Some past studies find that older students have more confidence in using technology for learning than younger students but some other studies find the opposite result. However, it is found that there are a few researches studying on the age difference in the perception of using technology for learning in Hong Kong. Therefore, the aim of the study is to examine the age difference of confidence in using technology for learning in the Hong Kong higher educational institutions. In this study, it employed a survey methodology to collect a total of 211 questionnaires from one of the universities in Hong Kong. The findings show that older students had more confidence in using technology for learning than younger students.
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The study examined how attitudes and subjective norms could be used to predict participation intention of adults in continuing education. In this research, attitudes comprised the two variables of positive attitude and negative attitude and subjective norms included normative belief and motivation to comply. Structural equation modeling using a maximum likelihood estimator was used to test the data collected from 752 adult respondents in Hong Kong, China. The results indicated that the relationships between positive attitude, negative attitude, normative belief and participation intention were significant. The relationship between motivation to comply and participation intention was found insignificant. However the strong relationship between motivation to comply and positive attitude revealed the indirect influence of motivation to comply on participation intention through positive attitude. The result also disclosed the phenomenon that normative belief was a better predictor of participation intention in continuing education than positive and negative attitudes in this context. The Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) was used as the basis of reference in developing the conceptual framework of this study. The revised attitudes towards continuing education scales (Blunt, 2002) were shown to have validity in terms of the direct association with the various attitudes of adults towards continuing education. It was concluded that positive attitude, negative attitude, normative belief and motivation to comply with perceived social influence provided meaningful indicators of the respondents in the sample as well as reliable predictive variables to participation intention in continuing education.
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There has been increasing research on the study of discourse markers (DMs) in terms of their pragmatic use. However, their pedagogic use in the ESL classroom has received less attention. This paper explores the attitudes of Hong Kong teachers towards the pedagogic values of DMs using a questionnaire (N=132), a reliability test, factor analysis, and interviews (N=3) with NS and NNS teacher-informants. Both the quantitative and qualitative results indicate a very positive perception of the pragmatic and pedagogic values of DMs by the subjects, where students at the intermediate-advanced level are challenged to acquire DMs for both receptive and productive purposes. The findings also 200 reveal the underrepresentation of DMs in existing teaching materials and in subjects' teaching. The study proposes the need to develop learners' linguistic awareness of this aspect of spoken features to facilitate communication and suggests that DMs can be included as part of the lexical input in the ESL/EFL syllabus. The results have implications for utilizing corpora to exploit the polyfunctionalities of DMs in different contexts and across registers, modifying existing teaching materials and promoting professional involvement in preparing learners to develop more effective communication.
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In this mixed methods study, the authors explored differences and similarities in beliefs about death and dying as well as end-of-life care preferences among social work students in Hong Kong and the United States. A convenience sample of 176 social work students from Hong Kong and 58 from the United States was recruited to complete a quantitative questionnaire with three open-ended questions. Findings revealed differences as well as similarities in beliefs about death and dying and that a larger proportion of Hong Kong students as compared to U.S. students preferred curative rather than palliative care. Implications for social work education and hospice practice in both countries include the need for social work student and practitioner self-awareness in order to prepare for culturally competent practice and policies that are relevant across cultures.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15524256.2010.529021 ]

Globally, vocational and lifelong education reform now places greater stress on employability skills rather than only simple technical skills. This study undertakes a thorough review of the vocational education curriculum offered at one institution in Hong Kong so as to explore personal development opportunities that support the development of skills useful to both employability and broader personal development. Data was collected from multiple sources, including documents, questionnaires and interviews: a range of rich sources from different perspectives that explore the truth of students' personal development opportunities. The study findings indicate that personal development opportunities at the pilot institution are ineffective and a review of existing personal development training is recommended. More innovative new learning strategies should be introduced in and out of class activities to facilitate personal development for students. This study offers a practical guide regarding personal development for educators, and formulates an active learning model to support people development.<
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