This study focuses on older participants’ experiences of and views on a lifelong learning program at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong. As many third age adults tend not to have the opportunity to receive tertiary education when they were young, this program aims to fulfil their dream of studying at a university and boost their self-esteem and self-confidence. Using qualitative research methods, this research was conducted after the MiniU program (supported by the Institute of Active Aging of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 participants after the program. While participants had acquired knowledge and experience of university life from the Mini-U program, they also reported concerns and difficulties with participation including difficulties in memorizing course content and financial difficulties. The program has offered a unique opportunity for enhancing participants’ interpersonal relationships and wellbeing. The research also further informs the development of creative lifelong learning programs aimed at improving the well-being of older people. Copyright © 2023 Taylor & Francis.

Following the increasing use of online learning among academic institutions worldwide, this study examined the relationships between enjoyment of study, study engagement, learning performance, and informal learning. Based on the intrinsic motivation theory, enjoyment of study is posited to motivate students to engage in their studies and affects their learning performance. In this study, study engagement was used as a mediator between enjoyment of study, learning performance, and informal learning. Data were collected from 137 undergraduate students in a Hong Kong university who participated in online learning for an academic semester. The results indicated that enjoyment of study and study engagement were positively related to learning performance and informal learning. Study engagement partially and fully mediated the relationships of enjoyment of study with learning performance and informal learning, respectively. Theoretical and practical implications for enjoyment of study in online learning are discussed. Copyright © 2023 University of the West Indies Open Campus.

This exploratory study aimed to examine university teachers' conceptions and articulation of care amidst online teaching. The pandemic-initiated sudden changes to online platform-based teaching and consequently caused many teachers to critically reflect on those affective and relational behaviors and interactions that are possible during physically-embodied pedagogy, but that are either no longer possible or even undesirable online. This has resulted in a research gap that we feel this study addresses, by drawing on the reflections and experiences of nine caring academic and teaching staff in a Hong Kong public university. Thematic analysis of these reflections relating to the practice of, and barriers to, care emphasised the overarching theme of the centrality of presence about, and for, students. This overarching theme was complemented by two sub-themes relating to 'lacking physical presence as a barrier to care' and 'building an online presence for articulation of care'. On the basis of these exploratory findings, we offer preliminary arguments relating to a caring pedagogical approach underpinned by a deepening of presence and learning collaboration. This paper, we argue, adds to the body of knowledge in the under-researched area of teacher care amidst online teaching, and suggests a future theorisation of online care within higher education pedagogy. Copyright © 2023 Taylor & Francis.

This study investigated how the acceptance and use of self-regulatory strategies in online learning affected Hong Kong secondary school students' participation in online learning. A self-reported questionnaire was distributed to 1381 students from six secondary schools. Findings of the descriptive analysis indicated that students did not frequently use most types of online self-regulatory strategies. Although they agreed that the online learning methods were easy to use and facilitated learning, they did not actively participate in online learning activities and showed a low tendency to continuation. Further, structural equation modeling indicated that the effect of strategy use on actual participation was stronger than that of user acceptance. The former had a significant indirect effect on actual participation through the strong effect it had on user acceptance. Consequently, suggestions have been made for improving the instructional design of online learning and increasing students' willingness and readiness to participate in online learning. Copyright © 2023 Springer.

This paper offers a qualitative analysis of decisions of 64 community-college students in seeking a transfer in Hong Kong. In weighing a number of educational options and then offers, with a similar level of desirability in some cases, in order to achieve their transfers, advantaged-class and disadvantaged-class respondents struggled with different logics of reasoning and negotiated anxiously with their changing structural realities. This qualitative analysis addresses the contextual, processual and emotional aspects of their decision making and provides a more convincing illustration of how the secondary effect of social stratification operates against a changing landscape of higher education. Copyright © 2023 SAGE Publications.

This study analyzed the variation in teachers’ mathematical educational values between distance and traditional face-to-face teaching. Enabled by the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the research explored the impact of remote teaching on primary and secondary mathematics education in Hong Kong. An online survey, completed by 109 practicing mathematics teachers, assessed their pre-existing educational values and their adaptability to the shift towards distance teaching, as well as their teaching practices. Findings indicated that despite the multitude of digital teaching tools, the implementation of most mathematical educational values was more restricted in distance teaching. Rationalism and Control were prioritized, reflecting the challenges of assessing student progress remotely. Among the 13 values identified, Fun and Engagement, along with Thinking and Problem-solving, Achievement, and Reasoning, were significantly diminished, highlighting the shortcomings of one-way and superficial concept-based teaching. The study concludes that distance teaching, when completely isolated from traditional methods, may not offer the benefits suggested in the literature, impacting student engagement, motivation, and higher-order thinking. This necessitates a unique curriculum development model to effectively incorporate blended and self-directed learning. Copyright © 2023 Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Inc.

隨著二零一五年《施政報告》發佈，香港教育業界開始關注STEM（科學、科技、工程及數學）教育﹔然而，業界的討論主要聚焦於中小學教育，尚未觸及幼稚園處境。事實上，數學與自然科學是本地幼兒教育不可或缺的學習範疇，個別辦學團體及幼稚園已試行STEM教育活動，以培育幼兒的探索與科學精神。為了探討STEM在香港學前教育的出路，本文將運用質性研究方式，以五位幼兒教育工作者的個案訪談為基礎，透視在本地幼稚園推行STEM教育活動時的挑戰，並探討當中給予業界的啟示。 Copyright © 2018 香港教師中心.

This study contributes to the Western-normed whole-day versus half-day kindergarten debate with Asian-focused evidence from a longitudinal study on parental perceptions, needs, and decisions in the privatised kindergarten marketplace in Hong Kong. The parents of children attending the whole-day and half-day programmes were surveyed in the first two years of kindergarten. Both programmes were perceived to possess distinctive qualities and parents reflected an effortful quest for an optimal home–work–life balance. Two-step cluster analysis identified three parent profiles – the Slightest Needs, the Moderate Needs, and the Urgent Needs – differentiated by family income, parents' occupation and education, and residence ownership. Finally, logistic regression analyses predicting parental decisions found a shift from a socioeconomic orientation to an educational orientation. The findings indicate that the ‘either or’ thinking in this debate is problematic as what parents need is not the ‘best’ programme but the best ‘fit’. The 4As approach – allocation, affordability, availability, and accessibility, was proposed for policy refinement to cater for evolving societal, familial, and educational dynamics.