Factors affecting the state anxiety level of higher education students in Macau: the impact of trait anxiety and self‐esteem

The aim of this study is to find out the levels of anxiety of 589 day‐ and night‐class students in higher education in Macau two weeks before the final examination period. The Chinese version of the 40‐item Spielberger’s State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch & Lusherier, 1970 Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. and Lusherier, R. 1970. STAI manual for the state trait anxiety inventory, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.  [Google Scholar]) was applied in this study. The two anxiety scales are nicely constructed into several logical and explainable factors. In addition, the Chinese version of Rosenberg’s self‐esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965 Rosenberg, M. 1965. Society and the adolescent self‐image, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. [Crossref] [Google Scholar]) was applied to find out the relationship between students’ self‐esteem and their trait and state anxieties. Generally speaking, night‐class students, who had full‐time jobs during the day, had significantly higher levels of anxiety than day class students, who were either unemployed or engaged in part‐time employment. Furthermore, based on the results of the path analysis, students’ general anxiety levels might be affected by their general state of anxiety and their self‐esteem. It is hoped that through this study, the educational context of higher education might be better understood.     

Children’s Preferences for Group Musical Activities in Child Care Centres: A Cross-Cultural Study

This paper reports on a cross-cultural research study of children’s preferences for group musical activities in child care centres. A total of 228 young children aged 4–5 years in seven child care centres in Hong Kong and in the Adelaide City of South Australia participated in the study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected via a mixed method approach. Result showed that dancing/moving was children’s most preferred musical activity in centres. Significant differences were found between children’s cultural contexts and their preferences for three activities: (1) Singing; (2) Listening; and (3) Playing instruments. Qualitative data further revealed the social phenomena of these two cultural contexts which influenced children’s preferences. Implications for the curriculum planning of early childhood music education arising from these findings are discussed.     

Comparing shanghai and Hong Kong students’ psychological sense of school membership

The previous study demonstrated that the Chinese version of the PSSM scale was applicable for use by Hong Kong students, and in this study, the scale was also found to be workable for the measurement of Shanghai students' psychological sense of school membership. The only difference found in the 18-item PSSM scale distributed to Shanghai and Hong Kong students was that in Shanghai, simplified Chinese characters were used. Four schools from Shanghai and Hong Kong were chosen to participate in this study. By comparing two hundred and twenty 6th grade students of Shanghai and Hong Kong, it was found that Shanghai students had a significantly higher sense of school belonging and lower feelings of rejection.     

Investigating pre-service teachers’ acceptance of Web 2.0 technologies in their future teaching: a Chinese perspective

In recent years, there has been an exponential growth of the explorations around the pedagogical use of Web 2.0 technologies in China. This study offers an alternate perspective by examining predictors of pre-service teachers’ uptake of Web 2.0 technologies for teaching purposes. On the basis of prior related research focusing on the pedagogical use of ICT, an eight-factor research model was hypothesised. Data were collected from two universities in China through a questionnaire (N?=?464). Structural equation modelling analysis results suggested that perceived usefulness, perceive enjoyment, subjective norm, technological pedagogical and content knowledge, and facilitating conditions had statistically significant direct effects on intention to use Web 2.0 technologies. The findings can help stakeholders in China (e.g. teacher educators, school leaders, and education policy makers) develop a better understanding of the realities of teachers’ pedagogical use Web 2.0 technologies in China.     

Factors Influencing Retention of Gen Y and Non-Gen Y Teachers Working at International Schools in Asia

Quantitative studies on international-school teacher retention are few, especially studies that differentiate between Gen Y and non-Gen Y teachers. This article reports on the findings of a study that examined the relationship of job satisfaction factors to the likelihood of contract renewal by international-school teachers. Results from the study show statistically significant relationships between some factors of job satisfaction and contract renewal for teachers in Gen Y and non-Gen Y (Baby Boomers, Gen X) cohorts.     

A Re-examination of Leadership Style for Hong Kong School-Based Management (SBM) Schools

Leadership style has always been a controversial topic in educational administration and management. Following the recommendation of the Education Commission to introduce school-based management (SBM) into Hong Kong schools in the early 1990s, discussions about the kind of leadership style that is appropriate for SBM schools have never ceased. The government holds a continuing belief that SBM schools work better if they are managed by “better” principals, and emphasises the value of transformational leadership. However, this paper articulates the limitations of that leadership style and argues for complementing it with educational leadership, which purports that principals have an obligation to learn with others about ways of promoting student learning. Secondly, the staff should also be encouraged and helped to carry out certain leadership functions. These arguments are supported by references to the most relevant literature. The discussion is useful to school principals, leaders, and teachers by offering them a better understanding of how to facilitate the implementation of SBM.     

Academic dishonesty among Hong Kong secondary school students: application of theory of planned behaviour

The theory of planned behaviour was used to examine academic dishonesty among secondary school students in Hong Kong. Participants were 386 students in Forms 1–3 (Grades 7–9). Attitudes toward cheating, perceived behavioural control, and moral obligation were positively related to the intention to cheat, but only the subjective norm against cheating was significantly related to self-reported cheating behaviour. The subjective norm was both a predictor of self-reported cheating and a moderator of the relationship between the intention to cheat and self-reported cheating: the intention predicted the behaviour only when the subjective norm against cheating was perceived to be weak.     

MEASURING EFFICACY SOURCES: DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE SOURCES OF TEACHER EFFICACY QUESTIONNAIRE (STEQ) FOR CHINESE TEACHERS

The aim of the current study is to develop and validate an instrument to measure the four sources of teacher efficacy among Chinese primary school teachers. A 26‐item Sources of Teacher Efficacy Questionnaire (STEQ) was proposed with four subscales: mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion, and physiological arousal. The results supported the hypothesized four‐factor structure of the STEQ. Scores from all the four factors of the STEQ had strong significant correlations with the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), which showed the criterion‐related validity of the STEQ. Further, scores of all four sources significantly predicted teacher efficacy scores, among which social persuasion was the strongest predictor. This study contributes to the self‐efficacy literature by providing researchers with an instrument for examining the various facets of teacher efficacy. The findings can inform school principals and teacher educators, enabling them to facilitate a school culture and teaching environment that cultivates a greater sense of teacher efficacy and, in turn, better teaching performance.     

Explicating the influences that explain intention to use technology among English teachers in China

Given the paradox between pervasive promotion of technology use in English teaching and lack of studies about teachers’ technology acceptance in China, this study aims to examine intentions of English teachers in China to use technology in their classroom teaching. Based on the technology acceptance model, eight variables including perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), attitude toward use, behavioral intention (BI), computer self-efficacy (CSE), technology complexity (TC), facilitating conditions (FC), and constructivist teaching beliefs (CTBs) were incorporated to examine relationships among these variables. Data were collected from 183 English teachers at 5 Chinese universities via a self-report questionnaire and analyzed using a structural equation model. Results indicated that the proposed model has a good fit. Three variables – PU, FC, and CTBs were found to be significant predictors of attitude toward use, while PEU and TC were not. Additionally, PU, CSE, and CTBs are significant antecedents for teachers’ BIs to use technology. This study contributed to the understanding of technology acceptance theories by contextualizing the current study to Chinese educational context. It also provided valuable references for technology-related policy-making and teachers’ professional development.