Chinese society has, traditionally, perceived sex as a taboo subject, and as such, is seldom discussed openly, and rarely taught in schools. Under these circumstances, most Hong Kong people never learn about sex education during their formal school years. With an increase in the number of sex-related crimes in Hong Kong, education is becoming increasingly important. Since learning in early childhood influences a person's future values and behaviour, sex education should be implemented early, preferably in pre-schools (Roffman, 2002; Woody, 2002).
To implement effective sex education in pre-schools, parents' views are important. This pilot study aims to investigate Hong Kong parents' perceptions towards implementing sex education programmes in pre-schools. One kindergarten and one childcare centre were randomly selected for this study. A total of 12 parents were interviewed. The findings indicated that most parents lacked the confidence to discuss sex-related issues with their children mainly because they had insufficient knowledge and skills, and also felt embarrassed. However, to overcome these inadequacies and feelings they were willing to better equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and skills for the benefit of their children.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]

The authors report on the findings of a case study of parent-teacher conferences in a secondary school in Hong Kong. They explored through interviews parents' and teachers' perspectives of parent-teacher conferences. They noted that parent-teacher conferences were sources of stress for teachers and embarrassment for parents. Parent-teacher conferences were useful for problem-clarification. The building of mutual trust was the most important conferencing skill. They drew out some practical guidelines which were useful to teachers of the case study school but are also valuable to all teachers who wish to work effectively and positively with parents.
[Copyright of Pastoral Care in Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-0122.00186]

Thinking skills are critically important for later success in school. However, teachers and parents may have different perceptions of what constitutes thinking skills and the extent to which thinking skills should be taught in the classroom. Their views on their respective roles in fostering thinking skills may also differ. Such disagreements about both pedagogy and curriculum reflect differences in beliefs concerning the value of thinking skills. A survey questionnaire was administered to forty teachers and forty parents of Hong Kong preschoolers. Teachers and parents revealed their ideas about: (1) what constitutes thinking skills; (2) their perceptions on the importance of thinking skills in the lives of children, within and outside the classroom, for the present and in the future; (3) what strategies they employ to foster thinking skills in young children; and (4) their perceived roles in facilitating thinking skills. Whether from teachers or parents, the responses revealed the need for more adult understanding and support for children's thinking as a process. Responses were analyzed according to the coding system developed by Leah Adams. Implications for teacher and parent education are discussed.
[Copyright of Early Child Development and Care is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0300443022000022495]

A total of 378 Hong Kong adolescents estimated their own and their parents' IQ score on each of Gardner's 10 multiple intelligences: verbal (linguistic), logical (mathematical), spatial, musical, body‐kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, existential, spiritual and naturalistic. They answered three simple questions concerning intelligence and intelligence tests. There were sex differences in eight of the 10 self‐estimates except for verbal and interpersonal. Male participants gave higher scores than female participants. Factor analyses of the 10 dimensions yielded a two‐interpretable‐factor solution: personal–social–spiritual intelligence and academic–arts–kinesthetic intelligence. There were consistent sex differences in the estimates of the academic–arts–kinesthetic intelligence factor for oneself, but not for parents, while there were sex differences in the estimates of the personal–social–spiritual intelligence factor for oneself and for mother, but not for father. The two factor scores were predicted by both gender and belief about intelligence.
[Copyright of High Ability Studies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13598130600618009]