香港教育大學於 2010-2011 年度新開辦「語文研究榮譽文學士」課程，其中的「古代漢語」是「語言學」範疇的必修核心科。該科目旨在通過講授先秦時期的典範文言文，建立學生對古代漢語書面語的感性認識，並配合理論知識的教授，使感性認識上升到理論層面，從而提升學生閱讀理解古代典籍的能力。作為高等院校中國語言文學專業的核心科目之一，「古代漢語」的開設至少已有六十年的歷史，正式出版的教材超過二百種。從古漢語知識體系及現代教學理念等角度對反映在這些教材中的教學內容及設計進行觀察和分析，可以發現一些不足。具體而言，就是語言知識點和文選的取捨安排大多依據編者的個人經驗及喜好，缺乏科學嚴謹的理論依據，亦不便於對教與學的成效進行量化評估。除此之外，作為教材，它們的共同缺陷是通用性差，不能滿足不同層次和要求的學習需要。我們認為，不論何種科目，其教學內容的確定應該建立在科學研究的基礎之上。就「古代漢語」科目而言，一方面應根據古代文獻的實際，參考諸如詞彙中的詞頻、句式中的句頻及其在教學中的重要程度等等因素，對教學內容作出選擇；另一方面，可參考一般語言教學及教材編寫的作法，根據對應的語言能力等級將教學內容劃分為若干個級別，以滿足不同專業或層次學生的學習需要。本文將介紹這個研究設想的第一步，僅涉及「初級古代漢語」教學內容。研究主要利用語料庫語言學的研究方法，構建及製作「初級『古代漢語』科目教學內容分析語料庫」，逐步統計並調查詞彙、語法、文字及文化知識點的出現頻率及其重要程度，再據此列出「古代漢語」科目應有的教學知識點及科學的教學次序。此研究結果可為日後實驗教材的編寫提供理論依據和幫助。我們希望本研究的開展能為高校的「古代漢語」教學提供新思路和新方案，使其能從傳統的經驗式過渡到現代的科學式，以便落實「成果為本學習」（Outcome-based Learning, OBL）的教學理念，真正提高教學成效，並為當代的古代漢語教學改革提供一些借鑒。Copyright © 2019 商務印書館（香港）有限公司.

This study aimed to explore the principals’ perspectives in terms of their understanding, support and expectation towards programming education among primary schools in Hong Kong. 147 primary school principals (30.2%) responded to the survey. The results indicated that all principals have positive perspectives towards programming education in all three aspects. Their major concern was the competency of teachers in teaching programming. They suggested that more teacher development courses should be provided to address this problem. Copyright © 2019 Central China Normal University.

This study was designed to explore how secondary students perceive the use of flipped classroom for learning computer programming. Specifically, it aimed to investigate the effects of flipped classroom on students’ learning and acquisition of programming knowledge and skills. Flipped classroom is known as a blended learning approach in which learning materials are delivered online, out of class for self-study in advance of classes, while homework assignments are transformed into class activities. This approach leverages technology and digital resources to support students in independent and online learning. It also enables teachers to minimize direct instruction and maximize student involvement in both teacher-student and student-student interactions. In this study, forty students from two Information and Communications Technology (ICT) classes (18 students in Secondary 4 and 22 in Secondary 5) in a Hong Kong secondary school were involved. Flipped classroom was adopted to teach students about computer programming topics (conditional, repetition and array) in both classes. Data were collected from a questionnaire and two interview sessions to explore students’ views on using flipped classroom to learn computer programming. The findings of this study indicate that students in the flipped classroom, regardless of their performance level, experienced stronger grasp of programming knowledge and higher engagement in learning programming concepts. Our findings also highlight limitations with this study that could be addressed in future work. Copyright © 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

To tackle the serious problems caused by plastic wastes, it is critical to develop new plastic recycling beliefs and behavior, together with recycling skills (4 important steps of recycling: cleanliness, separation, compression, and sorting) of the plastic wastes in environmental education (EE). The study revealed the effectiveness of a plastic waste recycling program adopting an action competence approach with educational interventions using a new plastic waste recycling bin (PRB). The PRB allows further classification of plastic waste types. Seven primary schools in Hong Kong participated in the program. A total of 313 questionnaires which assessed pupils’ classification knowledge, behaviours of plastic waste recycling, and their pro-environmental attitudes in terms of New Environmental Paradigm were received. Semi-structured interview with 27 pupils from the schools were also conducted. Recycling performance (actual behaviour) of using the brown bins (general plastic recycling bin) and the PRBs in the schools was assessed as the evidence of action competence in plastic waste recycling. Comparing the schools which adopted programmes with a combination of two types of recycling bins (brown bin vs. PRB) and interventions (Poster vs. half/full training courses to teach the recycling knowledge and skill), both quantitative and qualitative results showed that learners of the program enhanced their recycling knowledge (K), attitudes (A), and behaviour (B) concerning plastic waste recycling. The recycling performance proved that there is a statistically significant change in the recycling steps, separation and compression. The study provides insights for environmental educators to develop strategic solutions to ease environmental issues as well as putting these actions into practice in schools. Copyright © 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Hong Kong's cultural policy envisions its citizens living lives celebrated by cultural pursuit, their Chinese-grounded identity enriched by other cultures. Meanwhile, its education policy is a commitment aimed at ensuring that all students are fully prepared to meet the work and life challenges of the future. The two meet via arts education, defined as arts and cultural education and formally recognised as fostering the necessary skills of appreciation, creativity and expression, thereby enabling the cultural literacy of individuals and society to flourish. Supported through policy documents by the relevant bodies, notions of cultural diversity within Hong Kong arts education are addressed and encouraged primarily via the creation and nurturing of partnerships, among the stated emphases being the reinforcement of the existing arts curricula and the establishment of cultural and artistic links between schools and the wider community. Prominent examples include the School Culture Day Scheme, the Arts Experience Scheme for Senior Secondary Students and the Arts Ambassadors-in-School Scheme. However, policy is as much about what is enacted as what is intended. Given the similarity of their rationales, of increasing interest to researchers is the potential for cultural and arts education policies to synergise in ways that can result in the accrual of mutual benefits among the different stakeholders, in turn enabling issues such as cultural participation and consumption, as well as accessibility to cultural education, to be more effectively addressed. This chapter examines the case of Hong Kong in order to reveal the extent to which an arts education policy that suggests possibilities for implementation—as opposed to stating a mandatory approach—is both conceptualised and communicated by its policymakers, together with investigating ways that the arts curriculum is being operationalised by those tasked with its delivery. To this end, the focus is on a series of collaborative

The success of East Asian school education in general, and in mathematics education in particular, has been an ongoing subject of research over the last few decades in the “West”, suggesting that no conclusive factor(s) underlying performance appears to have been identified yet. The phenomenon of the “paradox of the Chinese learner” remains, while OECD data indicates an absence of correlation between affective factors and performance. This paper reports on a research study that has been designed to explore the possible involvement — and significance — in student learning of the conative domain, since most if not all prior studies had focused only on the cognitive and affective domains. To this end, a validated questionnaire was administered to 1,505 students from primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. The “What I Find Important (in My Mathematics Learning)” questionnaire collects data regarding student valuing in three ways: a 5-point Likert scale (64 items), semantic differential items (10 items), and an open-ended, scenario-stimulated response section (4 items). Principal component analysis and content analysis of collected questionnaire data suggest that Hong Kong students highly valued 11 attributes, namely word-problem skills, activities, practice, exploration, ICT, connections, process, feedback, explanation, control, and certainty. These values are interpreted from a sociocultural lens, with some of these associated with Confucian Heritage Culture values, but at the same time having interacted with cognitive and affective factors potentially to optimize student performance. Copyright © 2018 HKERA International Conference.

This study focuses on the perceptions of learning EAP of first-year undergraduates with high ESL proficiency admitted to an English-medium university in Hong Kong. Two in-depth individual interviews were conducted with nine participants and their written assignments were analysed. The data reveal several challenges facing the high achievers in learning EAP. One evident aspect is how to properly cite academic sources. The participants struggled with selecting suitable texts from sources, paraphrasing them, and using them to support their arguments. They also perceived a need to abandon the recited formulaic expressions which may have helped them score highly in the secondary school examination. This study reveals gaps between the English learnt in secondary school and EAP and offers insight into what first-year students need when they transition from secondary school to university studies. It argues that EAP should be made an essential component of first-year undergraduate programmes. Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.