The present study evaluated the implementation and impact of the "general university requirements" (GUR) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative methods included a four-year longitudinal online survey, Collegiate Learning Assessment Plus (CLA+), and secondary analyses of student feedback data in different years. Qualitative methods included focus groups and qualitative evaluation forms involving students and teachers as well as a longitudinal case study. Results showed that students displayed positive development based on different developmental indicators of the five desired graduate attributes of PolyU in their study of the four-year program. Both students and teachers also generally showed positive perceptions of the GUR, with reference to its subject content, teaching and learning, and benefits. Several major concerns regarding the GUR were also identified.
[Copyright of International Journal of Child & Adolescent Health is the property of Nova Science Publishers, Inc.]

Concern over high and persistent levels of poverty and inequality have focused attention on the broader issue of social disadvantage in Hong Kong. The social exclusion framework provides a new perspective that shifts the focus away from purely economic causes to the social processes that prevent people from participating, although conceptual and definitional ambiguities present conceptual and practical challenges to empirical research on exclusion. This paper presents results from a comprehensive survey that allows the extent and nature of social exclusion in Hong Kong to be estimated for the first time. Attention focuses on examining the broad profile of exclusion, and on the association between social exclusion and a series of indicators of subjective well-being (SWB). The overlap between social exclusion and poverty is also examined, the results showing that the two are different and are associated with different levels of well-being.
Copyright of Journal of Asian Public Policy is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17516234.2013.873338

The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) claims that behaviour can be predicted by behavioural intention and perceived behavioural control, while behavioural intention is a function of attitude towards the behaviour, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. This study aims at providing explanation and prediction of teachers' inclusive education intentions and behaviour under TPB. The main components of TPB were implemented in a survey of 841 teachers from Hong Kong schools in the context of inclusive education. The structural equation modelling results show that TPB fitted the data well (X2/df = 2.84; RMSEA = 0.054; GFI = 0.92; CFI = 0.92; and TLI = 0.91). Identified attributes, including teachers' attitude towards inclusive education, feeling social pressure from important others to carry out inclusive education, and confidence on professional training for involved staff, were found to exert significant predictive power on teachers' intention to implement inclusive education. This intention, together with the confidence on professional training for involved staff, predicts their actual inclusive practice. Teachers' perception of social pressure and adequacy of professional training greatly contribute to predict their intention and behaviour towards inclusive education, respectively. TPB appears to be a sound theoretical framework for understanding teachers' inclusive practice. The results have strong implications for teacher empowerment and professional training in inclusive education.
[Copyright of International Journal of Inclusive Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2012.757811]

This study examines whether and how political party support shapes interpersonal political discussion. Drawing upon existing research, party support is hypothesized to lead to more frequent political discussion and lower levels of disagreement within discussion networks. Party support is also hypothesized to moderate the relationship between news consumption and discussion frequency and the relationship between discussion frequency and disagreement. The analysis further explores if the impact of party support varies according to the parties being supported. The hypotheses and research question were examined using data from representative surveys conducted in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The findings illustrate the importance of political party support in structuring citizens' interpersonal political discussions in the consolidated democracy of Taiwan and, though to a lesser extent, in the semi-democratic environment of Hong Kong. In Taiwan, the impact of discussion frequencies on disagreement in discussion network varies according to the party being supported. Implications of the findings are discussed..
[Copyright of Asian Journal of Communication is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2013.827731]

As in most countries, human rights education (HRE) in Hong Kong has never been high on the educational agenda. In 2009, a compulsory subject, Liberal Studies (LS), which could be used as a platform for HRE, was introduced. The Hong Kong Institute of Education launched a research and development project which, as one of its objectives, studied LS teachers' attitudes towards human rights and Rule of Law. This article first provides a brief overview of HRE. Then, the potential of HRE in LS will be discussed, followed by an introduction of the research project. Subsequently, the research design and findings will be presented. The findings reveal that there is a large gap between teachers' understandings of human rights and international human rights standards. Since LS teachers' attitudes are crucial for effective HRE, the findings are quite striking. The paper ends with recommendations for further research, policy formulations, and teacher preparation.
[Copyright of Intercultural Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2012.716725]

Research conducted in the 1980s and 1990s pointed to a widening gap on Hong Kong university campuses between institutional language policy, which stipulated the use of English, and classroom practice, which often involved the use of Cantonese to explain and discuss English written materials. This article presents the findings of a multidimensional study which sought to uncover patterns of in-class and out-of-class language use at one officially English-medium institution between 2000 and 2010 and to identify the challenges that its mainly Cantonese-speaking undergraduates experience when listening to and speaking English for academic purposes. The findings were derived from two campus-wide questionnaire surveys and an interview-based longitudinal study of the student experience of English-medium higher education. The findings indicate that the gap between policy and practice has closed noticeably in the past decade in consequence of the increasing internationalisation of the student body and institutional initiatives to enforce the medium-of-instruction policy. While there is a closer, though not watertight, alignment between policy and practice in lectures and seminars, the evidence suggests that students have little need or desire to speak English outside the classroom, apart from situations in which international students or non-Cantonese-speaking students from mainland China are present.
[Copyright of Language and Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2011.553287]