This study evaluated the effects of a comprehensive school-based sexuality education programme in enhancing sexual health knowledge and understanding among adolescents, parents and school personnel in six secondary schools in Hong Kong. Study outcomes were evaluated through pre- and post-tests. A total of 1588 students, 40 parents and 271 school personnel participated. Baseline student knowledge scores were highest among younger students, with significant improvements observed in both years for all grades except one. Baseline student attitude scores were & GE; 85% for younger students, with no significant improvement, while older students showed significant improvements. Parents scored below 40% correct at baseline for knowledge items, while self-efficacy items were generally higher. Baseline teacher knowledge scores were higher than parents, but self-efficacy scores were comparable or lower. Baseline guidance counsellors' surveys indicated low confidence levels and awareness of community resources to support students. This study identified a clear need for sexuality education in Hong Kong and a special focus on students in schools traditionally serving a high proportion of non-Chinese speaking students. The programme has significant potential for expansion in Hong Kong schools as well as for dissemination in Mainland China. Copyright ©2023 Routledge.

Although young people want to know more about sexuality, they do not feel they have received what they need to learn. In Chinese societies, scant research has solicited direct input from the youth to obtain their views on sexuality education (SE) deliverables. We found research gaps in the lack of Chinese preteens' input regarding SE timing, knowledge perception, learning readiness, and preteens' reasons for obtaining information about sexual health. In Hong Kong, a not-for-profit agency collected data from Chinese preadolescents who expressed opinions through a general survey. This agency surveyed students from 24 primary schools and provided anonymous secondary data for this team to analyze further. Among 4569 fifth- and sixth-grade students (average 11 years old), girls were more likely than boys to seek sex-related information from teachers, library books, and mothers. In contrast, boys were more likely than girls to obtain information from friends, pornographic comics, and the internet. Logistic regression analysis indicated that gender, age, instructional sources, openness to sexual health knowledge, and perceived and actual levels of knowledge predicted preteens' desire to receive SE earlier in grade school. Girls and older students were significantly more likely to report their preference to receive SE in an earlier grade. We recommend that preteens and their parents be encouraged to collaborate with teachers to participate in school-based SE programming. Copyright © 2023 Springer Nature.

Financial capability is an important competence for adolescents, and secondary school is a natural setting in which to deliver financial education courses. Currently, however, little empirical evidence has been published on the effects of in-school financial education on financial capability in adolescents. This pilot study brought together a randomized experimental design, a combination of local and non-local financial education courses, comprehensive measurements, and multi-level structural equation modeling for data analysis to evaluate the outcomes of a financial education project in a representative sample of Hong Kong adolescents. Results demonstrated that our financial intervention made a positive impact on objective financial knowledge and financial self-efficacy but a negative one on financial behaviors. Positive effects on financial self-efficacy were stronger in male adolescents than in females. Our findings represent an important contribution to the literature regarding financial education at the secondary school level. Copyright © 2019 Springer Nature B.V.

Teachers’ sexual attitudes and views on sexuality education were important determinants of the efficacy of school-based sexuality education (SBSE). This study assessed teachers’ sexual attitudes, feelings and knowledge of sexual topics as well as their attitudes towards SBSE. A total of 98 teachers (mean age = 35.8, SD = 8.1; 40% were males) from two secondary schools were recruited via convenience sampling. Results of data analysis showed that teachers hold conservative sexual attitudes. Inconsistent with past research, conservative sexual attitude was associated with positive attitudes towards SBSE. Teachers felt comfortable and knowledgeable in teaching various sexual topics and showed positive attitudes towards SBSE. They also considered teaching various topics of sexuality important in sexuality education. The findings implicated that teachers’ sexual attitudes and their positive attitudes provided a fertile ground for the implementation of SBSE. Copyright © 2022 Specialusis Ugdymas. All Rights Reserved.

For over a decade, STEM education has been developed as an integrative curriculum for promoting students' performance in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. However, its development in Hong Kong is still at an early stage, and more studies are necessary to explore the impact of STEM education on local students. In addition, gender stereotyping is a long-standing issue that needs to be addressed in information communications technology (ICT) education. Through surveys used to evaluate a local ICT training workshop in Hong Kong with 411 female students in junior secondary school, this study provides empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of a STEM education program for promoting student development and alleviating gender stereotyping in ICT. The results showed that an inquiry-based model of learning, which focuses on students' problem-solving skills and analytical ability, significantly enhanced ICT self-efficacy and reduced perceived difficulties in using ICT. Moreover, ICT-related gender stereotyping was associated with both ICT self-efficacy and perceived difficulties in using ICT, indicating that gender stereotyping in ICT can be reduced by granting more ICT learning opportunities to female students. Although the perceived value of studying ICT did not show a statistically significant improvement as a result of the ICT workshop, perceived value played a critical role in moderating the effect of ICT self-efficacy on ICT-related gender stereotyping and mediated the relationship between perceived difficulties in using ICT and ICT-related gender stereotyping. It is recommended that more emphasis should be placed on promoting perceived values in future ICT programs. Copyright ©2021 Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd.

This study assessed elementary school students’ conceptions of STEM professions and its potential influence on STEM career interest, as well as the moderation effect of gender on the relationships between conceptions of STEM professionals and career interest in STEM. A total of 216 grade 3 through 5 students in Hong Kong participated in this study. They were asked to draw images of professionals in specific STEM areas, and complete questionnaires about their conceptions of STEM professionals and interests in STEM careers. Drawings were analyzed using graphic content analysis, and survey data were analyzed using moderated hierarchical regression analysis. Analysis of drawings showed that the students had inadequate understanding of engineers or scientists in the air, food, and water area. Boys were more likely to hold gender-related stereotypes about STEM professionals than girls. Analysis of survey data revealed that students’ views about STEM career implications, STEM professionals’ personal aptitudes, and social relations significantly predicted their STEM career interest. Gender significantly moderated the association of Social relations and Interest, meaning that compared to boys, girls might express higher STEM career interest when they more strongly believed that STEM professionals are able to build good social relationships with others. This study has implications for the design and implementation of pertinent lessons on STEM for elementary schools. Copyright © 2020 Springer Nature B.V.

Background: The study aimed to examine the impact of household composition and satisfaction with family life on sexual behaviours among high school male and female students (aged 11-22 years) in Hong Kong.; Method: High schools were randomly selected, and the final sample comprised 25 schools. Students were divided into two groups ('living with both biological parents' vs 'not living with both biological parents'). Students were asked to rate their satisfaction with family life on a five-point Likert scale in a self-administered questionnaire. Dependent variables were sexual experience, sexual harassment, sexting and nude chats. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyse the results.; Results: 3907 students were included in the analysis. 202 students (5.2%) were sexually active. 505 students had ever (13.0%) sexually harassed others and 303 students (7.8%) had ever been sexually harassed by others. 58 students (1.5%) had ever had nude chats. 1005 students (25.8%) had sexted in the last 12 months. Students who lived with both biological parents were less like to be sexually active, to sext and to have nude chats than those who did not. Students who had higher family life satisfaction were less likely to be sexually active, to sexually harass others, to be sexually harassed by others, to sext and to have nude chats than students who had lower satisfaction with their family life.; Conclusions: Sexual health programmes and interventions should consider family functioning. Students who have low family satisfaction and those who do not live with both their biological parents should be targeted for sexual health interventions.
[Copyright of BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health is the property of BMJ Group.]

Young children are naturally curious about sexuality. It is thus imperative to implement sexuality education as early as in kindergarten. Currently, little is known about pre-service kindergarten teachers’ attitudes towards sexuality education. This study fills in the research gap by investigating Hong Kong pre-service kindergarten teachers’ approach to handling children’s sexuality-related behaviours and its correlates. Two hundred and forty-five students were recruited from a local pre-service kindergarten teacher training programme to complete a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics suggested that some pre-service teachers were unlikely to use an accepting and open discussion approach to handle children’s sexuality-related behaviours. Repeated measures analysis further revealed that pre-service teachers tended to use an accepting and open discussion approach when children displayed gender-typed play behaviours and showed curiosity towards pregnancy and birth. The prohibitive and punitive approach was more likely to be adopted when children showed curiosity towards sexual behaviours. Bivariate correlation analysis showed that the inclination to use an accepting and open discussion approach was positively correlated with the perceived levels of benefits of early childhood sexuality education and parents’ trust towards teachers and negatively associated with shame of talking about sexuality. Results of structural equation modelling, however, showed that the perceived level of benefits of early childhood sexuality education was the only significant correlate. These findings point to the importance of promoting pre-service teachers’ awareness of the values of early childhood sexuality education and strengthening pre-service teachers’ skills in handling young children’s sexuality-related behaviours (especially their curiosity about sexual behaviours) in teacher education programmes. Copyright © 2018 HKERA International Conference.

The study reported in this paper adopted both direct (a large-scale questionnaire survey) and indirect (a verbal-guise test) measures to investigate gender differences in second language (L2) learners’ attitudes towards different English varieties in secondary schools in Hong Kong. The investigation considered various factors affecting students’ attitudes to language including their affective feelings, cultural identity, awareness of language variations, experience of language use, perceived intelligibility of English accents and, more importantly, situational language choices. Consistent with previous studies, the findings suggest that the female learners were more positively oriented towards native speaker (NS) pronunciation and tended to adopt it as their teaching model and learning target; they also had greater confidence than males in their ability to understand British English pronunciation. However, their greater sensitivity to NS standards was found to be limited to high-stakes English-speaking contexts. In contrast, male learners had greater tolerance or acceptance of local pronunciation. This paper concludes by discussing the implications of L2 learners’ gender differences in attitudes for English language education and the design of English language teaching materials and assessments.
[Copyright of System is the property of Pergamon Press. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.04.010]