Contemporary processes of globalisation have led us individually and collectively to grapple with affordances and challenges of living, learning, and working on an increasingly interdependent planet. Consequently, developing the dispositions, knowledge, skills, and behaviors to navigate local and global ambiguities that arise from interdependence has become an important task of education. While the affective dimension in developing positive global perspectives seems clear, teaching approaches often prioritise the cognitive component of knowledge. We present preliminary theoretical and empirical work from an EdUHK Teaching Development Grant project, involving almost 20 university teachers across disciplines and the globe, to develop affectively-oriented pedagogical activities for the teaching of internationally-focused course content. Theories of affect tend to resist the reason-emotion binary. Therefore, to assess effects of these affective pedagogies quantitatively, we’ve developed brief pre- and post-class surveys for students measuring how affective engagement in the activity (e.g. experience of curiosity, enjoyment, pity) is related to gains in global affective attitudes (e.g. valuing other cultures, interest in interacting with cultural others), as well as gains in global knowledge (e.g. knowledge of other cultures). This project promises to advance both the theory and application of affective pedagogy in the interest of cultivating students’ affective commitment to being global citizens. Copyright © 2021 The Education University of Hong Kong.

The innovative use of technologies in language learning and teaching significantly impacts language education. This paper aims to investigate technology-enhanced language learning (TeLL) and teaching (TeLT) in higher education through surveying 223 students and 93 teachers across four Hong Kong universities, and interviewing around 50 students and 20 teachers. The current study investigated the e-resources/tools frequently adopted in language learning and teaching, how participants perceived the affordances of TeLL and TeLT, and challenges they had faced in technology-enhanced language learning and teaching. The results reveal that students and teachers perceived several affordances of TeLL and TeLT, such as provision of authentic materials, enhancement of interactivity, and enhancement of learner autonomy. A list of commonly adopted e-resources/tools for language learning and teaching were identified. The students and teachers also indicated what support they would hope to receive from a Community of Practice (CoP) on technology-enhanced language learning and teaching. Copyright © 2022 IGI Global.

Objectives: Research shows that compassion from others and from the self may enable university students to face, overcome, and bounce back from adversity and generate a greater sense of thriving and meaning in life. However, the underlying processes are largely unknown. The present study aimed to examine the associations of compassion with psychological distress, flourishing, and meaning in life among university students and explore the mechanisms underlying these associations. Methods: A total of 536 Hong Kong university students completed questionnaires measuring their experiences of compassion from others, self-compassion, resilience, psychological distress, flourishing, and meaning in life. Results: Serial mediation analyses showed that compassion from others was associated positively with self-compassion, which was, in turn, linked to greater resilience and consequently lower levels of psychological distress and higher levels of flourishing and meaning in life. Conclusions: Our findings reveal the associations of compassion from others and self-compassion with the well-being and life meaning of university students. The findings highlight the importance of being open and receptive to love and kindness from others. The findings also point to the importance of developing a caring attitude toward oneself. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s).