Background: Schools present venues for physical activity promotion among youth, with physical education (PE) considered the primary vehicle responsible for increasing activity levels. Yet students are not very physically active during typical school PE classes. With the aim to engage Hong Kong students in more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during PE, a fitness infusion intervention using rope skipping was designed, and its effectiveness will be examined. Rope skipping was chosen because a) it provides moderate-to-high intensity physical activity; b) is inexpensive; c) students find it enjoyable; and d) is feasible in typical environments in Hong Kong, where PE classes are large in size (up to 40 students) and space available for physical activity is usually limited. Methods/Design: A matched-pair cluster randomized controlled trial was designed. Secondary school students from 24 classes (from 12 schools) will be recruited to participate in the trial. Students' baseline MVPA will be measured during school PE. Classes will be matched according to baseline variables and one class from each pair will be randomized into the experimental group. Teachers in the experimental group will be invited to attend a teacher workshop, and will insert a 15-minute rope skipping activity in four consecutive PE lessons. Motivational factors based on self-determination theory will also be measured as secondary outcomes. The effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated by comparing changes in the proportion of lesson time spent in MVPA from baseline to follow-up across the experimental and control groups. Discussion: Physical activity levels in PE are often very low and there is a need to identify feasible low-cost interventions that can be easily disseminated. If the results of the study suggest the intervention to be effective, it could be implemented to schools throughout Hong Kong and other cities where space is limited.
[Copyright of Bmc Public Health is the

The evidence suggests that emotional intelligence and personality traits are important qualities that workers need in order to successfully exercise a profession. This article assumes that the main purpose of universities is to promote employment by providing an education that facilitates the acquisition of abilities, skills, competencies and values. In this study, the emotional intelligence and personality profiles of two groups of Spanish students studying degrees in two different academic disciplines - computer engineering and teacher training were analysed and compared. In addition, the skills forming part of the emotional intelligence and personality traits required by professionals (computer engineers and teachers) in their work were studied, and the profiles obtained for the students were compared with those identified by the professionals in each field. Results revealed significant differences between the profiles of the two groups of students, with the teacher training students scoring higher on interpersonal skills; differences were also found between professionals and students for most competencies, with professionals in both fields demanding more competencies that those evidenced by graduates. The implications of these results for the incorporation of generic social, emotional and personal competencies into the university curriculum are discussed.
[Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.777410]

The purpose of the study was to identify if performance of speech-language pathology students in problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials could predict subsequent clinical performance evaluated through (a) a non-standardized, custom clinical evaluation form (HKU form) and (b) a standardized competency assessment for speech pathology developed in Australia (COMPASS (R)). Students' scores from PBL tutorial performance were correlated with scores in clinical placement on both the HKU form and the COMPASS. Significant correlations were found between students' PBL tutorial performance (reflective journals and participation in the tutorial process) and their clinical performance (treatment and interpersonal skills) on the HKU clinical evaluation form. Significant correlations were also found between (a) PBL tutorial performance (participation in the tutorial process) and their clinical performance (all generic and occupational competencies, and the overall score) on the COMPASS, (b) PBL tutorial performance (reading forms) and two occupational competencies on the COMPASS, (c) PBL tutorial performance (reflective journals) and four occupational competencies and the overall score on the COMPASS. The results highlighted the need for validating the assessment for the learning process in PBL tutorials with empirical evidence and the advantage of assessing clinical performance through COMPASS in Hong Kong. Tutors, clinical supervisors and students should be given clear behavioral descriptors for expected performance in PBL tutorials and clinical practice at different year levels.
[Copyright of Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics is the property of Informa Healthcare. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/02699206.2013.812146]

Background: Embedding the concept of international mindedness' in teaching across a range of subject matter is seen as increasingly important in today's education. Understanding the situated challenges that teachers may encounter in doing this is critical to the development of effective professional development in different socio-cultural and instructional contexts.Purpose: This study examined the enactment of international mindedness in International Baccalaureate diploma programmes (IBDP) in the Hong Kong context, focusing on the subject of Chinese language teaching.Sample: Nine experienced Chinese language teachers in IBDP programmes from six International Baccalaureate schools participated in the study. The schools were selected on the basis that they had some variety in student demographic profiles and organisational structures and had been offering the IBDP programmes for several years. Participant teachers either had several years of teaching IBDP Chinese or were holding leadership roles in the Chinese department and were very familiar with IBDP Chinese teaching.Design and methods: Individual, semi-structured interviews of approximately an hour's duration were conducted with participant teachers. A thematic analysis technique was used to analyse the interview data both deductively and inductively.Findings: Analysis revealed a set of internal and external challenges that were described as arising from the characteristics of the individual teachers, the curriculum and the teaching contexts. Challenges internal to the teachers included their educational experience, pedagogical beliefs and interpretations of the concept of international mindedness in teaching. External challenges included the characteristics of the IBDP curriculum, the subject matter and schools' and parents' expectations concerning international mindedness. Teachers and schools were found to utilise various strategies in order to enhance the perceived compatibility and relevancy of international