As a subject in Hong Kong secondary schools, Design & Technology (D&T) is influenced by four factors. First, for many years, the subject of Design & Technology was offered almost exclusively to boys, with girls only being allowed to take Home Economics. Recently however, girls are now having the opportunity to take D&T as a required subject in schools. Second, although some schools have allowed girls to take D&T for several years, some have only just started this practice. As a result, some girls have studied D&T from secondary one to three, while others may only be having their initial experience as a secondary three student. Third, the content and teaching of D&T varies from school to school, and depends on the type of syllabus followed and facilities available. Fourth, not all secondary schools in Hong Kong offer D&T, meaning a large number of both boys and girls have never experienced the subject.
To examine Hong Kong pupils' attitudes toward technology, a Pupils' Attitudes Toward Technology (PATT2-HK) study was conducted with over 2,800 students in 22 secondary schools. This study duplicated the first PATTHK research conducted earlier (Volk & Yip, 1999), and the findings were compared. More specifically, given the immense changes that occurred in just a few short years relating to D&T program availability, facilities, and subject content, this study was undertaken to determine whether or not the proactive measures to ensure that all students have the opportunity to participate in D&T were in fact having a positive impact on pupils' attitudes toward technology. From this PATT2-HK study and examination made of current factors, recommendations as to the impact and future direction of D&T in Hong Kong are made.
[Copyright of Journal of Technology Education is the property of Columbus State University.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/]

A new instrument was devised to identify misconceptions in biology and probe into the causes of misunderstanding in a relatively quick way. It revealed that novice biology teachers held a number of conceptual errors which were prevalent among secondary school students. They showed serious misunderstandings in cellular metabolism, the nutritional process, gaseous exchange, the circulatory system, homeostasis, reproduction and variation. The problem has been attributed to inadequate mastery of subject knowledge and imprecise use of terminology. Specific teaching strategies were suggested to prevent the propagation of these misconceptions in students. Teacher education programmes should aim at promoting the awareness of teachers as to children's learning difficulties and developing their professional skills in facilitating children's conceptual development.
[Copyright of International Journal of Science Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0950069980200406 ]

This article describes the outcome of a collaborative project between the Hong Kong Institute of Education and four secondary schools that aims to promote the development of scientific investigation skills. The project team designed scientific investigation tasks collaboratively with the teachers and provided school-based support when the tasks were implemented. A total of six teachers and 575 students were involved. Data were collected through questionnaires completed by the students and individual interviews with science teachers about their classroom practice after the completion of the project. The findings suggest that the students did not meet many difficulties and that there were positive influences on students' interest in learning science. The teachers perceived that there were challenges related to raising students' self-regulated learning abilities, structuring tasks that were at appropriate levels of difficulty, and promoting group cooperation among the students. Finally, the article argues that the strategies implemented in this study were effective, though it takes much time and effort to help students develop self-regulated learning abilities. The conclusion suggests that teachers consider these challenges collectively and proposes a two-staged model for planning scientific investigation tasks.
[Copyright of Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics, & Technology Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14926150802169222]

The paper focuses on teachers' cognitions (their beliefs, feelings, and under standings) about subject matter. The teachers discussed in the paper teach English to secondary students in Hong Kong. Their cognitions are all concerned with grammar and grammar pedagogy. Drawing on analyses of quantitative and qualitative data, the paper addresses four questions: 1. Are there associations between particular cognitions about subject matter and specific factors of teacher background? 2. Are there associations between particular cognitions about subject matter and levels of knowledge of subject matter? 3. Are there general patterns in teachers' cognitions about subject matter? 4. Are there patterns of association between teachers' cognitions about subject matter and their perceived pedagogical practice? In relation to the first two questions, survey data from 170 teachers revealed no significant associations between their cognitions about subject matter and such background factors as years of teaching experience and place or subject of first degree. There were, however, interesting patterns of association between the data about the teachers' beliefs and test results indicating those teachers' levels of language proficiency and explicit knowledge of grammar and grammatical terminology. Interviews (supported by classroom observation) were the main source of data relating to the third and fourth questions. Data from 17 teachers revealed patterns of cognitions about subject matter, which appeared to associate with certain pedagogical practices. At the same time, there was considerable variation between individuals. A follow-up paper will examine the uniqueness of the individual teacher's cognitions and of their association with pedagogical practice, using a case-study approach involving classroom data and interview.
[Copyright of Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org

This paper reports an exploratory study of questions about English grammar sent in by a group of Hong Kong ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers to a teacher support computer network, TeleNex. The study examines the questions Hong Kong ESL teachers ask about the English language. Arising from the questions posed, the paper then delineates the kinds of language support that ESL teachers may need. Grammar questions sent in by teachers to the network constituted the data source. The questions were analysed in terms of the frequency of the contentwords used, linguistic categories, and teacher knowledge. The principal findings are that the teachers' grammar-related questions typically arose outof their everyday pedagogical needs and these needs seem to be shaped by their implicit models of grammar as a set of rules for 'correct' language use. Such information on 'correct' use does not seem to be easily available from major reference books. These findings confirm the value of a computer network where teachers can obtain continuous informational support and participate in collaborative discussions, which can develop an awareness of grammar as a meaning-making tool.
[Copyright of Language and Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500789808666744]

The health care system in Hong Kong has historically been steeped in the biomedical paradigm. Health care reform, however, is finally putting health promotion on the agenda of governments and health care providers. As the largest group of providers in Hong Kong, nurses must assume a leadership role in the transition of the current illness-focused system to one that emphasizes health and promotes wellness. For nurses to take up the challenge of health promotion, they need to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills. Nursing curricula must emphasize this new paradigm and provide opportunities for students to develop expertise in health promotion and disease prevention. This article describes a health-promotion initiative carried out by 1st-year students in an undergraduate nursing program in Hong Kong. The health-promotion project aims to prepare graduates who will be able to meet health care needs and function effectively in the future health care system. Not only will these nurses be capable of becoming future leaders of the health-promotion movement in Hong Kong, they are also contributing to the health and wellness of Hong Kong citizens.
[Copyright of Journal of community health nursing is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/15327650252988476]

The two-year longitudinal case study reported in this paper documents a Putonghuaspeaking mainland Chinese undergraduate student's language learning experiences and strategy use in an English-medium university in Hong Kong. Using a sociocultural approach, this paper focuses on three biographical episodes, which recount how the student attempted to create alternative ways of learning and seek new learning opportunities within the learning context, how she came to realise the limitations of her efforts and withdrew from her early active pursuits, and how she followed other mainland Chinese students in memorising words and attached her own meanings to her memorisation efforts. The paper highlights the social, cultural and political aspects of her strategy use and argues that learners' biographical experiences are an important avenue for us to understand learners' strategy use as a complicated phenomenon revealing the interplay between learners' agency and context.
[Copyright of Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.2167/illt011.0]

Traditionally, teachers in Hong Kong schools have used formal tests and examinations to generate summative assessment data for rank ordering students. However, recent education reform, supported by research on science learning, has led to a demand for profound changes in assessment practices, including the adoption of methods novel to many teachers. This paper explores the views of junior secondary science teachers regarding the implementation of alternative assessment tasks in science classes and provides insight into the type and level of support required to facilitate the recommended changes. The findings have implications for the prospects of shifting the current culture of science assessment in Hong Kong and elsewhere. The paper concludes with concrete recommendations for supporting teachers in achieving changes in their assessment practices.
[Copyright of Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics, & Technology Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14926150609556699]