Shifts toward an interconnected global economy have raised concerns among middle- and upper-middle-class parents about the role of multilingualism and multiculturalism in child-rearing. Affluent parents have been previously recognized as 'cultivating' childhood experiences to promote competitiveness in the professional sphere (Lareau, A. (2003). Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. University of California Press. ). The cultivation of multiple languages and a multicultural stance has, as the global economy has broadened, become part of 'good parenting' for many. Against this background, this qualitative study uses a language policy theory (Spolsky, B. (2007). Towards a theory of language policy. 22 (1), https://repository.upenn.edu/wpel/vol22/iss1/1) to examine beliefs, practices, and behaviors of parents of children enrolled in an early childhood program at a private international school in Hong Kong. The findings show how the focal parents created and enacted their own language policy based on their beliefs about languages, the practices they carried out, and their management of their children's multilingualism, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study highlights contemporary tensions between ideologies and practices of language in present-day multilingual and multicultural school settings; in addition, it expands the existing research on language policy and parental engagement by providing a nuanced analysis of how social actors devise ways to manage and support the complex process of language learning, even under dire conditions. Copyright © 2024 Routledge.

Globally, countries or regions across from east to west like Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States have incorporated language item questions in their censuses. The assessment of such design advantages and disadvantages is crucial for academic investigation. Despite ongoing discussions, there is a noticeable lack of comprehensive references offering a full set of evaluation methods for assessing these question designs. Current literature often focuses on specific aspects, underscoring the need for a holistic evaluation. This research employs literature and induction methodologies to assess the design quality of language item questions in censuses. After reviewing past references and analysing 74 questionnaires collected from nine countries and regions over three centuries, we have identified 37 specific criteria. These criteria, categorised into economy, comprehensiveness, and rationality, form a comprehensive evaluation framework. This new framework offers a systematic approach for assessing census language question design, with significant implications for policy-making and academia. It provides a valuable tool for policymakers to make informed decisions about language question design, and serves as a guide for future academic research in this field. Copyright © 2024 Routledge.

Long COVID, where symptoms persist after recovering from COVID-19, can affect cognitive functions like language. However, little is known about its impact on children’s language skills, especially across different school levels. This study investigated the impact of long COVID on language proficiency among 1244 children (Asian; 53.5% boys) from kindergartens (N = 408, Mage = 4.42 ± 1.26 years), primary schools (N = 547, Mage = 9.69 ± 1.96 years), and secondary schools (N = 289, Mage = 14.97 ± 1.85 years) in Hong Kong. Language proficiency was assessed using the Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q), which measured speaking, listening, reading, and writing in both Chinese and English. Participants were categorized into three groups: long COVID, recovered from COVID-19, and no history of COVID-19. One-way and two-way ANOVAs were used to analyze the differences in language proficiency across these groups and school levels. Children with long COVID symptoms exhibited significantly lower overall language proficiency, particularly in speaking and listening, compared to those in the recovered and no-COVID groups. The effect was more pronounced among primary and secondary students, with secondary school students showing the most substantial deficits. No significant differences were found between the recovered and no-COVID groups. The results suggest that long COVID might have detrimental effects on children’s linguistic proficiency. The language development of older students who suffered from long COVID could benefit from receiving targeted educational and therapeutic interventions. Copyright © 2025 by the authors.

Prior research on COVID-related school disruptions focused mainly on primary or secondary, with limited studies on kindergarten children. Using a naturalistic quasi-experimental design, we examined whether school disruption during the first year of kindergarten (K1) affected early numeracy, literacy, and non-academic development. We also examined whether disruption during the first or second year of kindergarten (K2) was more detrimental to children's development. A cohort of K2 students from each of two consecutive years (N = 235, 4–5-year-old) were recruited from ten kindergartens in Hong Kong, which had long periods of COVID-related school disruptions. One cohort was assessed just before the onset of COVID-19; the other, one year later. K1 disruption did not affect performance at K2. In contrast, performance at K3 showed that K2 disruption had a more detrimental effect on physical performance than K1 disruption. Findings highlight the period and aspects of children's development that are particularly sensitive to schooling. Copyright © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This study examines the impact of a seamless learning environment combined with a multicultural educational environment on the cognitive development of preschool children in Hong Kong (n = 200). Using a quasi-experimental design, this study compared the cognitive development of children in an experimental group exposed to continuous learning and multicultural elements with those in a control group using traditional teaching methods. The main methodology included the use of ANOVA (analysis of variance) to study the differences in cognitive development between these groups at three stages of testing. Initially, both groups showed similar results, with averages of about 49 points, providing a comparable starting point. However, over time, the experimental group exposed to seamless learning and a multicultural environment showed significant growth. Six months later, the average score in this group increased to 61.52 and reached 74.42 after one year, indicating a significant improvement in cognitive abilities. The intermediate and subsequent testing results showed remarkable cognitive improvements in the experimental group compared to the control group, indicating the effectiveness of a seamless multicultural learning environment in enhancing cognitive development. This research contributes to educational psychology by providing empirical evidence on the benefits of innovative and culturally diverse learning environments in preschool education. Copyright © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Students' perceived competencies may reflect dispositions to trigger and enhance engagement acts and promote engagement benefits. Although perceived competencies and engagement acts are significant resources in STEM learning, their relationships remain unclear. Accordingly, we applied the transactional model of engagement (TME) to examine these associations, focusing on how emotional and cognitive engagement affect the mediating effect of perceived digital inquiry on perceived creativity. The participants were 305 secondary school STEM learners in Hong Kong. Mediation analyses showed that emotional engagement mediated the positive relationship between perceived digital inquiry and creativity, whereas cognitive engagement had no such mediating effect. Copyright ©2024 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

High-quality caregiver-child relationships are critical to healthy development, including the acquisition of language and literacy skills. However, their potential benefits to early mathematical development and its underlying mechanisms have been minimally explored. In view that language and literacy development play prominent roles in mathematical development, this study investigated whether very young children's relationship quality with parents and teachers were linked with their mathematical ability through language and literacy abilities. One hundred and thirty two-year-olds from pre-nursery classes in Hong Kong were tested on their early academic abilities. Furthermore, their parents and teachers evaluated on questionnaires the quality of their relationships with the children. Results of path analyses indicated that after controlling for children's age, parent-child closeness was associated with children's mathematical ability via language ability. Teacher-child closeness had a direct link to children's mathematical ability, as well as indirect links through language and literacy abilities. Parent-child conflict and teacher-child conflict had neither direct nor indirect relations with children's mathematical ability. These results suggest that mathematical development is interwoven with language and literacy development beginning in the early years. Also, parents and teachers should be reminded the importance of building close and affectionate relationships with very young children when nurturing the foundation for academic development. Copyright © 2023 Springer.

Computational thinking (CT) practices is a critical cognitive tool for students to overcome challenges in this technological era. Few studies investigated CT practices from a development perspective. A two-year intervention was implemented in 30 intervention and 22 control schools in Hong Kong to promote CT education (T1baseline: N = 13,056; T2: N = 16,367; and T3: N = 15,269). Senior primary students (grades 4 to 6) around 8–12 years old were targeted. Among them, 34% were girls at T1baseline. Their learning progression of cognitive development was assessed with a CT practices test. Data were analyzed using item response analysis. Learning trajectories of CT practices were modeled to understand how students’ cognitive development differed between schools. Insights of findings were discussed in bringing CT practices to life. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-quality caregiver-child relationships are critical to healthy development, including the acquisition of language and literacy skills. However, their potential benefits to early mathematical development and its underlying mechanisms have been minimally explored. In view that language and literacy development play prominent roles in mathematical development, this study investigated whether very young children’s relationship quality with parents and teachers were linked with their mathematical ability through language and literacy abilities. One hundred and thirty two-year-olds from pre-nursery classes in Hong Kong were tested on their early academic abilities. Furthermore, their parents and teachers evaluated on questionnaires the quality of their relationships with the children. Results of path analyses indicated that after controlling for children’s age, parent–child closeness was associated with children’s mathematical ability via language ability. Teacher–child closeness had a direct link to children’s mathematical ability, as well as indirect links through language and literacy abilities. Parent–child conflict and teacher–child conflict had neither direct nor indirect relations with children’s mathematical ability. These results suggest that mathematical development is interwoven with language and literacy development beginning in the early years. Also, parents and teachers should be reminded the importance of building close and affectionate relationships with very young children when nurturing the foundation for academic development. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.