Teachers’ attitudes towards parental involvement play an important role in the ways they approach children’s families. This study examined Hong Kong pre-service early childhood teachers’ attitudes towards different types of parental involvement strategies and investigated whether these attitudes were related to the quality of relationships within their own family. Data were collected from 163 Hong Kong pre-service early childhood teachers via questionnaire. Results showed that engaging families in school decisions was perceived as the least important and feasible. The pre-service teachers also felt least confident in implementing it. There were, however, discrepancies in the perceived levels of importance, feasibility and confidence towards other types of parental involvement strategies. The levels of cohesion and expressiveness in pre-service teachers’ own families were positively related to their attitudes towards some types of parental involvement strategies. These findings suggest that teacher educators should take pre-service teachers’ family experiences into consideration when preparing them to work with children’s families. Copyright © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Young children are naturally curious about sexuality. It is thus imperative to implement sexuality education as early as in kindergarten. Currently, little is known about pre-service kindergarten teachers’ attitudes towards sexuality education. This study fills in the research gap by investigating Hong Kong pre-service kindergarten teachers’ approach to handling children’s sexuality-related behaviours and its correlates. Two hundred and forty-five students were recruited from a local pre-service kindergarten teacher training programme to complete a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics suggested that some pre-service teachers were unlikely to use an accepting and open discussion approach to handle children’s sexuality-related behaviours. Repeated measures analysis further revealed that pre-service teachers tended to use an accepting and open discussion approach when children displayed gender-typed play behaviours and showed curiosity towards pregnancy and birth. The prohibitive and punitive approach was more likely to be adopted when children showed curiosity towards sexual behaviours. Bivariate correlation analysis showed that the inclination to use an accepting and open discussion approach was positively correlated with the perceived levels of benefits of early childhood sexuality education and parents’ trust towards teachers and negatively associated with shame of talking about sexuality. Results of structural equation modelling, however, showed that the perceived level of benefits of early childhood sexuality education was the only significant correlate. These findings point to the importance of promoting pre-service teachers’ awareness of the values of early childhood sexuality education and strengthening pre-service teachers’ skills in handling young children’s sexuality-related behaviours (especially their curiosity about sexual behaviours) in teacher education programmes. Copyright © 2018 HKERA International Conference.

As a regional hub for education, Hong Kong has seen a growing population of international students. In contrast to existing conceptual models in acculturation literature that are often devoted to studying long-term settlers such as migrants or refugees in English-speaking countries (Smith & Khawaja, 2011), this study develops and tests a fine-grained model for degree-seeking mobile students. A mix-method was employed: a large scale survey (n = 619) across six Hong Kong universities and focus group interviews (n = 31). Bilingual competences were found to play important roles to predict socio-cultural adaptation together with academic efficacy, social support, contacts with locals and psychological adaptation. This study offered practical and managerial insights for educational policymakers, university senior management and administrations, academicians and research communities on how to manage the changes and accommodate the needs of international students so that we can attract a culturally diverse body of students. This research is significant because it extends the literature by examining socio-cultural adjustment during cross-cultural transitions in an increasingly globalized context. Copyright © 2018 HKERA International Conference.

This paper explores the influence of friendship in mainland Chinese (MC) students’ adaptation to studying in Hong Kong. The number of MC students in Hong Kong has amounted to 18,887 in 2016, which makes it necessary for universities to cater for these students’ adaptation. Research has identified social-cultural differences between MC students and their local peers despite shared traditional Chinese cultural root. Existing studies have shown that international students can adapt to the new culture better and be more confident by making cross-cultural friends. Previous research has mainly focused on MC students’ difficulties in their adaptation, but how friendship influences their adaptation is still under-researched. This paper addresses the research questions: (1) What strategies do mainland students adopt to establish friendships during their study in Hong Kong? (2) What are the facilitating and hindering factors for mainland students to establish friendship? (3) How can friendship help mainland students adapt to their study and life in Hong Kong? A total of 24 MC university students studying in Hong Kong were interviewed. Thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. The findings show that friendship plays an important role in MC students’ adaptation to studying in Hong Kong, especially regarding daily life routines, such as how to deal with visa issues and navigate the university’s course selection system. MC students build friendships mainly through taking part in social and academic learning activities. Nonetheless, political-social conflicts between Hong Kong and Mainland China have, to a certain extent, hindered friendship establishment between MC and local students. Copyright © 2018 HKERA International Conference.

在傳統尚學文化及近年高等教育擴張的影響下，香港家長對子女教育普遍抱有很高的期望。然而，本地大學學額供給不足、親子對教育持有不同期望似乎都是阻礙家長實現「望」子成龍夢的不利因素。為了幫助香港家長實現「望」子成龍的熱望，本研究從家長視角出發，試圖回答以下問題：（1）面對緊張的學額供給，香港家長本就很高的學歷期望是否仍對子女的學業有積極影響？（2）若家長可以使子女與自己懷有相同水平的教育期望，家長的期望是否更易實現？為回答上述問題，我們借鑑了地位取得、社會認知和社會資本理論，針對研究問題提出三種假設。接着，我們運用描述性統計方法和多元線性迴歸模型來分析本次研究所用「香港高中學生升學及就業志向研究」數據。數據分析結果最符合我們據社會資本理論提出的假設：家長教育期望與子女的學業成就呈正相關關係；而當我們控制了家長教育期望的影響時，一致的親子教育期望對子女的學業成績有額外的積極影響。Deeply influenced by the traditional Chinese culture that respects scholars and the rapid expansion of higher education in recent years, parents in Hong Kong generally hold high expectations for their children’s education. In fact, however, both the shortage of local university places and the parent-child difference in educational expectations are likely to prevent parents from achieving their expectations. To help Hong Kong parents reach their goals, this study aims to answer the following two questions from the perspective of parents. First, facing the fierce competition for university places in Hong Kong, do parents’ way-too-high educational expectations still have positive effects on children’s academic performance? Second, if parents can align their children’s educational expectations with their own, are their expectations more likely to be fulfilled? To answer these questions, we will propose three different hypotheses according to status attainment theory, social cognitive theory, and social capital theory. Then, we will use descriptive statistical methods and multiple linear regression models to analyze the data used in this study (i.e., Panel Study on the Career and Educational Orientations of the Senior High School Students in Hong Kong). The results of data analyses are largely in line with the hypothesis drawn from the social capital theory. Parents’ educational expectations are positively related to their children’s academic performance. When parents’ educational expectations are conditioned, the alignment of parents’ and children’s expectations is likely to have an additional

This longitudinal study investigated the bidirectional relationships between executive functioning (EF), visual skills, Chinese and English word reading abilities in children transitioning to primary school. A total of 165 children in Hong Kong were followed from the third year of kindergarten (Time 1) (mean age: 62.80 months, SD: 3.74) to the first year of primary school (Time 2) (mean age: 77.25 months, SD: 4.60). Assessments for measuring EF, visual skills, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and Chinese and English word reading were administered to the children at the two time points. Results of cross-lagged panel analyses revealed that after age, phonological awareness, and morphological awareness were controlled, EF and visual skills exhibited a bidirectional relationship. Furthermore, EF and word reading in Chinese or English reciprocally predicted each other during the school transition period after other skills were controlled. However, visual skills and word reading in Chinese or English did not predict each other. These findings highlight the close associations between EF and visual skills as well as the importance of EF in learning to read Chinese and English in kindergarten and early primary school. Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

"Many parents today have an educational perspective based on current theory and trends. Schools need to educate parents about the current situation in today's education, help parents to understand the children’s need to develop skills and attitudes in co-constructing beyond a knowledge driven curriculum. Hong Kong Education Bureau proclaims the roles and responsibilities of parents, in the belief that parents are the primary educators for young children at home and play an active role in the education of their children as partners of the school (Cheng, 2015). On the other hand, parents in the Mainland China have become more conscious about how to play their part in home-school collaboration and engage themselves in children’s education, especially in face of the Two-child policy (Fang, et. al. 2018). As a school, it is important to provide education for parents to create a collaborative relationship between parents and educators, empowering life success to students with learning intentions. Communication has always been the key factor in fostering parents-school collaboration. However recent trends revealed schools’ concern of additional factors influencing the parent-school relationship and communication process – 'transparency’ and ‘frequency’ have played a role in parents’ understanding of what goes on in children’s school life. In this paper, educators from Hong Kong and Guangdong Province of Mainland China will share ways of kindergartens from the two regions in educating and communicating with parents, and how parents can be supported as part of their child’s learning journey. Technology provides online channels for parents to be informed, while face-to-face and other offline options are still being considered as commonly-used for communication. For data collection, survey questionnaires were sent to kindergarten principals from Hong Kong and Guangdong to explore ways of communication and collaboration between schools and parents that will encourage a common understanding

The Tier 2 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) aims to provide tailor-made programs to adolescents with greater psychosocial needs. Based on the subjective outcome evaluation data collected from 196 schools, the program implementers were asked to write down five conclusions in the evaluation reports. Results demonstrated that most of the conclusions pertaining to perceptions of the Tier 2 Program, instructors, and perceived effectiveness of the programs were positive in nature. Nevertheless, there were also conclusions that reflected the obstacles encountered and suggestions for improvements. Congruent with the previous evaluation findings, the current study suggests that the Tier 2 Program was well received by the stakeholders, and the evaluation findings generally suggest that the program was beneficial to the development of the program participants. Copyright © 2010 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York.

Research Findings: This study examined the contribution of teacher-student conflict at kindergarten to the child’s school adjustment in primary school using a Hong Kong sample. It investigated self-regulation as a mediator and parents’ positive relations with others as a moderator in that transition. At Time 1 (T1), kindergarten teachers reported their levels of conflict with individual children (N = 324, 168 girls), whereas children’s self-regulation was assessed with a Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders Task. Fathers and mothers also rated their positive relations with others. At Time 2 (T2; 8 months later), when children were enrolled in primary school (N = 247, 126 girls), primary school teachers rated how well they adjusted to the new school. Moderated mediation analyses showed that although the direct effect of T1 teacher-student conflict on T2 school adjustment was not significant, the indirect effect of self-regulation was. T1 teacher-student conflicts were negatively related to children’s self-regulation, which in turn predicted subsequent school adjustment. Interestingly, this indirect effect was significant only when parents’ positive relations with others were low rather than high. Practice or Policy: The findings highlight the importance of both a warm and caring relationship in the home and self-regulation to successful school transition. Copyright © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

香港自二零一二年起實施三三四新高中課程政策。然而,政府、政策研究者、學者等仍未對有特殊學習需要(SEN)高中生的學習情況,以及其畢業後的出路安排有足夠關注。本研究以小組訪談形式,收集了SEN高中生的家長對其SEN子女高中後轉銜的看法,包括對子女畢業出路的展望與態度、對現有政府支援體系的瞭解與評價,以及對於SEN學生高中後轉銜與支援服務的建議。小組訪談數據顯示,SEN學生家長均表示孩子高中後最理想出路是繼續升學,沒有升學機會時,才選擇工作。同時,他們主要擔心子女成績遜色,而在現今無論是升學或就業都講求高成績的社會中,其子女未能保持競爭力。另外,他們對於學校、政府和非政府機構等所提供的支援知之甚少,並且對社會支援,尤其是來自政府的支援非常不滿。此外,家長一致認為學校應負責SEN學生高中後的轉銜,並希望學校、政府或非政府機構所提供的資源能更多地考慮到SEN學生的個別特殊需要。最後,文末深入分析是次研究的重要性、局限及意義。 Since 2012, Hong Kong has implemented the New Senior Secondary (NSS) academic structure and curriculum. However, Hong Kong Government, policy makers and researchers have paid little attention to the educational situation and the career paths of the students with special educational needs (SEN) under the new curriculum. Thus, the current study was carried out, aiming to investigate parents’ opinions on their children’s post-secondary school transition. According to the results of focus group interviews, almost all parents of SEN students revealed that the most preferable career pathway was further study after their children graduated from senior secondary schools. Only when no study opportunities available would they consider job applications for their SEN children after they graduated. However, it should also be noted that a major concern of parents of SEN students was their children’s unsatisfactory academic achievement which could weaken their competitiveness, no matter whether they choose to work or further study as their post-school outcomes. In addition, the results indicated that these parents had little knowledge of current support services provided by schools, NGOs, and Hong Kong Government. Concerning current support services, they were particularly dissatisfied with those from the government. Noteworthy, parents all agreed that schools should be responsible for the post-school transition of SEN students. They also hope that schools, NGOs, and the government could take SEN students’ special needs into full consideration when these important stakeholders