In this study, we assessed the general marine environmental knowledge and attitudes of university students from eight public universities in Hong Kong. The Ocean Literacy Framework and revised New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) were used as tools for questionnaire development. Data were collected via in-person and online surveys. An in-person survey was conducted at the university canteen from 16 May to 24 May 2017, and an online survey was conducted via email from 1 May to 31 May 2017. A structured questionnaire was provided to interested students from different levels of study and majors. Data obtained from these surveys were summarized based on participants’ correct answers in the general knowledge section and five-point Likert scaling for attitude statements. Results show that Hong Kong university students possess moderate marine environmental knowledge and pro-environmental attitudes. Knowledge scores significantly correlate with demographic variables, such as major of study, gender, institution, and parents’ education. Students’ pro-environmental attitudes are associated with different factors, including participation in various marine recreational activities, taking marine-related courses, and attachment to conservative marine initiatives. The study results have implications regarding the advancement of marine environmental knowledge and the pro-environmental attitudes of university students, such as mapping a well-structured pathway for disseminating marine environmental knowledge, curricular involvement, and the development of an integrated web resource. Copyright © 2023 by the authors.

Although extracurricular music activities are common in Hong Kong, private music teachers’ perceptions of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are underexplored in research in this context. This study examined private music teachers’ knowledge of ASD and their attitudes toward students with ASD in Hong Kong, and the relationship between these two factors. The study collected data from a questionnaire survey (n = 200) and eleven individual interviews. Unexpectedly, the findings showed that the teachers had a good understanding and a marginally positive perception of ASD, despite some anxiety about teaching students with ASD. Furthermore, knowledge of and attitude toward ASD were positively correlated. Teachers with previous training in special education needs had a better understanding of ASD and a more positive attitude toward ASD than those without related training. These results imply that further formal and public education could promote acceptance of and equal learning opportunities for students with ASD. Copyright © 2021 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

This study focuses on doctoral students' professionalisation as future academics across academic disciplines, using a Hong Kong research-oriented university as a case study. Doctoral students acquire the norms, knowledge/skills, and values required for the academic profession through their learning experiences. The study aims to explore how doctoral students perceive their professional competences and what are the major factors of learning experiences influencing perceived competencies among them. Data collection of the study is based on a questionnaire designed by international team members in a previous project entitled A Comparative Study of Doctoral Education in Asian Flagship Universities. Drawing on data from 490 respondents in Hong Kong, the current study uses descriptive and regression analyses to examine and compare the factors influencing doctoral students' perceived competencies in terms of tasks, ideas and attitudes. The results show that the competencies of doctoral students are influenced by various factors, such as curricula, supervision style and learning culture. Overall, the study suggests that the formal and informal learning experiences of doctoral students must be carefully designed and implemented to foster the development of their professional knowledge, skills and values.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Education Review is the property of Springer. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12564-018-9530-0]

This article reports on a mixed-method inquiry into pre-service and in-service secondary school teachers' knowledge about Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and attitudes toward students with this disorder in Hong Kong. The inquiry revealed no differences between pre- service and in-service secondary school teachers concerning their knowledge of ADHD and attitudes toward students with ADHD. It also identified possible sources of participants' knowledge and a variety of factors underlying their attitudes toward students with ADHD including sociocultural beliefs and working conditions. The findings call for teacher educators to develop better education programs to support both pre-service and in-service teachers in undertaking the challenging task of teaching students with ADHD.

A prominent school issue is health and safety in kindergartens. However, there has been no concerted effort to develop health and safety training as part of the school management of the kindergarten workforce in Hong Kong. A pilot study was designed to assess early childhood teachers' knowledge of and attitudes towards health and safety in kindergartens using a self-reported questionnaire. The participants were 54 early childhood teachers, which included 10 principals, or senior teachers, and 44 frontline teachers of four kindergartens. The results indicated that the teachers' level of knowledge regarding common childhood injuries was high, but their knowledge of health and safety measures was very low. There was a significant difference in the overall knowledge level of the senior teachers and the junior teachers. The principals or senior teachers were more positive towards the need to have a health and safety policy and to develop a health and safety strategy plan and recording system for their kindergartens than the front-line teachers. Furthermore, the teachers with more teaching experience were more concerned about assigning an appropriate staff member to be responsible for different aspects of health and safety than the teachers with less teaching experience. The teachers with a Bachelor degree or above were more likely to indicate the importance of providing professional development training for staff than the teachers with a Diploma degree or below. There is a need for an in-service professional training program for early childhood teachers to increase their health and safety knowledge and attitudes.
[Copyright © 2015 CGPublisher.]

Attention to details is one of the most important specific features of a mathematical way to thinking. When evaluating mathematical questions it is important to teach students to pay attention globally and locally, consider conditions, properties and relationships, since all of these aspects are as important to develop as mathematical techniques. To develop such skills in their students school teachers should have those skills themselves. In this study, we investigate the ability of school mathematics teachers to pay attention to details and use their mathematical knowledge. We are confident that the vast majority of teachers have excellent knowledge of mathematical techniques. Hence the question is whether this kind of knowledge might structure their attention in such a way that the emphasis on procedures deviates their attention from the essential details. Two groups of teachers from New Zealand and Hong Kong were given a mini-test containing seven simple mathematics questions. All questions in the test were provocative in the sense that they looked like routine questions but in fact they had some catch. The results from the test were startling – the vast majority of the teachers did not notice any catch and gave incorrect answers to most questions in the test. After the test the teachers were given a short questionnaire to reflect on their performance on the test. The teachers’ responses to the questionnaire are presented and analysed in the paper using theories on attention. Implementations of the results of the study in assessment and professional development are discussed.

Teachers play an important role in delivering health education to empower students with skills for healthy living to prevent non-communicable diseases. One of the common non-communicable diseases is hypertension that its development is highly associated with unhealthy lifestyle. A survey was administered to assess 130 pre-service teachers and 54 in-service teachers who were taking the health education course to prepare them for teaching the content of healthy living in Hong Kong. The assessment included their knowledge level of hypertension, attitudes towards lifestyle modification education to students, perception of knowledgeable to give health education. It was found that the knowledge level related to hypertension was generally below average among the teachers. Although they considered that lifestyle modification was an effective way to enhance students’ well-being, both pre-service and in-service teachers were reluctant to take responsibility for lifestyle modification education to their students. Lack of skill training was perceived as a problem. Teachers’ perception on health education should not be limited to the provision of simple information and advice. There is a need to improve teachers’ health literacy on some common non-communicable diseases.
[Copyright © 2015 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.]

Background: Forward planning and preventative measures before travelling can significantly reduce the risk of many vaccine preventable travel-related infectious diseases. Higher education students may be at an increased risk of importing infectious disease as many undertake multiple visits to regions with higher infectious disease endemicity. Little is known about the health behaviours of domestic or international university students, particularly students from low resource countries who travel to high-resource countries for education. This study aimed to assess travel-associated health risks and preventative behaviours in a sample of both domestic and international university students in Australia. Methods: In 2010, a 28 item self-administered online survey was distributed to students enrolled at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Multiple methods of distributing links to the online survey were utilised. The survey examined the international travel history, travel intentions, infection control behaviours and selfreported vaccination history. Results: A total of 1663 respondents completed the online survey, 22.1% were international students and 83.9% were enrolled at an undergraduate level. Half had travelled internationally in the previous 12 months, with 69% of those travelling only once during that time with no difference in travel from Australia between domestic and international students (p = 0.8). Uptake of pre-travel health advice was low overall with 68% of respondents reporting they had not sought any advice from a health professional prior to their last international trip. Domestic students were more likely to report uptake of a range of preventative travel health measures compared to international students, including diarrhoeal medication, insect repellent, food avoidance and condoms (P < 0.0001). Overall, students reported low risk perception of travel threats and a low corresponding concern for these threats. Conclusions: Our study highlights