This paper sets out to queer education's normative human-centric assumptions and to de-centre the straight and narrow vision of the child as only ever becoming an autonomous individual learner. It re-focuses upon the more-than-human learning that takes place when we pay attention to queerer aspects of children's, as well as our own, entangled becomings in the common worlds in which we live. In this case, the entangled becomings are those of children and dogs. Drawing upon Donna Haraway's notion of 'queer worlding' and Karen Barad's assertion of 'nature's queer performativity', the authors explore how we might go about 'queer worlding' childhood. Using deconstructive and diffractive methods, they trace a selection of entangled child-dog events across three sites: the streets of Hong Kong; an Australian early childhood education bush setting; and an exhibition in a Swedish art museum. Through narrating some of the more disconcerting aspects of these events, the authors reveal how we might tap into the 'queer worlding' ways in which the world is acting on us, even as we are acting on it.
[Copyright of Discourse is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2014.888842]

This study represents an initial effort to understand the advocacy journey of Chinese parents of children with dyslexia in Hong Kong. Qualitative methods involving individual and group interviews were used to solicit detailed recount and perceptions of the experiences of 25 parents. Findings revealed a largely sequenced three-stage journey of parental advocacy: (1) parents' emotional adjustment which involved self-blame and sorrow; (2) parents moving on to advocacy which comprised home-life adjustments, acquisition of knowledge about dyslexia, and seeking support through parent networks; and (3) parents advancing from advocacy to activism with increased knowledge about dyslexia and their conscious integration of Confucian and disability rights paradigms as strategies to interact and negotiate with authorities. This unique approach offers a conceptual framework for examining the interplay of dual or multiple cultural values affecting parent advocates' actions. Their growth as advocates and activists affirmed the conceptualisation of the advocacy-activism continuum.
[Copyright of Cambridge Journal of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2013.860084]

The main purpose of this study was to develop a Rasch Measurement Physical Fitness Scale (RMPFS) based on physical fitness indicators routinely used in Hong Kong primary schools. A total of 9,439 records of students' performances on physical fitness indicators, retrieved from the database of a Hong Kong primary school, were used to develop the Rasch scale. Following a series of iterative Rasch analyses that adopted the 'data should fit the model' approach, four physical fitness indicators (such as 6-min run, 9-min run, 1-min sit-ups, and dominant handgrip) were successfully calibrated to form the RMPFS. The RMPFS and its scale indicators showed fit to the Rasch model sufficient for the intended purposes of measuring the overall fitness of children. The overall physical fitness measure reflects children's fitness on three key core components of physical fitness - cardio-respiratory fitness, muscular endurance, and muscular strength. Advantages of the RMPFS are discussed, and recommendations for future research follow. The findings of this study provide a better knowledge basis for interpreting children's physical fitness assessment results.
[Copyright of Measurement in Physical Education & Exercise Science is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher’s website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1091367X.2011.590772]

This article draws on a cultural-historical theorisation of child development alongside the Chinese concept of learning in order to study children's development in the Hong Kong Australian community in Melbourne, Australia. In particular, it aims to understand in detail how a 9-year-old child develops a learning motive under highly structured family practices. The data analysed were selected from a larger set of data involving 80 hours of video observations generated from the recording of everyday practices in three Hong Kong immigrant families. The findings indicate that encouragement plays an important role in bridging the gap between parental demands and the child's wishes, which assists the child to appropriate family values, thus facilitating the development of a learning motive and learning itself.
[Copyright of Mind, Culture, and Activity is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher’s website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10749039.2011.634941]

This paper discusses the relationship between ageing and learning, previous literature having confirmed that participation in continued learning in old age contributes to good health, satisfaction with life, independence and self-esteem. Realising that learning is vital to active ageing, the Hong Kong government has implemented policies and programs to encourage continued learning among the elderly to help improve their health and quality of life as they age. Given the government commitment, it is essential that the policy and provision be critically reviewed for effectiveness to ensure that it is meeting the needs and expectations of older people and supporting providers in delivering high-quality programs to elders. In this light, this paper examines the role of government, providers and community agencies in developing policy and provision for elder learning in Hong Kong. It discusses the approach to elder learning in Hong Kong before and after 1997, which is marked by the establishment of the Hong Kong Elderly Commission. It investigates new directions in elder learning policy and provision and finally, it identifies the needs for future research and policy development of elder learning in Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Studies in Continuing Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher’s website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2010.515573 ]