This study draws on the findings from a STEM education project to examine Hong Kong in-service primary school teachers’ perceived challenges in implementing STEM education, the support they received in STEM teacher professional development (STEM TPD), and their needs for future STEM TPD. The study engaged teacher professional development through a school-university partnership and adopted a practitioner research approach that aimed at enhancing primary school teachers’ professional capacity of designing STEM activities relevant to the Hong Kong curriculum, with an emphasis on the learning of crosscutting concepts and inquiry-based teaching. STEM TPD is aimed at collaborative curriculum development as an opportunity to foster active learning through co-creating curriculum materials among teachers and university facilitators. Twelve primary school teachers from various subject teaching backgrounds were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect the teachers’ experiences with the STEM TPD and their views on the integration of cross-cutting concepts in designing STEM lessons. Findings of the study revealed teachers' perceived challenges during the preparation and teaching phases related to STEM instruction and lesson planning, limited resources, and other concerns embedded in broader contextual situations. While teachers reported to have received different types of support from the STEM TPD relating to the pedagogical knowledge of STEM, future directions for STEM TPD were expressed in relation to content components of STEM TPD, opportunities for authentic learning and first-hand experiences, and coherence. Finally, this chapter discusses areas that need to be resolved before a further enhancement in terms of quality and quantity of STEM lessons could be expected. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s).

In many disciplines of STEM education, online experiments (OEs), commonly called remote-controlled experiments, become an emerging practice in technology-enhanced learning because of their many merits perceived in educational research. We recently formulated an innovative, low-cost, and open-source approach to developing new OEs rapidly. It won a gold medal and a special prize in an international innovation and invention competition in 2018. Using this new approach, teachers and students can easily access OEs with a lightweight web browser using any hardware and any operating system without installing additional software or apps. They can observe and/or control the experiments and collect authentic data (over a very short or long time) for further analysis by plotting graphs and/or conducting calculations to obtain important results. Some well-accepted instructional approaches or pedagogies have been integrated into online science/STEM experiments, which can also be aligned with school-based curricula to provide self-contained courseware for students’ online self-regulated learning. In this chapter, we will focus on whether OEs could really and effectively provide the essential elements of experimental learning to ‘school students’ as expected in traditional laboratory work. From our pilot implementation in four Hong Kong (HK) and Mainland China (CHINA) secondary schools with a total of 172 participants, we explored the OE experiences of different experiments and cognitive performance among students from different regions and genders using the conventional mixed methods research and design-based research. Students’ feedback and suggestions for improvement of the OEs were also analysed together with some specific implications for science/STEM education. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s).

The aim of this research study is to investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of innovative use of an open-source digital technology, Arduino, which is an information and communications technology (ICT) tool for practical work in physics in the senior secondary curriculum. The study also seeks to ascertain factors affecting the effective use of the technology in students’ learning of physics with a view to informing possible extensive use of the Arduino technology in senior secondary science education and its application to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. The importance of harnessing ICT in education is well recognized in the education arena. Educators have viewed ICT as an enabling tool for higher levels of analysis to take place in science teaching and learning. However, the use of technology does not guarantee meaningful and effective learning. What is crucial is the transformative, appropriate use of ICT to enhance students’ learning. In this regard, proper integration of ICT into the curriculum, or even across disciplines in the context of STEM education, for meaningful study is an area of concern. While ICT integration has been advocated for many years in the senior secondary physics curriculum in Hong Kong, there remains a gap in its holistic integration into the curriculum. This study demonstrates successful development of seven Arduino-based experiments and an entire set of courseware that covers a wide range of experiments in the topic of “mechanics” in the senior secondary physics curriculum. Design-based research (DBR) methodology is adopted in the development, which is characterized by rounds of systematic iteration, feedback gathering, and modification. The final outputs are encouraging for performing the series of experiments in “mechanics”. The study bridges the gap between theoretical framework and practical application in an authentic setting, and it informs of the suitability of DBR in developing ICT tools for

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

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.

本研究旨在探討透過行為改變技術來提升中度弱智兒童科技學習的成效層面。從國際性及東亞區研究範疇中，很少特殊教育研究涉獵這個學習層面。因此，本研究以前、後測法來比較 12 位中一至中五年級中度弱智學生在非科技教學組、科技教學組及行為改變技術融合於科技教學組中的學習差異，藉此嘉惠有特殊教育需要的學生。This paper attempts to explore into possible enhancement of using behavior modification (BM) techniques for moderately retarded schooling children’s learning through information technology (IT). Facing the under-researched special education topic in international and East Asian research literature, the paper compares the pre- and post-test learning outcomes of 12 moderately retarded students at Grade 7-12 levels in the three groups of not using IT, using IT and using IT in BM settings through quantitative research methods, for the sake of those students with special educational needs. Copyright © 2005 香港中文大學香港教育研究所 ; 華南師範大學教育技術研究所.

In the past two decades, despite their improved access to education, women remain underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). According to UNESCO (2017, pp. 18-20), between 2014 and 2016, the global average enrolment figures of female university students in the fields of “information and communication technologies” and “engineering, manufacturing and construction” constituted only 28% and 27% respectively. Similar situation can be found in Hong Kong. From 2011 to 2017, females have been the minorities in programmes of ‘sciences’ and ‘engineering and technology’, standing at around 35% to 39% and 29% to 33% respectively.Studies have identified various factors contributing to women’s under-representation in STEM. Barriers identified include the alignment of science culture and curriculum with masculinity (Archer, et al., 2016), the identity tensions for young girls when they do science (Faulkner, 2007; Gonsalves 2014), teachers’ bias (Carlone, 2003; Warrington and Younger, 2000), and lack of science capital (Francis, et al., 2017) This paper contributes to the current discussion by examining secondary school students’ narratives towards their STEM choice.We conducted eight focus group interviews (N=56), comprising female and male students who have chosen more or less STEM subjects in their Diploma of Secondary School Examination (DSE, which is a public examination leading to university admission). Our findings indicate that some prominent gendered beliefs prevail amongst Hong Kong students, including “boys are more sensible whereas girls are more sensitive”; “only boys are endowed with math sense – the natural ability to do math”; “girls only work hard but have no math sense”; and “girls that are good at math are exceptional or abnormal”. These gender stereotypical and male-dominated beliefs are particularly damaging to female students, as they undermine their self-efficacy and learner-identities. Copyright © 2020 International Conference

Women’s access to education has significantly improved in recent decades; however, the gender skew in STEM subjects – the underrepresentation of female students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – persists. The phenomenon is even more noticeable in the advanced economies. In this study, we examine factors at individual, peer, and family levels in contributing to students’ choices of STEM electives in the secondary school curriculum, and their intentions to choose STEM as their preferred choice of university majors and career orientations.Data of this study come from a representative survey of Secondary 5 (11th Grade) students in Hong Kong (Ni=2, 807 students; Nj=43 schools). Our data show that female students are not only less likely to take STEM-related electives in the DSE curriculum (the mainstream curriculum leading to university entrance), but also more likely than male students to leak out from the STEM pipeline in the later stages. That is, even female students have taken STEM-related electives in the secondary schools, they are less likely to pursue STEM majors in higher education or a career in the STEM fields. Regression results show that gender differences in the subject self-concepts, preference on job characteristics, and stereotypical beliefs towards STEM are the key factors to women’s low intention to choose STEM fields in education. Gender stereotypes towards STEM also hinder female students from continuing their pursuit of science in university. Despite similar academic performance, female students tend to hold a lower level of self-concept on science-related subjects than male students. Meanwhile, school-related factors exert an indirect effect on the subject choice mostly through affecting students’ subject self-concept and stereotypical belief towards STEM. Our findings suggest that more measures have to be taken to change female students’ perceptions about science and improve teaching so that female students’ confidence can be

There have been increasing concerns about the significant decline in teenagers’ intentions to pursue STEM subjects or careers. This study examined how students’ perceptions of parental expectations, STEM cultural capital, mathematics/science self-efficacy, gender, and parents’ jobs were associated with STEM career aspirations and tested whether these associations differed by school level. Data were collected from 1,864 junior and 665 senior secondary students in Hong Kong via an online survey. Results indicated that, perceived parental long-term expectations were closely linked to STEM career aspirations, whereas, perceived parental short-term expectations were closely linked to self-efficacy. Out-of-school STEM experiences and STEM media consumption both had positive impacts on aspirations and shaped different aspects of students’ perceived parental expectations. Additionally, significant gender differences were found in STEM media consumption, self-efficacy, and aspirations. These relationships mainly were invariant across school levels. However, the indirect paths from STEM media consumption to aspirations via self-efficacy varied significantly between junior and senior secondary students. Based on these findings, this study argues for the essential role of perceived parental expectations in shaping STEM career aspirations for teenagers. STEM cultural capital may be more productive and supportive if it promotes teenagers’ interpretations of parental expectations and their mathematics and science self-efficacy. Copyright © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.