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Tag: The Education University of Hong Kong

EdUHK Dr Chrysa Keung addresses the needs of children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds

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Every child matters, and educational experiences when young, often leave an impression on people for the rest of their lives. For Dr Chrysa Keung, Assistant Professor of Department of Education Policy and Leadership (EPL) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), the development of children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds is a key focus of her work. Her aim is to help young children develop positive thinking from an early age.

“A change in mindset can be initiated from the kindergarten stage, and parents, teachers, and even children do not allow external conditions to limit their thinking and future development,” she says.

Equality in education

Dr Keung majored in sociology and minored in anthropology at a university in Hong Kong. She began her academic interest during her PhD study, where she started looking at equality in education. Her thesis examined the relationship between family background and adolescents’ expectations for pursuing university education. After joining EdUHK, she remained committed to caring for people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and further extended her areas of interest to education for younger children.

She pointed out that the working environment for early education is becoming more and more complex, and kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong need to consider the needs of children from different family backgrounds. For example, families in which both parents work, new arrivals to Hong Kong, as well as families from ethnic minorities all have very different living and educational experiences. “When designing teaching themes, kindergarten teachers will organise learning activities according to their social and economic background differences and the context of life experience. But the selection of content should not be limited to this scope,” Dr Keung says. She emphasises that children from these backgrounds need special care and attention from early years teachers, to identify individual needs and provide the appropriate support. This can present a significant challenge to teachers.

Dr Keung’s research project has won funding from the Research Grants Council’s (RGC) Early Career Scheme (ECS). Currently, the project targets six districts in Hong Kong based on their relatively higher level of poverty. Kindergarten teachers from these districts have been invited to take part in interviews, and to observe their daily teaching approach, as well as document the way they interact with young children. Through the project, Dr Keung hoped to better understand the professional challenges faced by frontline kindergarten teachers. This way, she can offer suitable suggestions to improve pre-service training; and ultimately enhance the professional standards of future kindergarten teachers.

Participation by students

Dr Keung intends to use the funding received from Early Career Award so that undergraduate and postgraduate students can participate in the research project. This will enable future teachers to gain valuable experience in research work, acquire relevant skills and understand more of the complexities faced by frontline teachers.

EdUHK research on vocabulary learning based on learner-generated pictorial annotations

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Many applications of big data in language education are associated with multimedia learning, and a considerable proportion of the practices of integrating multimedia into language learning resources is associated with annotations for vocabulary learning. The literature indicates that multimedia annotations are very effective in promoting vocabulary learning and that pictorial annotations lead to effective vocabulary learning, but their creation is challenging and time-consuming.

A research by Dr Zou Di, Assistant Professor at the Department of English Language Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, investigated the potential for using big data for vocabulary learning by having students search for images on Google and social media to help understand, learn and retain vocabulary. The research examined learners’ perceptions of creating pictorial annotations using Google images and social media images, their evaluation of the learner-generated pictorial annotations, and the effectiveness of Google and social media pictorial annotations in promoting vocabulary learning.

The study included 153 undergraduates learning English as a foreign language, all non-English majors in a local university in Hong Kong, split randomly into five groups. Group 1 created pictorial annotations taken from Google and social media for 10 target words (burglarize, grin, inflammation, ostensible, procrastination, rake, shatter, shiver, tumble, and wrath), and after training, Group 2 evaluated Group 1’s pictorial annotations. Based on the students’ evaluation scores, two experts selected two sets of pictorial animations for each of the 10 target words, and two experiment groups learned the target words with them, Group 3 using the Google pictures and Group 4 using the social media pictures. Group 5 was the control group.

The Group 3 and 4 participants’ prior knowledge of the target words was measured through a pre-test before the intervention, and their initial learning and retention of the words were measured through an immediate post-test right after the intervention and a delayed post-test one week later.

The results indicated positive attitudes towards using Google and social media pictorial annotations for language enhancement and significant effectiveness in both learning and remembering the target words. The study found that Google pictorial annotations were more appropriate and reliable and achieved better results than those from social media. It also found that the participants who created word lists with images were more likely to engage in active learning when they selected and organised the verbal and visual information of target words by themselves and actively integrated this information with their prior knowledge.

Over 90% of the participants found using Google and social media data as resources for language enhancement interesting and creative, and over 80% of them considered it feasible and reliable. The participants generally agreed that it was easy to create pictorial annotations using Google and social media data. Learner-generated annotations for words with concrete meanings were much more highly rated than the annotations for words with abstract meanings.

The research was conducted together with Associate Professor Xie Haoran at the Department of Computing and Decision Science, Lingnan University.

EdUHK research brings green skills into policy and TVET educational practice

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The urgent need for sustainable development, combined with reaction to climate change from industry and society, has urged many governments in the Asia-Pacific region to develop policies that will lead to a low-carbon economy. The resulting structural changes in labour markets require that new skills be incorporated into technical vocational education and training (TVET).

But a research of Dr Margarita Pavlova, Associate Professor at the Department of International Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, revealed that countries in the Asia-Pacific region lack the green skills to implement and sustain low-carbon economies.

Dr Pavlova researched the skills required for green economic growth, identified how greening occurs in industries and how TVET can become more sustainable. She also recommended changes in government policy and practice to develop generic green skills in the labour force to reduce the negative environmental impact of economic development in the region. Her research has led directly to changes in policy and educational practices to address the problem through TVET.

Dr Pavlova’s research has affected the TVET policy debate, green skills in strategic development plans, national educational training and standards, and TVET institutional practices.

In a project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) from 2012 to 2014, Dr Pavlova and Professor Rupert Maclean mapped existing practices in developing green skills in TVET in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, as well as demand for green skills in the construction, transport, energy and hospitality industries. The project resulted in three ADB briefs, which provided policy direction for developing member countries on green-related skills development.

In 2015, Dr Pavlova and her team participated in a projected funded by UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre and developed a new framework for conceptualising generic green skills, focusing on embedding generic green skills in TVET for construction and agriculture in five countries.She co-led a project hosted by China’s Ministry of Education for APEC in 2015, which recommended reforms for Chinese TVET programmes, leading to more than eight VET providers in China reforming their curricula to include green skills in seven specialties.

From 2014 to 2018, Dr Pavlova co-led a UNESCO project to examine existing practices and the conditions necessary for a positive impact in the catering, automotive, waste management and PVC industries in seven countries. The study developed a systematic framework with measures to address the holistic development of green skills and incorporate their recognition, validation and accreditation into policies, practices and TVET curricula.

In 2015, her policy briefing workshop in Mongolia, based on regional research, identified a need for green TVET in the country, resulting in green skills being included in TVET curriculum development and staff training in the 2016–21 National Programme for TVET development. In the same year, she conducted a national seminar in Nepal, and in 2017, she designed and ran a programme for Nepal ministries and TVET institution representatives on greening TVET in Hong Kong. Malaysia’s Ministry of Education incorporated her research findings in the development of Malaysia’s national framework for TVET Educator Standards, which was expected to affect over 1,000 TVET institutions.

Promoting healthy ageing through light volleyball intervention in Hong Kong

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Hong Kong has an aging population.

The number of people 65 or older is forecast to increase to 2.16 million by 2031 and 2.56 million by 2041. As a result, Hong Kong’s recurrent social welfare and health expenditure as a percentage of nominal GDP is forecast to increase from $52.4 billion in 2014 to $563.6 billion in 2042. Hong Kong may experience a structural financial deficit within a decade because of higher social and health spending for older adults and a smaller working-age population.

A review of the literature on the benefits of physical activity (PA) for helping older adults remain active and healthy showed positive benefits in terms of mental and physical health, quality of life, and balance, but concluded that there was a need to identify new forms of PA for older adults. Studies of interviews with older adults found that they preferred PA that emphasised interaction and group activities, as well as sports training. Based on the literature review, the authors concluded that there was a gap between research and services for promoting active aging.

The LVB volleyball is lighter (150g vs. 250g) and larger (80cm vs. 65cm) than the standard volleyball, so the LVB ball moves slower and stays in the air longer, making it more accessible for older players with slower movement and reaction time. Other benefits are that LVB is a non-contact team sport and volleyball is a popular sport in Hong Kong.

A pilot study led by Dr Carman Leung Ka-man, Assistant Professor at the Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, demonstrated improvements in health outcomes among older adults through participation in light volleyball (LVB). Therefore, Dr Leung extends the aforementioned work and proposed this study to investigate the effectiveness of an LVB intervention on the physical and psychological health of older adults on a larger scale in Hong Kong and provide data and evidence to support policymaking in relation to future promotion of PA for older adults.

The study will apply quantitative and qualitative methods. A randomised controlled trial (RCT) design will be used. About 315 participants will be randomly assigned into three groups: (1) the LVB group will take part in a 16-week LVB programme; (2) a Tai Chi (TC) group will use simplified 24-form Yang Style TC; and (3) a control group will follow their normal daily activities and join regular non-PA social gatherings. Measurements will be collected before and after the intervention, and six and 12 months after completion.

The expected and direct beneficiaries are expected to be: (1) participants who will benefit from improved physical and psychological health after participating in the intervention; (2) NGOs, which will have access to information and resources related to a new PA; (3) government departments, which will benefit from the data and evidence to support policymaking in relation to PA promotion for older adults to promote healthy aging, reduce healthcare expenditure, and promote mass participation in regular practice and training; and (4) LVB and volleyball associations in Hong Kong, which will benefit from promoting LVB locally.

EdUHK’s Dr Hou Wai-kai elected APS Fellow

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Dr Hou Wai-kai, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology (PS), The Education University of Hong Kong, has been elected a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) for his outstanding contribution to the discipline.

Dr Hou’s research seeks to explicate the psychology and ecology of stress. His work focuses on understanding the everyday processes and mechanisms of resilience, social and physical environmental determinants, and public mental health. As the Director of the Centre for Psychosocial Health (CPH) at the University, he and his team have developed research programmes which enhance the community’s awareness and knowledge of the psychosocial aspects of health.

“I feel very honoured to be elected as Fellow of the APS. This would not have been possible without the support of the University, the faculty, CPH and PS. I will continue fostering health, well-being, and resilience through research and evidence-based practices,” Dr Hou said.

The APS is the global scientific home of more than 25,000 leading psychological science researchers, practitioners, teachers, and students across all continents. It aims to advance scientific psychology across disciplinary and geographic borders.

EdUHK researcher analyses effects of bribery

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The size of benefits a company receives from bribing government officials is significantly correlated to the amount of bribe they pay, and how well informed people are in the bribe-taking country.

Researchers in Hong Kong and the UK have found that a $1 investment in bribery returns $6-9 in terms of company value, with more money paid to an authority resulting in greater benefits. However, those benefits decrease if citizens of the country where officials accepted payment are well-informed. Their findings have been published in Management Science.

Bribery between companies and government officials is a persisting, common issue worldwide. For example, a 2010 report by the Organisation for Economic, Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that a third of legal professionals representing multinational corporations who participated in a survey knew colleagues who participated in international corruption such as foreign bribery.

Despite its commonality, little is known about what determines the benefits of bribery at the company level. To find out, public policy researcher Stephen Cheung Yan-Leung of The Education University of Hong Kong, P. Raghavendra Rau of the University of Cambridge, and Aris Stouraitis of Hong Kong Baptist University collected publicly available information on 195 domestic and foreign bribery cases in 60 countries between 1975 and 2015. In those cases, businesses paid officials in exchange for being awarded a project contract. The researchers conducted statistical analysis to measure if correlations exist between bribery size, resulting company value, and 11 other factors.

In the collected data, firms and authorities involved in bribery were from the US, Japan, France, Germany, the UK, South Korea, Singapore, Nigeria, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Iraq, among others. Industries involved were construction, electronics, aircraft, oil and gas. Officials who accepted bribes included heads of state, ministers, members of parliament, governors, mayors, military officers and judges.

They found that the size of bribe and returns are significantly correlated, with a $1 increase in payment leading to a $6-9 increase in the company’s value as a result of illegitimately winning a contract. Public knowledge was also statistically significantly correlated to benefits: companies received less return if voters of a country where officials took the money were well informed. Companies did not lose much benefit if the bribery was exposed in autocratic countries where politicians are not elected.

Firms tend to have a larger return on payment in more corrupt countries. There was a relative correlation between benefits and legal efficiency, suggesting that benefits would be larger if no efficient legal enforcement is in place in a bribe-taking country.

Regulatory burdens, namely the US’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the OECD anti-bribery convention, might have discouraged some companies from bribing, but for those who did commit the crime, it did not affect the size of benefit. In other words, those enforcements might have increased the cost of bribe, consequently limiting the number of firms who could afford such act.

There was no correlation between returns on bribery and the remaining factors such as the company’s ability to pay, the rank of politicians, competitiveness of the contract, political system of a bribe-receiving country, or complexity of the project.

EdUHK’s eco-concrete blocks: Constructing buildings and roads from everyday waste

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According to Hong Kong government statistics, an average of 15,637 tonnes – more than 1,000 doubledecker buses’ weight – of solid waste was disposed of in landfills each day in 2019.

A mean of almost 240 tonnes of this daily total was made up of unavoidable by-products from water and sewage treatment processes. Although a sludge treatment facility was built to alleviate the growing pressure faced by landfills, it can only process some of the sludge.

Dr Chris Tsang Yiu-fai from the Department of Science and Environmental Studies at The Education University of Hong Kong and his research team have come up with an ingenious way of solving this problem. They have been exploring the possibility of reusing and recycling the waste residues into ecoconstruction materials. This eases pressure on waste treatment facilities and reduces energy consumption.

By using waste sludge and combustion by-products from water and wastewater treatment plants, as well as coal-fired power stations, they have produced eco-concrete paving blocks. Instead of sand, which is typically used in making concrete, they have added bottom ash, fly ash, waterworks sludge and sewage sludge. “This method has a two-way benefit: it reduces the use of natural resources and upcycles metropolitan waste,” Dr Tsang explained.

The engineering performance, including compressive strength, of the eco-concrete blocks complies with the General Specification for Civil Engineering Works in Hong Kong and the toxicity characteristics meet both Hong Kong and United States standards. Not only that, the eco-concrete blocks outdo other ecoconstruction blocks for a number of reasons: pre-treatment, transportation and storage costs are lower; and supply and quality of these waste residues are stable.

According to Hong Kong government statistics, an average of 15,637 tonnes – more than 1,000 doubledecker buses’ weight – of solid waste was disposed of in landfills each day in 2019.

A mean of almost 240 tonnes of this daily total was made up of unavoidable by-products from water and sewage treatment processes. Although a sludge treatment facility was built to alleviate the growing pressure faced by landfills, it can only process some of the sludge.

Dr Chris Tsang Yiu-fai from the Department of Science and Environmental Studies at The Education University of Hong Kong and his research team have come up with an ingenious way of solving this problem. They have been exploring the possibility of reusing and recycling the waste residues into ecoconstruction materials. This eases pressure on waste treatment facilities and reduces energy consumption.

By using waste sludge and combustion by-products from water and wastewater treatment plants, as well as coal-fired power stations, they have produced eco-concrete paving blocks. Instead of sand, which is typically used in making concrete, they have added bottom ash, fly ash, waterworks sludge and sewage sludge. “This method has a two-way benefit: it reduces the use of natural resources and upcycles metropolitan waste,” Dr Tsang explained.

The engineering performance, including compressive strength, of the eco-concrete blocks complies with the General Specification for Civil Engineering Works in Hong Kong and the toxicity characteristics meet both Hong Kong and United States standards. Not only that, the eco-concrete blocks outdo other ecoconstruction blocks for a number of reasons: pre-treatment, transportation and storage costs are lower; and supply and quality of these waste residues are stable.

At the 2020 International Innovation and Invention Competition in Taiwan, the project won Silver Medal; and the Silver Medal at the 2021 International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. As a pilot project supported by the Water Supplies Department (WSD), the eco-concrete blocks derived from waterworks sludge will be used to construct a stretch of road next to the buildings at two local schools, one NGO, as well as the WSD visitor centre.

The next step will be to develop a standard treatment for unavoidable by-products from drinking water purification and waste recycling processes, and collaborate with commercial partners to produce this inexpensive source of eco-construction materials at an industrial level.

The next step will be to develop a standard treatment for unavoidable by-products from drinking water purification and waste recycling processes, and collaborate with commercial partners to produce this inexpensive source of eco-construction materials at an industrial level.

EdUHK’s 3Es helps children’s emotional growth

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A vital part of a child’s development is learning to regulate emotions and build relationships: often called ‘socioemotional competence’. To encourage this life-long learning, The Education University of Hong Kong, with the support of the Simon K. Y. Lee Foundation, has created the 3Es project. The project is in its sixth year and its name represents the goals of early prevention, early identification and early intervention, where local children encounter difficulties in reading and arithmetic (hard skills), and in managing emotions and behaviour (soft skills).

The University launched this evidence-based intervention programme in 2015 and it was initially operated in 24 kindergartens, benefiting some 1,400 children and their parents and teachers. Professor Kevin Chung Kien-hoa, Dr Ian Lam Chun-bun at the Department of Early Childhood Education and the 3Es team conducted a study during the programme’s four-year term to measure its effectiveness.

Based on both qualitative and quantitative data collected from the children, results showed that 3Es helped the children’s cognitive control, emotional understanding, emotional expressiveness, empathy and other behaviours intended to help others. These are skills which experts consider crucial for subsistence and success in the 21st century.

The study was published in one top-five% and six top-10-15% ranked academic journals, and the team further expanded the reach of its outcomes by developing several in-service teacher-training programmes. The scholars also shared their work in the form of newsletters, teaching aids and learning activities for parents and children. The learning materials can be downloaded through the 3Es website and social media platforms.

Following on from this success, the 3Es programme was extended in 2019 to reach kindergartens located in economically disadvantaged areas. The Education Bureau has since invited all kindergartens in Hong Kong to participate, using two formats. The first is school-based teacher training, provided by educational psychologists and school development officers. The second format comprises joint school workshops and sharing sessions, enabling kindergartens to learn from each other’s experiences. Both will begin in September 2021 and will run for two years.

“With the right support, children from any background can have a better future,” said project leader, Professor Chung. “We want to provide such support in the early years, together with parents and teachers,” he added.

EdUHK scholars among world’s top 2% most-cited

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Twenty-nine scholars of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) were among the top 2% in the Stanford list of the world’s most-cited scientists in 2020*.

This year, 18 have once again found a place on the prestigious list, while 11 scientists from the University have been included for the first time.

Their publications cover 12 different disciplines, including education, social psychology, environmental sciences, general mathematics, geriatrics, energy, general chemistry, marine biology and hydrobiology, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, urban and regional planning, and building and construction.

Prepared by a team of experts at Stanford University, the list ranks academics by the number of times their research has been cited against other authors in the subfield in which they work. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by C-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or better.

Along with the results of the 2020 Research Assessment Exercise, this list reflects the significant advances the University and its scholars are making. Apart from education, the broadening range of research areas cover the core field of education, as well as other related disciplines, through EdUHK’s Education-plus approach.

EdUHK clinical research unveils the power of sleep

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Poor sleep kills people through medical illnesses, traffic accidents (impaired concentration and decision making), and suicides (relating to mood disorders). Since joining The Education University of Hong Kong in 2015, Dr Esther Lau Yuet-ying, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, has been conducting a long-term research programme that sheds light on the underlying mechanisms of sleep deprivation and its negative effect on emotions, cognition and daily functioning. The findings have been disseminated via public media and workshops to education and government bodies and have led to changes in community attitudes and school policy. They have also resulted in the establishment and strengthening of clinical and consultation support for sleep health in universities and government departments.

Building on her research and clinical experience, Dr Lau has shown how an understanding of the cognitive and emotional consequences of sleep loss or gain inform clinical understanding of sleep disturbances and related psychopathologies, and can influence public health policies and organisational practices. Using online panel studies, laboratory experiments, physiological measures, clinical assessments and subjective reports, Dr Lau’s team investigated the predictors, mediators and consequences of poor sleep.

Dr Lau’s research demonstrates that the quantity and quality of sleep directly affect our outlook on life and the decisions we make. She has built a unique, 10-year longitudinal dataset of over 8,000 students and community adults with over 100 psychosocial-spiritual variables per person to generate the first empirical evidence in the world that sleep quality predicts optimistic or pessimistic attitudes to life, directly and indirectly, through its effect on mood. She also identified a long-term increase in risk taking among young adults who habitually sleep less or irregularly.

Collaborating with local and overseas institutions, Dr Lau and her team uncovered links between sleep, clinical depression and emotional processing biases. They collaborated with the University of Oxford to develop and validate a Chinese version of the Sleep Condition Indicator (SCI) for clinical and research use.

Through extensive media coverage, sleep education, community engagements and professional training, Dr Lau’s research-based advocacy for healthy sleep practices for well-being has resulted in (1) shifts in attitudes and knowledge among both the general public and professionals; (2) a new school policy for a later start time; (3) the creation of a new sleep health initiative in the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF); and (4) early identification of mental health issues by screening college students for sleep-related problems.

Dr Lau also provided both local and global community sleep education through 17 interviews on popular public television programmes, radio broadcasts and newspapers. Her longitudinal research in a boarding school showed that a delayed school start time helps student well-being by increasing the length and quality of their sleep, resulted in a successful policy change at the school.

In collaboration with police psychologists, Dr Lau enhanced the sleep health of police officers through a strategic, multifaceted programme, including seminars for 300 officers and family members, and training on sleep assessment and interventions for all police clinical psychologists. Dr Lau’s evidence-based suggestions helped police officers overcome sleep barriers and provided credible information to share with family and friends, according to a senior HKPF clinical psychologist.

To detect and alleviate academic and mental health issues rooted in sleep problems in college students, Dr Lau trained counsellors in 14 local tertiary institutions to carry out sleep assessments and interventions. Not only did 90% of the counsellors indicate a sharp improvement in their understanding of sleep, 100% of them found her talk beneficial for their practice, evidenced by requests to incorporate the SCI into their practice.