During the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous schools halted face-to-face teaching and instead resorted to online classes. The impact of online learning on students’ academic worries, social relationships, and psychological well-being has received growing attention. Based on a sample of 1095 students aged 14–16 in 12 secondary schools in Hong Kong, structural equation modeling was used to investigate the association between online learning problems, academic worries and performance, social interaction, and psychosocial well-being during the pandemic. The path relationships among variables were compared by gender groups and socio-economic status (SES). Online learning problems were found to be negatively associated with psychosocial well-being through academic worries and social interaction as mediators. The effect of mediation among female students was larger than that of males, whereas the impact of academic worries on both psychosocial well-being and social interaction was stronger and significant only in the low SES group. As the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the learning and well-being of students, attention should be given to gender and SES difference among students. Copyright ©2024 Springer Netherlands.

As the caregivers and educators of young children, kindergarten teachers often have to make spontaneous decisions and deal with challenging situations on a daily basis. The well-being of kindergarten teachers is of interest to parents, teacher trainers, and policymakers, as whether kindergarten teachers do well physically, psychologically, and occupationally has important implications for young children—the future pillars of society. Therefore, it is important to examine factors that may contribute to our understanding of the well-being of kindergarten teachers. This cross-sectional study examined whether mindfulness was linked to Chinese kindergarten teachers’ physical, psychological, and occupational well-being and tested self-compassion as a mediator. Online questionnaire data were collected from 336 kindergarten teachers working in Hong Kong, China (mean age = 31.6 years; 86% of them were women). Kindergarten teachers rated their physical well-being (indicated by physical health and voice disorder symptoms), psychological well-being (indicated by life satisfaction and depressive symptoms), and occupational well-being (indicated by job satisfaction and turnover intentions) as well as their mindfulness and self-compassion. Structural equational modeling revealed that mindfulness was associated with all three aspects of well-being and self-compassion mediated such associations. Theoretically, findings highlighted the multidimensional nature of kindergarten teachers’ well-being and the roles of intrapersonal factors—such as mindfulness and self-compassion—in understanding it. Practically, findings pointed to the potential utility of supporting kindergarten teachers’ well-being by targeting their mindfulness and self-compassion. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s).

The present study is among the first that has investigated how teachers’ perceptions on quality of school leadership, work-related meaning in life, and optimism explained the psychological well-being of 509 kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong, China. Structural equation modelling showed that teachers who perceived better perceptions on quality of school leadership found more work-related meaning in life, and were higher in optimism, while work-related meaning in life positively explained optimism, only optimism mediated perceptions on quality of school leadership and psychological well-being. Findings implied the importance of the reciprocal relationship among perceptions on quality of school leadership, work-related meaning in life, and optimism. School management should pay attention to such relationships when designing school plans and teacher training programs to enhance teachers’ psychological well-being. Copyright © 2023 The International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) and Springer Nature B.V.

This study examines the effects of kindergarten teachers' self-efficacy on their perceived teacher-child relationships, and explores the associations between self-efficacy and two types of positive affective states (i.e., flow experience and psychological well-being) as the antecedents of efficacy beliefs. A sample of 796 kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong participated in this study. The results showed that teachers' flow experience and psychological well-being were significantly associated with their perceived positive teacher-child relationships, and teacher self-efficacy significantly mediated the effects of teachers' positive affective states on their perceived teacher-child relationships. The results highlight the significance of integrating social cognitive theory and positive psychology into the understanding of the relationships between teachers' positive affective states, self-efficacy, and teacher-child relationships in early childhood education settings. The implications for theory and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier.

Limited research has been conducted on community college (CC) transfer students' (TS) experiences in four-year universities, particularly in Asian contexts. To fill this research gap, in this qualitative study, 124 TS from various disciplines in a Hong Kong university participated in 39 focus groups and seven individual interviews. Unlike their Western counterparts, our TS were relatively better prepared and more academically adaptive. Nevertheless, their social integration was restricted by a lack of time for extra-curricular activities, a sense of inferiority and incompetence, and restricted social circles that did not enable interaction with non-TS. These challenges and their implications are discussed. In particular, this study has highlighted differences between the special education systems for CC transfer in Hong Kong and those in Western CC models. The study has also highlighted the study-induced stress, and poor self-perceptions that TS experience, despite their academic abilities. Copyright ©2021 MDPI.

This study adopted a single-group pretest-posttest design to explore the changes in 2,876 undergraduate students in positive youth development, psychological well-being and desired graduate attributes after they took a leadership subject utilising the positive youth development approach at one university in Hong Kong. The subject aims to promote undergraduates' leadership qualities, particularly their intra- and inter-personal competencies. Participants completed the same objective outcome evaluation forms before and after taking the subject. We found that the participants showed significant positive changes in most positive youth development attributes (i.e. self-determination, cognitive competence, behavioural competence, social competence, emotional competence, self-efficacy, spirituality, and clear and positive identity), life satisfaction and desired graduate attributes (including problem-solving ability, critical thinking, life-long learning and ethical leadership). The findings demonstrate that leadership subjects can promote the positive youth development of Chinese university students and enhance their psychosocial well-being and desired graduate attributes. Copyright ©Routledge.

The research team developed a mindfulness course for less academically able adolescents that aims to help them improve their emotional regulation and affective control with the ultimate aim of improving their academic performances. For the duration of the course in three secondary schools in Hong Kong high dropout rate and low attendance rate among the participants were recorded. Interviews with the students revealed that most students were not interested in the mindfulness course because of the quiet and static nature of mindfulness activities. Based on these findings, possible ways of improving the course are proposed.
[Copyright of Social Work in Mental Health is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332985.2014.932885]

Despite ample research on commitment in industrial settings, there has been no systematic attempt to investigate outcomes associated with teacher commitment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher commitment and psychological well-being in the work place using questionnaires. Hong Kong teachers (N = 857) participated. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to investigate how the three aspects of commitment pertaining to the organisation and occupation predicted relevant outcomes. Results showed that affective and normative commitment positively predicted psychological well-being in the work place: interpersonal fit at work, thriving at work, feeling of competency, perceived recognition at work, desire for involvement at work and job satisfaction. Continuance commitment was a negative predictor of some outcomes. Results of the current study provide support to Meyer's 3x2 factor model of commitment. Findings are discussed in relation to the situation of teachers in the Hong Kong context.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2014.895801]