Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) self-efficacy refers to students’ belief in their ability to succeed in STEM-related tasks. Although parental involvement is known to positively influence students’ STEM self-efficacy, the relation between different types of parental involvement (e.g., discussions and activities) and students’ STEM self-efficacy across various age and gender groups remains understudied. This study examines the nuanced, age- and gender-specific associations between parental involvement and students’ STEM self-efficacy among primary and secondary students in Hong Kong, a high-performing education system where girls’ performance in Science and Mathematics were higher or similar to boys on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2018 and 2022 respectively. Data from 712 students (49% female) from 6 primary and 6 secondary schools were collected via an online survey. Students’ demographic information, parental involvement, and STEM self-efficacy were analysed to address the research questions. Multigroup structural equation modelling revealed that primary students’ STEM self-efficacy benefited from parental STEM-related activities, while secondary students benefited from parental STEM-focused discussions. The relationship between parental involvement and STEM self-efficacy was consistent across genders in both age groups, indicating a consistent benefit of parental STEM involvement for both male and female students. The results of this study underscore the critical role of parental involvement in fostering students’ STEM self-efficacy and suggest that educational programs should include age-appropriate parental involvement elements to foster students’ self-efficacy development in STEM. Copyright © 2025 The Author(s).

Purpose: Framed by the Concerns-Based Adoption Model, this study investigates female, ethnically diverse preschool teachers’ concerns regarding Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teaching within their participation in a STEM-themed professional learning program and their adoption of STEM content and resources therein. Design/Approach/Methods: An exploratory multiple-case study was conducted with five female, ethnically diverse preschool teachers in Hong Kong. Data were primarily collected through online semi-structured interviews, supplemented by pre- and post-surveys, reflection worksheets, and written peer feedback. Thematic analysis was utilized for data analysis. Findings: Our study revealed five major concerns regarding STEM teaching among female, ethnically diverse preschool teachers, including (1) no confidence in STEM teaching affected by gender bias and minority stereotype, (2) traditional teaching philosophies influenced by Chinese Confucian culture, (3) lack of culturally and contextually appropriate pedagogical strategies and resources, (4) a constrained curriculum structure and limited time and space for STEM activities, and (5) the negative impact of accountability. These concerns were intertwined and created a complex net that affected teachers’ STEM teaching practices. Originality/Value: The study emphasizes the importance of considering sociocultural and organizational contexts and the interplay among various concerns of teachers when developing STEM professional development programs for female, ethnically diverse preschool teachers. Copyright © 2025 The Author(s).

This chapter explores the flipped classroom approach, which shifts content delivery to online video lectures, freeing up class time for student-centred activities. Widely adopted in K-12 science education in Western countries, its use is expanding in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The chapter reviews the background of flipped classrooms, including their origin, definition, practice, and theoretical framework. It also examines trends in their use in K-12 science education in these regions. Several studies on flipped science classrooms in China and Hong Kong are reviewed, comparing their designs, instructional practices, impacts, and challenges. A case study in a Hong Kong secondary school demonstrates the implementation of a flipped classroom using the technology-enhanced predict-observe-explain (POE) strategy, offering practical guidance for educators. The chapter concludes with insights and implications for future research and practice in flipped science classrooms in China and Hong Kong. Copyright © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Timo Ehmke and John Chi-Kin Lee; individual chapters, the contributors.

Students' understanding of nature of science (NOS) has been largely examined primarily in written or verbal modes. The visual, verbal, and written modes are essential for students' meaning-making of NOS. However, research has sidelined the interaction among these three modes in understanding students' collaborative discourse of NOS. Informed by theories of multimodality and social semiotics, this paper investigates the interactions between the visual, verbal, and written modes as groups of students engaged in explicit-reflective multimodal representation during NOS instruction. Utilizing a collective case study approach, we planned NOS instruction with teachers, and videotaped how each focal group of students in two grade seven classes in Hong Kong constructed multimodal representations of NOS. Multimodal discourse analysis revealed that the three modes fulfill various purposes during students' co-construction of multimodal representations of NOS. The interaction between the three modes facilitates meaning-making of NOS in four ways: (a) students' re-semiotization of discursive scientific practices into their multimodal ensembles; (b) bridging students' writing of scientific reports to scientists' social certification and dissemination; (c) connecting students' decontextualized meaning-making to contextualized meaning-making of methods and methodological rules; and (d) facilitating students' embodied semiosis in social organizations and interactions of science. Focusing on four episodes of co-constructing multimodal representations of NOS, we illustrate how students' meaning-making of NOS is multimodal in nature and how various modes have their own affordances. We discuss future research directions on how multimodality can facilitate students' meaning-making of NOS. Copyright © 2025 Wiley.

Background: Past studies of grit's educational benefits, such as science engagement, showed mixed results across cultures. So, we elaborated the prior model of grit (perseverance of effort, consistency of interest) with adaptability to situations (forming a triarchic model of grit TMG), and tested TMG's relation to subsequent science engagement.Methods: In this study, 1,972 high school students in Hong Kong, mainland China, and the Philippines completed surveys twice (about 6 months apart). We analysed these data with multilevel structural equation modelling.Results: Results showed that country income (GDP per capita) negatively predicted science engagement, while schools with the highest ability students had higher science engagement. Conscientiousness and overall grit positively predicted science engagement at both time periods. Consistency of interest negatively predicted science engagement.Conclusions: This research demonstrates the potential academic benefits of grit in non-Western societies. Promoting grit may serve as a pathway towards greater students' engagement in science. Copyright © 2024 Springer.

Teaching science in English is increasingly common worldwide. This study explores the role of language in science meaning-making during classroom interactions by drawing on video-recorded classroom observations of four biology lessons in secondary English medium instruction (EMI) settings in Hong Kong. Informed by systemic functional linguistics (SFL), we integrate classroom interaction analysis with Lemke's approach to thematic analysis. The results reveal similar interactional patterns across full- and partial-EMI science classrooms, characterised by a lack of interactivity and authoritative teacher behaviour in selecting student responses to engage with. During extended initiation-response-feedback exchanges, teachers' feedback on students' responses appears to underscore the importance of teachers' modified input - specifically input emphasising semantic relations within the field of biology - in developing students' content knowledge and language skills. The implications of the findings for applying SFL pedagogies in EMI science classrooms to improve teacher-student interaction are discussed. Copyright © 2025 De Gruyter .

To promote computational thinking in mathematics education, Scratch is used to foster students' computational thinking and mathematical understanding. However, students face challenges in block-based programming environments, such as having low motivation, high anxiety, and cognitive loads. This study combined the pedagogical values of Geogebra and Scratch to enhance primary students' learning outcomes in computational thinking. We investigated two interventions (solely Scratch and Scratch combined with Geogebra) among 72 Hong Kong fifth-grade students. We found that students who learned computational thinking using Scratch and Geogebra had higher motivation, perceived ability, and lower cognitive load than those who only used Scratch. However, students' anxiety had no significant difference between the two groups. In addition, Students faced more challenges and gained less positive learning outcomes in Scratch group. The use of Geogebra can better complement Scratch in teaching computational thinking in primary mathematics classrooms. We identified the potential of using Geogebra to visualize mathematical knowledge and help students apply what they have learned in block-based languages. Pedagogical implications are provided for instructional design and teaching strategies of computational thinking integrated with STEM education. Copyright © 2025 Elsevier.

Entrepreneurial STEM, an interdisciplinary approach blending STEM and entrepreneurship education, has become a new trend for cross-subject collaboration that aims to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in students, enabling them to apply their STEM knowledge across various contexts. In this study, we investigate the challenges and corresponding strategies of head science teachers who initiated an entrepreneurial STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) curriculum in their schools. Grounded in social exchange theory, we explore how head science teachers with entrepreneurial attributes navigated asymmetrical power distribution presented by principals and other subject heads. This collective case study focuses on three schools in Hong Kong that successfully implemented a renowned entrepreneurial STEM curriculum. The findings reveal a common trajectory among head science teachers: initial enthusiastic promotion of the curriculum while meeting resistance; a downscaling and team reform struggles; and a handover and scale-up. This study illuminates the intricate process of balancing power dynamics and stakeholder perceptions through reciprocal negotiation, which were in turn shaped by societal norms. Copyright © 2025 Springer.

There has been an increasing number of calls to apply new technologies to learning contexts for STEM education. However, limited studies have explored the role of technology in bridging teachers and children to create STEM knowledge collaboratively. Therefore, early childhood teachers encounter challenges integrating digital technologies to support children’s STEM learning. The challenges include developing effective and innovative scaffolding strategies to incorporate digital technology and visualize the processes of using technologies in children’s STEM knowledge building. This study reports on an in-depth exploratory case study from a kindergarten classroom in Hong Kong, exemplifying a new approach to integrating digital technologies within spatialized STEM learning. The case selected continuity learning episodes from a spatially directed STEM learning unit on making a safe traffic city. Under digital technology-integrated scaffolding, the teacher and children co-created a traffic symbolic system by designing symbols of landmarks, developing and applying spatial language, making maps and traffic games with rules. The thematic analysis was adopted to analyze the teachers’ STEM activity plans and reflective reports. The finding indicated that the process through which the teacher and children collaboratively created STEM knowledge via technology-integrated scaffolding involved recalling spontaneous understanding about everyday concepts, exploring ideas in authentic contexts, sorting and organizing their collected information, and identifying and correlating abstract concepts with corresponding everyday practices. The children required two levels of technology-integrated scaffolding strategies to engage in STEM knowledge collaborative creation: scaffolding for technology using and scaffolding through use of technology. Three novel roles of technology emerged that transform learning from knowledge delivery to collaborative creation in inquiries STEM tasks for young children

Coding is a crucial foundation for young children's cognitive development that enhances their logical and computational thinking skills for long-term learning. This study examines how young children in Hong Kong acquire coding skills through integrated STEM activities. In an innovative educational program enacted in a technology-rich 'Creative Lab' with augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and a 3D printer, the study focuses on three children aged 6–8. An explanatory case study approach was employed to collect data from classroom observations and teacher interviews. Observations targeted children's learning progress in coding activities, while the interview unpacked the applied teaching repository. The findings reveal that young children developed early coding skills using various technologies to create and apply symbols. Three strategies scaffold children’s skills enhancement stemmed from situated learning theory: 1) integrating learning content in an authentic context, 2) leveraging learners' intuitive knowledge through inquisitive practice, and 3) providing immersive learning resources. Copyright © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.