Based on critical discursive analysis and empirical studies, this study sheds light on policy initiatives aimed at turning Hong Kong (HK) into a higher education hub. Its findings come from questionnaire surveys distributed to 1060 overseas students who studied in HK universities between 2019 and 2021. Three paradoxical issues are identified: the mismatch between policy orientation and students’ preferences, the segregation of international and local students in university life, and the dilemma of the city's positioning as a talent pool or stepping stone. The case of HK highlights the contrast between the discursive imaginaries and lived realities stemming from its projection as an education hub in non-Western societies. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

With the unique character of Hong Kong in a postcolonial context, where eastern philosophies and approaches meet those of the west, it could be presumed that it is an ideal system for generating innovative ideas and practices (Bautista et al. in Int J Res Educ 46:203–260, 2022; Lu and Campbell in Practice 3:67–72, 2021). However, understanding the role, influence, and impact of teacher education as a career-long pursuit in Hong Kong remains both contested and under-theorised (Bautista et al. in Int J Res Educ 46:203–260, 2022). While Hong Kong enjoys a complex and sophisticated teacher education infrastructure which includes a range of opportunities and legislated time to dedicate to the varied forms of teacher education throughout a teachers’ career, such opportunities are frequently reported on as a being too demanding, rigid, or unrelated to practice (Lu and Campbell in Practice 3:67–72, 2021; Pang et al. in Asia Pac J Educ 36:231–247, 2016). This chapter begins by exploring the context of Hong Kong, and the nature and functions of teacher education. Following this, varying conceptualisations of teacher education, professional learning, and agency, with a particular focus on Hong Kong, are explored. Finally, this chapter explores new ways of understanding the role of teacher agency in the context of teacher education and the implications of this for policy, practice, and research as we imagine the future possibilities of teacher education and education more broadly. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

A wealth of studies has shed light on how the identity and emotions of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers are formed and interinfluenced. However, very few studies focus on a specific emotion of ESL teachers that adversely affects teacher professionalism. Drawing upon the notion of melancholy (Brady and Haapala 2003), this chapter conducts narrative inquiry and thematic analysis to investigate how melancholy is experienced by early career English teachers in their narratives. The research is conducted through a longitudinal qualitative multiple-case study of three ESL teachers working in secondary schools for seven years in Hong Kong. Specifically, the chapter elucidates how socio-cultural factors, such as self and personality, school culture, peer relationships, and student performance, contribute to the melancholy experienced by ESL teachers. The findings of this study serve to conceptualize the melancholic sense of ESL teachers regardless of institutional changes and provide implications for enhancing the well-being and career sustainability of ESL teachers in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

The present study explored the use of digital tools by English language schoolteachers in Hong Kong. Using a qualitative-dominant sequential mixed-methods design, wherein an online mixed-methods survey of primary and secondary school English language teachers (N = 83) and follow-up in-depth interviews (N = 22) were employed, this study collectively explored which digital tools the participants used, why the participants used these tools, and how the participants used them. Fourteen categories of tools utilized by teachers in their professional practice were identified. These were further categorized into core, additional, and remote digital tools based on their mode and frequency of use. Affordances of the core digital tools for language teaching were identified, with examples of teachers’ pedagogical uses of the tools presented. By providing an overview of digital tool use, teachers, school leadership, and professional development providers can better understand how teachers should be prepared for the digital realities of schools. In addition, this study provides a model for understanding the context and subject-specific bidirectional relationship between tools, their affordances, and teachers’ professional tasks. © 2023 by the authors.

Informal learning space (ILS) has increasingly become important for higher education. Yet, most studies were conducted on a piecemeal basis, without considering the planning of the campus. This study adopts a systematic and data-driven approach in understanding the types of ILS, preferences and behaviors using a case study in Hong Kong, by first classifying ILS into user-defined types followed by usage behavior for each ILS types. A mixed-method approach was used by conducting qualitative interviews, focus groups, on-site fieldwork observations and large-scale quantitative survey ( N = 999) with students. Five types of ILS with unique characteristics were identified. This applied research seeks to suggest development directions and design input for ILS types, with implications for master planning in ILS development, extending to any universities using the same procedure. © 2023 The Author(s).

In this conceptual paper, we propose a new three-pronged theoretical framework derived from Chinese philosophy: (1) Tian Shi (timing), (2) Di Li (context), and (3) Ren He (human capital). Specifically, we delineate the nature of Tian Shi, Di Li, Ren He required for the successful translation of top-down education policy into practice using Hong Kong as a case example. Applying this new conceptual framework, we conducted secondary data analysis of two cases examining the implementability of U.S.-originated and popular child-centered early childhood models by Hong Kong kindergarten teachers (serving children ages 3–6), with one case focusing on the Project Approach in one kindergarten, and the other on the HighScope Curriculum in another kindergarten. The findings revealed that Hong Kong had not yet attained favorable Tian Shi, Di Li, Ren He to render success in these kindergarten teachers’ adoption of imported early childhood approaches with fidelity due to incompatibility in sociocultural and educational realities as well as professional competence. Instead, the teachers’ implementation behaviors made a case for a hybrid model as a viable and potentially sustainable solution to reconcile these contextual incompatibilities by weaving local and global practices into a conflation. © 2022 Childhood Education International.

Interpersonal teacher behaviour refers to the teacher–student interactions in the classroom. One way to measure these interactions is through the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), which is based on the Model for Interpersonal Teacher Behaviour (MITB). This study examined the structure of the Chinese version of the QTI (C-QTI) among a convenience sample of 612 secondary-school students in Hong Kong, using Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) to cross-validate a previous study of primary students utilizing the same approach. Results indicated that the C-QTI fits the MITB circumplex structure in terms of the scale order in a circular structure. The SSA map yielded six sectors: leadership-understanding, helpful/friendly, student responsibility/freedom, uncertain, dissatisfied-admonishing and strict. The two merged sectors demonstrate students’ inability to distinguish between their distinct behaviours. Eight items appeared in a sector different from their original MITB location, which could be attributed to the meanings attached to the different behaviours in the Chinese cultural context of Hong Kong or to the items’ lack of clarity. Comparison of secondary and primary students indicated similarities in scale and item location. However, secondary students were better able to distinguish between the different behaviours, reflecting the possible effect of their developmental level. The study highlights the need to construct contextually-relevant items and examine their existence and clarity as reflected by students’ perceptions. It also suggests the utility of SSA as a useful approach to study interpersonal teacher behaviour and facilitate the QTI adaptation process. © 2021 The Author(s).

Purpose The present study adopts the analytical framework of new managerialism (NM) to explore the progress, challenges and outlook of self-financing post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong since 2000. This study also identified issues and related managerial implications for developing this niche form of higher education in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted a critical review of self-financing post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong, including the sub-degree and degree sectors, via collecting a series of policy documents and archives from the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, the Public Records Office and other government bodies. To supplement the findings, semi-structured in-depth interviews of 18 academic staff of Hong Kong's self-financing post-secondary institutions were carried out. Findings The study shows that self-financing post-secondary institutions not only encounter challenges related to insufficient resources but also face pressure from accreditation requirements of various international organisations. The study also suggests that massification and privatisation of self-financing post-secondary institutions, and embracing a managerial approach for operation and governance will induce a new wave of self-financing post-secondary institutions in the near future. Originality/value This study offers insights for self-financing post-secondary institutions into implementing appropriate strategies to maintain competitiveness and retain talents in the coming years. © 2023 Emerald Publishing Limited.

After the pandemic, education will not go back to a 100% offline mode since the application of e-learning technologies (ELTs) cannot be avoided. Therefore, their impact should be studied for future education development. Most future entrepreneurs are attending school today. Therefore, universities need to supply necessary education to encourage students to cope with future conditions and development. At the same time, due to the increasing attention being paid to the harmony between ecology and prosperity, the sustainability aspect of entrepreneurship education needs to be emphasized as well. This study investigates the impact of ELTs on entrepreneurial education performance (including personal skills, product skills, and business skills), sustainability efficacy, and their impact on sustainability awareness. Data were collected from a master’s degree class on entrepreneurship at a Hong Kong university and SmartPLS was used to analyze the data. It was found that ELTs have a significant relationship with entrepreneurial performance and sustainability efficacy. Meanwhile, sustainability efficacy also has a significant relationship with sustainability awareness. However, no significant relationship between entrepreneurial skills and sustainability awareness was identified. The results indicate that ELTs can improve students’ entrepreneurial skills and sustainability awareness, which proves the effectiveness of ELTs and provides support for their application in future entrepreneurship education. © 2023 by the authors.

During COVID-19, universities are reconfiguring learning environments and increasing flexibility in course offerings. Teachers have found synchronous hybrid teaching challenging with many students preferring online to in-person classroom attendance. Understanding students’ decision-making as to where, when and how they choose to learn will be critical in informing the design of learning spaces and courses. This survey-based study of 369 undergraduates across disciplines explored the relationships between students’ backgrounds and psychological factors (self-efficacy for online learning, conceptions of learning, perceptions of previous online course experiences) and student choices of learning spaces for synchronous online learning. While pre-pandemic studies in Western contexts identified non-traditional student characteristics as major factors associated with students’ choices of learning spaces (i.e., learning online at home), this Hong Kong study found significant associations between undergraduates’ choices, their origin and the disciplines. Logistic regression indicated those who preferred stimulating education and cooperative learning or perceived their previous online course experiences as having clearer goals had greater odds of attending classes synchronously online on campus from locations different from the scheduled teaching spaces. Qualitative analysis suggests personality, self-regulation and the university’s social and organisational structures as factors to consider in future studies of student choices of learning spaces. Implications for practice or policy: * Higher education providers may need to diversify course designs to cater to undergraduates’ different hybrid learning preferences and expectations in the post-pandemic return to campus. * The first step for online course teachers is to help their students to build a higher level of self-efficacy for online learning. * Course teachers can motivate students to take courses online by clarifying their