This study examined the longitudinal interplay of fathers' and mothers' literacy teaching and children's word reading skills and interest in literacy. A total of 194 second-year kindergarten (K2) children and their fathers and mothers in Hong Kong participated. At the three time points from K2 to K3 (i.e., the third year in kindergarten), fathers and mothers independently reported the frequency of their own literacy teaching activities. Mothers reported their children's interest in literacy-related activities. The children were individually assessed on Chinese word reading. The results from cross-lagged panel analysis showed that the children's prior literacy interest was associated with later frequency of parental literacy teaching, but not the other way around. No significant relations were observed between the children's word-reading skills and the literacy teaching provided by their mothers or by their fathers. Additionally, it was the children's earlier word reading skills that predicted their later development of literacy interest, but not vice versa. Thus, the parents seemed to adjust their home literacy teaching flexibly in response to their perceptions of their children's literacy interest. The findings also underscore the potential importance of word reading abilities in fostering children's literacy interest. Copyright © 2024 Springer.

The Caregiver Strain Questionnaire assesses the three dimensions of caregiver strain, namely the objective, subjective externalized and subjective internalized strain. It was validated among caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the United States and Mainland China with promising psychometric properties. This study aimed to develop and validate the Chinese (traditional script) version of the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (C-CGSQ) among 198 caregivers of children with ASD in Hong Kong. The C-CGSQ showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.958) and test-retest reliability (Spearman’s r  = 0.966). Concurrent, convergent, divergent validity and a three-factor structure (consistent with previous studies) were established. The C-CGSQ demonstrated promising psychometric properties in measuring caregiver strain among caregivers of Chinese ASD children in Hong Kong. Copyright ©2024 Springer.

Background: Parents' high academic expectations are positively associated with young children's mathematical abilities. However, minimal attention has been devoted to whether, and how, different ways of conveying the performance targets would result in different outcomes. Aims: The current study investigated whether and how parents' perfectionistic strivings and concerns were associated with young children's mathematical abilities through home mathematical activities, children's approach motivation to learn mathematics, and children's avoidance motivation to learn mathematics. Sample: Participants included 211 kindergarteners in Hong Kong and their parents. Methods: Data were collected through individual child tests and parent questionnaires. Results: Structural equation modelling revealed that parents' perfectionistic strivings had a direct positive link with children's mathematical abilities, an indirect link via approach motivation to learn mathematics, and an indirect link via home mathematical activities, and then approach motivation. Parents' perfectionistic concerns had a direct negative link with children's mathematical abilities, an indirect link via approach motivation to learn mathematics, and an indirect link via avoidance motivation to learn mathematics. Conclusions: Early childhood practitioners are recommended to raise parents' awareness of how to communicate high‐performance targets to children in a constructive manner. Copyright ©2024 Wiley.

The present study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire assessing parents' beliefs about, and attitudes toward, supporting young children's English as a second/foreign language development -- Parent English Language Belief and Attitude Questionnaire (PELBA-Q). The PELBA-Q was piloted with 173 parents of kindergarten-aged children and further validated with a sample of 278 parents in Hong Kong. A series of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to explore the factor structure and evaluate model fit, which resulted in a 20-item questionnaire with four factors (i.e. Perceived Importance of the Home Environment; Perceived Child's English Language Ability and Self-Efficacy; Normative Beliefs; and Control Beliefs). The convergent and divergent validity of the PELBA-Q were also established by examining the relationship between the PELBA-Q and parents' home practices and family characteristics. The PELBA-Q had satisfactory model fit indices and demonstrated good reliability and validity. The findings showed that the PELBA-Q could potentially be used as a sound assessment tool for measuring parents' beliefs and attitudes on young children's English as a second/foreign language development and could contribute to greater understanding of how parental beliefs and attitudes may influence home practices and children's English language learning outcomes. Copyright ©2024 Routledge.

School counselling is a well-established means of supporting the mental health of children. Counsellors are most effective when they collaborate with parents, so it is important that parents have a good understanding of and access to school counselling services. Despite this, little is known about parents’ perceptions of counselling in Hong Kong schools. We interviewed 27 parents in Hong Kong to investigate how they perceived the counselling services provided by their children’s local and international schools, and analysed the data thematically. International school parents recognised the potential of school counselling as a means of support for their children and wanted to work more closely with counsellors to a greater extent than local school parents. Parents were confused about the roles of counsellors and experienced stigma and concerns about confidentiality which inhibited them from engaging with counselling services. Our findings suggest that school principals should work with counsellors to establish and communicate roles more clearly. Greater recognition of counsellors’ professionalism, and clearer role differentiation between counsellors and other mental health and educational professionals may improve parental engagement with and support for school counselling. Copyright © 2023 NAPCE.

The COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest have posed a unique set of challenges to Hong Kong. During these two social events, parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) who were already experiencing caregiving pressure, likely coped with additional stressors; they were at a higher risk of mental health problems. A pre-registered, cross-sectional survey study was carried out among 234 Hong Kong parents of children with SEN, investigating the associations of stigmatized identity, perceived discrimination, and subjective well-being under the impact of these social events. Utilizing the Bayesian modelling, we found that highly self-stigmatized parents not only perceived more daily-life discriminating behaviors against them, but also reported having higher distress, more negative emotions, and lower life satisfaction. A higher perceived impact of social events and more discrimination were also associated with lower well-being. Additionally, stigmatized identity, perceived discrimination, and perceived impact of social events demonstrated unique associations with well-being variables, indicating they were substantial stressors. The study called out for public attention to the mental health conditions among parents of children with SEN and other disadvantaged groups in society. Copyright © 2021 by the authors.

Background: Childhood obesity is a serious health problem that may affect children until their adulthood. Prevalence of childhood obesity found in Hong Kong has increased significantly. Childhood obesity is believed to be to associate with unhealthy behaviour; therefore, different programs have been conducted previously to promote healthy lifestyle behaviour. So far, the effectiveness of these programs is still controversial. As a parent is an agent having great impact on children, the purpose of the present study was to design a parent-based childhood obesity program, and the effectiveness of this program was assessed.Methods: Design: A randomized, controlled trial, including pre- and post-intervention assessment to examine the effects of a comprehensive intervention program comparing the control condition of a parent’s self-efficacy in managing problem behaviour of children.Subjects: 128 pairs of primary school students and parents in Hong Kong were recruited to participate in a “Healthy for Life” program.Duration: The 20-week program included 10 weeks of intervention and a maintenance period of 10 weeks.Intervention: Participants were randomly divided into an intervention group (n=62) and a control group (n=54). In the intervention group, parents were given education on health knowledge, information on childhood obesity and parenting skills strategies for managing obesity-related problem behaviour of children. In addition, they received a health information sheet nine times during the intervention period. Parents were recommended to use such knowledge and skills to control the body weight of children through modifying children’s unhealthy lifestyle behaviour in the intervention period. In the control group, parents received several health information sheets during the intervention period only.Outcome measures: Parents were asked to complete the “Lifestyle Behaviour Checklist” to assess the problem level and their confidence level in managing the child’s behaviour.

香港自二零一二年起實施三三四新高中課程政策。然而,政府、政策研究者、學者等仍未對有特殊學習需要(SEN)高中生的學習情況,以及其畢業後的出路安排有足夠關注。本研究以小組訪談形式,收集了SEN高中生的家長對其SEN子女高中後轉銜的看法,包括對子女畢業出路的展望與態度、對現有政府支援體系的瞭解與評價,以及對於SEN學生高中後轉銜與支援服務的建議。小組訪談數據顯示,SEN學生家長均表示孩子高中後最理想出路是繼續升學,沒有升學機會時,才選擇工作。同時,他們主要擔心子女成績遜色,而在現今無論是升學或就業都講求高成績的社會中,其子女未能保持競爭力。另外,他們對於學校、政府和非政府機構等所提供的支援知之甚少,並且對社會支援,尤其是來自政府的支援非常不滿。此外,家長一致認為學校應負責SEN學生高中後的轉銜,並希望學校、政府或非政府機構所提供的資源能更多地考慮到SEN學生的個別特殊需要。最後,文末深入分析是次研究的重要性、局限及意義。 Since 2012, Hong Kong has implemented the New Senior Secondary (NSS) academic structure and curriculum. However, Hong Kong Government, policy makers and researchers have paid little attention to the educational situation and the career paths of the students with special educational needs (SEN) under the new curriculum. Thus, the current study was carried out, aiming to investigate parents’ opinions on their children’s post-secondary school transition. According to the results of focus group interviews, almost all parents of SEN students revealed that the most preferable career pathway was further study after their children graduated from senior secondary schools. Only when no study opportunities available would they consider job applications for their SEN children after they graduated. However, it should also be noted that a major concern of parents of SEN students was their children’s unsatisfactory academic achievement which could weaken their competitiveness, no matter whether they choose to work or further study as their post-school outcomes. In addition, the results indicated that these parents had little knowledge of current support services provided by schools, NGOs, and Hong Kong Government. Concerning current support services, they were particularly dissatisfied with those from the government. Noteworthy, parents all agreed that schools should be responsible for the post-school transition of SEN students. They also hope that schools, NGOs, and the government could take SEN students’ special needs into full consideration when these important stakeholders

The benefits of parental involvement in children’s education have been well established but increasing evidence suggests that overparenting may have adverse effects on children. The question of whether excessive parental involvement hinders children’s academic and psychosocial development warrants further investigations. This study examined the associations of parental educational involvement at home and in school with academic performance and psychological health of 507 Chinese Grade 3 schoolchildren in Hong Kong. Parents reported on their level of involvement in children’s schooling and their children’s psychosocial issues. Children were surveyed to determine their school engagement, and their Chinese language and mathematics attainment was assessed. We also explored the underlying mechanism by testing children’s engagement with school as a mediator of the relationships. Our results showed that home-based parental educational involvement was positively associated with children’s language competence and psychosocial wellbeing, and the associations were linked through engaging children with school. However, the benefits reached a plateau at higher level of parental involvement in children’s learning at home. School-based parental involvement had an indirect effect on children’s prosocial behavior through school engagement. These findings highlight the significance of optimal level of parental involvement in children’s education at home for children’s development.
[Copyright of Journal of Child and Family Studies is the property of Springer Science & Business Media. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-1011-2]

This paper examines the early childhood context of Hong Kong (HK) which is characterised by an entirely privatised system. The level of knowledge a child possesses in early childhood can be a determining factor in their admission into desirable kindergartens or primary schools. Given HK’s privatised early childhood education system, the quality of a child’s learning is directly tied to the education services their parents provide independently or can afford financially. The study reported in this paper adopts a narrative inquiry approach to an under-researched area of early childhood education, namely the voices of parents within home learning environments and how the lengths they go to provide their children with a quality education.
[Copyright of Education 3-13 is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2017.1310272]