Subject-specific training in mathematics teaching for students with intellectual disabilities (IDs) has been little studied in the academic field and is uncommon in the practice of teacher education. Given that teachers face significant challenges in regard to teaching mathematics to ID students, it is necessary to know whether there is a need for subject-specific training. If yes, what kind of subject-specific training do teachers need? What kind of subject-specific knowledge should be covered? How can this kind of training contribute to improving mathematics teaching for ID students?To answer the above questions, this study focuses on one particular teacher professional development programme (BE MATHS programme) for mathematics teachers who teach ID students in special schools in Hong Kong. Programme effects and the contributing factors of the effects are examined to explore whether and how subjectspecific support can contribute to the profession of teaching mathematics to ID students.The study is conducted via a mixed-methods approach. First, it uses quantitative measures to examine teachers’ changes in mathematics teaching efficacy and students’ changes in their academic engaged time in mathematics classes. Second, a qualitative approach is used to explore the contributing factors of the changes.Quantitative results show that the programme has a significant positive effect on teachers’ mathematics teaching outcome expectancy and a conditional positive effect on teachers’ personal mathematics teaching efficacy. It is also found that the programme can improve teachers’ mathematics teaching by engaging more students in mathematics learning.The qualitative findings in this study show that the design of teaching and learning trajectories with subject experts is a substantial learning activity for teachers. During the design process, teachers and subject experts identified knowledge gaps within the mathematical content to be delivered to ID students and successfully inserted

The mixed methods study detailed in this thesis, which involved 238 Higher Diploma of Early Childhood Education students, investigated the influences on the environmental attitudes of pre-service preschool teachers (hereafter, pre-service teachers) in Hong Kong. The research design adopted both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative approach was the dominant method of data collection, and it consisted of a web-based self-administrated survey, namely, the Environmental Attitudes of Pre-service Preschool Teachers Scale (EAPPT Scale), which had 52 items that were measured by a Likert-type scale. The qualitative approach aimed to supplement the quantitative findings, and the method involved three face-to-face focus group interviews. The quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using Rasch modeling and the thematic approach, respectively.In this study, the Rasch Rating Scale Model (RSM) was utilized to examine the quantitative data of the EAPPT. Person supportiveness and item agreeability were both expressed as probabilistic units (i.e., logits or log-odds) in reference to the same continuum. The Rasch RSM is a probabilistic approach that converts non-linear data (i.e., ordinal data) into linear data (i.e., logits) for the in-depth analysis of psychometric variables.The Rasch modeling analysis found that the EAPPT Scale and its five subscales, namely, education, alternative experiences, beliefs, social interactions, and action potential, fit the Rasch model well, and the respective reliability of the subscales was good. Through the triangulation process, the qualitative results mostly concurred with the quantitative findings. The pre-service teachers’ scores in the action potential domain were comparatively lower than those in the other domains. The most influential factors of the environmental attitudes of the pre-service teachers were in the education and alternative experiences domains. The key findings were encouraging in that, overall, the pre-service

This study aims at identifying effective metacognitive teaching strategies (MTSs) in the Chinese Language that can enhance students’ reading comprehension abilities. Learning to learn is the common theme of education reform in Shanghai and Hong Kong since the 21st century. It implies that schools have to train students to become self-regulated learners since the new millennium. However, empirical literature using classroom observation to identify MTSs in a natural environment is scant. Such an approach of study can provide useful results to support student reading abilities within the Chinese-speaking regions. Therefore, this study attempts to fill the research gap. There are three research questions of this study:Q1 What metacognitive teaching strategies are used by the Shanghai and Hong Kong teachers to develop students’ reading comprehension skills in the Chinese Language?Q2 Are the metacognitive teaching strategies used by the teachers of the two regions suggest any similarities and/or differences?Q3 What are the factors that may contribute to teachers’ use of metacognitive teaching strategies?A cross-case analysis was employed in this study to identify teachers’ strategies and the factors that influence teachers’ instruction. The study compared the case studies of Shanghai and Hong Kong teachers’ classroom teaching and explored teachers’ metacognitive teaching factors. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Two schools from Shanghai and two from Hong Kong took part in the research. In each school, two teachers and about 70 students from two separate classes participated. Data were collected in multiple methods of inquiry, including questionnaires, lesson observation, and open-ended interviews. Classroom observations and interviews were conducted to identify MTSs for teaching the Chinese language. Questionnaires and interviews were used to explore the influencing factors of teachers’ use of instructional strategies. This research adopted NVivo to code

Background: In Hong Kong, the time limitation set for physical education (PE) lessons at schools is one of the obstacles in promoting adequate physical activity (PA) levels for students. Flipped learning is a pedagogical approach that advocate more interaction between teachers and learners, in return promoting more PA participation. The present study utilised the self-determination theory (SDT) as the theoretical framework for designing flipped learning content to be applied during PE lessons, targeting the improvement of students’ PA levels. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the flipped learning unit on the PA levels and motivation of students during PE lesson.Method: For this study, 111 Grade 5 students at a Hong Kong primary school participated in the study. They were grouped into a flipped learning group (PE lesson with flipped learning; n=57) or a traditional learning group (PE lesson with regular teaching; n=54). Participants were randomly assigned to groups followed the class they were in. The flipped learning design included an online self-learning session and an in-school learning session with more practice and discussion time allowed during the course of a four-lesson PE learning unit. The lessons for both groups were conducted in twice weekly sessions that lasted for 25 minutes each. An accelerometer (GT3X) was used to measure the PA levels of students during the four experimental PE lessons; and questionnaires were used to assess their motivation before each PE class.Results: Using ANOVA, a significant difference in PA level was found between the traditional learning group and flipped learning group (F, [1,21] = 21.76, p < .05). Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) duration of the flipped lessons was higher and duration of sedentary (SED) was lower than that of the traditional lessons. At the same time, autonomous motivation was a positive predictor of MVPA (β = 1.603, p < 0.05) in practice-oriented lessons. In addition

This qualitative study examined the pedagogical thoughts of three kindergarten teachers in the English classroom practice. It is a partial replication of Gatbonton Model (1999, 2008) and Mullock Model (2006). Three teachers were invited to attend stimulated recall interviews to explain their segments of their lesson recordings. The underlying assumption is the cognitive thinking of teachers can be coded when they are prompted with visual or audio aids. These pedagogical thoughts were labeled and categorized into 50 pedagogical thoughts under eight domains. The highest consulted pedagogical thoughts of the three teachers were compared and discussed to find patterns, and similarities and differences. The data were further studied to find out the PCK of kindergarten English teachers (PCK-EKT). Seven PCK components were identified: (1) Subject Content Knowledge (PCK-SCK), (2) Knowledge of Students (PCK-KS), (3) Knowledge of Educational Context (PCK-KEC), (4) Knowledge of Education Ends (PCKKEE), (5) Knowledge of Curriculum (PCK-KCu), (6) General Pedagogical Knowledge, and (7) Child-friendly Pedagogy. With a focus to inform teaching practice, the components are basically like the seven categories of Shulman’s teacher knowledgeg. The derived PCK-EKT emphasizes the knowledge in PCK. For example, PCK-SCK means Subject Content Knowledge within teaching kindergarten English. The knowledge is discipline-specific. The category in teacher knowledge in Shulman’s model is in a broad sense. Besides, the PCK development of the three teachers was recorded. Their stories give insights on teacher professional development and the role of principals in ‘nurturing’ competent English teachers. All rights reserved.

Between October 2014 and January 2019, 138 university, secondary, and primary students in Hong Kong committed suicide. Studies have revealed an upward trend in this phenomenon. The implementation of life education and life and death education has been suggested as a means for supporting students. In the past, resilience and self-confidence were the main focuses of life education, whereas the importance of life–death-related topics in the exploration of the value and meaning of life was often neglected. Although these topics have been included in some schools’ life education curriculums, few studies have evaluated their effectiveness. Crucial questions for investigation include the following: What school philosophy resulted in the inclusion of life–death-related topics in life education and/or life and death education? What considerations did schools have during implementation and how did it proceed? What were the problems they encountered? How did schools overcome the problems? What would be their future direction?This research involved case studies of 3 secondary schools in Hong Kong which have included life–death-related topics in their life education and/or life and death education curriculums. Through focus interviews, and document reviews, the implementing life–death-related topics in life education and/or life and death education in Hong Kong and three secondary schools was clarified. The difficulties, needs, and attempts to address the problems during the implementation were also explored. The researcher hopes that the current findings provide valuable information regarding the development and implementation of life and death education in Hong Kong and help guide future improvements.This study revealed that the people involved in life education and/or life and death education curriculum development play a crucial role. The teachers in charge of life education are responsible for determining the themes, designing the curriculum, and teaching in school. Their recognition

Online pronunciation teaching becomes particularly challenging because of the distance between teachers and students, and the lack of interactions, feedback and supervision (Dumford & Miller, 2018). The study aims to describe the process of designing an e-teaching package on English phonetics and pronunciation course for pre-service teachers in Hong Kong, and to evaluate the effectiveness of this online teaching package. Thirty-nine pre-service teachers divided into the control group (CG) and experimental group (EG) attended five training sessions on Zoom, an online conference platform. Participants in the CG received traditional Powerpoint lectures with pre-set Zoom functions for interaction, while participants in the EG received training with an e-package of Edpuzzle, Nearpod, Padlet, Mentimeter and Kahoot. Pretest–posttest designs and questionnaire were employed to evaluate students’ pronunciation improvement and their attitudes towards the e-package. Results showed that participants from both groups made fewer errors on English consonants and vowels after the training sessions. 80% of the participants in the EG agreed that the e-package was well-designed and could make the online instruction more interactive compared with the traditional online instruction. 75% of them reported that they received more feedback when the e-package was applied. 45% of the participants reported that their favorite e-tool was Edpuzzle. This tool not only helped them review and consolidate the content knowledge but provided more input for them to identify their pronunciation errors. As for two online quizzes, students showed more interest in Kahoot as it was more competitive compared with the individualized quiz using Nearpod. Copyright © 2021 International Conference on Learning and Teaching.

Research shows that kindergarten teachers require support to enhance the way they teach music to children. However, little is known about the professional development (PD) needs of teachers with different profiles. Drawing on survey data from 1,019 Hong Kong kindergarten teachers, we compared the music-specific PD needs of beginning, experienced, and advanced teachers focusing on PD content, facilitators, formats, and activities. Participants demanded PD: (1) centered on how to foster children’s musical creativity via theme-based activities; (2) facilitated by experts in pedagogy and music performance, (3) conducted as workshops and mentoring sessions; and (4) focused on observation, skill acquisition, and practice. Significant differences were found across groups, which indicates that teaching experience must be carefully considered when designing responsive PD. Copyright © 2022 AERA.

In Hong Kong, improving STEM education has become timely since the government launched policy initiatives in 2016, which substantially impacted STEM education practices. Teacher education is of special importance in constructing the aspirations of pre-service teachers and offering professional training for a more gender equitable future in the era of STEM. Professional teachers are believed to be crucial for inspiring future students to use science and innovative technology with global and ethical awareness and for building student aspirations for STEM-related occupations and professions.This paper reports on a study that used educational ethnography methods to examine the life stories (as cross-case studies) of eight pre-service, women teachers majoring in STEM-related programs at the largest teacher training university in Hong Kong. We applied a conceptual framework that explains the socio-cultural construction of STEM teacher identity. The iterative processes of thematic coding discovered 4 themes from the qualitative data of educational autobiography and follow-up interviews. They are (1) motivations for aspiring to become STEM teachers, (2) gender stereotyping and STEM performance, (3) gender and aspirations for teaching STEM, and (4) gender and STEM teacher identity.Empirical findings of this study show that although gender inequalities within STEM education and the local education system are not readily apparent, gender stereotyping in STEM fields still exists in the society and schools of Hong Kong. Despite the availability of opportunities and resources for STEM education and teacher training, students in Hong Kong still hold subjectivities about gender disparities in science performance. Such gender biased perceptions of Hong Kong women students affect their everyday interactions and personal observations about gender differences and inequality. This paper illustrates how stereotypes about women in STEM can sometimes be perpetuated by everyday interactions

The COVID-19 pandemic measures substantially affected the Hong Kong education systems over two years. The learning and teaching of Biology in local secondary schools have been greatly hindered by the occasional suspension of face-to-face teaching in Hong Kong. The school-based assessment (SBA) of the major public examination, Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE), have been even canceled for the past years. To respond to the constraints imposed by COVID-19, there was an accelerated popularization of electronic learning (e-learning) in the educational sector. Other than conducting online real-time lectures, some new educational modules unitizing Virtual Reality (VR) have been developed by educational organizations to substitute the authentic learning in the field trip. The presentation would report a case study of such a VR-based module which has been tested in the tertiary institution for training the pre-service Biology teachers. The students agreed in the survey that the learning experience through VR-based module is not comparable to authentic field experience, and yet it could be a contingent measure in responding to the COVID-19 situation and a potential resource for self-directed learning in the future. Copyright © 2022 BIOTA & AABE.