Informal learning space (ILS) has increasingly become important for higher education. Yet, most studies were conducted on a piecemeal basis, without considering the planning of the campus. This study adopts a systematic and data-driven approach in understanding the types of ILS, preferences and behaviors using a case study in Hong Kong, by first classifying ILS into user-defined types followed by usage behavior for each ILS types. A mixed-method approach was used by conducting qualitative interviews, focus groups, on-site fieldwork observations and large-scale quantitative survey ( N = 999) with students. Five types of ILS with unique characteristics were identified. This applied research seeks to suggest development directions and design input for ILS types, with implications for master planning in ILS development, extending to any universities using the same procedure. © 2023 The Author(s).

As typical innovation organizations, the structure and efficiency of cooperation among universities’ innovation behaviors are important influencing factors for regional innovation sustainable development. In 2019, the Chinese government promulgated the “Outline of the Development Plan of The Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Great Bay Area”, which directly promotes a sustainable cooperation network of universities in the Great Bay Area. This study used UCINET to visualize the cooperation network of universities in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao based on the cooperation data generated by 35 universities in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Great Bay Area, jointly establishing 37 professional alliances that developed 888 cooperation ties from 2017 to 2022. The results show that the current cooperative network density of universities in the Great Bay Area is high (density = 0.746), but the cohesion trend is not significant (network centralization = 26.92%); a clear circle structure has been formed. The network exhibits a narrow shape at both ends and widens in the middle; the higher the hierarchical position of universities in the region, the more likely they are to enter the core cooperation network and establish more cooperation relationships. Universities in the marginal circles find it especially difficult to initiate cooperative relationships due to their disadvantageous position in terms of limited resources and a lack of administrative intervention. The current cooperation situation still has room for expansion. © 2023 by the authors.

School-based programs are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote mental health for young people. However the effectiveness of such programs varies, and there are multi-level challenges to embedding mental health education in schools. Further, critical scholarship has focused on the ways in which such programs can contribute to neoliberal goals, rather than empowering students meaningfully. Our research used focus group interviews to capture the perspectives and experiences of teachers and children participating in a school-based program in Hong Kong. We applied Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic practices to analyze the interview data, in particular the concepts of boundaries and framing. We identified rigid boundaries between classrooms, the wider school, and home. Boundaries between academic and wider learning, and between school leaders and teachers, hindered cultural change towards mental wellbeing in schools. The program in this study reduced boundaries between students, and between students and teachers. This enhanced students’ communication, and bonding with peers and teachers. School culture about mental health education was found to have weak framing, with students having more influence on the learning process in this program than they currently do in other subjects. We argue that understanding boundaries and framing underpins development of better pedagogic practices in mental health education. When rooted in careful analysis of power relationships with school cultures, mental health promotion is not necessarily aligned with dominant values in society that privilege academic success over wellbeing. School-based programs can provide co-learning spaces for teachers and students, that encourage learning about mental health. © 2023 Informa UK Limited.

This study aims to develop an AI education policy for higher education by examining the perceptions and implications of text generative AI technologies. Data was collected from 457 students and 180 teachers and staff across various disciplines in Hong Kong universities, using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Based on the findings, the study proposes an AI Ecological Education Policy Framework to address the multifaceted implications of AI integration in university teaching and learning. This framework is organized into three dimensions: Pedagogical, Governance, and Operational. The Pedagogical dimension concentrates on using AI to improve teaching and learning outcomes, while the Governance dimension tackles issues related to privacy, security, and accountability. The Operational dimension addresses matters concerning infrastructure and training. The framework fosters a nuanced understanding of the implications of AI integration in academic settings, ensuring that stakeholders are aware of their responsibilities and can take appropriate actions accordingly. Highlights Proposed AI Ecological Education Policy Framework for university teaching and learning. Three dimensions: Pedagogical, Governance, and Operational AI Policy Framework. Qualitative and quantitative data collected from students, teachers, and staff. Ten key areas identified for planning an AI policy in universities. Students should play an active role in drafting and implementing the policy. © The Author(s) 2023.

This case study explored how the principles of multicultural and intercultural education are reflected in a minority-majority Hong Kong secondary school (that is, a school where most students are ethnic minorities). The findings suggest that the school illustrates several aspects of multicultural and intercultural education, especially content integration, prejudice reduction, equity pedagogy, and democratic deliberation, particularly in relation to school-based material, teacher sensitivity, and dialogical reasoning. The main hurdles discovered are language learning difficulties and an unsupportive social environment. This study contributes to literature on the development of multicultural and intercultural education in Hong Kong and offers directions for generalizable future research. Copyright © 2023 Peicong MA et al.

Students’ sense of school belonging (SSB) is linked with many meaningful educational outcomes. Though several studies have been conducted on SSB, most of these have used variable-centered approaches, with few studies examining profiles of students’ SSB using person-centered approaches. To further understand this important concept, this study sought to identify different profiles of students’ SSB by applying latent profile analysis to data from a sample of 1,173 students among 34 local primary schools in Hong Kong. The results revealed six profiles of school belonging (i.e., Low SSB and Moderate Rejection, Moderate SSB and Moderate Rejection, High SSB and High Rejection, High-Moderate SSB and High Rejection, High-Moderate SSB and Low-Moderate Rejection, and High SSB and Low Rejection). This study also investigated the relationship between the identified profile membership and character strength of kindness (i.e., motivation to be kind, recognition of kindness, and kind behaviours) among these students. The results indicated differences in character strength of kindness across the identified SSB profiles. The findings are in line with the view that school environment plays an important role in students’ optimal development and highlight the necessity for a greater emphasis on school intervention programs on building students’ SSB and enhancing their character strength of kindness. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

This chapter draws on the Global Childhoods ethnographic data from Year 4 classrooms in Hong Kong, Melbourne and Singapore to elucidate what everyday learning looks like in the three global cities. Acknowledging that learning assumes varied shapes and forms, our primary focus aims to explicate some key features of everyday classroom life in each city, with a focus on time and space. In doing so, we examine the class timetables and explore how time was organised in the schools, and consider the design of classrooms and playgrounds, including the ways in which these spaces were typically used by students and teachers to create learning opportunities. Our analyses are situated within the position of critical onto-epistemological perspective though which we offered critical insights to provoke new understandings about how educational practices are deeply situated within local sociocultural contexts with greater implications for broader learning outcomes and students’ educational success. We seek to provide discussions that are both critical and comparative for rethinking the ways in which opportunities, challenges and diversity in the three education systems became evident from the classroom ethnographies. We also consider the implications of structured learning for shaping children’s multiple ways of being, belonging and becoming learners. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

With the intensification of globalization and its international competitiveness as a key benchmark, universities are under pressure to increase their social and economic growth while remaining sustainable. ‘institutional brand, ' the way how an institution presents itself to the public, is a valuable asset for higher education sustainability. Through multiple case study methodology, this research showcases Hong Kong universities institutional brand-building processes to achieve their regional and global standing. It is argued that Hong Kong universities often spell out their branding strategies and persuade and push their staff adhere to intuitional vision and mission, with the hope that such an identification with the institutional brand will lead to corporate sustainability. Copyright © 2022 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Originating in Europe in the 1970s, foreign language learner autonomy has become influential as an educational goal in many parts of the world, including ‘Confucian-heritage’ societies such as mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. More recently, it has been well recognised that the development of language learner autonomy depends largely on language teacher autonomy. Despite the ample literature on the interrelationship between language teachers’ autonomy and their students’ autonomy, there has been, to date, very little published empirical research on the complex interaction between autonomy in language learning and autonomy in language teaching, for the same individual, over a prolonged period of time. This research seeks to examine the nature and kinds of transition from learner to teacher autonomy in the development of the same individual moving from a language learner context to a language teacher context. Following an interpretative-qualitative research tradition, the study investigates and compares the learning-teaching experiences of English learners-teachers, spanning their pre-service teacher education and their initial years in school teaching, in mainland Chinese socio-institutional contexts. The research will contribute new knowledge to the long-term development of language learner and teacher autonomy and will generate insights into pre-service and in-service language teacher education. Copyright © 2018 Asia TEFL.

This article provides school leaders with insights into within and beyond-school influences on school collaborative culture. The study examines how social demographics, and school culture prevalent in different school bandings, influence school capacities (principalleadership; shared and supportive leadership; shared values and vision; and collaborative learning). A structural equation model is constructed from 10 Hong Kong schools’ survey data to trace the path influences of the study variables. The results show that hierarchical cultures tend to prevail in lower banding schools, affecting school collaborative culture negatively. In contrast, rule-seeking cultures have a positive influence on individuals with humbler childhood family upbringing. Likewise at the individual level, unlike most risk-takers found to negatively influence school collaborative culture, English childhood home language speakers’ risk-taking values do not have a significant influence on such school capacities. Nevertheless, rule-seeking and risk-taking teachers are as likely to be recruited in schools regardless of school banding. The results have global significance on how broader social hierarchy embeds in leadership relations differentiated by school banding, with an impact on school collaborative culture. School leaders may consider leveraging leadership relations and professional development to promote school cultures that enhance collaboration at different levels of the organizational hierarchy. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s).