Quality learning environment goes beyond only focusing on students’ academic achievement. Lately, mindsets and well-being of students come to the fore of research agenda and attract burgeoning interests. Growth mindset (Dweck, 2016) and well-being (2014) of students were measured in the latest PISA alongside other aptitude tests and other items concerning learning environments (OECD, 2018). Growth mindset is important, as it was found to predict better learning strategies used, better self-efficacy, less fear towards failure, and better value of school.PISA focused on measuring students of 15 years old, yet, charting their mindset and well-being beyond that was less systematic and sparse. Furthermore, from previous studies, it has been shown that associate degree students were more prone to self-deprecation upon the head-on failing experience from the public examination (Lee, 2019; Wong, 2018). The objective of the present study was to examine the relationships of students’ mindset (growth vs. fixed), their level of grit (interest and effort), their sense of well-being (environmental mastery, personal growth, self-acceptance); and academic engagements (including also positive and negative emotions) in a group of associate degree students in Hong Kong. A total of 169 students aged between 17 to 19, from a community college in Hong Kong, participated the study voluntarily. Instruments was compiled to measure mindset, well-being and academic engagement correspondingly and administered during the lesson of an elective psychology course. All scales demonstrated satisfactory reliability, and correlational analysis showed that growth mindset yielded a more consistent pattern of positive associations with well-being and academic engagement than fixed mindset. Implication of instilling growth mindset both at class-level and institute-level will be discussed. Specific recommendations will also be made in context of self-financed two-year curriculum spaced program. Copyright ©

Lately, the topic of emotions in academic contexts has gained research attention, yet there has been relatively little exploration of how beliefs about collaboration contribute to students’ epistemic emotions. The objective of the present study was to examine this relationship in a Liberal Studies lesson. Forty-three Hong Kong secondary school students from two Liberal Studies classes participated in the study voluntarily. They completed instruments measuring their beliefs about collaboration and epistemic emotions (curiosity, confusion, anxiety) after they had completed a collaborative activity in the class. Path analysis showed a negative association between beliefs about collaboration and the two negative emotions (anxiety and confusion), yet a positive one with curiosity. These relationships were found to be consistent, as predicted by theory. Results of the study underscored the need to understand beliefs about collaboration and emotive variables and how these can be harnessed to promote positive learning outcomes. Copyright © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Junjun Chen and Ronnel B. King; individual chapters, the contributors.

The concept of the associate degree is new to the Hong Kong tertiary education system. Public discussion and research have focused much on the policy and operational aspects of this tier, but empirical efforts to examine associate degree students' learning experiences and how it relates to the policy are relatively sparse. The present study characterised Hong Kong associate degree students' learning experiences in this new tier of tertiary education from the light of human capital theory using qualitative methods. Thirty-five students forming 11 focus groups participated in the study. The focus group interview was exploratory and semi-structured, inviting the students to discuss their transition experiences. Three themes were grounded on the data: 1) Inferior identity; 2) Dual purposes of associate degree; and 3) Intense competition and stress. The present finding regarding associate degree students' learning experience yields implications on policy-making; specifically on the provision of financial support to minimise the cost incurred and broadening of admission in order to make this tier an integral part of the tertiary education system in Hong Kong to promote public perception of economic gain. Copyright © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This study examined the design of a computer-supported environment using online discussion for alignment of learning, collaboration and assessment. Participants were 155 student teachers attending a course in psychology of classroom learning in a teacher education program in Hong Kong. The design included students contributing to online forum; engaging in regular discussion; and reflecting on their discourse. For reflective assessment, student teachers identified three best examples (clusters of notes) from the class community’s discourse and explained why they were important for their inquiry. Data consisted of questionnaires on epistemic beliefs and collaboration; students’ postings on online forum; reflective assessment notes (3 best clusters of notes); and end-of-term theory-practice summary paper. Correlation analysis show that students’ beliefs about collaboration was related to their beliefs about knowledge (development); as well, regression analysis indicate that reflective assessment scores significantly predict summary paper (domain understanding). Implications of examining both individual and community learning through reflective assessment in computer-supported environments are discussed. Copyright © 2018 EARLI.

This study aimed to identify the four key dimensions of epistemic beliefs that concern the nature of knowledge and knowing and examine their relationship with cognitive constructs, study approaches, and academic performance among Hong Kong college students. A 14-item scale was developed in three studies with independent samples of Hong Kong college students (n = 250, 466, and 373, respectively). Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the hypothesized four-factor model of epistemic beliefs consisting of Certainty, Complexity, Source, and Justification. Results indicated that all four dimensions of epistemic beliefs were associated with Effort Regulation; students with more sophisticated epistemic beliefs were less likely to employ the Surface Approach; and epistemic beliefs predicted both coursework and examination performance, whereas both Surface and Deep Approaches did not. The present study supported a model of epistemic beliefs focusing on the nature of knowledge and knowing that pertains to Certainty, Complexity, Source, and Justification. Implications of the findings in relation to understanding epistemic beliefs in cross-cultural contexts are discussed.
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