Relationship of Study Strategies and Academic Performance in Different Learning Phases of Higher Education in Hong Kong

The present study aims (1) to investigate the specific study strategies that may lead to a success in Matriculation as well as at University; and (2) to investigate whether these study strategies that are effective in Matriculation also work efficiently at University. A revised version of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI, ) was used and we found that there were significant differences between study habits of students with high academic achievement and those with low academic achievement in Matriculation. However, this was not the case at University. More importantly, we also found that those effective study strategies used in Matriculation may not work at University. These results are discussed in terms of the focus and the academic demand of different learning phases of higher education in Hong Kong.     

Gender Differences in Factors Influencing Achievement of Distance Education Students

The responses of 712 high achieving and low achieving students at the Open University of Hong Kong were analysed to investigate gender differences in factors that contribute to successful achievement in distance education. The analysis indicated a number of gender differences, including in the areas of organisation and use of study materials, confidence about studies, and independent versus collaborative study. Based on these, some questions have been raised about the need to develop some different treatment for male and female students in order to maximise the achievement of both groups.     

Learning strategies and their relationships to academic performance of high school students in Hong Kong

The present study examines the dynamic relationship between academic performance of high school students and their respective learning and study strategies. Two hundred thirty-six high school students were recruited to participate in this study by completing a Chinese version of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory - LASSI, to probe into the relationship. Results found that (1) there were clear differences to the learning and study strategies used by high school students with high academic performance, and those with low academic performance; (2) all the three components (Will; Self-regulation and Skill) were equally important to differentiate high academic achieving high school students from low academic achieving high school students within the strategic model of learning; and (3) a numbers of learning and study strategies were effectively predicting the academic performance of the high school students. All of these result patterns confirm that learning and study strategies used by high academic achievers and low academic achievers as well as the components used to predict students’ academic performance in the high school setting are quite different from the patterns revealed in the tertiary education sector.     

Homework involvement among Hong Kong primary school students

One component of the curriculum reform in Hong Kong focuses on the use of homework in consolidating learning, deepening understanding and constructing knowledge. This study examines the profile of Hong Kong primary school students' homework involvement, and investigates the relationships between time involvement and academic attributes, namely interest in homework, interest in academic subjects, academic efficacy, and efficacy for self-regulated learning. The sample comprised 2,361 primary school students representing all six grade levels in Hong Kong. Data was collected using questionnaires and homework diaries. Results showed heavy homework involvement among primary school students in Hong Kong, especially at the senior primary level. Differential patterns across levels were observed for the relationship between homework involvement and academic attributes. Specifically, junior primary students' study-related interests and efficacies were found to decline with increasing time involvement, whereas inverted U-shape relationships were observed among senior primary students. There was concern for students with high time involvement as they received more homework and they worked slower. They were less likely to perceive the positive functions of homework, and showed poorer study-related interests and efficacy beliefs. The findings of this study provide crucial information for school personnel and educators in Hong Kong in developing homework strategies and policies that enhance teaching and learning.     

关于学习策略及学习动力的调查分析

依据调查数据,利用数理统计学原理,对西安科技大学学生学习方法进行了相关性及显著性分析.     

岭南儒宗简朝亮与香港的因缘

1887年,简朝亮前往香港。翌年,简朝亮作出绝意科举的决定,成为一生的转折点。同时,不少简朝亮门人先后移居香港,从事教育事业,传承简朝亮学说。至今,香港大学、香港中文大学等图书馆保存了简朝亮相当完整的学术编著。     

The predicting roles of approaches to learning,L2 learning motivation,L2 learning strategies and L2 proficiency for learning outcomes: a comparison between Mainland and Hong Kong Chinese students

This study examined (1) differences in background, integrative/instrumental motivation, learning approach, leaning strategy and proficiency in second language (L2) and (2) the determinants of learning outcomes between Hong Kong and Mainland (Chinese) students. To achieve this, a questionnaire survey was distributed to 773 s language learners across four universities in Hong Kong and Mainland China to students in Bachelor of Education (English Language) programmes. The results showed that L2 proficiency was the strongest predictor of learning outcomes for Hong Kong and Mainland students, while integrative motivation was also a significant predictor of learning outcomes in both sample groups. In addition, instrumental motivation, deep approaches, and learning strategies were found to be significant predictors of learning outcomes for Mainland students. Mainland students demonstrated lower levels of motivation, learning approaches, learning strategies, L2 proficiency, as well as learning outcomes relative to Hong Kong students. Implications for curriculum design, classroom teaching and assessment, and future research are discussed in the paper.     

The impact of socioeconomic status on parental factors in promoting academic achievement in Chinese children

Children from families of low socioeconomic status (SES) tend to experience lower academic achievement than children from middle-SES families. This discrepancy can be attributed to a range of parental factors. The present study tested: (1) the extent to which academic achievement in three core subjects differs between children from low- and middle-SES backgrounds; (2) the differences in parental expectation, parental involvement, and child engagement across the two groups; and (3) the mediating role of parental expectation, parental involvement, and child engagement in explaining how SES influences children’s academic achievement. The sample consisted of 184 primary students with low SES and 165 primary students with middle SES from mainstream primary schools in Hong Kong. Results revealed significant differences in parental expectation, parental involvement, child engagement, as well as academic achievement in Chinese and English subjects between the low-SES and middle-SES groups. Our findings also suggest that parental expectation, parental involvement, and child engagement may be important mediators in the relationship between SES and academic achievement.     

Cultural Variability in Parent and Child Achievement Attributions: A study from Hong Kong

The primary aim of the present study was to investigate whether variations exist in child and parent attributions in predicting child academic achievement within a culture and between cultures. Participants were 158 students and their parents from three different primary schools in Hong Kong, including one British international school consisting of students who are predominantly from a British background and two Chinese public schools each with a distinct SES profile. This paper extends the findings of previous research whereby Western parents attribute their child’s success to ability and Chinese parents attribute their child’s success to effort. Additionally, this study found that the Chinese children’s attributions differed according to the SES catchments of their schools; children from higher SES were inclined to attribute success to effort. The results are discussed in terms of parent and child attributions’ prediction of child’s academic achievement within Hong Kong’s family demographic.     

抗战初期广东高校迁港的历史意义

在抗日战争初期,岭南大学、广东国民大学等广州的几所高校为谋求保存,纷纷迁往当时的英租界地区——香港继续办学。这些高校迁港后虽办学时间不长,但对于香港教育的发展以及促进其与内地的交流,却有重大的意义。     

An empirical study into gender differences in the relationships among academic,social and psychological adjustments of university support

There are three dimensions through which to measure university support for students’ transition to university life: academic adjustment, social adjustment and psychological adjustment. Previous research studies show that there are relationships among those adjustments. However, less is known about gender differences in these relationships. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceived gender differences in perception of the relationships among these adjustments during the first year undergraduate transition period. The study is based on a survey of 114 first year undergraduate students from a Hong Kong local university. The findings show that (1) female students perceive social adjustment to have more influence on academic adjustment than male students, (2) female students perceive psychological adjustment to have more influence on academic adjustment than male students, and (3) there is no significant difference in the relationship between social and academic adjustments for female and male students.     

Does confidence in the language of instruction influence a student's approach to learning?

The effects of the language medium of instruction on students' approaches to learning has been little researched, despite its obvious importance in cultures that use second-language instruction. Existing research is counter-intuitive, associating deep approaches with bilinguality, not surface. Confidence in one's competence in the L2 medium is suggested to be an important moderating variable. Two studies were conducted (1) involving Hong Kong University students, and (2) Nepalese high school students. Both suggested that language confident students were low on surface and high on deep approaches, as might be expected. Relations with achievement motivation however varied between the two cultures.     

Integrating Western and Chinese Educational Theories: A Case Study of Implementing a Quality Student Leadership (QSL) Programme in a Secondary School in Hong Kong

Secondary school students have been experiencing stress related to examination and academic performance in Hong Kong: the Special Administrative Region of the Chinese Mainland. The article reports a case study which applied the student empowerment model originated from western societies and the 'Qing' concept of Chinese philosophy to formulate a student Quality Student Leadership (QSL) programme in a secondary school. The programme aimed to reduce the stress of the students and at the same time improve their initiative, leadership, and also the relationship between the students and with the parents and teachers. The results showed that the programme was effective in achieving its objectives.     

What are the affective and social outcomes for low-achieving students within an inclusive school in Hong Kong?

In response to several major curriculum reforms in Hong Kong since 2000, schools were required to initiate policies that catered for learner diversity. As well academic achievement, the reforms also emphasized the affective and social outcomes of the learning experience. A whole-school approach to learner diversity includes students with low academic achievement and mild disabilities, with schools being free to develop policies and practices inline with the needs of the students, teachers, and parents. Against the Chinese cultural context, where high academic achievement is highly valued, this study describes the affective and social outcomes of students in one Hong Kong primary school that streamed students according to achievement level. Four hundred and ten students across Primary 3–5 responded to four instruments measuring academic self-concept, alienation from school, teacher–students relationship, and social integration. The responses showed that, when studying the regular curriculum, students in the low-achievement group reported greater levels of alienation and lowest levels of social integration compared with students with the highest levels of achievement. On the other hand, low-achieving students who studied a differentiated curriculum reported affective and social outcomes more consistent with the responses from the high-achieving students. The results suggest that there is a mismatch between the aims and practice of the educational policy reflecting learner diversity and the cultural expectations of both parents and students.     

Multilevel analysis of primary students' perception and deployment of self‐learning strategies

This study focuses on primary students' self‐learning strategies, using a sample of 1253 students from 20 Year 3 and 20 Year 5 classes from 10 primary schools in Hong Kong. Students were asked to name sources from which they could learn. They were then asked to rate 10 self‐learning strategies on perceived usefulness and personal deployment. Students named an average of 2.5 learning sources, with print exposure (reading) being the most commonly nominated source. Multilevel analysis revealed substantial differences (27% of attributable variance) between classes on student ability to name learning sources. In general, the students indicated that all 10 suggested learning strategies were useful. The two most commonly deployed strategies were help‐seeking and locating a quiet study environment. Gender differences were not found on naming learning resources, but girls indicated relatively higher levels of strategy awareness and deployment.     

‘It’s more foreign than a foreign country’: adaptation and experience of Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong

Recent years have witnessed an increasing number of Mainland students crossing the border to pursue tertiary studies in Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. In contrast to those who have chosen to study in foreign countries, such as United States, United Kingdom or Germany, the Mainland group are studying and living in a society that is both familiar and strange to them due to unique political and sociocultural relationships between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Previous research has mainly focused on Mainland students’ motivations for choosing Hong Kong as their academic destination, but questions as to how they adapt to the university setting and host society have been under-researched. Adopting a qualitative approach, this study reports on the findings of focus groups exploring Mainland students’ adaptation to life and study in Hong Kong. Findings revealed that linguistic adaptation, social network, political identification and discrimination were the most significant acculturative stressors reported by Mainland students. Implications for how Mainland students can best adjust and how universities can better support them are discussed.     

Developmental patterns of school students' motivational‐ and cognitive‐metacognitive competencies

This study examined the metacognitive developmental patterns of Hong Kong school students. Students rated their own metacognitive competencies by responding to an inventory of six motivational‐ and cognitive‐metacognitive subscales. Results showed that students' metacognitive competencies decreased with age—from primary 4 (age 9) to secondary 5 (age 17)—with a sharp decline noticeable at the primary/secondary school transition. Age had a more powerful effect than gender on students' perception of their metacognitive competencies. This decreasing pattern of Hong Kong students' metacognitive competencies is contrary to the developmental trends found in Western countries. However, the comparatively high academic performance of Hong Kong students also suggests some different recommendations about student learning.     

Mainland Chinese undergraduates’ academic socialisation in Hong Kong

Research has confirmed that supportive social networks and associated resources play a critical role in the adaptation of migrating international students to host communities. Access to such social networks and resources requires migrating students to invest in and make efforts at academic socialisation, as mediated by various social processes. This article reports on an examination of 26 mainland Chinese undergraduates’ experiences of academic socialisation in a major university in Hong Kong. Drawing on these students’ experiential accounts, the inquiry identified a variety of linguistic, sociocultural and ideological challenges that undermine the participants’ academic socialisation with local students in Hong Kong. It also recorded strategic efforts undertaken by the participants to align themselves with their local counterparts linguistically and socially. These efforts helped some participants overcome various challenges in academic socialisation but most of them chose to socialise with other mainland Chinese students and further alienate themselves from local students. In light of shifting contextual conditions, it may be increasingly difficult for migrant students to construct a cohesive university community with local students. Therefore, institutions need to invest more in facilitating and supporting different groups of students’ engagement with each other in achieving mutual understanding through shared activities.