This report is about a study undertaken by the Hong Kong International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement centre for the Second International Science Study (SISS), of which included a large scale survey using stratefied samples of 5,352 primary 4 students and 4,981 junior secondary 2 students. Cognitive instruments were being employed to measure the science acheivements of Hong Kong students. Findings suggest low and poor achievements for primary 4 and junior secondary 2 samples, respectively.

Presented in this paper are the research framework, methodology, sample population, and summary of findings of the TIMSS study. A principal finding is that, when compared to other developed countries, the science achievement of Hong Kong primary 4 students is very close to international standard.

A summary of methodology and findings of the Second International Science Study (SISS) Hong Kong study is presented in this report. The survey study involves 5,352 primary 4; 4,981 secondary 2; 6,103 secondary 6; and 3,754 secondary 7 students. The author concludes that there is slight evidence that all days schools led to better science achievement.

In Hong Kong, human rights education (HRE) is considered an aspect of civic education. For decades, HRE has been poorly attended. In 2009, a new compulsory subject, Liberal Studies, where HRE can be infused, will be introduced to senior secondary students (15-18 years old). This article reviews the development of HRE within civic education, followed by the analysis of Liberal Studies documents with reference to international human rights documents. It is concluded that Liberal Studies can be used as a vehicle for HRE. The aims and pedagogy proposed are similar to those adopted by HRE. International standards of human rights can be incorporated in the content. However, the HRE derived from Liberal Studies is a form of "action-poor HRE". Whether this "action-poor HRE" can adequately cultivate a universal human rights culture is an issue for further research.
[Copyright of Intercultural Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14675980802078590]

The cultural capital in families, more specifically, the educational level of parents, has during the last decades been shown to be the most important dimension of socioeconomic influence on school performance in many countries. Less is known about the factors that actually mediate this influence. The aim, therefore, is to investigate the relative importance of various mediating factors, as well as the total effects of parents' educational levels, on the reading achievement levels of children in Grade 4. Data in this comparative analysis come from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2001 and include representative samples from 7 countries: Sweden, Norway, Bulgaria, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, and Italy. Variables indicating possession of cultural capital in the families are collected from the home questionnaire. A total achievement score is used as outcome variable. The effects of parents' education on reading achievement are estimated with structural equation modelling. Substantial effects of parental education were found, but the pathways for indirect effects that were mediated through other variables varied between countries.
[Copyright of Educational Research & Evaluation is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13803610802576742]

此書旨在一方面透過闡述科學探究活動的理論基礎，以加強教師與學生對學校進行科學活動的認識；另一方面，科學探究的實踐事例－刊登部份在「常識百搭」科學專題設計比賽得獎的作品，亦提供機會讓大家參考來自不同學校的師生獨特的構思及科學探究的方法。