Teaching Creative Writing Skills to Primary School Children in Hong Kong: Discordance Between the Views and Practices of Language Teachers

Although creativity has been valued in ancient and contemporary Chinese literature, the degree to which creativity is valued and incorporated into teaching by Chinese language teachers is not known. This information is important given that creativity has been increasingly recognized in the education literature as a component of effective writing. The purpose of this study was to compare the views of Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong about creativity and the acquisition of creative writing skills by primary school children, and their teaching practices. A total of 449 Chinese language teachers, employed at primary schools throughout Hong Kong completed a survey questionnaire. The 14‐item questionnaire focused on teachers' views of creativity, their perceptions of how to develop students' creativity, their awareness of creative writing strategies, and teaching practices related to creative writing. With respect to the definition of creativity, teachers identified imagination foremost, followed by inspiration, and original ideas. Teachers identified developing students' confidence, and providing an open atmosphere as essential means of fostering creativity. Despite the apparent value of creativity expressed by the teachers and their familiarity with methods for enhancing creativity, the majority reported using traditional methods of teaching writing. Strategies are recommended for reconciling this discrepancy, and promoting creative writing skills by primary school teachers in Hong Kong and other Chinese speaking societies.     

Validation of a Chinese achievement goal orientation questionnaire

Background . The mixed findings of previous studies on the nature and effects of performance goals have led to a call for re‐examination of the dichotomous framework of achievement goal orientation theory. While the call for a revised achievement goal orientation theory has received considerable discussion in Western studies, it is not clear whether the revised theory can also be applied in other ethnic and cultural contexts. Aims . Our aim was to validate the Chinese version of Elliot and Church's (1007) Goal Orientation Questionnaire and to initially test the revised goal orientation theory in the context of Chinese students in Hong Kong. Sample . A total of 270 Chinese students (137 boys and 133 girls) from a primary and secondary school in Hong Kong participated in Study 1. Study 2 involved a total of 9,440 students (5,420 boys and 4,020 girls) from 10 primary and 18 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Method . Participants in Study 1 completed a Chinese Goal Orientation Questionnaire (CGOQ) measuring three types of goal orientation. Exploratory factor analysis, item–total correlation, and reliability analyses were undertaken to assess the psychometric quality of the CGOQ. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was used to provide further validation for the revised questionnaire. The relationships among different goal orientations and that with students' perceived classroom environment and self‐efficacy were also explored using structural equation modelling. Results . Findings of exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 and confirmatory factor analysis in Study 2 supported the proposed factor structure of the CGOQ. All the subscales in the questionnaire also showed good internal consistency reliabilities. The construct validity of the CGOQ was supported by its significant relationship with criterion measures. While most of the relationships between the three types of goal orientation and the learning‐related variables measured in our study were consistent with the revised goal orientation theory, the positive relationships between performance‐avoidance goals, mastery goals, and perceived classroom environment were different from previous studies. Conclusion . Our findings generally supported the trichotomous framework of the revised goal orientation theory with Chinese students in Hong Kong. Consistent with the revised goal orientation theory, our findings indicated that both mastery and performance‐approach goals had positive impacts on students' learning. However, the positive relationships between performance‐avoidance goals, mastery goals, and perceived classroom environment were contradictory to the conceptualization of performance‐avoidance goals in the revised theory. Cultural and social factors affecting Hong Kong students' goal orientations are discussed.     

Towards more powerful learning environments through combining the perspectives of designers,teachers, and students

In order to reach the main aims of modern education, powerful learning environments are designed. The characteristics of the design of PLEs are expected to have positive effects on student learning. Additionally, teachers' conceptions of learning and teaching do influence the implementation of a PLE. Moreover, students' perceptions of a learning environment affect their subsequent learning behaviour and the quality of the learning outcomes. The different perspectives of educational designers, teachers, and students are summarized in the Combination‐of‐perspectives (COOP) model. Combining these perspectives by mutual exchange of conceptions and perceptions is expected to have positive effects on the power of PLEs.     

Students' conceptions of constructivist learning in different programme years and different learning environments

Background Constructivist views of learning have brought conceptions of learning to attention again. Conceptions are considered important determinants of effective learning. Students can differ in their conceptions depending on their educational experience. Aims The present study investigated students' conceptions of constructivist learning. Do students with greater experience in their academic programme differ in their conceptions of constructivist learning compared to students with less experience/ In addition, to what extent are conceptions of constructivist learning different in a conventional, lecture‐based curriculum compared to a constructivist, problem‐based learning curriculum/ Samples Three groups (i.e. first‐year, second‐year, and third‐year students) in two different curricula (i.e. conventional, lecture‐based and constructivist, problem‐based) were tested. Methods A cross‐sectional design was used. Students' conceptions of constructivist activities (i.e. knowledge construction, cooperative learning, self‐regulation, use of authentic problems, self‐perceived inability to learn, and motivation to learn) were measured by a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using a two‐way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Results A significant difference in questionnaire's scores between year 1 and year 2 (but not between year 2 and 3) was found with respect to conceptions about knowledge construction, self‐regulation, and the use of authentic problems, but not for cooperative learning and motivation to learn. For self‐perceived inability, an interaction effect was found. Furthermore, results showed significant differences between both curriculum groups on all dependent measures. Conclusions Differences in conceptions can be perceived between students who enter a new learning programme (i.e. higher education) and students who already have one year of experience in higher education. Among students with more than one year of educational experience, differences disappear. Furthermore, this study shows that the learning environment can make a difference with respect to students' conceptions of constructivist learning activities.     

Spirituality in African Education: Issues,contentions and contestations from a Ghanaian case study

This article explores Ghanaian educators' and students' understandings of spirituality and its role and implications in education. Using a Ghanaian case study of two selected school sites, the article addresses local conceptions and responses to educational reform initiatives and the specific implications of spirituality and values in education. In particular, the article examines how students and teachers employ local meanings of self, personhood, and the individual identifications with the group/collective to promote learning and teaching. Attention is paid to understanding what it means to teach and learn culture, history, and spirituality within a holistic paradigm. The article also highlights contestations in educators' and students' views regarding the place of spiritual and religious values in the educational system. It is argued that educational change will emerge from understandings of the goal and purpose of education as pursued through educators' and students' teaching and learning practices.     

Regulatory mode preferences for autonomy supporting versus controlling instructional styles

Background Three studies carried out in educational settings examined determinants of teacher's instructional styles and students' degree of satisfaction with the learning climates created by such styles. Aims Based upon regulatory mode theory, Studies 1 and 2 tested the hypotheses that teachers' locomotion orientation will be positively related, and their assessment orientation will be negatively related, to autonomy supportive (vs. controlling) instructional styles. Study 3 tested the hypothesis that students' regulatory mode will exhibit a fit effect with the prevalent learning climate in their school. Samples Participants for Study 1 were 378 teachers (278 females); for Study 2 were 96 teachers (65 females); and for Study 3 were 190 students (all males). Method Participants completed questionnaires that included measures of teaching styles (Studies 1 and 2), perceived learning climate and satisfaction (Study 3), and regulatory mode orientations (Studies 1 and 3). In Study 2 regulatory mode orientations were experimentally induced. Results Results confirmed that teachers' autonomy supportive versus controlling styles were positively related to their locomotion orientations and negatively related to their assessment orientation, and that students with a stronger locomotion (vs. assessment) orientation reported a higher level of satisfaction when the learning climate was perceived as autonomy supportive (vs. controlling). Conclusions The present studies show that teachers' preference for adopting an instructional style is influenced by their regulatory mode orientations, and that the effects of a learning climate on students' satisfaction are contingent on a fit between type of learning climate and students' regulatory mode orientations.     

The Emergence of Student Creativity in Classroom Settings: A Case Study of Elementary Schools in Korea

This research explores the emergence of student creativity in classroom settings, specifically within two content areas: science and social studies. Fourteen classrooms in three elementary schools in Korea were observed, and the teachers and students were interviewed. The three types of student creativity emerging in the teaching and learning process found in this research were: (a) heuristic creativity when the students express their thoughts about a new concept based on their experience, (b) interpretive creativity when the students explain the meaning of materials based on students' knowledge, and (c) integrative creativity when students generate new solutions or make new products based on their internalized knowledge. The study results will challenge teachers to find instances of student creativity in their teaching and learning situations and to facilitate student creativity when the students interpret data or materials related to the contents of the curriculum.     

Thinking styles and teachers' characteristics

This study had two goals. The first was to validate further Sternberg's theory of mental self‐government in a cross‐cultural setting. The second was to investigate the relationship between thinking styles and teachers' characteristics. Research participants were one hundred ninety‐three (65 male and 128 female) in‐service teachers studying in the Bachelor of Education degree program and the Postgraduate Certificate in Education program at the University of Hong Kong. The participants responded to the Chinese version of the Thinking Styles Questionnaire for Teachers (TSQT) that has its theoretical foundation in Sternberg's theory of mental self‐government. They also provided a range of demographic information such as age, gender, family income, and duration of their teaching experience. Furthermore, they rated themselves on a 5‐point Likert scale about their teaching practices and about their perceptions of their school environment. The results of the study showed that the TSQT is a reliable and valid inventory for assessing the thinking styles of primary and secondary school in‐service teachers in Hong Kong. Cronbach's alphas ranged from .58 to .75, with a mean of .68 and a median of .66. A principal‐axis factor analysis followed by an oblique rotation resulted in two factors that accounted for 73.8% of the variance in the data. Moreover, results from stepwise multiple‐regression procedures indicated that six characteristics of teachers were significantly correlated with the thinking styles specified by the theory of mental self‐government. These teacher characteristics are gender, professional work experience outside school settings, the degree of enjoying adopting new teaching materials, a tendency for using group projects in assessing student achievement, perceived autonomy for determining their teaching contents, and their rating of the quality of their students. We discussed seven possibilities for using the knowledge about thinking styles to facilitate an enhancement of teaching and learning.     

What my parents make me believe in learning: The role of filial piety in Hong Kong students' motivation and academic achievement

Chinese students are well‐known for their academic excellence. However, studies that explore the underlying mechanism of how cultural factors relate to the motivational process and academic achievement of Chinese students have been limited. This study aimed to examine the role of filial piety in shaping Chinese students' theories of intelligence so as to obtain a clearer understanding of the process by which parent–child connectedness is linked to Chinese students' academic achievement. A sample of 312 university students in Hong Kong were assessed concerning their filial piety beliefs, theories of intelligence and academic achievement. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results indicated that different filial piety beliefs relate to students' academic achievement by shaping different theories of intelligence. Reciprocal filial piety beliefs were found to facilitate an incremental view of intelligence, which in turn contributes to students' academic achievement. Authoritarian filial piety beliefs were shown to be associated with an entity view of intelligence, which consequently deteriorates students' academic achievement. Cultural views of motivational processes can shed light on how motivational beliefs are developed as a product of cultural or socialization processes, which, in turn, contribute to students' academic success.     

Self‐perceived competence,learning conceptions and preferred learning situations in the domain of communication

Background: An important purpose of education in the field of social work is the development of social‐communicative competence and students' individual learning theories (ILTs) concerning this domain. Aims: Our first aim was to develop diagnostic instruments for ILT assessment and to understand the relationships between ILT variables. Our second purpose was to study the differences in ILT variables between students of three study years. Samples: A total of 396 full‐time social work students participated in this study: 176 first‐year, 147 second‐year and 73 fourth‐year students (92% women and 8% men). Method: Based on a theoretical framework, three questionnaires have been constructed, covering three ILT variables: self‐perceived competence, learning conceptions and preferred learning situations. For scale construction, principal component analyses and reliability analyses were conducted. ANOVAs and post hoc comparisons of means were used to investigate cross‐sectional differences regarding ILT variables. Pearson correlations and regression analyses were performed to gain more insight into the relationships between ILT variables. Results: Five aspects of self‐perceived competence, four learning conceptions and five preferred learning situations were found. Learning conceptions and self‐perceived competencies were found to be predictors of students' preferred learning situations. Many differences were found between the three groups of students, especially between the first‐year students and the others. Conclusions: When studying the acquisition of social‐communicative competence, it is important to take students' individual learning theories into account. Increased insight into the role ILTs play can be of help in improving social work education.     

Teachers' and students' verbal behaviours during cooperative and small‐group learning

Background. Teachers play a critical role in promoting interactions between students and engaging them in the learning process. This study builds on a study by Hertz‐Lazarowitz and Shachar (1990) who found that during cooperative learning teachers' verbal behaviours were more helpful to and encouraging of their students' efforts while during whole‐class instruction, their verbal behaviours tended to be more authoritarian, rigid, and impersonal. Aim. This study seeks to determine if teachers who implement cooperative learning engage in more facilitative learning interactions with their students than teachers who implement group work only. The study also seeks to determine if students in the cooperative groups model their teachers' behaviours and engage in more positive helping interactions with each other than their peers in the group work groups. Samples. The study involved 26 teachers and 303 students in Grades 8 to10 from 4 large high schools in Brisbane, Australia. Methods. All teachers agreed to establish cooperative, small‐group activities in their classrooms for a unit of work (4 to 6 weeks) once a term for 3 school terms. The teachers were audiotaped twice during these lessons and samples of the students' language, as they worked in their groups, were also collected at the same time. Results. The results show that teachers who implement cooperative learning in their classrooms engage in more mediated‐learning interactions and make fewer disciplinary comments than teachers who implement group work only. Furthermore, the students model many of these interactions in their groups. Conclusions. The study shows that when teachers implement cooperative learning, their verbal behaviour is affected by the organizational structure of the classroom.     

Conceptions of learning and approaches to studying among White and ethnic minority students in distance education

Background. The attainment of White students at UK institutions of higher education tends to be higher than that of students from other ethnic groups, but the causes of this are unclear. Aims. This study compared White students and students from other ethnic groups in their conceptions of learning, their approaches to studying, and their academic attainment. Sample. A stratified sample of 1,146 White students and 1,146 students from other ethnic groups taking courses by distance learning with the UK Open University. Methods. The Mental Models section of the Inventory of Learning Styles and the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory were administered in a postal survey. Results. The students' questionnaire scores were contaminated by response bias, which varied across different ethnic groups. When adjusted to control for response bias, the scores on the two questionnaires shared 37.2% of their variance and made a significant contribution to predicting the students' attainment. White students were more likely to exhibit a meaning‐directed learning pattern, whereas Asian and Black students were more likely to exhibit a reproduction‐directed learning pattern. However, the variation in attainment across different ethnic groups remained significant when their questionnaire scores and prior qualifications were taken into account. Conclusions. There is a strong relationship between students' conceptions of learning and their approaches to studying, and variations in conceptions of learning in different ethnic groups give rise to variations in approaches to studying. However, factors other than prior qualifications and conceptions of learning are responsible for variation in attainment across different ethnic groups.     

Mapping Students' Perceptions of Interesting Class Lessons

Students' perspectives about their experiences as students are potentially valuable resources for teachers and researchers. In this study middle-school students were asked, ‘What are the features of interesting class lessons?’ Students' responses were allocated to categories of similar semantic meaning and representative statements were selected from each category. The students then sorted and ranked the representative statements, generating numerical data suitable for cluster anal-ysis and multidimensional scaling. The cluster analysis generated three main clusters: (a) teachers, (b) individual learning, and (c) social learning. Each main cluster contained smaller clusters that indicated students' concern with issues such as the personal qualities of teachers and self-efficacy. The multidimensional scaling analysis generated a perceptual map that was interpreted to contain two dimensions: (d) student-teacher and (e) individual-social learning. The structure of the perceptual map stimulates questions about the connections that students might make between students' learning and teachers' teaching strategies, as well as students' understandings about the learning opportunities provided by social learning activities.     

Classroom discourse analysis and educational outcomes in the era of education reform

Background In the era of education reform when new teaching approaches are being advocated, it is important to investigate how different classroom discourse patterns are related to different educational outcomes. Aim The purpose of the study was to analyse the whole classroom discourse of two teacher interns' writing classes. It was conducted against a background of education reform in which teachers were being encouraged to make major changes in their teaching approaches. We investigated what approaches were adopted and what discourse patterns were related to better educational outcomes. Sample The participants were two teacher interns and their 61 students in Hong Kong. The students (35 boys, 26 girls) were seventh graders from two classes in the same secondary school. Method An instruction unit of each teacher intern on expository writing (120 min) was video‐recorded and analysed. Discourse analysis of the whole classroom interaction was supplemented by the students' perceptions and independent observers' evaluations of the instruction. Results The results indicated that both teacher interns adopted a traditional direct instruction although student‐centred approaches were being recommended in the education reform. The effectiveness of the instruction was associated with certain features of the classroom discourse patterns. Better educational outcomes were associated positively with utterances of high cognitive demand but negatively with utterances related to discipline. Students tended to have better performances in writing when they and the independent observers perceived that the teachers used more motivating strategies. Conclusions The effectiveness of instruction is a complicated phenomenon that involves a myriad of interrelated factors. Teacher‐ or student‐centred approaches are only part of these diverse factors.     

The use of deep and surface learning strategies among students learning English as a foreign language in an Internet environment

Background. The learning context is learning English in an Internet environment. The examination of this learning process was based on the Biggs and Moore's teaching‐learning model ( Biggs & Moore, 1993 ). Aim. The research aims to explore the use of the deep and surface strategies in an Internet environment among EFL students who come from different socio‐economic backgrounds. The results of the research may add an additional level to the understanding of students' functioning in the Internet environment. Sample. One hundred fourty‐eight Israeli junior and high school students participated in this research. Methods. The methodology was based on special computer software: Screen Cam, which recorded the students' learning process. In addition, expert judges completed a questionnaire which examined and categorized the students' learning strategies. Results. The research findings show a clear preference of participants from all socio‐economic backgrounds towards the surface learning strategy. The findings also showed that students from the medium to high socio‐economic background used both learning strategies more frequently than low socio‐economic students. Conclusions. The results reflect the habits that students acquire during their adjustment process throughout their education careers. A brief encounter with the Internet learning environment apparently cannot change norms or habits, which were acquired in the non‐Internet learning environment.     

Thinking styles: university students' preferred teaching styles and their conceptions of effective teachers

In the present study, the author investigated the role of thinking styles in university students' preferences for teaching styles and their conceptions of effective teachers. Students (121 men and 134 women) from the University of Hong Kong responded to 3 self-report tests: the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised (R. J. Sternberg, R. K. Wagner, & L-F. Zhang, 2003), the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory (L-F. Zhang, 2003c), and the Effective Teacher Inventory (L-F. Zhang, 2003b). Results indicated that even after age, gender, and academic discipline were controlled, particular thinking styles predisposed students to particular teaching styles. Moreover, as expected, students were open to more than just teaching styles that precisely matched their own thinking styles. Results also indicated that students' thinking styles made a difference in their conceptions of effective teachers. Discussions are focused on the study's contributions to both the style literature and the growing body of knowledge on characteristics of effective teachers.     

Beware of friends: The cultural psychology of relational mobility and cautious intimacy

Previous research has contrasted patterns of cautious or prevention‐oriented relationality in various West African settings with patterns of growth or promotion‐oriented relationality in many North American settings. The present research draws upon the concept of relational mobility to test the hypothesis that different patterns of relationality have their source in respective affordances for embedded interdependence or abstracted independence. Study 1 investigated the relationship between cautious intimacy and perception of relational mobility among a sample of Hong Kong students. Study 2 compared students in Hong Kong and North American settings to test whether differences in perception of relational mobility mediated the hypothesized differences in caution about friends. Study 3 used an experimental manipulation among a sample of Hong Kong students to test the hypothesis that increased perception of relational mobility reduces caution about friends. Results reveal broad support for the hypotheses. Whether as a measured variable or as an experimental treatment, the perception of relational mobility was negatively related to caution about friends. Moreover, this relationship mediated hypothesized cross‐national differences in caution about friendship. A discussion of the results considers intersections of cultural and ecological approaches to psychology and implications for theoretical conceptions of interdependence.     

Self‐managed learning groups in higher education: Students' perceptions of process and outcomes

Background. Self‐managed learning groups are increasingly used in higher education. There is a need for more systematic investigation of university students' perceptions of the processes and outcomes of this learning method. Aims. This study aimed to identify the domains of process issues that students perceive as relevant to their participation in self‐managed learning groups, and how these processes are perceived to influence group outcomes. Sample. Participants were undergraduate psychology students who were members of self‐managed learning groups. Method. The first study employed qualitative methods (namely, students' written accounts, interviews, and observation) to study learning groups (N =180 students) and identify the process domains. In the second study, first and second year students (N =207) used a questionnaire (based on the domains identified in Study 1) to evaluate the processes and outcomes of their learning groups. Results. Analysis of qualitative data (Study 1) identified seven process domains: task focus, staff support, process learning, environmental fit, managing differences, equity and responsibility, and collaboration and cooperation. Factor analysis of students' responses (Study 2) identified an underlying structure of two process factors: personal responsibility and collaborative climate, and staff support and environmental fit. Both process factors were associated with the self‐reported satisfaction and productivity of this group of students. Conclusions. University students' perceptions of the processes of self‐managed learning groups have a clear structure. These process factors are associated with perceived group outcomes in systematic and theoretically consistent ways.     

The effects of classroom teaching on students' self-efficacy for personal development

The personal development of students is an essential component of school guidance and counselling programmes, but no published research on guidance and counselling has investigated the effects of regular classroom teaching on students' self-efficacy for personal development. In this study, questionnaire items were constructed to measure classroom teaching, student self-efficacy for personal development and student use of deep learning strategies. Data were collected from 16,208 secondary school students in Hong Kong. Using structural equation modelling, regular classroom teaching was found to have a direct effect on personal development self-efficacy as well as an indirect effect through student use of deep learning strategies. Implications of these findings for implementing a whole-school approach to guidance and counselling are discussed.