Book of the Month

Leo Bogart's The Age of Television (New York: Frederick Ungar, 1972 – $14.50)     

On Change and Diversity: The Role of Governmental Policy and Environmental Influences

This article addresses the issue of change in the government‐university relationship. As has become increasingly clear for both analysts of higher education policy and for administrators in higher education institutions, a fundamental shift in the relationship between national governments and higher education institutions is taking place in many western European countries. In some countries, these changes are occurring at greater speed than in others, but the movement to what has been labelled “state supervision” is quite dominant. The first part of the article analyzes the rationale for this change at system level by tracing its historical imperatives; after which it discusses the concept of the supervisory governance model. The second part focuses in particular on one of the key objectives of higher education policy, namely diversity, and addresses the question of the extent to which a supervisory governance strategy can contribute to the attainment of this objective and what doing so implies for the role and function of higher education institutions. By focussing on the specific issue of diversity, the authors intend to demonstrate the dynamic relationship between governments and higher education institutions that is implied in the supervisory model.     

Self-regulated learning in Singaporean context: a congeneric approach of confirmatory factor analysis

The motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ) is widely used as a self-report instrument to assess students’ motivation and self-regulation. This study utilized the MSLQ Junior High to examine the motivational beliefs and self-regulation of secondary school students (Grades 8 and 9) from Singapore. The instrument was slightly modified and administered to students (N?=?610) in mathematics and science classes. In the first sample, 314 students completed the MSLQ Junior High while a second sample of 296 students completed the revised MSLQ Junior High. Using a congeneric approach of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the five-factor measurement model was determined with the first sample. This measurement model was further supported using a second sample and its goodness-of-fit indices were compared with other CFA models. Statistical findings showed that the five-factor structure of the revised MSLQ Junior High had a good model fit. The present study contributes a novel methodological approach by investigating the parsimony confirmatory factor structure of the revised MSLQ Junior High in local academic contexts.     

People with Disabilities in China: Changing outlook— new solutions— growing problems

One new child is born with a serious disability every 40 seconds in China. With the number of people with a disability already exceeding 50,000,000 (approaching the size of the whole population of the UK) it can be seen that this rapidly developing third world country is facing a monumental task in rehabilitation and education. This paper does not attempt to offer solutions, but describes the variety and complexities of the problems facing the People’s Republic of China at the present time and makes estimates of its future needs. It also describes some of the ways China is trying to deal with the problems and gives a realistic appraisal of the difficulties faced by academic, clinical, and social welfare authorities.     

网络教学平台使用的师资培动——香港理工大学的经验

面授和网上教学有机结合的整合式教学越来越成为高校教育和培训的主要模式。本文旨在介绍和分析香港理工大学教学发展中心（简称EDC）如何通过网上教学平台的功能,与面授教学结合起来,发挥面授教学和网上教学的各自优势,使教师培训更加有效。EDC的实践表明,在大学教师培训课程中,发挥网上教学的优势,能帮助学员弥补由于有限的面授教学产生的师生之间、学员和学员之间互动的不足。在网上学习中,通过互相的学习观摩和观念碰撞,能激发学员的学习兴趣,有效地促进学员之间进行探究性学习,同时,这种集体学习的方法,能促进在职教师之间的友好交往和学术交流。     

Counselor Educators’ Perceptions of and Experiences with International Students

Thirty-six counselor educators’ perceptions and experiences with international student trainees were examined in this online survey research. Findings support the issues identified in the literature as confronting international students and also surface some issues specific to students in counselor training. International counselor education students tend to experience more difficulties in areas related to language, clinical training, adjustment, and cultural differences. Similarities and differences were also found within international student categories involving western and non-western countries and between international and domestic students. Counselor educators in general reported favorably on working with international students. Findings support attention being given to further examine the specific training and supervisory needs of international counseling students.Portions of this article were presented at the 2003 Southern Association of Counselor Education and Supervision Conference, Chattanooga, U.S.A. and at the 2004 American Counseling Association Convention, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A.     

Hong Kong Library Association Mentoring Program: Experience,Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The Hong Kong Library Association (HKLA) has been the core organization serving the library and information science (LIS) community in Hong Kong since its establishment 62?years ago. It organizes activities and events continually to enrich professional knowledge of LIS professionals in Hong Kong. It has been observed that the number of student members has risen constantly in recent few years. In view of the pressing demand for better support to student members, the HKLA launched the Mentoring Program in 2013 to enhance informal communication between student members and other members of the Association. The Mentoring Program received an overall positive feedback from the local LIS community and made a positive impact to participants, especially mentees. Apart from the successful experience of this program, there are issues that can be improved in sustaining this program in long term. This paper summarizes the experience of implementing the Mentoring Program in the first two years and identifies the challenges and opportunities ahead. The finding indicates that the Mentoring Program was a well-received professional development program for the student members of the Association. However, this program can be further enhanced in terms of mentor solicitation, mentor-mentee eligibility, mentor-mentee relationship, knowledge-based interaction, and program sustainability. The Program Committee may consider collaborating with other LIS agencies to solicit more potential mentors. In view of the population of the potential mentors, it makes very good sense for the past mentees to serve as peer-to-peer partners for non-degree student members. More incentive should be devised to encourage the mentoring pairs in joining library events in addition to the activities related to the Mentoring Program. To facilitate communication and experience sharing among program participants and HKLA members, it is desirable to set up an online discussion platform to address the increasing demand for more opportunities on this. Lastly, it is vital to improve communication among the Program Committee, HKLA Council members and HKLA members. Besides reviewing the operation and management of the Mentoring Program, the Program Committee should also study the feasibility of sustaining this program in the long run. This paper can be served as an empirical study on the implementation of library and information science mentoring programs in one of the major cities in Asian region. The results of the study can be referenced by the LIS community not only locally but also internationally.