Outdoor adventure education (OAE) is philosophically rooted in Western values, yet it has been implemented in non-Western cultures, such as East Asia. This paper examines how OAE functions in East Asia, through data from Hong Kong. Although some cultural differences are clear, there is no compelling evidence that OAE cannot provide benefits in Eastern contexts. The data in our example support the premise that OAE can be a viable and valuable medium for the development of social and intrapersonal skills and may serve as a complementary approach to traditional schooling in East Asia. Implications from this paper include better aligning OAE with schools and teachers, understanding the merits of relationships developed through OAE, and appreciating that some traditional OAE practices should be questioned when exported to different cultures.
[Copyright of Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education & Leadership is the property of Sagamore Publishing.]

The study seeks to understand the relation between preschool children's mode of participation and negotiation strategies during play and their theory of mind (ToM) development in the Hong Kong context. Forty-two 5-year-old children were recruited. Their emotional and cognitive ToMs were assessed along with expressive language ability. Children's play was observed twice in naturalistic and laboratory settings. Parents completed a questionnaire on their child's emotional and cognitive ToM development, including demographic information and social economic status indexes. The results showed that 5-year-old Hong Kong children mostly engaged in associative and cooperative play and employed two-way, reciprocal strategies in their play. Parent report of emotional ToM predicted children's play strategy in both naturalistic and laboratory settings. Child measure of cognitive ToM predicted their play strategy in the laboratory setting. The study advocates more play time in kindergarten in order to foster an empathetic generation.
[Copyright of Early Child Development and Care is the property of Routledge.]

Despite numerous studies of the research-teaching nexus, applying research-informed teaching (RiT) to taught-postgraduate education has been largely overlooked. This knowledge gap is particularly significant in the maritime law discipline given the fast-growing business of international shipping and logistics. This paper aims to examine the impact of applying RiT in the taught-postgraduate education of maritime law. The research employed a multiple-method case study with the maritime law discipline at a university in Hong Kong where research-teaching linkages were introduced. The results indicate that the application of RiT had a positive impact on students' learning. Through the learning process, students' perceptions and attitudes were revealed to have changed towards favouring RiT, and were found not sensitive to their programmes and backgrounds. The findings assert that RiT should be promoted for taught-postgraduate education of maritime law and integrated into the learning programme systematically.
[Copyright of Innovations in Education and Teaching International is the property of Taylor & Francis Inc.]

Through the experiences of Pakistani-migrant families in Hong Kong, this paper explores ethnic minority students' aspirations for education, work and the future in a context where education is highly valued but also extremely competitive. The first part depicts how Pakistani youth and their parents articulate their aspirations and opportunities and investigates the sociopolitical changes in education that are creating new opportunities for young Pakistani students. The second part considers the challenges from the larger Hong Kong society and within the Pakistani community that may hamper aspirations. The last part examines transitions and promises and the ways Pakistani youth negotiate for better futures. This article delineates the intertwining dynamics of cultural consensus, cultural dissonance and children's agency as the youth navigate the terrain of education and career.
[Copyright of Children's Geographies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd.]

This article examines the politics of school-based management (SBM) in Hong Kong, with a specific focus on the conflicts between the state and three Christian churches (Catholic, Anglican, and Methodist) running state-funded religious schools. Although the state based its advocacy for SBM on neoliberally driven ideas of participation, transparency, and accountability, religious groups expressed worry about the loss of control over schools as an institution of value transmission anchored in religious beliefs. This article uses the SBM controversy as a case study to advance geographical debates on religious schools and argues that neoliberalism forms a necessary lens through which to examine the state-religion relations concerning religious schools. It offers an analytical framework that emphasizes the mutually constitutive relationship between religious schools and state building. It lends evidence to this argument by situating religious schools in the context of neoliberalization of education policies and arguing that faith-based sensibilities create new vectors of resistance to neoliberalism as a distinctive secular formation. The empirical analyses address three questions. First, we develop a detailed analysis of the discourses and rationalities upheld by the Hong Kong government and the churches. Second, we consider interactions and exchanges between the state and the churches, focusing on the assertions, negotiations, and concessions that both needed to make in a prolonged struggle over the decision-making process. Third, we reflect briefly on the aftermath of the passing of SBM to situate the churches' concerns in a broader context of neoliberal education policy.
[Copyright of Annals of the American Association of Geographers is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd.]

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss nationalistic education in Hong Kong from a cultural perspective. It highlights the challenges faced by the Hong Kong Government and the growing antagonism and mistrust between the young generation and the government. The paper reviews the cultural policies adopted by the Western Zhou, Han and Tang dynasties in ancient China.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts a historical approach by reviewing the policies in music and culture in the Chinese history and argues for the adoption of a soft approach to nationalistic education in Hong Kong.FindingsResults show that being inclusive toward diverse cultures, trusting and valuing people's voices and accepting differences of opinion are effective policies that were adopted by the respective dynasties. The results shed light on the possibility of nurturing nationalism through education in music and culture.Research limitations/implicationsThe historical examples mentioned in this paper are only selected periods of the Chinese history. Thus, the survey could not be taken as a comprehensive review.Practical implicationsThis paper reviews the policies concerning music and culture in ancient China and argues for transferring the soft approach of predecessors toward these subjects as part of the nationalistic education of Hong Kong.Social implicationsThe results shown should be considered seriously by the Hong Kong Government as an effective substitute policy for the past stringent approach of implementing national education in Hong Kong. Nationalistic education focusing on music and culture is a common root for all Chinese and should be used in future to build up trust and common values between China and Hong Kong.Originality/valueThe originality of this research lies in its dealing with nationalism and national education, recommending a soft approach to education viewed through the prisms of music and culture.
[Copyright of Asian Education and Development Studies is the

Differentiated instruction (DI) is nothing new and is believed to be an effective research-based strategy to cater for learner diversity. Differentiation involves finding multiple ways to structure a lesson so that each student is provided with an opportunity to work at a moderately challenging level. Previous studies, however, found that teachers were not well prepared and insufficiently equipped with skills and knowledge about DI. In the recent Hong Kong curriculum reform, DI has been highlighted as one of the ways to catering to learner diversity. The purpose of the study is to examine in-service teachers' readiness for using DI strategies and perceived challenges in its implementation. Using a mixed-methods design, a questionnaire was used to investigate teachers' perceived readiness for and obstacles toward using DI strategies, as followed by semi-structured focus group interviews that were done to in-service teachers of two schools. Qualitative data as obtained from the interviews was used to explain the quantitative data. With the use of factor analysis, two factors were identified in the survey, including Factor 1 Teacher-centred approach and Factor 2 Student-centred approach. Findings indicated that teachers generally tended to be ready for using DI strategies; however, they were more ready for using teacher-centred approach. Three perceived obstacles toward DI were identified: class size and diversity, time, and understanding of teaching strategies. Implications for curriculum development, professional development and research directions will be discussed at the end of the paper.

This study explored two under-researched areas on students' attitudes towards science, that is, the structural models representing these attitudes and the role played by school bands in moderating the gender differences in such attitudes. The participants were 360 ninth graders in Hong Kong from 3 school bands. The structural equation modelling method was adopted to compare four hypothetical models for students' attitudes towards science. Results reflect that (i) the data supported the three-factor structure of the behavioural domain of students' attitudes towards science; (ii) the four lower level dimensions of the attitudes towards science (i.e. value of science to society, self-concept in science, anxiety towards science and enjoyment of science) could be further integrated into broader categories; (iii) male students demonstrated significantly more positive attitudes towards science in five dimensions (i.e. self-concept in science, enjoyment in science, learning science in and outside the classroom and future participation) and (iv) school bands played a prominent moderating role in gender differences in students' attitudes towards science. Implications for studying and developing students' attitudes towards science are discussed in the paper.

This study reveals the perceptions of over one hundred Hong Kong teachers who were asked to reflect upon the implementation of Liberal Studies in secondary schools in response to the latest government review of the subject's curriculum. Questionnaire-based surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted to probe the participating teachers' perceptions and suggestions in such areas as the subject's objectives, content and assessment, with the ultimate goal of tracing the subject's developmental trajectory. The findings indicate that, whilst the teachers appear to have faith in Liberal Studies' objective to develop students into critical and independent thinkers, they feel that the pedagogical challenges with which they have been confronted have influenced their teaching motivation and support for the subject's mandatory status in secondary education. Further, the potential tension between the challenges they have encountered in reality and the ideal outcomes envisaged by policymakers raises the question of how Liberal Studies can move forward in giving teachers a greater role in educational reform. Recommendations for relieving that tension, as well as the findings' implications for future research on curriculum development in Hong Kong and elsewhere, are also discussed.
[Asia Pacific Education Review is a copyright of Springer, 2017]

Purpose Political parties in Hong Kong are eager to recruit university students and internship programs are a major recruitment channel for them. However, studies on the influences of political internship programs on university students are few and have mainly been conducted in Western democracies. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of political party internship programs in encouraging university and community college students to join political parties in Hong Kong, a semi-democratic autonomous region of China. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on the insights gained from semi-structured interviews with a small sample of former party interns. Findings This paper found that party internship programs can play three major roles in encouraging students at higher education institutions to join a political party. They are: exposing students to the recruitment efforts of the party, helping students who have no political aspirations to generate a desire to join, and providing an opportunity for those already considering joining to ascertain if the party is really suitable for them. Originality/value This paper shows that political internships in semi-democratic regimes like Hong Kong can play similar roles as those in Western democracies to stimulate some university students to pursue a career in politics and help those already considering a political career to ascertain their goals. This paper also shows that these stimulating and confirming effects could also apply to the application for party membership.
[© Emerald Publishing Limited 2017]