Over the past decades, growing attention has been paid to how the home and school environment contributes to early mathematical development. Nevertheless, many studies focused on the nature and frequency of the learning activities. The potential influences of parent-child and teacher-child relationships are still underexplored. In view that parents and teachers play vital roles in early language development, and language and mathematical skills are interrelated, we investigated: (1) whether different aspects of parent-child and teacher-child relationships were related to very young children’s mathematical abilities; and (2) whether these relations, if any, were mediated by children’s receptive vocabulary. To achieve our study aims, 124 children were recruited from pre-nursery classes in Hong Kong and were administered vocabulary and mathematical tests. Their parents and class teachers also completed a questionnaire relating to their relationships with the children. Results of path analysis showed that after controlling for children’s age, parent-child closeness, parent-child conflict and teacher-child closeness were associated with children’s mathematical abilities through their receptive vocabulary. There were also direct links from parent-child closeness and teacher-child closeness to children’s mathematical abilities. Teacher-child conflict was neither correlated with children’s receptive vocabulary nor mathematical abilities. Our findings suggest that it is important to provide support to parents and teachers on how to build up close and affectionate relationships with very young children. In particular, they should be coached on how to have quality verbal interactions with children, as it may benefit not only children’s early language development, but also their early mathematical development. Copyright © 2021 HKERA-APERA International Conference.

香港教育局編製的《香港小學學習字詞表》是小學寫字教學的重要參考材料，也是廣大小學老師判別字形對錯的依歸。教師根據《字詞表》教學時卻出現不少問題，最具爭議是《字詞表》的字形與日常所見不同；而部分教師批改錯字的尺度亦飽受家長及社會人士非議。本文以文獻研究方法，梳理《字詞表》所收字形，發現當中不無可商榷之處；加上該表所收與臺灣標準不同，不同電腦字體之間亦有差異，以致書籍、網頁字形不統一，令教學倍添困難。部分教師只遵從《字詞表》，矯枉過正，令小學生失去學習中文的興趣。本文認為必須仿效中國及臺灣頒布具法律效力的「規範漢字表」；各大學的教育學院也應為小學老師提供更全面文字學訓練。"Lexical Lists for Learning in Hong Kong Primary Schools" compiled by the Education Bureau is an important reference material for Chinese handwriting teaching in primary schools, and it is also the basis for the majority of primary school teachers to judge between right or wrong of the Chinese Characters. However, many problems occur when teachers use the "Lexical Lists" to teach. The most controversial aspect is that the form of the "Lexical Lists" is different from the common ones. Some teachers' standards for correcting lexical errors are also criticized by parents and the community. This article adopts the method of literature research to sort out the character forms collected in the "Lexical Lists". It is found that the characters and guidelines of the "Lexical Lists" are not indisputable. Besides, some characters in the "Lexical Lists" are different from Taiwanese standards. Varieties may be found in different computer fonts, resulting in inconsistent lexises in books and web pages, which makes teaching more difficult. Some teachers strictly follow the "Lexical Lists" and over-corrections make primary students lose their interest in Chinese learning. It is believed that it is necessary to promulgate a "Standard Chinese Character List" like Mainland China and Taiwan. In addition, more comprehensive Chinese philology training for primary school teachers should be provided in education institutes. Copyright © 2021 國立臺灣師範大學國文學系.

The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected education and services geared toward young children and families, including early childhood music programs. While some programs were shut down, others were able to migrate to online formats and outdoor offerings (where allowed). Early childhood music programs are usually collective, with babies and young children often sharing and exploring common spaces, instruments, and props. These programs are also heavily based on singing, a behavior that is celebrated by early childhood specialists for its emotional expressiveness, communicative potential, and relevance for child development. Because the coronavirus can be transmitted via aerosol particles, singing became highly unsafe during the pandemic. Other challenges arose as early childhood music education programs were transferred into new formats, ranging from issues of logistics and access to technology to adherence to everchanging local and national policies, as well as cultural beliefs and behaviors. In this chapter, teachers, researchers, and program directors offer stories of adaptation and resilience in varied early childhood music programs in Kenya, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Brazil, South Korea, and the United States. Accounts are presented first, followed by their juxtaposition, to reveal common themes and implications for early childhood music education in the post-COVID era. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The study focused on Hong Kong mathematics teachers’ personal experiences and challenges in online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. A SWOC analysis is adopted. Results showed that they tried to offer e-learning as an alternative mode of teaching to maintain the education service within the pandemic. Hong Kong teachers tended to focus on external factors rather than internal factors in the initial period of online teaching. They agreed that there was a paradigm shift in the role of teaching during the crisis. They were commonly building a sufficient level in using technology, but this was not equivalent to be competent in achieving instructional goals. Mathematics teachers’ professional knowledge is influenced by their personal online teaching experiences. Their attitudes and beliefs are crucial factors in the role and effectiveness of using online teaching. Copyright © 2021 left to authors.

In Hong Kong, the Education Bureau (EDB) assesses the quality of services provided to children in local kindergartens. Quality Review (QR) reports of kindergartens that pass the assessment are published on EDB’s website. We conducted a content analysis of 164 QR reports to examine the alignment between the music activities alluded to and the curriculum objectives established for music in official policies. A coding scheme was developed using both inductive and deductive approaches. High inter-reliability was obtained. MAXQDA was used to conduct word frequency, descriptive, and co-occurrence analyses. The most common terms identified in the music-related segments focused on children’s development of sensory abilities through music experiences, in relation to singing, rhythm, beat, movement, and instrumental music. However, activities intended to foster musical creativity and self-expression were seldom mentioned. We conclude that the QR reports reveal important discrepancies between official curriculum policies and actual classroom practices, which EDB assessors seemed to ignore or overlook. Implications focus on the need for kindergarten stakeholders to address curriculum/practice gaps and further prepare teachers to foster children’s musical creativity. Copyright © 2022 Yan Lam HO, Alfredo Bautista.

In this case study, the author research on the current teaching phenomena of Paper 3: Creating of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination Elective Subjects: Music. The examination has been implemented after the curriculum reform of the senior secondary school since 2012 where music composition becomes one of the compulsory assessment. According to the Curriculum and Assessment Guide (Secondary 4-6) Music by the Curriculum Development Council and the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, the assessment objective is to create and arrange music using appropriate compositional devices, and explain the use of music elements in compositional devices of their compositions. Without any prior experiences in the teaching composing for public examination in the past, schools have adopted different models to teach composition which include hiring external company and tutor to teach; forming a joint-school network; and teaching the whole curriculum by the school teacher. This qualitative study contributes to the understanding of the current HKDSE learning and teaching situation with a focus on the perspectives from school music teachers and composer-instructors. Copyright © 2021 Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Australia.

Despite English being a priority in China and extensive policy changes over the past decades, English language teaching and learning at Chinese tertiary institutions remains insufficient. College English (CE) courses focus on holistic and humanistic education by teaching English for general purposes. However, they are often inefficient and unable to serve university students’ needs. Researchers and practitioners alike call for a transition from CE to English for Academic Purposes (EAP). This study explored pre-service teachers’ perceptions of EAP provision in mainland China through a qualitative, interpretive approach. Sixteen pre-service teachers, who completed their bachelor's education in China and master's education in Hong Kong, participated in semi-structured interviews, sharing their experiences and discussing the challenges and opportunities for EAP to serve as a replacement for or supplement to CE. Thematic analysis revealed complexities comprising current education, the traditional, top-down system, learning styles, status, and lack of professional development opportunities. This paper discusses the challenges of implementing EAP in mainland China in an effort to help policymakers, researchers, and practitioners identify the way out. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

This mixed-methods study investigates whether and to what extent positive psychology constructs (classroom enjoyment, grit, and growth mindset) and Extramural English predict primary school students’ willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) both in the classroom (a fictitious but common setting for English communication among English as an Foreign Language [EFL] students) and outside the classroom (a natural and increasingly prevalent environment for EFL communication). We collect and analyze survey data from 160 EFL primary school students in Hong Kong (ages 6–13 years old). Hierarchical regression analyses reveal that L2 WTC in the classroom is predicted by classroom enjoyment, grit, and Extramural English. A slightly different picture emerges outside of the classroom, with grit, growth mindset, and Extramural English predicting L2 WTC. Semi-structured interviews (N = 8) confirm and elaborate on the quantitative findings. Our findings suggest that through grit- and Extramural English-integrated intervention programmes, EFL teachers can improve young learners’ L2 WTC both inside and outside the classroom. Furthermore, teachers can improve young learners’ L2 WTC in the classroom by creating a positive learning environment, while also improving their L2 WTC outside of the classroom by cultivating their growth mindset system. Copyright © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.