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In response to the early Education Reform Proposal's recommendation to provide more diverse opportunities for lifelong learning at the senior secondary level and beyond, there has been a considerable expansion in the post-secondary education sector – Professional and Vocational Education (PVE) – in Hong Kong over the past ten years. The curriculum intention underlying these PVE programmes is straightforward: to equip youth with the necessary knowledge and skills to face future work challenges and continue their studies. However, this ideal is being challenged with regard to the extent to which students are ‘culturally literate'. This paper reports 214 Hong Kong PVE students' views about how important it is for people to possess the knowledge and skills for cultural literacy, and how well they think they are performing in relation to the corresponding indicators. Supported by qualitative interviews, the results indicated that the proposed eight constructs are critical to understanding cultural literacy in the Hong Kong PVE context. Also, while students agreed that these sets of knowledge and skills were important, they were not performing them well. A paired samples t-test suggested a significant difference between their perceptions and performance, and large values of Cohen'sdconfirmed the size of the effect was medium to large. Among the measured eight constructs, nurturing students for ‘social and civic responsibility' was found to be critical. This paper will contribute to the discussion about how to better position the PVE curriculum in Hong Kong to nurture students' cultural literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the extent of gender differences, and discusses the role of gender in musical instrument learning. It focuses on the collective instrumental experiences of 1493 Chinese students (774 boys and 719 girls attending grades 7-13) within Western and non-Western musical traditions in Hong Kong. The discussion draws attention to gender differences in the learning of Chinese and Western musical instruments, in musical interest and instrumental learning, and in the reasons why students learn or do not learn musical instruments. The paper argues that, while female and male students exhibit different attitudes towards the types of instruments learnt, significant correlations exist between their interest in music and parental support for their instrumental learning. Gender is brought to the fore by the pedagogical actions of the teacher, the mass media and by parental efforts to reduce gender bias and stereotypes through school, public and family education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to understand the environmental knowledge (EK) of the residents of Hong Kong. A territory-wide survey was administered to investigate the subjective and objective EK of the respondents as well as their means of receiving information about the environment. The results indicated that Hong Kong’s residents have a comparatively low level of EK, with a mean environmental knowledge score of 3.35 out of 8. The youngster (15–24 years old), students, and employed individuals reported more extensive EK than the older and unemployed respondents, thus suggesting that the younger generation and employed individuals have increased opportunities to receive EK through various channels. A weak positive correlation was identified between subjective and objective EK, thus implying that the residents of Hong Kong could not accurately evaluate their own level of EK. The results indicate that traditional media plays a significant role in disseminating EK. Digital media, such as websites and digital social networks, were also determined to be influencing factors in disseminating environmental messages to the younger generation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article reports the results of a one-year longitudinal study examining a teaching intervention designed to enhance students’ learning of critical thinking in Hong Kong. Seventy participating students (age 16-18) learned how to make reasoned arguments through a series of collaborative activities, including critical-thinking modelling tasks and group debate. Of particular interest was the role of Chinese traditional values in the students’ perceptions of ground rules and the potential influence those rules had on their learning of critical thinking in debate-type discussions. The findings show that Confucian beliefs, such as Li (ritual, ‘?’) and Chi (shame or ‘face disgrace’, ‘?’), do influence Chinese students’ understanding of ground rules. Follow-up analysis revealed positive correlations between the establishment of these rules and students’ demonstration of critical-thinking abilities. The results thus refute previous scholars’ criticism of the use of ground rules in classroom talk. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With more non-local (Mainland China and overseas) students admitted into the universities of Hong Kong, the student population on campus is becoming much more diversified. This study was a phenomenological inquiry into the social engagement experiences of local and non-local Chinese students in their first year at a university in Hong Kong. Qualitative data was obtained from 10 focus groups. The findings suggested that the majority of the students in the study were active in social engagement and most achieved a sense of belonging to the university or its sub-communities. The culture in student communities played an important role in students' social engagement. It pushed students to become intensively involved in out-of-class activities and challenged them to reflect on the direction in which they would carry this historical legacy forward in the diversifying campus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article identifies the views and expectations of Chinese students located in nine cities in China and Hong Kong in regard to the delivery of foreign degree programs within China. This delivery mode is becoming a common form of educational delivery and augments other modes of international activity such as study abroad and distance education. The research has found that students wanted a relatively unadapted course, delivered in English by foreign academics, with a high level of academic and administrative servicing in China. They did not like subjects which had been overly adapted for the Chinese market, since these were viewed to be somewhat lacking in authenticity. However, some very minor areas of adaptation were required to meet some specific local requirements, but in essence students wanted courses which were a close replication of what it would be like to study in the foreign university location, whether it be in America, Australia, or Europe. The value of this research is that it identifies the desire of students for relatively unadapted foreign programs in China. This finding is of use to foreign universities planning courses and programs in China and also adds to the debate about the adaptation or standardization of services in a Chinese context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]