Abstract

Because of the extreme non-interventionist philosophy of the Macau government, schools in Macau have developed with strong autonomy and almost no coordination. This makes a fascinating context for a study of comparative education, for almost every school is a system unto itself. Although the government is now making efforts to improve liaison, it is not yet possible to refer to a single Macau education system.

This paper exposes differences between the schools. To permit some depth, it focuses on the secondary level and on mathematics curriculum. Although at first sight mathematics might appear a universal subject with commonalities in education systems throughout the world, deeper analysis reveals a wide array of approaches and philosophies. On a methodological note, the paper illustrates the value of internal (as opposed to international) comparative education as a field of study.

摘要

由於政府以往對教育的極度不干預，澳門的學校大都是自力更生。所以它們都享有高度的自主權。在大家缺乏整體協作的情況下，每一間學校幾乎就是一個教育系統。雖然近年政府已增強與各校間的聯繫，但它們仍未能構成一個單一的系統。正就是這種情況下，它們便成為比較教育學者心目中的獨特而又富吸引力的研究對象。

本文會集中展示學校間的差異，為了能夠作更深入的分析，我們選取了中學的數學課程。直覺上，數學是一科頗為「中性」的科目，不同的學校、教育制度、以至國家所採用的數學課程似乎都有很多共通點，但深入的探討則揭示其在教學原理和取徑上的多向性。最後，以方法論這角度出發，本文說明「國內」（相對於國際）比較教育是一個有研究價值的方向。

Abstract

This paper reports on an investigation into Hong Kong students' comprehension of 45 non-technical words commonly used in science. A total of 4644 Secondary 4, 5 and 6 students in a randomized sample of 46 schools, stratified by school type and area, participated in the study. The results showed that many students did not correctly comprehend a large proportion of the words, confused them with words that were phonetically or graphologically simnilar and even took them for their antonyms. Such poor performance raises doubts as to whether the majority of Hong Kong students have attained a 'threshold level' of competence in English to benefit from learning science in English.

摘要

本研究探討學生對45個科學科常用的非專有英文名詞的理解。研究採用以學校種類和地區為分層的隨機樣本，受試者合共4644名來自46所中學的中四、中五及中六學生。結果顯示學生錯誤理解大部份非專有名詞，將同音和同形的名詞混淆，甚至與相反詞混淆。一般學生對非專有名詞的低劣理解能力令人懷疑他們有否足夠的程度以英文來學習科學。

Abstract

Do Hong Kong students dislike innovations and want to be taught? Traditional opinions suggest that they do, although there is accumulating evidence to show that students in Anglo-Chinese schools are not particularly predisposed to that expository, didactic mode of teaching. Most of them do like innovations. They prefer their classrooms to be different from what they are, and they should learn much better under innovative than under expository teaching. In the present paper, the author, with two case studies put forward, attempted to show that prior knowledge and learning environment in fact have a sound effect on the learning approach. The results showed that before discussion, students in Hong Kong tended to be more "surface" in their learning strategies as compared to their Canadian counterparts. With the introduction of innovative measures of teaching into the Hong Kong classrooms, it was possible to change students' conception from a lower ordered to a higher ordered one. This throws light on local educators in the teaching and learning of complicated scientific concepts.

摘要

香港學生究竟是否傾向傳統授課方法呢？很多人都認為如此，但也有研究指出，英文中學的學生，並沒有特別傾向傳統的教學法。其實，大部份的學生比較喜歡新式的學生為本位的教學法。他們期望有不同的課堂氣氛，使他們在新教學法中，學習效果有所提高，在本文中，作者嘗試將兩個個案研究配合，顯示學生在前的知識概念及學習環境對學習取向有很大的影響。在課堂討論前，香港學生與加拿大學生的比較，較傾向於採用表面取向。但在課堂採用新教學法後，結果顯示香港學生的知識概念由低層次被提升至高層次水平。此結果對於本地教育學者在教授及學習複雜理科概念的問題上，有一定的啟示。

Abstract

Sixteen fairly long sentences, eight with United Kingdom and eight with Hong Kong background themes, were presented one at a time on audio-cassettee to 144 Hong Kong teachers of English, who listened to each one and immediately wrote down what they thought they had heard. Sixty-four had never been to England, forty had been at university there for three months and forty for nine months. The sentences were also presented to twenty native English-speaking undergraduate students in the United Kingdom. Schematic background of the sentences significantly influenced recall, with both national groups doing best on schematically familiar sentences. The recall of the United Kingdom sentences by the Hong Kong teachers improved in relation to exposure to an English environment and the time they had to acquire 'British' schemata. The study highlights the benefits of prolonged periods of exposure to authentic English and associated improvements in language proficiency.

Abstract

The suitability of six established taxonomies of teacher thinking were considered for use in analysing the interview protocols of the planning practices of four expert and four novice teachers of Chemistry in Hong Kong secondary schools. Each was found to be wanting for our purposes either because they required more specialised probing than provided by our interview material or they proved to lack ecological validity in terms of discriminating between the cognitions of the expert and novice teachers. A Taxonomy of Teacher Thinking (TOTT) was then developed to classify the structural complexity of the teachers' thinking. TOTT was adapted from the established SOLO Taxonomy (Biggs & Collis, 1982) of student thinking. Evidence is provided of the reliability and ecological validity of TOTT. We suggest that this taxonomy may be of value to other researchers as it would seem to be suitable for analysing evidence of teacher thinking from a range of sources.

摘要

本文探討六種教師思想分類法用在分析教學準備的面談紀錄的適合性，對象是香港中學四位優秀和四位初入行的化學教師。

各種分類法有其不足之處，或是由於它們要求比面談提供資料更細緻的探索，或是由於它們被證明缺乏生態上的效度去分別優秀教師和初入行教師的認知。本研究發展一個教師思想分類法（TOTT）去將教師思想的複雜結構分類，TOTT是修訂自SOLO學生思想分類法（Biggs & Collis, 1982）。本文提出TOTT的信度和生態上效度的證據，我們建議此分類法可對其他研究者有價值，因為它看來適合去分析各種來源的教師思想的證據。

摘要

本研究使用一個「皮亞傑」式測驗，考查八千多個香港中學生的八種運作思維能力。從分析結果中發現中一學生能掌握「互換」、「相對」、「轉換」及「平行分類」等四種能力。中二、中三學生除了掌握以上四種能力外，還掌握「傳遞」運作能力。中四、中五學生更能掌握餘下的三種能力：「序列」、「合類」及「多項分類」等運作能力。

以上發現可證明「皮亞傑」之兒童分段認知發展理論是正確的，但香港兒童的認知發展遠較瑞士兒童為慢。又由於香港中學生在不同年級對掌握各種運用思維能力先後有別，故在課程設計、課堂教學及學生輔導方面均需照顧學童的思維能力水平，方能產生良好效果。

Abstract

This paper reports on a section of a larger project funded by the Hong Kong Council of Early Childhood Education and Services (CECES) which investigated early childhood education and training in Hong Kong. What is presented in this paper is the results of a survey of 1259 kindergarten and child care workers who responded to a survey questionnaire. Given current community concern about the inadequacy of training for the early childhood workforce respondents were asked to reply to questions about what the minimum length of training should be, should the length of training be the same for kindergarten and child care, should training be unified, what content should be included in the training curriculum, what should be next level of training be after the basic course, were respondent interested in completing further training, should credit be given for pervious training, identification of overlap in training courses, overall satisfaction with training received, identification of problems with current training and perceived solutions, overall satisfaction with career opportunities. The paper presents these results and discusses some implications of the survey findings for the early childhood workforce in Hong Kong.

摘要

本論文是香港幼兒教育及服務聯會（幼聯）資助有關幼兒及服務專業培訓研究計劃的一部分。這論文的資料乃根據對1259位幼稚園教師進行問卷調查的研究所得數據。由於近年來社會人士普遍認為幼兒工作者的培訓不足，故填答問卷的人士所要回答的問題包括：受訓的時間最少要多久？幼稚園和幼兒園教師的受訓時期應否相同？訓練應否統一？訓練課程的內容應包括甚麼？在基礎培訓之後應有甚麼訓練？回應者是否有興趣接受進一步的訓練？既往的訓練應否獲得學分豁免？對所接受的培訓一般是否滿意？本文把這些研究結果列出，並討論這些結果對香港幼兒工作者的影響。

Abstract

The student perspective on student-teacher relationship was assessed in a survey of 204 secondary school students. While the general student-teacher relationship was generally regarded to be moderate to good in schools, few students sought help from teachers on nonacademic matters, and few reported receiving praise from teachers. The desirable characteristics in teachers that students liked suggested that in addition to knowledge and skills in teaching, approachability, fairness, and the concerned and caring attitude of teachers contributed to a positive student-teacher relationship. Implications of these results for defining and assessing teacher effectiveness were discussed.

摘要

本文調查204位中學生對師生關係的看法。雖然師生關係被認為普遍良好，很少學生在處理非學習問題上求助於老師，而很少學生認為自己得到老師的嘉許。學生喜歡的老師特質指出除知識和教學技巧外，平易近人，公平，和關心學生的態度是導至良好師生關係的因素。本文亦就研究結果對教學果效作出討論。

Abstract

The present article discusses the patterns of coping strategies among a group of college students in Beijing. Specially designed questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data for the study. Results indicated that to cope with stress in their academic underachievement, emotional frustrations, interpersonal conflicts and others, the Chinese college students used a variety of strategies, including culturally appropriate ones such as self-reflection, endurance, self-control, Ah-Qism, take-it-easy/let-happen-what-may. The practical implications of the strategies are explored in relation to the current social and political realities in China. Additionally, the experiential and psychosoical significance of the culturally appropriate coping strategies are analyzed in terms of the Confucian ethics of self-cultivation and the Taoist ethics of self-transcendence. The analyses demonstrate that the coping strategies foster a sense of enlightened awareness of the dynamics of conflicts in the mundane world and that attainment of inner harmony "he" constitutes the cultural protocol for coping with stress in Chinese society. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the present study on further researches on the issue being explored.

摘要

本文試圖以族誌學（ethnographic）的方法來研究中國大學生應付不同心理壓抑的方法。本研究通過自行設計的兩份問卷調查了北京四所大學中120名大學生所常用的心理壓力應付策略。此外，本研究還採訪了其中30名學生。調查結果表明：中國大學生運用了許多與中國文化與當前社會背景相適宜的應付策略。本文從儒家與道家之修身養性的論說探討了這些應付策略的文化根源與心理特點，並提出辯證協調矛盾衝突是中國人應付內、外壓力之哲學思想基礎。本文最後呼籲今後多採用質性與量性相結合的方法來研究中國文化對於個人應付心理壓抑的影響。

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the job characteristics of Hong Kong secondary school teachers. Teachers' work was classified into six categories: teaching, extracurricular activity, guidance, discipline, administration and miscellaneous affairs. The diversity in teachers' time allocation and concern with these job categories was observed. In terms of task identity, task significance, skill variety, autonomy and feedback, the motivating potential of teachers' job categories was assessed. Among the six categories, teaching duty was found to have the greatest motivating potential. However, the existence of the other five categories in teachers' work seemed to have a reducing effect on the overall motivating potential. Furthermore, teachers' job characteristics were found strongly related to affective outcomes in teachers such as job satisfaction, internal motivation, intention to change schools, and intention to change jobs. Teachers' personal growth need and perceived school culture strength were strong moderators of the relationship between job characteristics and affective outcomes. The findings supported the validity of Hackman and Oldham's (1980) Job Characteristics Theory in the context of Hong Kong secondary schools. Implications for research and administration were also discussed.

摘要

結構方程（SEM）已成多變量分析的重要技巧，本文檢視SEM較傳統分析優越之處，並討論如何用單指標變項、項目對（或小組）及單同源分子測量模式去建立潛伏變項；此外亦簡略探討偏態序級量表、最少樣本數目及吻合指數等課題。

Abstract

Structural equation modelling (SEM) has become a very important technique in multivariate analysis. The present article examines the advantages of SEM over traditional analytical methods. Construction of latent variables using single indicator, item pairs/parcels, and uni-factor congeneric factor model are discussed with concrete examples. Furthermore, issues related to skewed ordinal scales, minimum sample size, and choice of goodness of fit indexes are reviewed.