This paper examines the under-explored relationship between young people's transitions to higher education (HE) and the opportunities afforded by transnational education (TNE) programmes, with a focus on understanding the contemporary situation in Hong Kong. A fascinating association has developed, over the past decade, between the expansion of TNE in the territory and the government's commitment to providing continuing education'. We explore what this relationship might mean for the young people directly affected by these new opportunities, by drawing on 70 in-depth interviews with students/graduates. Our sample is, what Brinton [2011. Lost in Transition: Youth, Work, and Instability in Postindustrial Japan. New York: Cambridge University Press] has termed (in another context), Hong Kong's educational non-elite'. We ask: how does this non-elite' negotiate the shifting terrains of educational provision in an era where credentials (particularly at degree-level) are seen as everything'? Our paper contributes directly to discussions around young people and (international) education, and considers frankly the specific role that transnational HE plays in the education/employment transition of thousands of (hitherto neglected) individuals in contemporary Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Childrens Geographies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2013.850851]

Based on a qualitative analysis of a group of parents' perceived outcomes and experiences in a parent education program in Hong Kong, this paper discusses how a transformative approach provides a new frame of reference from which to explore the new directions of parent education. The research findings suggest that parent transformation can be achieved in numerous ways comprising consciousness raising, growth facilitation, life integration, relationship enhancement, support generation and community building. The findings provide a knowledge base for an investigation of its applicability. They also offer reference materials to guide other parent education practitioners in applying the transformative approach in actual practice.
[Copyright of Journal of Social Work Practice: psychotherapeutic approaches in health, welfare and the community is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2012.732046]

This article discusses the themes that emerged from qualitative research exploring the meaning that Chinese older adults find in their learning experiences in Hong Kong. In-depth interviewing was used to solicit information from older learners taking courses in elderly centers or units. Four themes were identified: (a) older adults as learners, (b) restructuring of time, (c) enhanced self-image, and (d) integration into society. The relationship between these themes and the aging process of older adults is further discussed, and it shows that learning has important meaning for older adults.
[Copyright of Educational Gerontology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03601270903058390]

This study assessed the dispositional gratitude and its relationships with orientations to happiness and burnout in a sample of 96 Chinese school teachers in Hong Kong and investigated the effectiveness of an eight-week gratitude intervention programme using a pre-test/post-test design with outcome measures of subjective well-being in the same sample of teachers. The results indicated that the dispositional gratitude of teachers correlated substantially and positively with a meaningful life orientation to happiness and with personal accomplishment, and correlated substantially and negatively with the two negative components of burnout: emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. The effects of the gratitude intervention were evident in the increase in scores on satisfaction with life and on positive affect, especially for teachers in the low-gratitude group. Implications of the findings on the relationships between gratitude and burnout and the effectiveness of gratitude intervention for teachers of different levels of dispositional gratitude are discussed.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410903493934]

This paper is concerned with the general issues of ageing, learning, and education for the elderly. It also examines the more specific issues of why, how and what elders want to learn. The world's population is ageing rapidly. For example, it is estimated that by 2020 20% of the population in the USA will be 65 years old and over. It is predicted that 24% of the Hong Kong population will be over 65 years old by 2025 (Bartlett Phillips, 1995). The phenomenon has been described in colorful terms as the osilver tsunamio (Pew Report, 2001 cited in Summer, 2007). Ageing has an impact on all aspects of human life including the social, economic, cultural, and political domains. Understanding and providing for ageing is, therefore, an important issue for the twenty-first century. The World Health Organisation ([WHO], 2002) has proposed a model of active ageing based on optimizing opportunities for health, participation, and security in order to enhance quality of life for people as they age. The focus in this paper is on the education and learning aspect of participation as people age.
[Copyright of Educational Gerontology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03601270903182877]