Two studies were conducted to investigate the effects of cooperative learning on second-graders' motivation and learning from text. In Study 1, students (n = 160) in cooperative learning groups were compared with their counterparts (n = 107) in traditional instruction groups. The results revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups, with more favourable perceptions of teachers' instructional practices and better reading comprehension in the instructional intervention groups than in the traditional instruction groups. In Study 2, 51 second-graders participated in the instructional intervention programme. The results showed that students' positive cooperative behaviour and attitudes were related to their motivation and reading comprehension. When students perceived that their peers were willing to help each other and were committed to the group, they tended to be more motivated and performed better in reading comprehension.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410701880159]

There has been much recent attention on psychological well-being and pastoral care for medical students. This study examines psychological morbidity (depression, anxiety and stress) in Hong Kong medical students, as well as their concerns, coping mechanisms and their help-seeking. Medical students in Hong Kong reported a higher level of psychological morbidity as compared with other tertiary education students. Their main concerns include examinations, stress, career, adjusting to the new medical curriculum and commitment to the course. The coping skills adopted were largely adaptive. Maladaptive coping skills like `denial', `self-blame' and `behavioural disengagement' were highly correlated with depression, anxiety and stress scores. Most of the students concerned wanted support services that were specifically tailored to their needs and at least partly provided by people who had been through medical training themselves. The faculty at the University of Hong Kong is establishing a Programme for Effective Transition and Student Support (PETSS) to provide a multi- faceted support system for its medical students. The findings in this study help to ensure that the services provided will be relevant, accessible and acceptable to the students.
[Copyright of Medical Teacher is the property of Informa Healthcare . Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01421590500237945]

This study assessed the three components of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced personal accomplishment), perceived self-efficacy, and the three triarchic abilities (analytical, synthetic, and practical) of successful intelligence in a sample of 267 Chinese prospective and in-service teachers in Hong Kong. The aim was to explore and examine the contribution of the blending or integration of the triarchic abilities to the three components of teacher burnout and perceived self-efficacy. While there were subtle gender and teaching-experience differences, the general findings suggested that the triarchic abilities, especially practical abilities, could independently contribute to teachers' sense of personal accomplishment as well as perceived self-efficacy. The interactive combination of the triarchic abilities could be most important in contributing negatively to emotional exhaustion. The implications of these findings for interventions to combat teacher burnout and enhance job engagement are discussed.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410601061397]

One widely accepted explanation of bullying, known as the aggressive-motive thesis, assumes that bullying is a form of aggressive behaviour triggered by external stress. However, recent evidences have suggested a different explanation, known as the frustration-aggression thesis, which asserts that bullying is a psychological defense triggered by external stress to reduce anxiety. The present investigation is an attempt to compare school bullying in Japan and Hong Kong and to find out whether the frustration-aggression thesis is applicable in the schooling context of both societies. Data analysis using structural equation modeling was based on 703 girls selected from 13 primary and 6 junior secondary schools in Japan and 2,477 girls selected from 21 primary and 19 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Results of the analysis suggest that girl bullying in Japan can be explained by the frustration-aggression thesis but that girl bullying in Hong Kong can be explained by the aggressive-motive thesis. The reasons behind the different bullying mechanisms are suggested, but further investigations are needed to uncover the underlying causes.
[Copyright of Educational Research & Evaluation is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13803610701702894]

The relationships among adjustment problems, self-efficacy, and psychological distress were investigated in a sample of 207 Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong. A mediation-effect model specifying that adjustment problems had an effect on psychological distress mediated by self-efficacy was hypothesized and tested using structural equation modeling procedures. For comparison, a direct-effect model and a direct-and-mediation-effect model were also fitted to the data. The results indicated that the direct-and-mediation-effect model provided the best and a reasonably adequate fit, suggesting that the effects of adjustment problems on psychological distress could be direct, but more importantly the effects could also be mediated by self-efficacy. Implications of the findings for enhancing the self-efficacy of students to promote their psychological well-being are discussed.
[Copyright of Roeper Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02783190609554365 ]