Myth of the Inferior Status of Vocational Education: The Case of Hong Kong

Abstract

In this article, factors contributing to the poor perceptions and inferior status of vocational education in Hong Kong are discussed. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is employed as the methodology in examining the discursive construction of vocational education in the policy context. A total of five policy documents published between 1970 and 2015 are included. Our findings show that the socioeconomic transformation of Hong Kong in recent decades, massification of higher education, and cultural factors such as parental expectations are pertinent to the stigmatization observed in vocational education. This article discusses the implications from the findings and concludes with possible solutions for the future development of vocational education in Hong Kong under the novel vocational and professional education and training (VPET) initiative launched by the government.     

Exploring information literacy in secondary schools in Hong Kong: A case study

Current curriculum reforms in Hong Kong emphasize learning how to learn and project-based learning. The most recent reform introduces “Liberal Studies” as a mandatory school subject in senior secondary school. This article reports on an exploratory case study of the information searching process (ISP) among Form 6 (Grade 12) students in a Liberal Studies course. Researchers examined sources of information used by students, students' cognitive and emotional experience during the ISP, and communication within the collaborative groups. Findings indicated that Internet-based sources were predominant but that most students had difficulty completing the ISP. Work is needed to help students develop a theory of knowledge in which the meaning of information is contextual and the process of interpreting information requires effort. Such work is important if collaborative inquiry projects in Liberal Studies courses are to lead to deep learning.     

个案研究方法在教育游戏研究中的应用

个案研究是以一个人或一个团体为研究对象,广泛搜集各种资料,综合运用各种方法,对复杂情境中的现象进行深入探究的研究策略。在我们开展的VISOLE(Virtual Interactive Student-Oriented Learning Environment)研究项目中,就采用个案研究方法来深入研究同学的动机、行为和学习成效,并取得了良好的效果。文章仔细讲解了采用该方法的动机、本个案研究的特点以及具体的研究过程。     

Press response to rapid social change in Hong Kong

This research investigates the response of Hong Kong newspapers to the social change in the last two decades. It is found that Hong Kong newspapers are largely conservative, reconciliatory and non‐critical This pattern was remarkably stable in the last four decades. Although the newspapers shifted their focus from public services to civic and political issues in the last two decades, they were insensitive to the changing labour conditions. The newspapers’ geographical locus of attention was also stable over the years with little response to the changing world. The study finds that the newspapers in Hong Kong seldom criticized the Hong Kong or Chinese governments in. editorials, with the exception of the partisan newspapers whose attitudes varied with time and political stand.     

Teaching Nature of Science to Preservice Science Teachers: A Phenomenographic Study of Chinese Teacher Educators’ Conceptions

Drawing from the phenomenographic perspective, this study investigated Chinese science teacher educators’ conceptions of teaching nature of science (NOS) to preservice science teachers through two semi-structured interviews. The subjects were twenty-four science teacher educators in the developed regions in China. Five key dimensions emerged from the data on the conceptions of teaching NOS, including value of teaching NOS, NOS content to be taught, incorporation of NOS instruction in courses, learning of NOS, and role of the teacher. While some of these dimensions share much similarity with those reported in the studies of conceptions of teaching in general, some are distinctively different, which is embedded in some unique features of teaching NOS to preservice science teachers. These key dimensions can constitute the valuable components of the module or course to train science teachers or teacher educators to teach NOS, provide a framework to interpret the practice of teaching NOS, as well as lay a foundation for probing the conceptions of teaching NOS of other groups of subjects (e.g., school teachers’ conceptions of teaching NOS) or in other contexts (e.g., teaching NOS to in-service teacher).     

Teachers’ and Students’ Conceptions of Good Science Teaching

Capitalizing on the comments made by teachers on videos of exemplary science teaching, a video-based survey instrument on the topic of ‘Density’ was developed and used to investigate the conceptions of good science teaching held by 110 teachers and 4,024 year 7 students in Hong Kong. Six dimensions of good science teaching are identified from the 55-item questionnaire, namely, ‘focussing on science learning’, ‘facilitating students’ understanding’, ‘encouraging students’ involvement’, ‘creating conducive environment’, ‘encouraging active experimentation’ and ‘preparing students for exam (PSE)’. Significant gaps between teachers’ and students’ conceptions on certain dimensions have been revealed. The inconsistency on the dimension ‘PSE’ is particularly evident and possible reasons for the phenomenon are suggested. This study raises the important questions of how the gap can be addressed, and who is to change in order to close the gaps. Answers to these questions have huge implications for teacher education and teacher professional development.     

Preparing Entry‐Level Counselors for Collaboration

Over a period of 5 years, faculty members from the North Carolina State University's Counselor Education Program have integrated a curriculum enhancement to promote collaboration behaviors among program graduates across the master's degree options for training school, college, and community counselors. The School–College–Community Collaboration (SC3) idea was integrated into a 48‐credit master's degree curriculum accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. The authors present the rationale for the training program, historical background, program enhancement content, evaluation findings and faculty responses, and future plans for the SC3 enhancement program.     

游戏的教育应用价值研究

本文在对有关文献和游戏分析的基础上,从学习动机、学习成效、学习方式、学习环境等方面分析了游戏（包括单机游戏和网络游戏）的教育应用价值。研究结果表明游戏有助于激发学生的学习动机,能够帮助学生学习知识、提高能力、培养正确的情感态度价值观,也通够促进自主学习等学习方式,并有助于构建富有吸引力的建构主义学习环境。