Learning Management Systems (LMSs) are underutilized in universities despite them being standard components of higher education. Given this, there is a need to gather the perspectives of students and teachers to examine how these key end-users engage with LMS and utilize its various features and functions. Such an endeavor could aid in addressing the barriers and in promoting the use of LMSs in online teaching and learning. As studies about LMS use with both teacher and student samples are limited, we simultaneously gathered both students’ and teachers’ perceptions of Moodle from all academic faculties at a public university in Hong Kong. Structured qualitative interviews were conducted with eighty-two participants (41 teachers, 41 students) via Zoom. Results suggest that Moodle, while previously viewed as merely a repository of course materials, transitioned from being a supplementary tool to a key information dissemination tool during the pandemic. Despite the availability of collaboration tools, majority of interactions still occur in alternative communication channels. Findings point to students’ and teachers’ need for familiarity, training, and a visually and functionally improved interface to enhance their experience in the LMS. We also found how content and pedagogy influenced how LMS was integrated into teaching, with frequency and manner of LMS use varying between faculties and departments. Given this, tailor-made information and support for each department are needed to maximize LMS use in classes. We suggest the conduct of dialogues involving multiple stakeholders (i.e., teachers, students, administrators, and technical support staff) so that higher education institutions can share best practices on how to improve LMS utilization to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in universities. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s).

Objective: This study examined the views of secondary school students on sexuality and sexual health education in Hong Kong, China. Methods: A total of 818 secondary school students (mean age = 15.3 years, SD = 1.6) participated in this study by completing a questionnaire consisted of items on sociodemographic characteristics, sexual attitudes, and other measuring scales. Results: Students were slightly permissive in sexual attitudes and supported sexual health education. However, students who were male, highly liberal in sexual attitudes, and low in religiosity and spirituality were less supportive. Conclusions: Educators may need to address these deterring factors of sexual health education before teaching specific sexual health topics. Copyright © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Education research for practice is in need of textbook studies, especially those having well-defined theoretical framework. This paper is an attempt to apply phenomenography in textbook research. It begins with a review of four existing types of textbook studies found in the literature. Next, the main features of phenomenography (qualitative difference, inductive approach, non-dualistic nature, and enacted object of learning) are discussed conceptually in comparison with the research approaches adopted in the existing textbook studies. Then, for more concrete illustration, we deliberate on our own phenomenographic study that investigated the qualitatively different ways of seeing Chinese word learning as reflected in Hong Kong textbooks. In this study, six learning packages at Kindergarten 3 level and six Chinese Language textbook sets at Primary 1 level were examined. Chinese word learning was found to be seen as: (A) getting by without understanding the words, (B) understanding the words, (C) categorizing the words, and (D) using one’s own words. Finally, the paper is concluded with a discussion of its contribution to improving textbook research with the theoretical framework of phenomenography as well as enhancing phenomenography with the use of textbook data. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

This study aims to investigate whether the flexible-learning approach may or may not foster student engagement in learning music history at the tertiary level. This approach provides students with a certain degree of autonomy in terms of deciding what to learn and how that learning should be assessed. Hence, it is highly learner-centred and deemed effective in cultivating students’ learning interests. The flexible-learning approach has received global attention in recent years, particularly in Europe, where both policymakers and teachers in higher education have borrowed it for the purposes of curriculum planning and course design. To determine the impact of the flexible-learning approach on music history education, this study employed a retrospective post-pre survey in order to measure students’ learning engagement. The results demonstrate that a flexible-learning approach can effectively enhance students’ motivation in learning, implying that a single music history course does not need to stick to the traditional linear design, but should provide multiple trajectories for students to learn according to their interests and abilities. Copyright © 2023 The Education University of Hong Kong.

Arts and Creativity is one learning area of Hong Kong’s official kindergarten curriculum framework. Kindergarten teachers are expected to foster children’s creativity via four art forms: music, visual arts, dance, and drama. However, prior studies have investigated the provision of activities for each of the art forms in isolation and have not explored the demographic variables that predict teachers’ provision of arts education activities. Investigating the provision of the four art forms and its relationship with teachers’ demographics could provide an overview of the status of arts education in Hong Kong kindergartens. We had two research goals: (1) investigate the frequency with which kindergarten teachers conduct arts education activities focusing on music, visual arts, dance, and drama; (2) identify subgroups of teachers who differ regarding the provision of arts education activities and analyze how key demographic variables predict their memberships to these subgroups. We surveyed 477 teachers. Descriptive statistics, latent profile analysis, and multinomial logistic regression analysis were performed. We found that the presence of the four art forms was unbalanced. Participants reported conducting music and visual arts activities frequently, while dance and drama activities were occasionally or rarely conducted. Moreover, we identified three subgroups of teachers who provided arts education activities with different frequencies. Participants with a master’s degree and those who worked in government-funded kindergartens were more likely to be in the highest arts provision group. Findings suggest that the curriculum is not being implemented accurately, as teachers do not equally expose children to the four art forms. We interpret these findings as a reflection of teachers’ uneven preparation in the various art forms. Implications for educational policy regarding professional development are discussed. Copyright © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Purpose: This study aims to offer authors’ humble yet unique experiences about developing an undergraduate sociology programme in an increasingly divided city.Design/methodology/approach: In this study, the authors reflect upon the development of a new sociology programme in Hong Kong in which a wide spectrum of expectations from different stakeholders, together with their own sense of mission towards sociology education, have set a very challenging stage.Findings: Developing an undergraduate sociology programme has never been easy, and there is no self-complacence as far as developing a programme that is of both academic and social values.Originality/value: This paper offers a first-hand account of how sociology educators have developed a new sociology programme in a unique social context. Copyright © 2023 Emerald Publishing Limited.

This study examines in-service teachers’ attitudes and teacher self-efficacy in implementing inclusive practices in Hong Kong classrooms. The predictors of teachers’ attitudes and teacher self-efficacy for inclusive practices were also investigated. Participants of the study comprised 1110 primary and secondary in-service teachers. Results reveal that Hong Kong in-service teachers had slightly positive attitudes towards inclusion. Teacher self-efficacy for inclusive practices was moderate and had a positive impact on teachers’ attitudes. Prior experience in teaching students with disabilities, confidence in teaching students with disabilities, level of training, years of teaching experience, self-efficacy in inclusive instruction and collaboration were significant predictors of teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education. Knowledge of legislation and policies, confidence in teaching students with disabilities and teachers’ beliefs and their feelings were determined as the significant predictors of teacher self-efficacy. Recommendations and the limitations of the findings are discussed in light of these results. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Mastering the skill of writing from multiple sources is essential for university students. Against today's multilingual backdrop, students not only need to engage with various sources but may also encounter materials in different languages. However, most existing research on source-based writing has focused on monolingual contexts, leaving us with a limited understanding of how students integrate cross-linguistic sources in their writing. To address this gap, we conducted a preliminary exploration of language use in the context of writing an English text based on a series of Chinese (L1) and English (L2) sources among 33 university students in Hong Kong. By utilising multiple methods (i.e., writing logs, questionnaires, and interviews), we examined students' language use as reflected in their access to sources in different languages and their self-reported writing processes. The results did not show a significant difference in the use of L1 and L2 in integrating sources, despite the final written text being in L2. Additionally, we found that the two languages dynamically interacted with each other, supporting different stages of the writing process. The study also provides pedagogical implications for source-based writing in a bilingual context. Copyright © 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

This study aims to develop a self-report inventory to measure University students’ perception of their creative thinking skills. Creative thinking is a critical learning outcome in higher education and one of the essential 21st Century Competency. The data were collected from 253 students of a university in Hong Kong. A structural equation model was applied to confirm the construct validity of the instrument. The result shows that the key characteristics of creative thinking skills are empirically constructed by creative character, originality, sensitivity, synthesizing and resistance to premature closure. The five characteristics of creative thinking can be considered as learning processes or outcomes to inform the design of instructional events and learning activities to nurture students’ creative thinking skills. Copyright © 2023 by the authors.

Students with Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Difficulties (SEBD) pose a major challenge to inclusive education. A positive teacher-student (t-s) relationship has been confirmed a vital factor in the development of students with SEBD. In Hong Kong, students with SEBD may study in mainstream schools, or special schools with residential service, while in Thailand, parents can only choose mainstream schools (either public or private) for their children with SEBD. A qualitative study was conducted in two Hong Kong special schools (one primary and one secondary) and one private school (with both primary and secondary schools) in Thailand to explore teachers’ perceptions of the t-s relationship among students with SEBD. The three schools offer residential services. Information was collected mainly from individual interviews with 21 teachers from these three schools. Themes emerging from the analysis reflect that the cultural concerns about the difference between‘relationship’ and ‘guanxi’ require further elaboration and discussion. Copyright @ 2023 Center for Promoting Ideas, USA.