This study examined the bidirectionality between kindergarten children's executive functioning (EF) and word reading across two time points. Participants were 523 Hong Kong Chinese-speaking children (mean age at Time 2 = 64.59 months; 52.9% male) and their parents. At Time 1, children were administered the measures of EF skills: inhibitory control, attention shifting, working memory and Chinese word reading. They were reassessed with these measures at Time 2 one year later. Results from the cross-lagged panel model revealed that, controlling for child age, gender and parental education levels, children's word reading at Time 1 was significantly predictive of their working memory at Time 2, but that the three EF skills at Time 1 were not predictive of word reading at Time 2. These findings underscored the role of early word reading in promoting children's working memory. Copyright © 2020 UKLA.

Research on intrinsic and extrinsic future goals has mostly focused on their impact on wellbeing with relatively lesser attention being focused on key learning outcomes. This study investigates how the pursuit of different future goals (i.e., society-, family-, career-, wealth-, and fame-oriented goals) affects students' self-control, and whether self-control mediates the relationship between future goals and distal learning outcomes (i.e., students' affect to school and academic achievement 1 year later). The study adopted a longitudinal design involving 8,354 secondary students from 16 schools in Hong Kong. Students had to complete English and Mathematics achievement tests and answer questionnaires measuring the key variables. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated intrinsic future goals were more adaptive compared to extrinsic ones. In particular, results revealed the importance of society-oriented goal on self-control and distal learning outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
[Copyright of Psychology in the Schools is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.]

This study investigated the associations among reading strategy instruction, student motivational factors (i.e., attitudes toward reading, reading self-concept, and motivation to read), gender, and reading achievement. The analyses were conducted using the Hong Kong sample (students at Level 1, n=3,875 and teachers at Level 2, n=133) from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2011 through multilevel structural equation modeling. The results showed that, first, the relation between the frequency of reading strategy instruction and student reading achievement was mediated by student attitudes toward reading. Second, the frequency of reading strategy instruction was significantly related to student attitudes toward reading and motivation to read and student attitudes toward reading was significantly associated with reading achievement. Finally, girls had more positive attitudes toward reading, more positive reading self-concept, higher motivation to read, and higher reading achievement than boys. These findings may shed light on how teachers should arrange their reading strategy instruction to interplay with student attitudes toward reading and motivation to read and to help improve reading achievement.
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The present study re-examines the reading experiences of eight primary school students in Hong Kong. Framed around theories of gamification and self-determination, the study looks at how these students developed as readers on an online gamified reader known as RB. An electronic extension to a reading database that contains more than 15,000 comprehension questions made from around 500 popular children's books, RB is found to enable the students feel competent, autonomous and connected with their family and friends during their game play. These feelings can be explained away by the three psychological needs of self -determination literature. For instance, after a period of time playing on RB, the students displayed competence in that they did well on their academics, increased their reading speed, expanded their vocabulary, and further developed their learning and problem-solving skills in school. They also showed autonomy in their learning, manifested in the expansion of the scope of their reading choices, a diversity of their reading methods, an increase in their reading frequency, and a boost to their drive in picking up a book for leisure read. Finally, they felt more connected now with their family and friends than before they used RB, for the bondage they formed over RB lasted well beyond their game play. Based on a re-evaluation of their success stories from gamification and self-determination perspectives, the study concludes that RB is an effective early English learners' tool in Hong Kong.
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Drawing upon the multifaceted construct of motivation and engagement, this study used the adapted Motivation and Engagement Scale for University/College Students (MES-UC) (Martin, 2007, 2008b, 2012) to examine English-majored undergraduate students' motivation and engagement in Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) writing classes. A sample of 1190 students from 35 Chinese universities participated in this study. Results showed that students were generally motivated to write in English and engaged in the second language (L2) writing courses. Individual differences (Le., gender, grade, region, colleges' prestige, and colleges' profession) in L2 writing motivation and engagement also were identified. Three distinct profiles of L2 learners' motivation and engagement were identified: the "Motivated and engaged", the "Ambiguously motivated and engaged", and the "Ambivalently motivated and engaged" L2 writers. The findings shed new light on the nature of Chinese English-majored undergraduates' motivation and engagement in EFL writing contexts.
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This study examined (1) differences in background, integrative/instrumental motivation, learning approach, leaning strategy and proficiency in second language (L2) and (2) the determinants of learning outcomes between Hong Kong and Mainland (Chinese) students. To achieve this, a questionnaire survey was distributed to 773 s language learners across four universities in Hong Kong and Mainland China to students in Bachelor of Education (English Language) programmes. The results showed that L2 proficiency was the strongest predictor of learning outcomes for Hong Kong and Mainland students, while integrative motivation was also a significant predictor of learning outcomes in both sample groups. In addition, instrumental motivation, deep approaches, and learning strategies were found to be significant predictors of learning outcomes for Mainland students. Mainland students demonstrated lower levels of motivation, learning approaches, learning strategies, L2 proficiency, as well as learning outcomes relative to Hong Kong students. Implications for curriculum design, classroom teaching and assessment, and future research are discussed in the paper.
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The purpose of this research was to explore gender differences and cultural differences in school motivation among students from eight culturally diverse groups from Western and non-Western societies. The selected groups come from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia, the Netherlands, and Qatar. More than 10,000 secondary school students reported their mastery, performance, social, and extrinsic motivation. Results showed (very) small to moderately large gender differences, which were largely in line with prior research in Western societies. Moreover, significant differences in school motivation across the eight cultural groups were found, however, only the Qatari sample strongly deviated from the other samples. In all cultural groups, females had slightly higher scores on mastery motivation and social motivation (except for Qatari students), and in several Western and non-Western samples, males had slightly higher scores on performance motivation. Gender differences in extrinsic motivation were less straightforward.
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近年，香港學校多以「自主學習」為旗幟，爭相模仿推行，甚至把自主學習看成是一種教學方式，以進行教學改進，可是對此中涉及的很多學習概念及策略，卻未有準確理解。本文嘗試分析各地推行的自主學習，大致歸納為三個取向，以作學校改進的參考：（1）源於西方認知發展理論中人在自我調適過程（self-regulated process）的角色；（2）中國內地在「還課堂給孩子」的觀念下，於課堂上進行不同形式的學生學習活動，並以「預習」及「導學案」來配合；（3）香港利用資訊科技發揮電子及網上學習的優勢，鼓勵學生主動學習。本文亦因應香港學校的實況，探索在學校層面制訂推行自主學習的策略及有效推動的關鍵。Self-directed learning (SDL) has become a prevalent focus of development in Hong Kong schools in recent years. However, a more thorough discussion on the concepts and strategies related to SDL is anticipated to clarify its core essence and understand its impact. Based on the analysis of different initiatives to facilitate SDL across countries/regions, three orientations are consolidated in this article to provide insight into facilitating SDL: (1) the metacognition orientation, developed in Western countries, which emphasizes the role of self-regulatory process in human development; (2) the instruction model orientation, prevailing on the Chinese mainland, which emphasizes students' autonomy in learning and is supported by students' effort in "preparation" and "pre-lesson enquiry"; and (3) the learning enrichment orientation in Hong Kong which encourages SDL through the support of information technology (e.g., e-learning, Web teaching, flipped classroom). This article identifies the essence of encouraging SDL and discusses the conditions for facilitating SDL effectively in the context of Hong Kong. Copyright © 2014 香港中文大學.

Existing research on the psychological and academic experiences of China-born students studying outside of China has mainly been conducted in Western English-speaking countries. Using a coping resources framework, we investigated the predictors of psychological and academic adaptation of 2,201 mainland Chinese students (74% female) studying in universities in Hong Kong, China’s Special Administrative Region and a former British colony. We found that academic self-efficacy, social support, and low levels of perceived discrimination predicted both psychological and academic adaptation. Language competence in English and the local dialect Cantonese was found to be additional factors in mainland Chinese students’ academic adaptation. Implications for future research and higher education policies and practices are discussed. Copyright © 2019 Society for Research into Higher Education.