This project investigated students' well-being at the Education University of Hong Kong with the goals of enhancing their level of well-being and their competence at meeting challenges in their personal and study life. This was achieved by creating a well-being e-portfolio in the Sway system for students selected from three collaborative Positive and Values Education (PAVE) courses using an integrated well-being model. The project was designed using a mixed-method approach. Three groups were selected from each PAVE course. Different kinds of qualitative and quantitative data were collected. The qualitative data consisted of pre- and post-interviews and e-portfolios. 24 students (8*3) in the three courses were randomly selected for two rounds of individual interviews. The three journals in the e-portfolios of all students in the three groups were analyzed. The quantitative data were comprised of pre- and post-survey questionnaires on well-being. These two kinds of data were integrated and enhance each other in terms of student well-being. The preliminary result showed that students in the interviews reported an increase of their well-being after these three PAVE courses. This was also demonstrated in their journals in the e-portfolios. The mean score of student wellbeing between pre- and post-tests significantly increased but the change in growth was not statistically significant. Copyright © 2020 International Conference on Learning and Teaching.

Background: Healthy movement behaviors in early childhood are believed to track to adulthood, potentially imparting protective benefits against non-communicable diseases. Highlighting the collaborative and complementary roles of parents and educators in promoting health of young children, this study aims to enable parents and teachers to successfully promote healthy movement behaviors in young children. Guidelines for physical activity, sedentary screen time, and sleep of children aged 2 to 6 years will be systematically disseminated to parents and teachers of children enrolled in early childhood education centers (ECECs) in Hong Kong. An evaluation will be conducted to assess the implementation process and the outcomes of the dissemination of said guidelines. Methods: The evaluation will include formative and summative components to examine the implementation (i.e., process evaluation) and the outcomes (i.e., outcome evaluation). Participants include teachers, parents, and children from ECECs in Hong Kong. The process evaluation will be guided by the RE-AIM framework (i.e., reach, efficacy, adaptation, implementation, maintenance). Data gathering and analysis will take a mixed-methods triangulation design - convergence model. The outcome evaluation consists of a non-randomized observational study, using quantitative data from questionnaires and accelerometers. The primary outcome to be measured is the extent to which children meet the guidelines for physical activity, sedentary screen time, and sleep; the secondary outcome is teachers’ and parents’ knowledge and awareness of the guidelines. Discussion: Young children who engage in healthy movement behaviors are likely to become adults who will have the disposition to engage in behaviors that have protective effects against non-communicable diseases. The findings of this evaluation are expected to contribute to improving the strategies of systems and government agencies that aspire to promote healthy movement behaviors

The Active Healthy Kids 2019 Hong Kong Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth with Special Educational Needs (SEN) provides evidence-based assessments for nine indicators of physical activity behaviors and related sources of influence for 6- to 17-year-olds with SEN in Hong Kong. This is the first Report Card for this population group in Hong Kong. The best available data between 2008 and 2019 were reviewed by a panel of experts. Following the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (AHKGA) development process, letter grades were assigned to nine indicators (Overall Physical Activity, Organized Sport Participation, Active Play, Active Transportation, Sedentary Behaviors, Family & Peers, School, Community & Environment, and Government Strategies & Investments). Two behavior indicators (Overall Physical Activity: F; Sedentary Behaviors: D+) and two contextual indicators (School: B; Government Strategies & Investments: C-) were assigned a letter grade. The remaining indicators including Organized Sport Participation, Active Play, Active Transportation, Family & Peers, and Community & Environment were not graded due to insufficient data. A majority of children and youth with SEN in Hong Kong are physically inactive and have a high level of sedentary behaviors. Schools are ideal settings to promote physical activity for this population. There is a need to develop a comprehensive surveillance system to monitor this population, assess efforts to improve the grades, and promote physical activity opportunities for children and youth with SEN. Copyright ©Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Organized extracurricular activities (EAs) are an important component of the microsystem that impacts children's lives. Previous literature has primarily focused on school-aged children and youth in Western societies. This study utilized a longitudinal design and examined the antecedents and consequences of extracurricular participation in a sample of 194 Hong Kong Chinese preschoolers. The results showed that higher family socioeconomic status (SES) predicted higher levels of participation in EAs (e.g., attendance intensity and the breadth of participation). Children from higher-SES families were more likely to involve in non-academic-oriented EAs. Participation in EAs was generally associated with the growth trajectories of reading and math skills in children from less advantaged SES backgrounds, but not higher-SES children. In contrast, EA participation was not associated with children's social skills. Findings highlight the importance of examining the relationship between EA participation and children's early development in non-Western societies. Copyright ©Elsevier Ltd.

Learning through play and free exploration are emphasized in the recent curriculum review in Hong Kong. This experimental project aims to investigate how children play with and without teachers’ direction instruction. Thirty-one children aged 4-5 (15 boys and 16 girls) attending a typical Hong Kong preschool participated in this study. The children are randomly divided into the control group and experimental group. The study consists of three phases: (1) Pre-test: Play without instructions for 30 minutes. A set of block play newly bought by the preschool is presented to children. Children are free to play and explore with the block as they like. (2) Treatment: Play with teachers’ instructions. In two-week period, the teachers will provide the experimental group with various instructions like picture book, puppet or probing whereas the control group will keep playing with the block set on their own. (3) Post-test: Play without instructions for 30-minutes for both groups. All block playing sessions will be videotaped. Behaviours of the children will be coded and analyzed based on the nature of play, content of play and complexity of ideas to delineate how teachers’ input may influence the quality of play and free exploration. Copyright © 2019 20th Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association International Conference (PECERA).

This response to COVID-19 introduces a Hong Kong drama education project that aims to support teachers' and children's return to school after the easing of COVID-19 pandemic. A pilot workshop has been conducted to explore and evaluate the approach of the project and to identify the needs of the teachers under the pandemic. Preliminary observations show that the integrated use of play, process drama and integrated arts education can enhance the teachers' resilience in a crisis situation. Apart from providing them with timely, practical and multi-pronged pedagogical support, the workshop methodology also promotes their personal wellbeing. Copyright © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This paper draws on ‘diaspora at home’, a concept that encapsulates the unique dynamics between Hong Kong and mainland China, as an analytical tool to explore the cross-border experiences of 23 Hong Kong students at 11 universities in mainland China. It empirically ascertains how the made and imposed claims and identifications of these Hong Kong students resulted in inclusion and exclusion as their interactions with their mainland peers and institutions deepened. Specifically, it highlights how their ‘diaspora at home’ status offered exclusive access to privileged higher education opportunities, preferential treatments and opportunities for upward social mobility. Meanwhile, such a status also resulted in an overwhelming sense of political liability as they unwittingly became ‘political tokens’ and suspected political subjects amid the increasingly tense political atmosphere between mainland China and Hong Kong. This paper pinpoints the relevance of class and politics in understanding how diasporic groups engage with higher education. Copyright © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

習近平總書記曾指出:“學校作為塑造靈魂、塑造生命的重要場所,是培育和踐行社會主義核心價值觀的主陣地,要充分發揮學校教育的基礎作用;他同時強調一種價值觀要真正發揮作用,必須在落細、落小、落實上下功夫。”友善是社會主義核心價值觀個人層面的重要內容,如何把友善價值觀在不同社會群體中落細、落小、落實,是一項系統復雜的研究工程。本文以文獻研究法、文本分析法、數據分析法為主要研究方法,以培生香港出版社出版的《生活與社會課》教材為研究對象,從教科書的教育理念、教材內容以及教材呈現方式等方面對香港中學生接受“友善”教育情況進行研究。本文包括以下五個部分。第一部分為緒論部分。主要是對本課題的研究進行背景說明和文獻綜述。該部分通過對“友善”的研究、對“友善教育”的研究、對香港德育教材的研究進行文獻綜述,同時明確了本文的研究方法,確立了全文的研究框架。第二部分是論文相關概念的界定與闡釋,結合論文分別從“友善”和“友善教育”兩個概念出發,從不同的角度解釋“友善”的釋義,進而分析友善教育的重要性和必要性,為整篇論文奠定基礎。第三部分,是對香港中學生的“友善”教育理念的研究,首先是了解“友善”在香港形成的歷史背景,從中華民族傳統文化、香港殖民地歷史和中西文化交融環境三個角度展開,在此基礎上探討香港中學的教材的框架體系是如何體現“多元包容”理念。第四部分,是對香港中學生的教材內容的分析。文章通過對《生活與社會科》教材內容的分析總結香港教育過程中如何培養學生與己友善、與人友善和與社會友善,每一部分結合教材的主題和每節課的課題內容展開分析。第五部分,是對教材特點的分析,通過前文關於教材內容的總結,進一步梳理教材的框架結構,淺析香港中學友善教育在教材中如何呈現,教材如何在“知行統一”的教育目標下實現對於學生的友善教育。第六部分,結合當前中國大陸德育工作形勢與挑戰重新審視《生活與社會科》,從中挖掘對中學生德育教材理念、教材呈現方式以及德育工作與生活實踐之間的關係的啟示。

This article reports on a case study of a Hong Kong undergraduate student's lived experiences of second language (L2) investments and identities across different contexts, including inside and outside the classroom on the university campus, in the professional workplace, and during study abroad. Findings indicate that the student's differential L2 investments across contexts appear to be closely intertwined with the different identities constructed in specific circumstances and mediated by the perceived likelihood of yielding a good return on the investments. His selective L2 investments were also found to be driven by a desire for membership in an imagined international community and an imagined identity associated with a cosmopolitan lifestyle in the projected future. The article argues for the importance of a holistic understanding of individuals' L2 learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom in order to appreciate the complexities of their variable L2 investments and identities across contexts.
[Copyright of Journal of Language, Identity, and Education is the property of Routledge.]

Higher education internationalisation (HEI) emphasises the benefits of international research partnerships, knowledge production through education hub development, and global marketisation/exportation of education. The connections between internationalisation and student life are less documented in East Asian universities, particularly regarding social exclusion issues. This study takes an intersectional approach to explore and analyse students' social exclusion experiences at one international Hong Kong university using an anonymous online survey (n = 100). Thematic analysis revealed social exclusion in multiple student life areas across three major axes: Area of origin, particularly Mainland Chinese students; Sexuality, specifically lesbian, gay and bisexual-identified students, and the intersectionality of nationality, language and ethnicity. The study findings are situated within the sociocultural and political context of Hong Kong HEI since the mid-1990s. Internationalisation presents opportunities for Hong Kong universities to make needed commitments to addressing social exclusion issues, as they continue to affect campus ecologies and the increasingly diverse student population.
[Copyright of Multicultural Education Review is the property of Routledge.]