The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of narrative inquiry to contribute to an understanding of immigrant students' educational experience. Research on immigrant students' education is reviewed and the need for detailed examination of these students' experiences in schools, such as is done in a narrative inquiry, is demonstrated. Current trends in narrative inquiry that focus on multicultural and cross-cultural phenomena are examined. Key questions that narrative inquirers engaged in international and comparative education need to consider are discussed. One narrative inquiry on Mainland Chinese immigrant students in Hong Kong is presented to demonstrate the particular qualities of this form of inquiry and its potential for understanding immigrant students' educational experience. Dilemmas and concerns associated with this form of inquiry are briefly addressed.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057920802066568]

Researchers (A. C. Amason, 1996; D. H. Gruenfeld, 1995; K. A. Jehn, 1995, 1997; M. A. Rahim, 1989; M. A. Rahim & A. A. Blum, 1994; D. M. Schweiger, W. R. Sandberg, & P. L. Rechner, 1989; P. E. Tetlock, D. Armor, & R. S. Peterson, 1994) have documented the value of conflictual discussions for solving problems, but few have explored the conditions under which people are motivated to engage in controversy (K. A. Jehn, C. Chadwick, & S. M. B. Thatcher, 1997). Some (M. Van Berklom & D. Tjosvold, 1981) have hypothesized that high expertise and a competitive social context arouse concerns about defending one's position and challenging the opposing one. In the present study, Chinese university students in Hong Kong who expected to disagree with an expert, compared with those who did not expect to disagree with an expert, had less confidence, felt less knowledgeable about their position, and selected an agreeable discussant. Consistent with the idea of maintaining distance from those in power, the participants were reluctant to disagree directly with someone with greater expertise.
[Copyright of Journal of Social Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224540109600557]

This article presents the findings of a study hypothesizing that school discipline problems are a maladaptive response to the demand of the school environment as a result of deficits in the area of locus of control and attributional style. The findings indicate that an external orientation of locus of control and a passive pattern of attribution remain significant predictors of discipline problems when other factors are held constant. The findings lend support to the idea of establishing programmes that "induce appropriate attributions" in children and train teachers to become aware of the attributional process in order to effectively deal with discipline problems in school. Cognitive re-structuring is suggested as an effective means of intervention aimed at disputing the irrational beliefs, which leads to positive effects and consequences. This study was conducted on a sample of three hundred and eighty-four students recruited from the junior forms of four secondary schools in Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Early Child Development and Care is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0300443032000088203]

It is now largely accepted that social and cultural factors have a significant impact on cognitive development in children. Piaget acknowledged the impact of social factors and peer interaction on cognitive development. However, there has been relatively little work on the impact of social and cultural factors on the development of metacognition in first-year university students. Using the Learning and study strategies inventory (LASSI) as a measure of metacognition, this study samples first-year undergraduates in Hong Kong (N = 1815) and identifies significant differences in metacognitive abilities between students living in their home environment and those who have moved away from their family and, in some cases, culture, to pursue undergraduate education.
[Copyright of Educational Studies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03055690600850347]

The picture that often emerges from the research literature on 'Chinese learners' is a caricature of rote-learning, memorization and passivity. This article takes issue with the stereotype. The paper is in three parts. The first part considers the extent to which Chinese culture may influence Chinese learning styles. Some received opinions are counterpoised with more recent reinterpretations. The paper later examines some of the findings from the literature on effective adult learning. The third part explores the extent to which Hong Kong adult learners adopt learning styles consonant with those outlined in the second section. The results of the survey research, action learning projects and case studies considered suggest that Hong Kong adult learners are receptive to new modes of learning and go on to adopt learning styles quite different from those they deployed in school. The arguments are situated within the literature on adult Chinese second language (L2) learning but have wider resonance and application to Hong Kong adult learners in general.
[Copyright of International Journal of Lifelong Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02601370210156745]