In English Medium Instruction (EMI) programmes, students learn content subjects through English, their second language (L2). While it has been argued that students can develop their L2 alongside their content knowledge, the L2 goal is not always clearly defined. For example, we do not know enough about the amount of vocabulary required for success in EMI, and the subject-specific language demanded by different content subjects. Some attempts have been made to identify the language demand in EMI concerning the vocabulary used in learning materials and classroom discourse, representing the ‘process’ dimension of research; however, in order to clearly define the language goal, it is crucial to also delve into the ‘product dimension’, pointing to the need for research on EMI assessment. To address the research gap, our study examined 16 sets of papers containing two subjects, namely Biology and Geography, spanning eight years from a high-stakes examination in Hong Kong. The examination is conducted at the end of Secondary Six (Grade 12) to determine university admission and can thus be regarded as what learners are expected to achieve in secondary education. Our investigation into the vocabulary profiles of the examination papers indicates that students needed to learn beyond the K1−K3 (the most frequency 3000 words in English) and master the mid-frequency words (K4−K8) as well as academic words. It also reveals that the less frequent vocabulary items were not often shared by the subjects. Further, the analysis of academic words suggests how some words were commonly used in the examination papers of the two subjects, and others more subject-specific. Pedagogical implications are discussed to highlight the need for teachers and students to attend to the target language goal in EMI and to consider the subject-specific nature of the vocabulary items in EMI. Copyright © 2022 ICELEAL.

Private tutoring, or shadow education, is one of the unintended outcomes of high-stakes testing worldwide. This study investigated the role of private tutoring in a context of high-stakes testing through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. This year-long in-depth study with 18 Grade-12 learners in private tutoring in Hong Kong shows that learning is skewed towards acquiring examination skills, and mainstream education can be devalued. Conceptualised with Freire’s Pedagogy of the oppressed, the findings reveal that learners are oppressed in the washback of high-stakes testing, and shadow education exploits such negative washback to run a business which reinforces contextual oppression. The findings provide implications for educational change in contexts where education systems increasingly rely on accountability and selection through high-stakes testing. Copyright © 2024 AERA.

Contemporary processes of globalisation have led us individually and collectively to grapple with affordances and challenges of living, learning, and working on an increasingly interdependent planet. Consequently, developing the dispositions, knowledge, skills, and behaviors to navigate local and global ambiguities that arise from interdependence has become an important task of education. While the affective dimension in developing positive global perspectives seems clear, teaching approaches often prioritise the cognitive component of knowledge. We present preliminary theoretical and empirical work from an EdUHK Teaching Development Grant project, involving almost 20 university teachers across disciplines and the globe, to develop affectively-oriented pedagogical activities for the teaching of internationally-focused course content. Theories of affect tend to resist the reason-emotion binary. Therefore, to assess effects of these affective pedagogies quantitatively, we’ve developed brief pre- and post-class surveys for students measuring how affective engagement in the activity (e.g. experience of curiosity, enjoyment, pity) is related to gains in global affective attitudes (e.g. valuing other cultures, interest in interacting with cultural others), as well as gains in global knowledge (e.g. knowledge of other cultures). This project promises to advance both the theory and application of affective pedagogy in the interest of cultivating students’ affective commitment to being global citizens. Copyright © 2021 The Education University of Hong Kong.

While most lessons shifted to synchronous online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of asynchronous online learning materials is becoming essential to supplement regular classes. To improve teaching effectiveness through virtual teaching and learning, this study is determined to develop a new set of self-paced online learning materials that focus on developing postgraduate students’ essential generic research skills. It is hoped that the online materials can provide flexibility for research postgraduate students to direct their learning. Guided by situated cognition theory, the virtual materials are designed in a way to immerse learners in eLearning activities with content that mimics real-world situations. Interactive elements in each module, such as open-ended quiz questions, references to other online academic materials, and useful web materials, are integrated into the teaching packages. By clicking the H5P link, students will be diverted to Padlet, where they can start to post or review and respond to what others have posted. Academic staff and postgraduate students conducted pilot tests and provided valuable feedback to further enhance the training materials. The completed online modules have incorporated many interactive elements, including but not limited to videos, multiple-choice questions, audio notes, and audio tracks, which proved that these highly interactive materials stimulated students’ learning motivation. Qualitative focus group interviews will be carried out after the completion of all modules. Copyright © 2023 The Education University of Hong Kong.

Background: Preschool teachers’ well-being is positively associated with their students’ development and learning outcomes. Developing a positive psychological intervention that can foster preschool teachers’ well-being would be essential.Purpose: This study examined the effects of an intervention based on the PERMA (i.e., positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment) model on well-being outcomes among preschool teachers in Hong Kong.Method: We recruited 116 preschool teachers (Mage = 34.14 years, SD = 10.17, range = 21–59; female = 98.51%). Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 51; received four online workshops that cultivated the PERMA dimensions in 4 weeks) and waitlist control group (n = 65; only received the workshops after the data collection). Participants completed a survey that measured the PERMA dimensions of well-being at baseline 4- and 8-week follow-up occasions. MANCOVA and ANCOVA, controlling for gender, age, and teaching experience, were employed to examine the intervention effects.Results: A significant time x group interaction effect was found in the MANCOVA, Wilks’ Lambda F(10,102) = 2.19, p = .02, η2 = .18. The results of ANCOVA revealed that participants in the intervention group scored significantly higher on engagement, relationship, and accomplishment (η2 = .02 to .05, p < .05) than those in the control condition across time.Conclusion(s): Our findings highlighted the effects of PERMA-based interventions to promote mental health of preschool teachers. Teachers are encouraged to engage in positive psychological activities (e.g., positive reappraisal and self-compassion) to cultivate their well-being. Copyright © 2023 ICBM.

Earlier work has been well-documented how emotional of teaching connecting with professionalism and affected by moral purpose of teachers, cultures, and contexts (Day & Qing, 2009; O’ Connor, 2008). However, there is a missing link to explore how teachers interpret emotional experiences from ethical dilemmas encountered at work. Using social constructivist perspective, this study argues that emotional experiences are conditioned by the contexts in which social interactions with students, parents and other colleagues take place (Lasky, 2005; Oplatka & Arar, 2019). This qualitative study attempts to understand kindergarten teachers’ emotional experiences by analyzing how they perceive and navigate the ethical dilemmas in work. An interpretive approach is applied with interview data collected from twelve Hong Kong kindergarten teachers. Data are analyzed inductively based on descriptions of critical incident cases reported. Researchers interpreted, coded, and grouped data into themes. The interview quotes exhibit that teachers’ emotions are contextually bounded. The dilemmatic experiences stemmed from teachers can be characterized into three ethical considerations: Role of empathy and care, culture of reciprocal trust, and dispositions related to cultural responsiveness. The discussion will contribute to the depictions of emotional experience, especially teachers are facing multiple challenges in working with different stakeholders. It also gives us some insights into how teachers develop ethical judgment for dealing with the situations given in such critical incident cases. Copyright © 2023 ISA, International Sociological Association.

Within the early childhood context, kindergarten teachers encounter day-to-day ethical dilemmas. These relate to the multiple obligations and responsibilities that kindergarten teachers have when working with different stakeholders, such as children, families, colleagues, organizations, and policy makers (Dahlberg & Moss, 2005; Feeney & Freeman, 2007). Although codes of ethics for teaching profession have been developed and applied in the worldwide, understanding professional ethics of early childhood teachers has been an underdeveloped area of study in Hong Kong. Using the ethical codes from three counties as the base, this study attempts to explore and develop the principles of professional ethics for Hong Kong early childhood sector. Those principles are conceived as an essential part of the professional repertoire which helps teachers make judgment and choices of action in the real-life workplace (Campbell, 2000; Mahoney, 2008). However, those principles are not exhaustive nor applicable to every situation. This study reports the suggested principles of professional ethics which are built on reviewing the extant ethical codes from international and regional contexts and collecting qualitative data from the semi-structured interviews with a total of 13 pre-service and in-service teachers. Findings reveals that professional ethics among early childhood education can be conceptualized into five domains. The interview data also reflect that the dimensions and meanings of professional ethics are varied among pre-service and in-service teachers. This study contributes to articulate dialogues about the notions of professional value, moral reasoning, professional autonomy, and teacher identity. Findings of this study reaffirm the responsibilities and obligations of kindergarten teachers, and this could be seen as a source of insights into the ethical base of teacher professionalism in Hong Kong early childhood context. Copyright © 2023 ISA, International Sociological Association

The Hong Kong Education Bureau (EDB)’s “Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)” has prompted primary and secondary schools to invest in iPads and Chromebooks in an effort to provide every student with a web-connected computing device. This scheme allows students to use their own mobile computing devices for personalized learning activities, with aim of developing knowledge understanding and generic skills required in the curriculum syllabus. However, the effective integration of pedagogy, e-learning tools, and the required learning objectives from syllabus has been the main issue in schools because of different factors from schools, teachers, students and parents. To address the issue, this study designed and implemented an inquiry-based virtual learning environment enabled by PhET platform supported by mobile technologies at a senior secondary school in Hong Kong. The HKDSE Physics topic "Gas Laws" was taught in this study in which 21 pupils conducted simulated experiments and engage in inquiry-based learning by summarizing their findings in graphs. Their understanding was measured by their ability to solve numerical problems based on Gas Laws with little or no guidance. The Simulated platforms, besides promoting students deeper conceptual understanding, also helps in the implementation of student-centered learning with hassle-free activities to explore the abstract topics of Physics understandably and enjoyably. As in real physics experiments, the students revel in determining cause-and-effect links and guide their learning through research. The goal is to improve their abilities rather than replace them so they can confidently and competently undertake physics experiments with real equipment. Copyright © 2023 The Education University of Hong Kong.