This article reports on a qualitative study conducted at primary schools in Hong Kong exploring the use of microlearning to support the self-directed continuing professional development (CPD) of English language teachers. Microlearning refers to short, concise, and easily consumable segments of learning about a knowledge point or skill. These activities tend to be multimodal and delivered through digital platforms, making them accessible anytime and anywhere. Currently, little is known about teachers’ perceptions of microlearning. To address this gap, we developed and delivered a mobile course that followed a microlearning approach and covered various aspects of digital technologies and English language teaching. Eight primary school English teachers engaged in the course and shared their perceptions of the experience in semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that they found microlearning to be more enriching and conducive to developing their digital competence than traditional CPD. It allowed them to address their immediate needs, develop practical skills, and integrate technology into their practices. The study provides important insights into the use of microlearning to support self-directed CPD. Copyright © 2024 The Open University.

In Hong Kong, quality assessors from the Education Bureau (EDB) visit kindergartens to conduct Quality Review (QR) assessments. Their written reports, therefore, reflect the official local perspective of quality kindergarten education. We conducted a content analysis of 323 QR reports focusing on the positive and negative feedback and recommendations for improvement regarding music education. Two coding schemes were developed using an inductive approach. High inter-reliability was obtained. The most frequently mentioned positive feedback codes were related to sufficient exposure to music and enjoyable musical learning experiences. In contrast, there were negative feedback codes pointing out that children’s musical exposure was insufficient at Kindergarten 3 (children aged 5–6 years), and some musical activities were poorly prepared and/or designed. Children’s music learning outcomes were rarely mentioned in the reports. The analyses indicate that the local understanding of kindergarten music education strongly emphasizes exposing children to enjoyable musical activities, with a lower focus on the nature and quality of musical learning. We conclude that the QR reports reflect a teacher-centric view of music education. Findings may inform curriculum designers and teacher educators about EDB’s expectations in the area of music education. Future research should explore the perspectives of other kindergarten stakeholders such as teachers, principals, and teacher educators. Copyright © 2024 by the authors.

This chapter reports the struggles of one group of ethnic minority early career teachers (EMECTs) to construct their personal and professional identities in Hong Kong. Although all early career teachers will, at times, encounter tensions as they struggle to construct, sustain, and advance their preferred teacher identities, EMECTs, because they are part of a group that lives within particular and possibly pejorative societal discourses about ethnic minority populations in Hong Kong, face additional challenges to construct their teacher identities. Nevertheless, the voices of these teachers have hitherto been largely absent from the literature. This chapter addresses this gap in current knowledge by using a narrative short story approach to explore these voices. Grounded in Bakhtin’s framework, the narratives reported in this chapter reveal discursive tensions in which EMECTs’ desire to construct their professional identities comes into tension with their identification by others as members of ethnic groups within Hong Kong. Results underscore the role of relations of power, as discourses compete to define what it means to be an EMECT in Hong Kong. Implications for supporting the identity construction efforts of these teachers are discussed and suggestions for future research are considered. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Zia Tajeddin and Bedrettin Yazan; individual chapters, the contributors.

古人讀書歷來文史哲不分家。通曉文學、歷史、哲學，有人為求功名利祿，也有人藉此修養身心。文史哲知識的融合，能表現個人的學養、文采、思想和立場。現代社會分工精細，中學教育已經文史分科，語文、文學、歷史均各自成科，儼如互不相干。分科的優點固然能令各個科目的教學更加聚焦，但分立的如果是選修科，而學校選擇不開辦的話，學生就難免錯過學習專科的機會，香港的中學中國歷史科正是一個典型例子。學生無緣學習中國歷史，也會減少對中華文化的認識，連帶削弱語文素養。 為促進香港學生對國情和中華文化的認識，教育局在2018/19學年落實中國歷史成為初中的獨立必修科，並於2020年9月從中一級開始逐級推行。雖然如此，中國歷史時代久遠，課程涵蓋面廣，而學校教時有限，教學無疑極具挑戰。如何能把握教學機遇，引起學生學習歷史的興趣，同時提升學生的語文及文化素養，值得教育同行深思。 在新課程的指引下，當局強調通過多元化的策略推動中國歷史教學，鼓勵教師按「政治演變」、「文化特色」及「香港發展」等主題，調適教學內容，以照顧學習差異。同時，新編的中國歷史教材陸續推出，可以反映新課程的精神能否體現。 從文史不分家的角度出發，本文將以新編的中國歷史教材為例，剖析新修訂的歷史科學習內容在字詞、文句及通篇層面的專科語文運用特色，並評價學習歷史對提升語文素養的現實意義。 Copyright © 2022 香港教育大學中國語言學系.

學習古文經典的語文教育意義毋庸置疑，在小學階段奠定古文根基，也能促進中小學的語文學習順利銜接。然而文言作品時代久遠，確實不易理解，因此容易喪失對現代讀者的吸引力，尤其是小學生。 學習動機是學習的原動力，不能引起學生興趣，教學將事倍功半。要提高文言文的閱讀教學效能，教師必須創設適合學生與文本的情景，發掘作品中的情味，才有望激發學習文言作品的動機，消除學生的畏難情緒。為此，本文將嘗試從小學生的學習心理著眼，按生活情趣、好奇貪新、浮想聯翩三條主要線索，探索香港小學常見的文言教材中，切合小學生心智成長的情味旨趣，並設想維持相關篇章學習動機的可行路徑。 Copyright © 2022 香港教育大學中國語言學系.

This paper presents the results of an empirical study that aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using robots to teach machine learning concepts to primary school students and consolidate their reflection on learning-to-learn skills. The pedagogical design of this study was based on the neuroscience-informed Attention-Engagement-Error-feedback-Reflection (AEER) framework. The study involved 87 Grade 5 students from Hong Kong. Data collection included pre- and post-tests on machine learning concepts, as well as pre- and post-questionnaires on learning-to-learn skills based on the AEER framework. The findings suggest that the use of purposely designed robots for understanding machine learning significantly enhanced primary school students’ understanding of machine learning concepts. Further, it can facilitate students’ reflection on their learning-to-learn skills, which have been nurtured over their years of study period, thereby effectively preparing them for the transition to secondary school education. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and provides potential directions for future research. Copyright © 2024 CSEDU.

In English Medium Instruction (EMI) programmes, students learn content subjects through English, their second language (L2). While it has been argued that students can develop their L2 alongside their content knowledge, the L2 goal is not always clearly defined. For example, we do not know enough about the amount of vocabulary required for success in EMI, and the subject-specific language demanded by different content subjects. Some attempts have been made to identify the language demand in EMI concerning the vocabulary used in learning materials and classroom discourse, representing the ‘process’ dimension of research; however, in order to clearly define the language goal, it is crucial to also delve into the ‘product dimension’, pointing to the need for research on EMI assessment. To address the research gap, our study examined 16 sets of papers containing two subjects, namely Biology and Geography, spanning eight years from a high-stakes examination in Hong Kong. The examination is conducted at the end of Secondary Six (Grade 12) to determine university admission and can thus be regarded as what learners are expected to achieve in secondary education. Our investigation into the vocabulary profiles of the examination papers indicates that students needed to learn beyond the K1−K3 (the most frequency 3000 words in English) and master the mid-frequency words (K4−K8) as well as academic words. It also reveals that the less frequent vocabulary items were not often shared by the subjects. Further, the analysis of academic words suggests how some words were commonly used in the examination papers of the two subjects, and others more subject-specific. Pedagogical implications are discussed to highlight the need for teachers and students to attend to the target language goal in EMI and to consider the subject-specific nature of the vocabulary items in EMI. Copyright © 2022 ICELEAL.

Private tutoring, or shadow education, is one of the unintended outcomes of high-stakes testing worldwide. This study investigated the role of private tutoring in a context of high-stakes testing through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. This year-long in-depth study with 18 Grade-12 learners in private tutoring in Hong Kong shows that learning is skewed towards acquiring examination skills, and mainstream education can be devalued. Conceptualised with Freire’s Pedagogy of the oppressed, the findings reveal that learners are oppressed in the washback of high-stakes testing, and shadow education exploits such negative washback to run a business which reinforces contextual oppression. The findings provide implications for educational change in contexts where education systems increasingly rely on accountability and selection through high-stakes testing. Copyright © 2024 AERA.