This paper explores how parents in Hong Kong perceive the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of academic and non-academic private tutoring (PT) for their children, using a thematic analysis of interviews with 80 parents from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. We seek to understand the role of PT in parents' thinking about their children's learning and developmental needs in uncertain times, which foregrounds parents' temporalities in the face of disruption. We find that maintaining pre-pandemic PT levels was the most common attitude for almost half of the sample, followed by roughly similar groups of parents who increased or decreased their use of PT. Parental perceptions of the functions of PT converged on three main uses: mitigating the effects of schooling disruptions, making productive use of newfound free time and providing a sense of normality. Using a timescapes lens, we identify temporal elements in how PT factored into parents' experiences and perceptions of managing 'gained' and 'lost' time, adapting to remote learning, avoiding health risks and reflecting on inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Copyright © 2023 Taylor & Francis.

This study examined proficiency levels and attitudes of main languages in use among ethnic minority students in Hong Kong. We surveyed 260 students from primary and secondary schools with English as the medium of instruction. They were multilingual speakers who were proficient in spoken English and Cantonese. Our results revealed asymmetric and correlated proficiency levels including in the students' native languages (L1s). Their multilingual proficiencies were also affected by factors such as age variables and associated with aspects of L1 attitudes. Our key finding corroborated previous research claims that mastery of multiple languages could allow ethnic minority students to construct a more powerful multilingual and multicultural identity. Copyright © 2023 Routledge.

Teachers play a critical role in facilitating the career and life planning of secondary school students. This paper describes the development of the Career-Related Teacher Support Scale (Hong Kong Secondary Students Form). Based on data obtained from 493 students in Hong Kong, five types of career-related teacher support were identified with the most important form of support being teachers' knowledge about the world of work and study path requirements. A correlation model yielded the best fit to the data. No variance in response pattern appeared across genders, and the new scale was found to have good validity and reliability. Copyright © 2023 Springer.

This study considered the influences of the home learning environment and preschool quality on the development of 5-year-old Chinese (N = 43) and South Asian (N = 32) children in Hong Kong. Children were recruited from two preschools—one admitted only South Asian children, and the other admitted only Chinese children. Children were assessed in individual sessions with the Hong Kong Early Child Development Scale-3. Their parents were surveyed about the home learning environment. Teacher interviews, classroom observations, and document reviews were used to gauge preschool quality. Results of regression analyses indicated that socioeconomic status (SES) was positively associated with language development and pre-academic learning for both Chinese and South Asian children. In contrast, only the SES of Chinese children was related to their knowledge of society and the environment. The frequency of home learning activities was positively associated with language development for Chinese children. Controlling for SES, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) results revealed that Chinese children performed significantly better than South Asian children in Chinese language and knowledge of society and environment. In contrast, South Asian children did better than Chinese children in pre-academic learning and fine motor development. Interviews revealed that teachers from the two participating preschools needed more professional development. Classroom observations showed that the preschool that admits only South Asian children has limited physical space, which may hinder children’s all-round development. Nevertheless, the teacher interviews and document reviews suggested that regular home-preschool communication and parental participation in preschool activities are high. Implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 2023 Springer.

In the Chinese context of Hong Kong, education is seen as important for building character and social achievement. In the dominant social discourse, students encountering school attendance problems are often considered either psychologically dysfunctional or socially deviant, and their parents are viewed as incompetent or irresponsible. With the concrete case example, this paper illustrates how narrative therapy provides a space for students’ voices and critical perspectives. It also helps families resist and renegotiate the oppressive meritocratic ideology promoted in the education system and in society. Integration of the systemic and the narrative approaches in the practice is also discussed. Copyright © 2023 Taylor & Francis.

College transfer students are those who follow a different trajectory in their higher education journeys than traditional students, completing a sub-degree before pursuing a bachelor's degree at a university. While the possibility of transferring makes higher education accessible to these students, previous studies have found that they face various challenges, from issues with course load to language challenges. This study aims to examine (1) the critical factors contributing to the success of transfer students in a language course; and (2) how transfer students perform better or worse than those who enter university directly. This study conducted learning analytics with 700 college transfer students in Hong Kong, retrieving their demographic and learning data from the learning management system and the university academic registry. The results suggest that English exam scores, current semester GPA, graduating GPA at community college and current course load are important predictors of transfer students' success in language courses. This study also finds that transfer students have lower levels of language proficiency than direct entrants. It concludes with specific recommendations to make higher education more accessible to transfer students and suggestions on how to use learning analytics to track students with different trajectories. Copyright © 2023 Springer.

Purpose: This study empirically investigates the influence of students' brand attitudes and perceptions of brand fit on their study intention vis-à-vis international brand alliances and individual brands after alliance. Design/methodology/approach: Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used in data analysis, and a questionnaire was administered to a sample of sub-degree business management students recruited from a self-financing higher education institution in Hong Kong. Findings: The results indicate that students' prior attitudes towards the brands of foreign and local institutions and their perceptions of brand fit positively affect their study intention, providing evidence that post-attitudes towards individual brands fully mediate the relationship between attitudes towards international brand alliances and study intention towards individual institutions. Originality/value: International brand alliances between higher education institutions are becoming increasingly important. In Hong Kong, despite the emerging trend of collaboration between foreign and local universities, an evaluation of the effect of international brand alliances on study intention has been seriously overlooked. Copyright © 2023 Emerald.

Homework is a core pedagogical tool used by schools around the world. Yet concern for heavy homework load has been raised regarding stress on students and families and how it may overshadow opportunities for non-academic development. Drawing support from Self-Determination Theory and Hope Theory, an innovative intervention project was designed to create homework-free opportunities for school children to take part in freely chosen self-directed leisure activities. The project was implemented in four primary schools in Hong Kong during the Easter holiday in 2017 and 2018. A mixed-method evaluation was conducted to appraise the experiences of student participants as well as the project's impact on holiday satisfaction, homework attitudes and self-directed outcomes. This study's sample was comprised of 1,425 students enrolled in Primary levels 1 to 6. Participants reported in interviews that engagement in self-chosen, self-directed leisure activities were exciting and appealing. Pre- and post-holiday survey results with control-group comparisons confirmed that students who undertook self-directed leisure activities over a homework-free holiday gained enhanced agency thinking and academic competence while also becoming less inclined to see homework as meeting their immediate learning needs. Implications are also discussed regarding the benefits of self-directed leisure activities as well as school-based homework policies regarding assignment load. Copyright © 2023 USF M3 Publishing.

With the COVID-19 outbreak, emergency remote teaching -- an unprepared distant mode of education became the only possible alternative for schools. The present large-scale survey with 3,672 Grade 3 and 9 students, their parents, and 863 teachers/principals was conducted in the metropolitan city of Hong Kong after half a year of school lockdown. Results showed teachers, principals, and parents were worried about students' inability to concentrate and learn without teachers' explanations. In contrast, students, particularly younger ones, were less affected. They perceived their academic achievement was not worsened and they were more lively. Generally, lack of computers and stable internet was not seen as problems. Notably, socially disadvantaged students were not different in their perceived challenges, affects, life satisfaction, or perceived academic achievement. For cities with adequate provision of computers and internet facilities, the pandemic probably forced a positive and giant leap in using advanced technologies and pedagogies. Copyright © 2023 Springer.

Despite the increasing use of virtual modalities in schools since the COVID-19 pandemic, no systematic tools exist to evaluate the process of online learning. We developed and validated an Online Learning Process Questionnaire (OLPQ) for assessing online at-home learning among 219 Hong Kong primary-school students and 474 caregivers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of caregivers' data classified the 58-item OLPQ into 11 subscales: (1) learning aims, (2) environmental structuring, (3) learning environment, (4) time management, (5) engagement in learning activities, (6) persistence, (7) interaction between teachers and students, (8) interaction among students, (9) feedback from the interface, (10) application of learning, and (11) meaning of learning under three learning phases. Confirmatory factor analysis of students' data further categorized the 11-subscale framework into three learning phases: preparatory, performance, and transfer. The OLPQ demonstrated excellent reliability and discriminant validity across caregiver (Cronbach's alpha = 0.98) and student samples (alpha = 0.98). These findings indicate that the OLPQ is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing the online at-home learning process among both students and their caregivers. Copyright © 2023 Springer Nature.