Although multiculturalism in education has become dominant in many societies, Hong Kong does not have a tradition of multicultural education. This paper asks whether and how multicultural education, or a new variant, “interculturalism,” might be usefully employed in considering diversity and inequality in Hong Kong education. After giving a brief overview of multiculturalism and interculturalism in education, the paper examines the needs of Newly Arrived Students (NAS) from mainland China and ethnic minorities to receive greater educational representation through content integration, and interventions to increase student empowerment and reduce prejudice (in line with a multicultural approach). However, students can also benefit from programs labeled as “intercultural” today: linguistic interventions that assimilate students to dominant languages used for work and equal opportunity in society. The paper compares Hong Kong’s challenges with those of other countries that employ multicultural and/or intercultural education programs, Canada, the United States, France, Japan, and South Africa, and also considers educational implications of the latest Moral and National Education controversy, to argue for the need for a more active role for multiculturalism and interculturalism in Hong Kong education today. Copyright © 2013 Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong.

Over the past few decades, Mainland China has witnessed a massive outflow of students to higher education institutions in Hong Kong. In the context of an up-surge in Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong, this research aims to explore (1) why Mainland Chinese students choose to study in Hong Kong over other higher education systems, (2) perceptions about the advantages and disadvantages of studying in Hong Kong, and (3) challenges in the process of acculturation from their homeland to Hong Kong. Five key themes are identified: education, finance, learning culture, language, and discrimination/labelling. While Mainland Chinese students often struggle to blend into the new environment, most gradually become accustomed to the local way of life. What remains a challenge is (perceived) discrimination following political tensions over the 'one China, two systems' framework. This paper identifies the expectations and dissatisfactions of the participants with regard to studying in Hong Kong, ultimately offering higher-education administrators an insight into how to better cater for the expanding share of Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong's universities. This research is significant because it extends the literature by examining acculturation and cultural adaptation issues in an increasingly globalized context.
[Copyright of Higher Education is the property of Springer Science & Business Media]

This study aims to understand teacher emotions through interviewing 25 and surveying 1492 primary teachers in China using a mixed method. Deductive content analysis was employed to analyze the data allocating the five nested ecological system – microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macro-system, and chronosystem. Results show that the number of emotions that teachers reported decreased as the distance from the teachers increased. The highest intensity of teacher emotions, especially with regard to teacher-student interaction and classroom management, was reported at the microsystem level. Given the powerful role that emotions and relationships play in teaching and learning, it is critical for teacher education in both preservice and inservice settings to support the development of knowledge and skills for emotional self-regulation, the nurturing of relationships in classrooms, and the improvement of their will-being.

This study investigates the emotions experienced by primary teachers in Hong Kong and Mainland China schools and develops a Teacher Emotion Inventory (TEI). Through surveying 254 teachers in a pilot study and 1830 teachers in the main study, a 5-factor TEI (i.e., Joy, Love, Sadness, Anger, and Fear) is identified using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. This model portrays primary teachers enjoying positive interactions with students and colleagues, recognition from school, family and public, but experiencing negative emotions in relation to unfair treatment, competition among colleagues, imbalance of work lives, and pressure from society, policy, and educational change.
[Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.]

Hong Kong kindergarten teachers, like their counterparts in many other parts of the world, face the challenges of implementing educational reforms and adopting new teaching approaches. This is especially challenging in the absence of detailed, concrete and explicit guidance on implementing new teaching approaches in daily classroom activities. The present study employed a qualitative collective case study methodology to investigate four kindergarten teachers’ perspectives and pedagogical practices in relation to the adoption and implementation of project and thematic approaches in four Hong Kong kindergarten classrooms. Three data collection methods were used, including semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations using an observation guide, and field notes. A range of strategies, including data triangulation, enhanced the credibility and dependability of the study. Key themes from the findings were identified through thematic analysis. The findings reveal that teachers were primarily focused on pedagogical practices associated with establishing and maintaining classroom discipline and rules, and ensuring children’s learning of academic skills. In the area of curriculum and pedagogical practices, the data indicated that teachers put extensive amounts of time and effort into enhancing children’s academic skills. Findings also showed that few children had free-play time. In most cases, children needed to finish their homework before they engaged in play. Such practice may affect other aspects of children’s development such as creative and critical thinking, and problem solving. With regard to discipline and rules, all teachers were concerned about children’s self-help skills and expected children to follow the classroom rules strictly. The teachers in this study frequently used demonstration and direct instructions to children to maintain classroom discipline and rules. The study found that there is resistance in Confucian-heritage cultures to children