The paper focuses on the development of teacher thinking, specifically L2 teachers' subject-matter cognitions, i.e. their Teacher Language Awareness (TLA) (see e.g. Andrews 2001, 2003). The study examines the evolving TLA, as it relates to grammar, of three teachers, each a graduate with more than 10 years' experience of teaching English in Hong Kong secondary schools. All three teachers took part in a previous TLA study conducted in 1996-97 (see Andrews, 1999a), when they were in their early years of teaching and had received no professional training. In the present study, these three teachers' TLA and cognitions about grammar were investigated once more (in 2004). The aim of this follow-up study was to tell the story of each teacher's evolving TLA and grammar-related cognitions. In both phases of the research a mixed methods approach was adopted. Data from the two studies suggested that the teachers' TLA and grammar-related cognitions had altered very little. Their underlying beliefs about grammar pedagogy and the role of explicit grammar teaching, and their knowledge about grammar (as measured by a test of LA) seemed largely unchanged. The main difference between the three teachers was in their interaction with the context in which they worked.
[Copyright of Language Awareness is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09658410608668846 ]

The paper reports a study for determining a suitable process for converting traditional surface science courses into case-based learning ones in two universities in Hong Kong. In this preparative study, a set of baseline data was collected on the current level of students' conceptual understanding and also students' perceptions about the traditional courses. The student data (from 38 students) came from examination results, the Study Process Questionnaire, a course-end survey and a focus group meeting; teachers also kept reflective journals. This set of baseline data revealed factors that both support and inhibit case-based learning. On the one hand, students demonstrate a motivation to be able to solve practical problems in this field; on the other hand, they show an unwillingness to take up a personal responsibility for learning. This finding strengthens our resolve to take into account students' expectations and beliefs in the implementation of case-based teaching and learning.
[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/10.1080/09500690500068618]

A survey of undergraduate students in Australia and Hong Kong revealed that a specially adapted version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (the MBI-SS) possesses good internal consistency reliability among construction students. A three-component model of student burnout, comprising emotional exhaustion, cynicism and personal efficacy was supported in both the Australian and Hong Kong samples. Burnout levels among construction students were similar to those reported in previous non-construction student samples. Both Australian and Hong Kong construction students reported higher personal efficacy than non-construction students. Australian students expressed considerably higher cynicism in relation to their university education than the Hong Kong students. The three dimensions of burnout were differentially correlated with work, study and socio-economic variables. In Australia, student burnout was associated with a perceived tension between paid work and study. In Hong Kong, the demands of study and concern with the economy were significant correlates of student burnout.
[Copyright of Construction Management and Economics is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01446190600599145 ]

In a context of patriotic education in Mainland China and depoliticised civic education in colonial Hong Kong, this article inquires into the nature of student resistance to state hegemonic political socialisation and examines the effects of critical thinking, as a form of resistance, on students' patriotism and nationalism. With data from questionnaires completed by 535 Hong Kong and Mainland university students, analyses of relationships among perceptions of political socialisation, critical thinking dispositions, and national attitudes reveal that critical thinking mediates the state-intended effects of schooling on political attitudes. The article concludes with a reconceptualisation of the concept of resistance.
[Copyright of British Journal of Sociology of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0142569032000127161]

Despite the rapid increases of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in East Asia, the sex-related knowledge among Chinese adolescents is limited and the standard of sex education is both variable and inconsistent in Hong Kong. The aim of this study is to review the overall effectiveness of the school-based or doctor-based sexual health education currently provided for Hong Kong adolescents. In 1999 - 2000, a large survey on youth risk behaviours was carried out among 15 - 18- year-old students from 21 secondary schools. Of the 8,039 questionnaires, 377 students (4.7%) admitted sexual experience. Multiple logistic regression showed that students who had received school AIDS education were found to be less likely to have sexual intercourse in the past 3 months (odds ratio, OR 0.5; 95% confidence interval, CI 0.3 - 0.9) or use drugs or alcohol before the previous intercourse (OR 0.5; 95% CI 0.3 - 0.9). They were twice as likely to discuss emotional (95% CI 1.4 - 4.0) or puberty issues (95% CI 1.1 - 3.0). Although not statistically significant, sex education by family doctors showed a similar pattern. This result provides the strongest available evidence that school-based sex education programmes can modify sexual behaviour, which, in turn, reduces risk among Chinese students.
[Copyright of Psychology, Health & Medicine is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13548500500156105]