Valid feedback is essential for the administrators, educators, parents and, of course, for children to be able to steer their development in a sustainable way. Key influential theorists such as Montessori, Piaget, Vygotsky, and others all used observations extensively to understand how children learn and use knowledge about children's learning to improve pedagogies and children's lives. However, most adults including teachers in the ECEC settings have not always observed children and tracked their growth. Based on the research and professional development programs conducted in Finland, Taiwan and Hong Kong with more than 100,000 observations, we found some relationships between young children's involvement, adaptation and agency in early childhood settings through systematic observations. We will introduce observation strategies with video clips and demonstrate our latest mobile application for observation for practitioners to contribute to a big data pool aimed to enhance the teaching quality in ECEC settings. Copyright © 2018 EARLI.

The changes in maternal involvement during the transition to primary school and the bidirectional relations between maternal involvement and school adjustment were explored in this study using a two-wave longitudinal design with a 8-month interval. The participants were children (mean age: 5 years 10.39 months at Time 1 and 6 years 4.98 months at Time 2), mothers, and kindergarten and primary school teachers from 324 and 247 Hong Kong middle- and upper-middle-class families at Time 1 and Time 2, respectively. Approximately three months before the children finished kindergarten (Time 1), and 3 months after they entered primary school (Time 2), mothers and teachers reported on the mothers' involvement and teachers rated the children's school adjustment. Data related to children's school adjustment were also collected in a child assessment session. Results revealed that mothers' involvement in language and cognitive activities during kindergarten predicted better school adjustment after the school transition. Mothers were also more involved at their children's primary schools when their children demonstrated lower cognitive skills in kindergarten. The findings highlight the importance of examining both home-based and school-based involvement over time during the transition to primary school and the bidirectional relations between maternal involvement and children's school adjustment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A two-wave longitudinal study on 470 parent–child dyads examined the impact of family mealtime environment, parenting style and family functioning on preschoolers' (three to six years old) learning. Measures included parent report on parenting style, family functioning, family meal frequency, mealtime television, feeding practice, teacher/parent report of academic competence and individual assessment of preschoolers' preschool concepts. Family mealtime environment variables were associated with pre-schoolers' learning, in addition to parenting style and family functioning, after controlling for family income and wave 1 preschoolers' learning. The results highlighted the importance of family mealtime environment on preschoolers' learning.
[Copyright © 2017 Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore, Singapore.]

This study aimed to investigate parents' understanding of, support for and concerns about e-learning and proposed a school–parent partnership distributing responsibilities to parents and schools based on the results of the study. A total of 61 parents from 21 schools in an e-learning pilot scheme in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire survey and focus group interviews. Results indicated that there was a high correlation between parental understanding and support for e-learning although parents demonstrated only a basic level of understanding. Four types of parental support and six major areas of parental concern were identified. These results shed light on the school–parent partnership whereby parents should implement a proactive e-learning policy at home to monitor, support and inspire e-learning. Schools should formulate a holistic policy to address parents' concerns responsively and proactively to gain support. Schools can enhance parents' pedagogical understanding of e-learning and address parental concerns through school–parent communication and peer support among parents.
[Copyright © 2017 Association for Information Technology in Teacher Education.]

School Counselling in a Chinese Context discusses research in school counselling in the Chinese context of Hong Kong schools and various educational settings, and provides a contextualized understanding of counselling issues. This book highlights key contextual conditions for counselling in Hong Kong – a Chinese society. The sub themes addressed in the book include school practices and teacher perspectives on guidance, counselling, behaviour support and school discipline; whole-school guidance program for identity construction; school counselling for ethnic minority students; contextual influence of the use of play therapy; school counselling for students with minority sexual orientation; Chinese cultural influence on counselling, etc. The book also develops new theoretical orientations to understanding various issues of counselling as arisen in the Chinese society of Hong Kong and helps school practitioners to develop culturally responsive approaches to school counselling for personal growth, spiritual and emotional education. The themes addressed in the book include: School practices and teacher perspectives on guidance, counselling, behavior support and school discipline .School counselling for ethnic minority students .Contextual and cultural influence of the use of play therapy .School counselling for students with minority sexual orientation .Chinese culture influence on parental participation in counselling School Counselling in a Chinese Context will be of interest to postgraduates and researchers in the field of Counselling, school psychology, child development and Chinese studies.
[Copyright © 2016 Taylor and Francis.]

-Objectives of the study: Decentralization of power through school based management is one of the global trends of educational development in which the notion that parents as partners and stakeholders in children education is gradually recognized in diffe

By integrating family functioning and parents’ evaluation of self-determination of students with special educational needs (SEN), this study tests parents’ attitudes towards inclusive education in Hong Kong.