Expectations versus reality: the case of Liberal Studies in Hong Kong’s new senior secondary reforms     

Dennis Fung 《Compare》2016,46(4):624-644

This article reports the findings of a five-year longitudinal study investigating the introduction of Liberal Studies in the context of Hong Kong’s new senior secondary educational reforms. The aim of this empirical research, which adopted diachronic analysis to allow comparisons over time, was to compare teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the Liberal Studies curriculum before and after its introduction. Methodologically speaking, the study was informed by documentary inquiry, with approximately 560 newspaper articles and government reports collected to identify the issues surrounding the curriculum debate. Questionnaire-based surveys conducted in the pre- and post-reform periods revealed a sharp contrast between expectations and reality for both participant groups following the curriculum’s introduction. Whilst the students demonstrated favourable attitudes towards Liberal Studies before studying the subject, a certain degree of disappointment was expressed after the new curriculum came into effect. In follow-up interviews with teachers, they expressed a lack of confidence in teaching such a multi-disciplinary subject and criticised the overly ambitious nature of the curriculum. Liberal Studies, as currently taught, runs the risk of falling out of favour with Hong Kong secondary school teachers, and the question of whether it will play an increasingly important role in promoting patriotic education after the demise of Moral and National Education is deserving of research attention.  相似文献   

Social factors and adult learners’ motivations in re‐entering higher education     

Tsz Man Kwong  Yan Fung Mok  Mui Ling Kwong 《International Journal of Lifelong Education》2013,32(6):518-534

While there is less doubt that adult learners are motivated by different reasons to re‐attend school, it is important to note that, other than psychological factors, social factors are also important in shaping the participation decision. Although researchers have attempted to include social factors in participation models, there is not a conclusive relationship between socioeconomic background and motivation for participation. This study attempts to clarify the linkage between different social factors and adult motivations in re‐entering school to acquire a university degree. By regressing motivations onto three sets of social variables, we found that family role and social position have significant impact in affecting some of the motivations for re‐entering school. These results confirm that adult motivations to learn are embedded within the social lives of adults.  相似文献   

Cognitive load in algebra: element interactivity in solving equations     

Bing Hiong Ngu  Siu Fung Chung  Alexander Seeshing Yeung 《教育心理学》2015,35(3):271-293

Central to equation solving is the maintenance of equivalence on both sides of the equation. However, when the process involves an interaction of multiple elements, solving an equation can impose a high cognitive load. The balance method requires operations on both sides of the equation, whereas the inverse method involves operations on one side only. In an experiment, middle school students (N?=?71) were randomly assigned to the balance and inverse methods to complete a pre-test, an acquisition phase and a post-test. Pre-test and post-test comparisons found that the inverse group outperformed the balance group for those equations that involved high element interactivity. Instructional efficiency measures further confirmed that the balance method imposed higher cognitive load. The inverse method was capable of reducing cognitive load due to the interacting elements.  相似文献   

Children who cannot write     

Helene C. Durbrow 《Annals of dyslexia》1960,10(1):13-15

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Conservation of stained glass windows with protective glazing: Main results from the European VIDRIO research programme     

Adriana Bernardi  Francesca Becherini  Marco Verità  Patrick Ausset  Maura Bellio  Ulrike Brinkmann  Helene Cachier  Anne Chabas  Felix Deutsch  Marie-Pierre Etcheverry  Franco Geotti Bianchini  Ricardo H.M. Godoi  Velichka Kontozova-Deutsch  Roger Lefèvre  Tiziana Lombardo  Peter Mottner  Chiara Nicola  Isabelle Pallot-Frossard  René Van Grieken 《Journal of Cultural Heritage》2013,14(6):527-536

The methodology of protecting the European stained glass windows against environmental risk (e.g. meteorological factors, air pollution, microorganisms) by means of an external glazing is not new. In spite of many scientific studies carried out in the last 20 years, some questions were still up for discussion. The European VIDRIO (2002–2005) project gave an answer to these questions. The research carried out by the different project partners established a new multidisciplinary approach aimed at evaluating the efficiency of the protective glazing systems and their effects on stained glass windows conservation, and finally at assessing the most appropriate strategy to preserve stained glass windows. Scientific results showed that the so-called isothermal glazing (i.e. ventilation by the air coming from the inside of the building) protected efficiently the ancient stained glass window from environmental attack (i.e. rain, pollutants, condensation, thermal shocks) with very limited secondary effects. The scientific research highlighted that its efficiency was strongly related to the technical design of the protective system. In particular, the ventilation and the size of the interspace had to be carefully considered. The research developed within the VIDRIO project was turned into general recommendations to the owners and practitioners on the best practice for the stained glass windows future conservation.  相似文献   

The Effects of Paraphrasing Interventions on Problem‐Solving Accuracy for Children at Risk for Math Disabilities     

Amber S. Moran  H. Lee Swanson  Michael M. Gerber  Wenson Fung 《Learning disabilities research & practice》2014,29(3):97-105

The purpose of this study was to examine effectiveness of paraphrasing interventions on mathematics word problem‐solving accuracy in third grade children (N = 72) at risk for mathematics disabilities (MD). Three instructional conditions directed students’ attention through paraphrasing, via writing, to different propositions within word problems. Students were randomly assigned to one of four intervention conditions: paraphrase question propositions (restate), paraphrase relevant propositions (relevant) and paraphrase all propositions (complete) or an untreated control. A mixed ANCOVA indicated that paraphrasing relevant and complete propositions significantly increased posttest accuracy when compared to the control and restate condition. Results from the study provide support for the effectiveness of paraphrasing interventions that directs students to restate/paraphrase propositions of mathematics word problems relative to the control condition.  相似文献   

Executive functioning and word reading in Hong Kong Chinese children: A 1-year longitudinal perspective     

Wing Kai Fung  Kevin Kien Hoa Chung  Chun Bun Lam 《Journal of Research in Reading》2020,43(3):382-393

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.  相似文献   

Teaching Science Through Home and Second Languages as the Medium of Instruction: a Comparative Analysis of Junior Secondary Science Classrooms in Hong Kong     

Fung  Dennis 《International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education》2021,19(8):1609-1634

Positioned in the Hong Kong education context, this article evaluates the effects of teaching science through home and second languages (i.e. Chinese and English) in Secondary 2 (or eighth grade) science classrooms. A total of 479 students, divided into two language instruction groups, participated in a teaching intervention comprising 16 lessons on the topic of ‘Making Use of Electricity’. Informed by the results of a mixed-methods study with a quasi-experimental design, with data collected from science diagnostic tests, inquiry questions and focus group interviews, this article reports that Chinese is the most advantageous language of instruction for low- and middle-ability science students, whereas English is more favourable for their high-achieving peers. Whilst Hong Kong students who learnt the focal topic in English were able to rid themselves of certain naive ideas generated from the translation of science terms into Chinese (e.g. pencil ‘鉛筆’ is translated as ‘lead pen’ in Chinese), they were also found to have misconceptions about certain scientific concepts. For example, they were confused about ‘open’ and ‘closed’ circuits because they mixed up the words ‘open’ (‘開放’) and ‘switch on’ (‘開啟’) in English. The study’s broad implications for language support and a mixed-code approach in science teaching worldwide are discussed.

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Effect of sport education on students’ perceived physical literacy,motivation, and physical activity levels in university required physical education: a cluster-randomized trial     

Choi  Siu Ming  Sum  Kim Wai Raymond  Leung  Fung Lin Elean  Wallhead  Tristan  Morgan  Kevin  Milton  Daniel  Ha  Sau Ching Amy  Sit  Hui Ping Cindy 《Higher Education》2021,81(6):1137-1155

Higher Education - Originating from the field of physical education, physical literacy is an individual disposition that accentuates the importance of lifelong physical activity. Sport education is...  相似文献   

The impact of a dialogic reading program on deaf and hard-of-hearing kindergarten and early primary school-aged students in Hong Kong     

Fung PC  Chow BW  McBride-Chang C 《Journal of deaf studies and deaf education》2005,10(1):82-95

The present study investigated the effects of a special interactive dialogic reading method developed by Whitehurst et al. (1988) on deaf and hard-of-hearing children in Hong Kong. Twenty-eight deaf and hard-of-hearing children in kindergarten, first, or second grade were pretested on a receptive vocabulary test and assigned to one of three conditions, dialogic reading, typical reading, and control, with age and degree of hearing loss matched. After an 8-week intervention, the children were re-tested. The dialogic reading group had a significantly greater improvement in vocabulary scores than did the other two groups. Parent-child interactions of high quality and the use of pictorial materials are likely the key successful factors in the program. The educational value of this intervention is discussed.  相似文献