A group of Mainland Chinese engineering students were asked to respond to 12 questions by indicating their design conventions and expectations about operations, directions-of-motion, and descriptions of movement for items such as doors, keys, taps, and knobs. Chi-square tests demonstrated strong response stereo- types for tasks of all 12 questions. A comparison of the stereotype strengths found here with that of Hong Kong Chinese and American engineering students reported earlier indicated that stereotype strengths of engineering students from the three regions were generally different. For some cases stereotype characteristics of two regions were more alike than the other, and also for some subjects in the three regions performed similarly. The Mainland and Hong Kong Chinese were more alike in making their choices on questions of conceptual compatibility, while more consistent preferences on movement compatibility and spatial compatibility were noted between the Mainland Chinese and American students than Hong Kong Chinese.
[Reproduced with permission of author(s) and publisher from: Yu, L. R. F., & Chan, A. H. Comparative research on response stereotypes for daily operation tasks of Chinese and American engineering students. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 2004, 98, 179-191. © Perceptual & Motor Skills 2004 Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://ammonsscientific.com/link.php?N=3812]

Greater China is an umbrella term used to cover Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. This article reviews the evolution of comparative education in these four societies, noting major forces which have shaped the field. The article observes and comments on similarities and differences within the four societies. It has been prepared as a response to the millennial special issue of the journal, and notes some lessons and contributions from the field in Greater China to the global field of comparative education.
[Copyright of Comparative Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03050060120091256]

This article attends to comparative education scholars' calls for more dialogue on the contribution of theory to comparative education research. It first presents the results of a review of a small sample of articles from comparative education related journals that elicited the purposes of their comparative research strategies in terms of exploration, explanation, argument, prediction, recommendation, and theory development. The article then discusses perspectives on the potential for the use of theory to contribute to richer explanations of educational phenomena. Finally, it demonstrates how a comparative study of political socialization in Hong Kong and Mainland China led to the development of explanatory concepts of critical thinking and the application and reconceptualization of the theory of resistance to explain the formation of students' attitudes towards the nation.
[Copyright of Comparative Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03050060500073215]

Hong Kong is embarking on curricular and pedagogic reforms which replace modernist, Tylerian approaches to the curriculum with recommendations that echo many features of complexity theory. The nature of complexity theory-based curricula are outlined, and these are used to interrogate three seminal curriculum reform documents in Hong Kong. The article suggests that they embody a paradigm shift in curriculum thinking. However, given that complexity theory is not without its problems for curricula, a case is made for an eclectic approach to curriculum planning, and it is this that is taking place in Hong Kong's reformist agenda.
[Copyright of Pedagogy, Culture & Society is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14681360300200174]

It has been observed that Asian, in particular Chinese students frequently outperform their Western counterparts in international academic comparisons. However, it is still open to doubt as to whether they actually possess a deeper conceptual understanding than their Western counterparts and as to whether they would perform as well in non-routine mathematical problems (such as open-ended problems). The reason for such queries owes as much to the students' as to teachers' conceptions of mathematics. When mathematics is regarded as an absolute truth or a set of rules governing symbols, students tend to consider doing mathematics as the memorisation of algorithms and learning mathematics as a process of transmission. We posed certain hypothetical situations to students in Hong Kong and China and found that they possess a relatively restricted conception of mathematics. Later, we investigated this phenomenon at greater depth by the use of open-ended problems. We found that students usually approached a mathematical problem by searching for a rule that identifies what is given, what is being asked and the category of topic for the problem. Evidence has also shown that this approach to mathematical problems is largely shaped by the way they experience learning, their response to task demands, and the classroom environment. In other words, such a restricted conception of mathematics which exists both within the students and in the classroom culture has led students to tackle mathematical problems by searching for rules rather than approaching them through a conceptual understanding of the context. It is well known that students' conception of mathematics is closely related to their problem-solving behaviour. This conception is shaped by a number of factors, in particular, by the space of learning in which they 'live'. Of particular significance is the finding that the teachers' conception of mathematics could contribute to the shaping of this 'lived space'. These inter-relationships

The present paper examines the experiences of teachers in teaching children with special needs in mainstream schools and how they see and evaluate the feasibility of the new integration initiatives in Hong Kong. The data are based on individual and focus group interviews with general class teachers, resource class teachers and principals of mainstream schools admitting students with special needs. Teachers reported difficulties and problems in maintaining classroom discipline and ambivalence in meeting the competing demands between students with and without special needs. The structural constraints of implementing a rigidly defined curriculum and being accountable for good academic results regardless of student competence pose formidable obstacles in achieving the goals of integrated education. There is a conflict at the systemic level between the philosophy of academic excellence defined by grades on the one hand and the philosophy of equality and inclusion on the other. Improving parent participation, having an ample supply of binds, the provision of necessary equipment arid facilities, the availability of pre- and in-service training to teachers, and additional manpower in counselling are the most urgently needed resources in facilitating teachers to engage in teaching students with special needs alongside others.
[Copyright of International Journal of Inclusive Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1360311032000160599]

Education in colonial Hong Kong was basically apolitical in nature. Civic education was introduced as a social control mechanism to reflect colonial heritage, and emphasizes the passive, obedient and law-abiding role of citizens, and prevents the development of nationalism and indigenous cultural identity. However, in response to the Joint Declaration, there was a pressure for the Government to prepare pupils to become competent citizens of the Special Administrative Region (SAR). However, various research findings reflect that young people are apathetic in political and community affairs, weak in basic civic knowledge and social awareness. In response to the re-definition of the national identity status of Hong Kong citizens, there is an urgent need to cultivate the sense of belonging of the younger generation toward the SAR as well as the PRC as a whole. The author believes that even after reunification, civic education should not be overlooked as an important educational element in tertiary education. This element should compliment the academic subjects offered by various departments and be integrated in the themes of personal development programs offered by the student affairs office in tertiary education settings. Civic education programs, either co-curricular or extra-curricular in nature, should focus on both nationalistic and democratic themes through the adoption of a participatory-oriented approach, so that students could be provided with ample opportunities to participate in the decision-making process on issues directly affecting their well-being. Arguments for and against this standpoint are presented in the context of the Hong Kong educational system.
[Copyright of Educational Studies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03055699997918]