The twin policy domains of accountability and autonomy have featured in recent education reforms in many countries, signalling new relationships between governments and educational institutions. Despite different national and localised contexts, a number of common 'global' trends have been identified. However, simultaneously context-specific differences are also evident. For us, the concept of 'globalisation', when it implies policy homogenisation, is too blunt an instrument to critically analyse these major reforms. We would argue that there are still too few studies on globalisation processes grounded in detailed examinations of particular historical times and geographical spaces. Our research is located within the tensions between global commonalities and localised differences.
This paper reports research on changing accountability and autonomy in higher education in three 'Asian' countries. Empirical data has been collected in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Singapore in an attempt to begin to redress a 'Western' hegemony in such research. Within each national context two different types of universities became case study sites for the analysis of both commonalities and differences in accountability and autonomy policies and practices. The current paper focuses in particular on the conceptual and methodological framings of the research and presents some preliminary findings.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]

Recent studies in the late 1990s have led researchers argued that performance goals can be split up into performance- approach and performance-avoidance goals and that performance goals are not totally maladaptive in learning. Research of the trichotonomous goals framework by Elliot, McGregor and Gable (1999) found that mastery goals are positive predictors of deep processing, performance - approach goals are positive predictors of surface processing and exam performance, and performance-avoidance goals are positive predictors of surface processing and negative predictors of deep performance and exam performance. The present study examined a structural model outlining the relationship of the three achievement goals, learning strategies and achievement of Hong Kong secondary students. The model was confirmed by LISREL with satisfactory goodness of fit index. The results showed that mastery goals were significantly and positively related to deep learning strategy but negatively related to surface strategy. Both performance- approach and avoidance goals were significantly related to surface strategy. Both mastery goals and performance - approach goals were significantly and positively related to academic achievement but performance-avoidance goals were significantly and negatively related to achievement.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]

A survey study was conducted to examine the epistemological beliefs and study approaches of a group of Hong Kong teacher education students. Results showed that epistemological beliefs and study approaches of the students were independent of age, gender and electives. Correlation analysis, however, indicated that the students' epistemological beliefs were related to their study approaches. Beliefs in innate/fixed ability, authority/expert knowledge and certainty knowledge were positively related to surface approach, surface motive and surface strategy in learning while belief in learning effort/process was positively related to deep approach, deep motive and strategy in learning. A negative relation was also identified between belief in authority/expert knowledge and deep approach, motive and strategy. The results supported the suggestions in research literature that epistemological beliefs were related to meta-cognitive activities and implications were drawn for teaching and learning as well as future research in this area.
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Survey data from 15 lecturers in a tertiary education institution and 39 teachers in a secondary school in Hong Kong were analyzed to investigate their work motivation and its relationship with job-related stress and satisfaction. The relationship between job-related stress and job satisfaction was negative. However, both levels of stress and job satisfaction were high. In terms of work motivation, for both groups, achievement and affiliation orientations were high but power orientation was not. These results indicate that the job nature of teaching itself may have a driving force that makes teachers strive for professional development that is stressful yet satisfying and fulfilling. Analysis of variance found that the two groups (lecturers vs. teachers) did not differ in work-related psychological outcomes (job stress and satisfaction), nor did they differ in their power orientation. For both groups, the achievement and affiliation orientations were higher than power orientation whereas between-group comparisons found that achievement and affiliation orientations were significantly higher for lecturers in the tertiary institution. The relatively high stress level of both the lecturers and teachers warrants attention. Further work should focus on effort to reduce teacher stress and increase job satisfaction.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]

This paper discusses a research project that examines academic staff perceptions of online learning in a teacher education setting in Hong Kong. Five academics from Hong Kong's leading teacher education university participated in the project over 18 months. The academics ranged in experience from first time users of online learning to experienced users. Five cases examine the use of online learning in a blended mode (all modules taught at the Institute are predominantly face to face teaching and learning). One of the aims of the project was to obtain perceptions of online learning from staff members from the Departments of Chinese, English, Information and Applied Technology and Physical Education and Sport Science (two staff). The five staff members were generally positive about their use of online learning. In particular, the online learning environment provided opportunities for student reflection, peer editing, students learning from each other and also provided another avenue for teacher student and student teacher feedback.
[Copyright of Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ascilite) at http://www.ascilite.org.au]