Past studies have supported the view that parent background and family socioeconomic status determine the post-secondary educational expectations of adolescents. They build on Pierre Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory, but do not fully explain why some adolescents aspire to post-secondary education and some do not. The capability approach adopted by Amartya Sen, uses the concept of agency to address such individual differences and ‘capability to aspire’ may explain educational transitions. The data for this study is drawn from PISA 2012 and its longitudinal extension study of adolescents in Hong Kong. Results of logistic regression analyses suggest that the reproduction effects through school socioeconomic composition and habitus pertaining to parental expectation are major factors shaping adolescents’ expectations of pursuing a bachelor degree. However, agency factors, that is adolescents’ own capabilities, after taking into account their differing family socioeconomic backgrounds, can strengthen their aspirations to pursue a bachelor degree. This combined approach and its implications for theory and practice, as well as the limitations of the study, are discussed. Copyright © 2020 HKSAC.

Based on the data of Program for International Student Assessment 2009, this paper examines how various aspects of home literacy environment, school climate and students' reading engagement related to their reading performance. A profile of Hong Kong students' three indices of reading engagement - namely, reading enjoyment, reading diversity and online reading - relative to other East Asian societies is first presented. The relative contributions of different family-level and classroom-level factors on Hong Kong students' reading engagement are then examined by using hierarchical linear modelling. Assessment of the relative impact of the three engagement indices on reading performance shows that reading enjoyment is the strongest predictor. That home-school cooperation in cultivating a positive reading climate, nurturing a good reading habit for all students and enhancing the classroom and teaching climate appear to be promising avenues for improving students' reading engagement and performance may be of importance for shaping future policy and practice.
[Copyright of Journal of Research in Reading is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.]

Past studies have supported the view that parent background and family socioeconomic status determine the post-secondary educational expectations of adolescents. They build on Pierre Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory, but do not fully explain why some adolescents aspire to post-secondary education and some do not. The capability approach adopted by Amartya Sen, uses the concept of agency to address such individual differences and ‘capability to aspire’ may explain educational transitions. The data for this study is drawn from PISA 2012 and its longitudinal extension study of adolescents in Hong Kong. Results of logistic regression analyses suggest that the reproduction effects through school socioeconomic composition and habitus pertaining to parental expectation are major factors shaping adolescents’ expectations of pursuing a bachelor degree. However, agency factors, that is adolescents’ own capabilities, after taking into account their differing family socioeconomic backgrounds, can strengthen their aspirations to pursue a bachelor degree. This combined approach and its implications for theory and practice, as well as the limitations of the study, are discussed.
[Copyright of Research in Higher Education is the property of Springer Netherlands.]

This paper examines to what extent and how the data and results of PISA have been used for various education stakeholders and to what extent PISA affect educational policy and practices in Hong Kong. From the point of view of the government, PISA has played an important role in supporting and legitimising government educational reform since 2000. It has supported curricula frameworks and to some extent development and reform from the philosophical and educational viewpoints. However, the mass media and general public seldom went beyond ranking to look at other variables that might inform policy with the exception of some researchers and curriculum developers. Nonetheless, considerable effort has been expended by key researchers in Hong Kong in disseminating information about PISA prior to and after the administration of each assessment and in sharing the Hong Kong results, through such means as press conferences, seminars, international conferences, research and professional development. Experience from the case of Hong Kong suggested that, by keeping international assessment low stake but making good use of it to inform different stakeholders and initiating teacher professional development could be a cost-effective tool to drive educational reform. However, there is a tendency of overuse or abuse of international assessments by making international assessment high stakes, which might create unnecessary pressure for participating schools, teachers and students.

Using data from Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this study examines the social disparity of family involvement. A total of 4,405 students from 140 Hong Kong secondary schools participated in the first cycle of PISA study identifying four types of family involvement: cultural communication, social communication, homework supervision, and cultural activity. Multi-level analysis was used to examine the major family factors related to these types of family involvement. Consistent with previous research, working-class, immigrant, and single-parent families tend to have lower levels of parental involvement. The effect of these structural factors decreased after family resources, family network, and family norms entered into the multi-level regression model. It can be argued that the social disparity of family involvement is mediated by the deprivation of useful resources, lack of network, and low educational aspiration of the disadvantaged families. The results also suggested that it is not only cooperation between home and school, but also connection between parents and their children's peers that provides the necessary chemistry for success. Educators, parents, and policymakers should be aware that family networking should be extended to include the peers of the teenagers if they want to enhance family involvement in education.
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