This article discusses the sources, processes and impact of the quality assurance policy implemented in Hong Kong preschools. Regarded as a sort of policy alignment between the subsystems of pre-primary, primary and secondary education, the introduction of a quality assurance policy has been directly and indirectly transforming the settlements in the preschool context. The first section of this article examines the main shift in policy direction shaped by the global movement of supranational organizations and the local agenda of educational reform after 1997. The historical review of the changing parameters in the preschool field is provided in the second section as a backdrop for later discussion. The third section analyses how the local governance of education is subtly transforming the settlements in the preschool field. The fourth section discusses how the quality assurance policy is mediated with school-level realities. It is argued that the top-down approach adopted by policy-makers should be critically re-examined in the policy process in order to ensure the quality of preschool education.
[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/10.1080/03004430600563836]

The hypothesis in this study was that different types of multiple-goal learners would have different patterns of learning. A sample of 797 adult distance learners enrolled in different programs offered by a distance learning university in Hong Kong completed a questionnaire assessing their goals, use of strategies, motivational beliefs, and attitudes towards the course they were doing. Two-stage cluster analyses found a group of single-goal learners (mastery focused) and three groups of multiple-goal learners with different focuses in their goal profiles: performance focus, work focus, and multiple focuses. These four clusters of learners differed in terms of use of learning strategies, regulatory strategies, motivational beliefs, and attitudes towards the course. Learners focusing on work-related goals or performance goals achieved better examination results than did those focusing on multiple goals or solely on mastery goals.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410701739470]

The purpose of this paper is to report on the development of the first online self-directed inventory on the measurement of academic programme preferences (MAPP) for potential students at the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK). In this study, trait-factor theory and personality type theory were employed. 1,963 respondents in Hong Kong were surveyed using a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling technique. The inventory, consisting of 132 items, was developed and eight personal attributes were found: Influential , Enterprising , Social , Helping , Explorative , Technological , Logical , and Reflective . The minimum desirability of each of these attributes for all programmes offered at the OUHK was assessed by course administrators. Students' ratings on the eight personal attributes were evaluated against the minimum ratings, based on a nine-point scale, to determine their academic preferences. A computer-assisted multidimensional MAPP was set up online in both English and Chinese and was linked to the University's homepage. By completing the MAPP online, distance learners could obtain their personal profiles and a list of suggested OUHK programmes instantaneously. Connected to the University's aim to foster lifelong learning, the MAPP is expected to ease the academic selection process and reduce the number of dropouts by enhancing students' success with their chosen programmes.
[Copyright of Distance Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0158791032000127482]

Based on a sociocultural perspective, this study investigated the learning experiences of a selected group of older adults learning computing technologies at a social center in Hong Kong. Data generated from in-depth interviews were used to develop a model of evolving motivation that explains how this group of "anxious novices" had gradually developed into "motivated experts" capable of showcasing their computing achievement to the public. The model highlights the significance of social supports derived from various social contexts in helping older adults make sense of their learning and develop lasting interest in computing technologies.
[Copyright of Educational Gerontology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03601270701763845]