Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Singapore are the only East Asian countries in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), but students in these 4 countries outperformed their counterparts in the TIMSS mathematics test. An examination of the student background information showed that there was little commonality among the 4 countries which can be used to explain the superior achievement of their students. The only common background data for the 4 places were their high population density and large class size, which are, in general, not considered favorable factors for achievement. An investigation of the TIMSS attitude data also failed to locate common attitudes that were unique to the 4 countries and which can be used to explain the high achievement of their students. The questionnaire data however indicated that the superior results of the East Asian students might have been achieved at the expense of other aspects of the development of the students. The results also showed that students in the 4 countries displayed relatively negative attitudes towards mathematics, including the lack of confidence in doing mathematics. The predominant Confucian culture in the 4 countries will be discussed in an attempt to explain the negative attitudes of the East Asian students, but it is not clear how these cultural values can be used to explain their superior achievement.
[Copyright of Educational Research & Evaluation is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1076/edre.8.1.87.6920 ]

This is a comparative study of the career drivers of accounting students in Singapore, Australia and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The study examines the motivational factors that steer accounting students into choosing accounting as a programme of study in their respective countries. Comparative analyses are performed to examine the importance of each career driver, taking into consideration gender and country/institutional variables. The results indicate significant differences between male and female students with respect to the importance of the following career drivers: search for meaning, security, material rewards and creativity. Significant differences are also found among countries/institutions and the importance of career drivers such as expertise, status, security, affiliation and creativity. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for both the profession and academic educators as well as suggestions for future research.
[Copyright of Journal of Education and Work is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13639080801957014]

This paper reports on a study conducted in Hong Kong which addresses the question of whether teaching approaches can influence the development of learning outcomes within the context of environmental education, how such outcomes are affected by different academic ability levels, and whether they vary over time. The overall hypothesis is that enquiry teaching is more effective than didactic approaches for the development of environmental understanding, irrespective of students' original academic ability and the time frame of measurement. A quasi-experimental design based on a pre-test and two post-tests and follow-up interviews administered to geography classes at matriculation level was used to collect numerical data about changes in understanding after the teaching of a people-environment topic. Students showed a moderate level of environmental understanding to begin with. Results showed that, irrespective of academic ability, those taught with an enquiry approach did better than those who were taught didactically in the short term but not in the long term. The reasons for this trend are discussed in terms of student ability and teaching conditions in schools. To increase the effectiveness of enquiry teaching, improvements in teacher education and training, curriculum revision, funding and research support and changes in examination questions are called for.
[Copyright of International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10382040108667445 ]

This paper examines the knowledge and understanding of Hong Kong secondary school students about the composition of unpolluted and polluted air, and the nature and effects of air pollutants. A number of misconceptions are highlighted, including the common belief amongst younger students that oxygen was more common in unpolluted air than nitrogen. Along with their cognitive understanding, students were questioned about their views concerning what they and others could and should do to reduce air pollution. In this, they seemed agreed, amongst other things, that financial penalties were less acceptable than legal compulsion - especially on a personal level. It is proposed that learning about the constituents of unpolluted air and air pollutants might be enhanced by linking the individual gases involved to their biological roles and pathological effects, respectively. Similarly, it is suggested that students should be encouraged more to reflect, in terms of environmental cost, on their role as consumers of goods and services.
[Copyright of International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10382040408668790 ]

A closed-form questionnaire was used to explore the ideas of school students about the composition of air, the causes and consequences of air pollution and the extent to which the students would accept various courses of action to reduce air pollution. Items for the questionnaire were derived from the results of interviews and an earlier open-form questionnaire. More than 3000 students aged 11 to 17 years and from Australia, Hong Kong and the UK were surveyed. There was a degree of similarity between students from the different countries in their knowledge about air composition and air pollution. In terms of attitudes, however, there were differences in students' opinions about the acceptability of actions to improve air quality. Path analysis of the data appeared to show that Hong Kong students are more amenable to education as an instrument to influence their attitudes. For the other countries, the acceptability of actions for environmental protection was related to the degree of concern about air quality.
[Copyright of Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057920701366176]