Students' understanding of nature of science (NOS) has been largely examined primarily in written or verbal modes. The visual, verbal, and written modes are essential for students' meaning-making of NOS. However, research has sidelined the interaction among these three modes in understanding students' collaborative discourse of NOS. Informed by theories of multimodality and social semiotics, this paper investigates the interactions between the visual, verbal, and written modes as groups of students engaged in explicit-reflective multimodal representation during NOS instruction. Utilizing a collective case study approach, we planned NOS instruction with teachers, and videotaped how each focal group of students in two grade seven classes in Hong Kong constructed multimodal representations of NOS. Multimodal discourse analysis revealed that the three modes fulfill various purposes during students' co-construction of multimodal representations of NOS. The interaction between the three modes facilitates meaning-making of NOS in four ways: (a) students' re-semiotization of discursive scientific practices into their multimodal ensembles; (b) bridging students' writing of scientific reports to scientists' social certification and dissemination; (c) connecting students' decontextualized meaning-making to contextualized meaning-making of methods and methodological rules; and (d) facilitating students' embodied semiosis in social organizations and interactions of science. Focusing on four episodes of co-constructing multimodal representations of NOS, we illustrate how students' meaning-making of NOS is multimodal in nature and how various modes have their own affordances. We discuss future research directions on how multimodality can facilitate students' meaning-making of NOS. Copyright © 2025 Wiley.

Background: Past studies of grit's educational benefits, such as science engagement, showed mixed results across cultures. So, we elaborated the prior model of grit (perseverance of effort, consistency of interest) with adaptability to situations (forming a triarchic model of grit TMG), and tested TMG's relation to subsequent science engagement.Methods: In this study, 1,972 high school students in Hong Kong, mainland China, and the Philippines completed surveys twice (about 6 months apart). We analysed these data with multilevel structural equation modelling.Results: Results showed that country income (GDP per capita) negatively predicted science engagement, while schools with the highest ability students had higher science engagement. Conscientiousness and overall grit positively predicted science engagement at both time periods. Consistency of interest negatively predicted science engagement.Conclusions: This research demonstrates the potential academic benefits of grit in non-Western societies. Promoting grit may serve as a pathway towards greater students' engagement in science. Copyright © 2024 Springer.

Coding is a crucial foundation for young children's cognitive development that enhances their logical and computational thinking skills for long-term learning. This study examines how young children in Hong Kong acquire coding skills through integrated STEM activities. In an innovative educational program enacted in a technology-rich 'Creative Lab' with augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and a 3D printer, the study focuses on three children aged 6–8. An explanatory case study approach was employed to collect data from classroom observations and teacher interviews. Observations targeted children's learning progress in coding activities, while the interview unpacked the applied teaching repository. The findings reveal that young children developed early coding skills using various technologies to create and apply symbols. Three strategies scaffold children’s skills enhancement stemmed from situated learning theory: 1) integrating learning content in an authentic context, 2) leveraging learners' intuitive knowledge through inquisitive practice, and 3) providing immersive learning resources. Copyright © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Background: Recognizing the declining interest of school students in Physics, this study sought to explore the situation in England, Hong Kong and Singapore. Purpose: To ascertain students’ views about various aspects of physics. Sample: A total of 2719 students participated in this study. Design and methods: A survey approach was used to ascertain the views of students. It was earlier validated in one of the countries. The Rasch model was used to treat the survey data. Results: On the utilitarian factor, the students from Hong Kong and Singapore held significantly negative attitudes towards career prospects for physics graduates. To them, obtaining a degree in physics would not, as compared to other subjects, appreciably assist them vocationally, which was in contrast to the view held by the students in England. On the intrinsic factor, while the students from all three countries found physics to be interesting, it did not appear to significantly motivate them to want to continue with physics at tertiary level. Nevertheless, they asserted that good grades do motivate them to study physics. On the social aspect, the students from the three countries endorsed significantly positively on the influence of their physics teachers in inspiring them to study physics, with the students from Singapore and Hong Kong endorsing slightly higher agreement. The former group also reported that their close friends generally think that physics is ‘uncool’ while those from England felt otherwise. Students’ views were similar in terms of parental influence, with parents significantly discouraging them from studying physics at tertiary level. They did not exhibit significantly different views on subject matter. Enrichment activities and laboratory work were important to them in nurturing and maintaining interest in physics Conclusion: The survey data has provided useful insights on students’ views of various aspects of Physics in the three countries. Copyright ©2024 Routledge.

The information technology industry has been identified as a priority industry for development in Hong Kong. Within this sector, there are a growing number of “new collar” jobs that may not require a traditional four-year degree. However, these jobs require a combination of technical and soft skills that are not often taught in secondary schools. The Applied Learning course titled “Tech Basics” was introduced to five secondary schools in 2019. It has the unique feature of bringing together secondary schools, a local public university, and industry partners in curriculum design and program delivery, to provide students with work-integrated learning. The curriculum includes authentic work environment exposure components such as company visits, mentorship programs, industry-led project competitions, and internships. This paper is a case study presenting detailed information on the program’s model of work-integrated learning as. well as its evaluation. It explains the different roles of secondary schools, higher education institutes, and industry partners. To assess the impact of the program, three rounds of surveys were conducted among students taking the course and a control group over a three-year period. The theoretical framework of work integrated learning and mentoring was reviewed. Survey results and additional qualitative data are presented. Feedback from secondary school teachers and mentors from the industry is analyzed. Challenges for the future development of the Tech Basics course are discussed. Copyright ©2024 Springer.

The present study challenges the assumption that equipping students with positive learning attitudes and beliefs can compensate for socioeconomic status (SES) effects on students’ academic achievement. It unravels the association between SES and students’ achievement by examining direct and indirect SES influences (via students’ science attitudes and beliefs such as science epistemological beliefs, interest, and self-efficacy) on students’ science achievement using an analysis of secondary data involving 5,355 15-year-old students (from 138 schools) and their parents from Hong Kong who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015. Two-level structural equation modelling (SEM) results showed that (a) the total standardised SES effect (direct and indirect) on students’ science achievement was 42.46% more when compared to the case where only direct SES effects were accounted for; and (b) the total standardised effect of science classroom variables was much smaller than that associated with SES. These results suggest that the strength of the association between SES and students’ achievement is understated if we focus only on direct effects. Relatedly, students’ attitudes and beliefs are not insulated from familial SES influences, so they are not as efficacious in circumventing social structures as they are sometimes portrayed in the literature. Copyright ©2024 Routledge.

This chapter explores the importance of STREAM education by adopting a school-based curriculum exemplar to elucidate the numerous benefits of linguistic, creative, and interdisciplinary development. In this curriculum exemplar, students invented and modified their Micro:bit devices, adopting the Design Cycle to assist individuals with diverse abilities. The STREAM project presented in this chapter exemplifies how STREAM education serves as a niche for cultivating positive humanistic values, exceptionally caring, empathy, and equal opportunity. The integration of ‘Reading across the Curriculum’ (RaC) has further enhanced their learning experience, promoting self-directed learning and fostering an understanding of equal opportunities and barrier-free society. The chapter highlights the transformative power of STREAM education in shaping students into well-rounded individuals with positive humanistic values prepared to make an affirmative impact in society. Copyright © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Huixuan Xu; individual chapters, the contributors.

The initiation of formal science education provides an opportunity to investigate how age-related language and reading skills respond to the challenge of science literacy (SL) performance. SL in early primary schools refers to the understanding and application of scientific core ideas and practices for informed decision-making. Studies revealed that high levels of singular reading or language skills correlate with better SL performance in school settings. However, it is essential to explore how nuanced words and textual reading skills relate to SL performance for early primary learners. One hundred ninety-three Hong Kong second graders were assessed on word reading, reading comprehension, vocabulary, nonverbal reasoning, and SL. The hierarchical regression model shows that word reading and reading comprehension are significant predictors of SL, controlling for nonverbal reasoning and vocabulary. Further, mediation analysis reveals that reading comprehension significantly mediates the effect of word reading on SL at grade 2, suggesting a shared reading-SL cognitive process. A tailored early elementary school literacy instruction is a promising way to enhance SL development among young learners. Copyright © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This study utilizes the 2015 data from the Hong Kong sample of the Program for International Student Assessment to examine the relative importance of various factors on the science learning performance of Hong Kong students. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), we examined the effect of students’ affective characteristics, involvement, and perceptions of science by parents and school environment on science achievement in Hong Kong. The results of HLM demonstrated that school characteristics explain 33% variance in science achievement, which indicates that school is a critical predicting factor in identifying science achievement. The findings highlighted that identifying as male, having high socioeconomic status (at the student and school levels), high self-efficacy, low test anxiety, less parental support, positive view of science by parents, more school resources, and less teacher autonomy positively influence the science achievement of students. In the final model, school-level predictors, such as disciplinary climate in science classes and teacher-directed science instruction, explained 58% of variance at the school level in positive directions. Lastly, the study discussed the implications of achievement gaps between gender and socioeconomic status and between parents and school influence. Copyright © 2024 Education Research Institute, Seoul National University.

Background: The number of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy studies in K-12 education has recently increased, with most research focusing on primary and secondary education contexts. Little research focuses on AI literacy programs in early childhood education. Objectives: The aim of this mixed-methods study is to examine the feasibility of an AI literacy program called AI4KG and explore how it might affect kindergarteners' perceptions of robots and attitudes towards engineering and science. Methods: A total of 26 child-parent dyads recruited from a Hong Kong kindergarten were involved in this study, consisting of 26 children (Mage = 4 years, SD = 0.28) and their parents. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through surveys and interviews designed to explore children's perceptions of robots and attitudes towards engineering and science, and parents' perceptions of the AI4KG intervention. Results: It is found that children have increased their perceptions of robots after the AI literacy program, but the AI4KG curriculum had no significant effects on kindergarten children's engineering and science attitudes. Most parents (22 out of 26) agreed that their children's AI knowledge, AI skills, and AI attitudes have been enhanced after learning through the AI4KG curriculum. Conclusions: This study suggests that the AI4KG curriculum is potentially effective in promoting early AI literacy and favourable attitudes towards the technology, but further research is needed to develop age-appropriate measures and assess its long-term impact on children's education and career paths. Copyright ©2024 Wiley.