本研究旨在深入瞭解個案幼稚園並深入分析其幼兒生命教育課程的特色， 明白其具體的教學情境脈絡， 及其家長參與的方式和成效，藉此瞭解家長參與到校本幼兒生命教育課程的意義所在。 目的在於探討以下問題： 課程的設計理念是如何發展而來的？其具體實施歷程是如何進行的？課程的成效如何？ 以及對各方面的意義及其影響為何？本研究使用混合研究方法，以質性個案研究為主，量化分析為輔， 透過文本分析、實地觀察、問卷分析、訪談記錄等方法，蒐集撰寫論文所需的資料， 對象包含個案幼稚園的幼兒、家長、老師和行政人員，從多角度探究個案幼稚園讓家長參與到校本幼兒生命教育課程的具體實施過程、 成效及其意義所在。綜合研究發現，本研究獲得以下結論： (一)課程的實施歷程是一個互動感染的過程； (二)課程的成效顯著； (三)課程的舉辦對不同持分者均產生影響：讓幼兒有更多機會從日常生活中學習到生命教育議題；讓家長明白不要把所有重心放在子女身上，應該先要懂得愛自己，才有足夠能力愛子女；讓老師得到成長的機會，擴闊人生智慧和視野；可以讓幼稚園與家庭及幼兒連繫在一起，共同達到生命培育的目標。綜合上述研究結果，研究者分別對幼稚園、老師、家長及未來的研究方向提出了相關建議。All rights reserved.

This article reports the findings of a multi-site qualitative study of 31 Chinese homeschooling families in Taipei and Hong Kong. Homeschooling, a significant source of inspiration for school innovation, has been growing around the globe in recent years, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting the challenges facing mainstream schools. The findings reveal that the families under study chose to homeschool their children mainly because they were dissatisfied with mainstream schools in the Chinese context, which, as they described, were not sufficiently child-centric. Notably, their homeschooling practices were highly diversified and hybridised, including a variety of organisational methods, actors, and materials. Based on lessons learned from homeschooling, the findings indicate the need for mainstream schools to reimagine their relations with families and the outside world in terms of pedagogic time, space, relations, and resources to better respond to every student’s unique needs as well as the challenges ahead in the post-pandemic world. Copyright © 2023 Educational Review.

In Hong Kong, the Education Bureau (EDB) is responsible for the quality assurance of kindergarten education services. EDB inspectors regularly conduct school visits to monitor kindergartens’ performance and publish a Quality Review (QR) report for each kindergarten. Given the limited research on pedagogical practices pertaining to physical activities in Hong Kong kindergartens, the current study analyzes the content concerning this learning area in the QR reports. We analyzed 164 QR reports (published between 2017 and 2020) according to four analytic dimensions: (1) Overall presence of content pertaining to physical activities; (2) References to specific forms of physical activities; (3) Positive feedback; and (4) Negative feedback and recommendations. The presence of physical activities in the QR reports was found to be low (5% on average). EDB inspectors alluded to physical activities generically, not specifying the motor skill(s) at hand. Both positive and negative feedback focused primarily on matters pertaining to the time of exposure to physical activities and teachers’ pedagogical quality. Our evidence suggests the existence of potential gaps between Hong Kong’s kindergarten policies and actual physical activity practices. Further professional development seems necessary to strengthen both teachers’ pedagogies and inspectors’ understandings of physical activities. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s).

In Chinese societies, Chinese identity is an important yet controversial topic. This book examines official understandings of Chinese identity in Mainland China and Hong Kong, exploring how the latest governments of Mainland China and Hong Kong conceptualize Chinese identity; how government-endorsed textbooks frame it in different subjects; and how a multicultural approach can enhance understanding of identity in both societies. Using content analysis to support his theoretical arguments, Lin offers an in-depth, updated, and detailed picture of how the governments of Mainland China and Hong Kong, and their endorsed textbooks, encourage people in these societies to respond to the question of “who are we?”. He also elaborates on how the current approach to understanding Chinese identity can be harmful, and examines how a multicultural approach could better fit these Chinese contexts and enhance understanding of “who are we?”. Given that the question of identity causes trouble everywhere, and many countries are debating approaches to understanding diverse identities in their own societies, this book provides valuable insights into the Chinese perspective, to allow readers to more fully understand global frameworks of identity. This book will interest researchers and students in the fields of multiculturalism, multicultural education, national identity, identity politics, and China and Hong Kong studies. Copyright © 2023 Jason Cong Lin.

This paper aims to provide comparative insights into the psychosocial well-being of Hong Kong and Kazakhstan undergraduate students, focusing specifically on the role of ethnicity and gender. The existing body of literature on students’ health-promoting lifestyle has shown how age, gender, income level, sociability, and knowledge of health can shape one’s perception of physical and mental well-being. Much lesser attention, however, has been paid to the ways in which students from diverse ethnic origins differ from each other in cultivating different dimensions of psychosocial well-being. To address this issue, this study delivered questionnaires to 284 undergraduate students from Hong Kong and 281 undergraduate students from Kazakhstan. Developed from the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, the questionnaire is designed to measure undergraduate’s psychosocial well-being threefold. Using independent sample t-test, this paper shows that Hong Kong undergraduate students have higher levels of psychosocial well-being in terms of “interpersonal relations” and “stress management” whereas Kazakhstan undergraduate students are stronger in another dimension of well-being – “spiritual growth”. Results show that the influence of gender on students’ psychosocial well-being varies in different contexts. One of the important implications of these findings suggests that school administrators and students from different countries may benefit from cross-cultural exchange, co-promoting all dimensions of psychosocial well-being. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s).

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought challenges to families around the world. The prolonged school closures in Hong Kong have forced young students to stay at home and adapt to remote learning for over a year, putting their mental health conditions at risk. Focusing on primary school students and their parents, the main objective of our research is to investigate the socioemotional factors and their associations with mental health conditions. Methods: A total of 700 Hong Kong primary schoolers (mean age = 8.2) reported their emotional experiences, loneliness, and academic self-concept via a user-friendly online survey; 537 parents reported depression and anxiety, perceived child depression and anxiety, and social support. Responses from students and parents were paired to account for the family context. Structural Equation Modeling was used for correlations and regressions. Results: The results of students’ responses showed that positive emotional experiences were negatively associated with loneliness and positively related to academic self-concept among students. Furthermore, the paired sample results showed that, during the one-year societal lockdown and remote learning period, the socioemotional factors were associated with mental health conditions among primary school students and their parents. Among our family sample in Hong Kong, evidence supports the unique negative association between students-reported positive emotional experiences and parents-reported child depression and anxiety, as well as between social support and parents’ depression and anxiety. Conclusions: These findings highlighted the associations between socioemotional factors and mental health among young primary schoolers during the societal lockdown. We thus call for more attention to the societal lockdown and remote learning context, especially since the social distancing practice could be “the new normal” for our society to handle the future pandemic crisis. Copyright © 2023 The Author

Growing evidence indicates that early exposure to music and movement (M&M) positively impacts young children’s self-regulation. However, little attention has been paid to what kindergarten teachers know and believe about the relationship between M&M and self-regulation, and even less to how teachers’ background in M&M relates to their knowledge and beliefs. This study investigates these topics using survey data from 306 Hong Kong kindergarten classroom teachers. Descriptive, correlation, and independent sample t-tests were conducted. Most teachers believed they possessed a high level of understanding on the topic, particularly those with M&M background. These participants held stronger beliefs that M&M fosters children’s self-regulation, specifically motor-coordination skills, impulse control, and emotional management. We conclude that kindergarten teachers’ knowledge of, and beliefs in the role of M&M to support children’s self-regulation are influenced by their own M&M background. Indeed, the more M&M activities teachers have been exposed to, the deeper their understandings on how M&M contributes to children’s self-regulatory skills. The main implication is the need to further expose kindergarten teachers to M&M learning experiences, be it formally or informally. Copyright © 2023 Authors.

Financial capability is an important competence for adolescents, and secondary school is a natural setting in which to deliver financial education courses. Currently, however, little empirical evidence has been published on the effects of in-school financial education on financial capability in adolescents. This pilot study brought together a randomized experimental design, a combination of local and non-local financial education courses, comprehensive measurements, and multi-level structural equation modeling for data analysis to evaluate the outcomes of a financial education project in a representative sample of Hong Kong adolescents. Results demonstrated that our financial intervention made a positive impact on objective financial knowledge and financial self-efficacy but a negative one on financial behaviors. Positive effects on financial self-efficacy were stronger in male adolescents than in females. Our findings represent an important contribution to the literature regarding financial education at the secondary school level. Copyright © 2019 Springer Nature B.V.

This study examined the interrelationships among playfulness, prosocial skills, and school readiness of Hong Kong kindergarten children across time. Participants were 106 local children (55.6% boys, mean age = 60.0 months) and their parents and teachers. At time 1, parents reported their child’s age, gender, and playfulness. Six months later at time 2, teachers reported children’s prosocial skills and school readiness. The structural equation model revealed that children’s playfulness at time 1 significantly predicted their prosocial skills at time 2, and that their prosocial skills and school readiness at time 2 were positively associated. The indirect relationship between playfulness and school readiness as mediated through prosocial skills was significant, whereas the direct relationship was non-significant. These findings suggest that children’s playfulness may contribute to school readiness by fostering prosocial skills. Practically, results highlight the utility of promoting children’s playfulness and prosocial skills to support their formal school transition. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Computational thinking (CT) practices is a critical cognitive tool for students to overcome challenges in this technological era. Few studies investigated CT practices from a development perspective. A two-year intervention was implemented in 30 intervention and 22 control schools in Hong Kong to promote CT education (T1baseline: N = 13,056; T2: N = 16,367; and T3: N = 15,269). Senior primary students (grades 4 to 6) around 8–12 years old were targeted. Among them, 34% were girls at T1baseline. Their learning progression of cognitive development was assessed with a CT practices test. Data were analyzed using item response analysis. Learning trajectories of CT practices were modeled to understand how students’ cognitive development differed between schools. Insights of findings were discussed in bringing CT practices to life. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.