Education University of Hong Kong (EDUHK), Playright has developed a free playtime model with limited time and space. A Seed Schools Playwork Training Program was also developed to strengthen educators’ capacity of the essence of free play. A study indicated that free play opened up new perspectives about children’s abilities and thoughts. It also inspired teachers to reconstruct their understanding about free play. More emphasis on child initiated learning was promoted. Copyright © 2018 Learning & Teaching Expo.