Alexander Seeshing Yeung

Students’ School Motivation and Aspiration Over High School Years

Students from a school in Hong Kong (nu2009=u2009199) responded to 22 items asking about their school motivation and aspirations in a survey. Structural equation models found four school motivation factors consistent with the task, effort, competition, and praise scales of the Inventory of School Motivation, one education aspiration factor, one career aspiration factor, and significant relations of the motivation factors with the aspiration factors. Task and effort orientations were found to be stronger than the other orientations and to have relatively stronger associations with education aspirations, whereas task and praise had stronger associations with career aspirations. In examining potential change in students’ goal orientations and aspirations through high school years, analysis of variance found that 7th‐graders had significantly higher scores in task and effort orientations and career aspirations than 9th‐graders, and higher scores in praise orientation than 11th‐graders. The apparent drop in motivation scores from Grade 7, especially in task and effort orientations, both pertaining to a mastery orientation dimension that has been assumed to be a major driving force for excellence, calls for urgent attention to student motivation in junior high school classes.

Can Two Tongues Live in Harmony: Analysis of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS88) Longitudinal Data on the Maintenance of Home Language

Using the nationally representative National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS88) database, the relations of first language (L1, non-English) proficiency to subsequent use of that language (home language maintenance), English proficiency, and academic achievement were examined. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results showed that LI proficiency in tenth grade (T2) did not affect subsequent English test scores, school grades, or English proficiency in twelfth grade (T3), but had a strong positive effect on T3 L1 use and also positive effects on T3 standardized tests in English, math, and history. Use of L1 up to twelfth grade had almost no effect on T3 English outcomes or on T3 achievements other than English. Negative impacts of frequency in L1 use on perceived English proficiency were found only in the early years of high school and did not persist over time. The results did not support speculations that home language proficiency would have persistent negative effects on English and other academic outcomes, but suggest the need for support in L1 enhancement for home language maintenance.

The importance of autonomy support and the mediating role of work motivation for well‐being: Testing self‐determination theory in a Chinese work organisation

We examine relations between perceived organisational autonomy support and different types of work motivation and well-being outcomes in 266 teachers from two government schools in China. We hypothesised that greater autonomy support would be associated with more autonomous forms of employee motivation, and that teacher motivation would in turn mediate the effects of autonomy support on indicators of work well-being (i.e., job satisfaction, work stress and physical ill symptoms). Results generally supported the hypothesised relations between perceived autonomy support and SDTs five types of motivations. Findings also showed that perceived autonomy support predicted job satisfaction directly and indirectly through the mediating roles of intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation and external regulation. Perceived autonomy support predicted work stress directly and indirectly through the mediating roles of external regulation and amotivation. Autonomy support also predicted illness symptoms via the mediating roles of intrinsic motivation, introjected regulation and amotivation. The current findings highlight how perceived organisational support for autonomy relates to motivational differences in a Chinese work context, and the potential relevance of autonomy support for employee well-being.

Does online language learning diminish interaction between student and teacher

Some critics have commented that online courses may discourage teacher–student interaction, which is considered by teachers and researchers as an important element in language learning. A total of 60 associate degree students who attended an online English course in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire asking them about their effort and interest in learning English, their anxiety about computer applications, their self‐monitoring capability, their interactions with the teacher and their peers and their competence in English. Analysis of variance results showed that those students who perceived themselves as more competent had more favourable perceptions of their interaction with the teacher than did those who were less competent, but for all other variables the two groups did not differ. The findings imply that online language learning does not necessarily diminish interaction. Instead, the level of interaction may depend on the learners’ sense of competence in the target language. Est ce que l’apprentissage d’une langue en ligne diminue l’interaction entre l’étudiant et le professeur? Certains critiques ont affirmé que les cours en ligne seraient défavorables à l’interaction professeur‐étudiant que les professeurs et les chercheurs considèrent comme un élément important dans l’apprentissage d’une langue. Un total de 60 étudiants préparant un diplôme associé ayant suivi un cours d’anglais en ligne à Hong Kong, ont répondu à un questionnaire leur demandant quels efforts et intérêt ils portaient à l’apprentissage de l’anglais, leurs angoisses devant les exercices sur ordinateur, leur capacité à s’auto‐diagnostiquer, leur interaction avec le professeur et leurs pairs et leur compétence en anglais. Une analyse des résultats de la variance a montré que les étudiants qui se trouvaient plus compétents, avaient une perception plus favorable de leur interaction avec le professeur que ceux qui étaient moins compétents; mais les deux groupes ne différaient pas dans toutes les variables. Cette découverte signifie que l’apprentissage d’une langue en ligne ne diminue pas nécessairement l’interaction. Par contre le niveau d’interaction peut dépendre du sentiment de compétence dans la langue cible qu’ont les apprenants. Vermindert Online‐Sprachenlernen Interaktion zwischen Student und Lehrer? Einige Kritiker haben gemeint, dass Online‐Kurse die von Lehrern und Forschern als ein wichtiges Element für das Sprachenlernen betrachtete Lehrer/Student‐Interaktion vermindern könnten. Insgesamt 60 “associate degree” Studenten, die in Hongkong einen Online‐Kurs in Englisch besuchten, äußerten in einem Fragebogen, mit dem sie nach ihrem Lernaufwand und ihrem Interesse Englisch zu lernen befragt wurden, die Besorgnis, dass sich Computernutzung in Bezug auf ihre Selbstüberwachungsfähigkeit, ihrer Interaktion mit dem Lehrer und ihren Peers und ihrer Sprachkompetenz in Englisch auswirken könnte. Die Analyse von abweichenden Ergebnissen zeigte, dass jene Studenten, die sich als kompetenter einschätzten, günstigere Wahrnehmungen über ihre Interaktion mit dem Lehrer als jene hatten, die weniger kompetent waren; allerdings unterschieden sich die beiden Gruppen nicht in allen anderen Belangen. Der Befund impliziert, dass Online‐Sprachlernen nicht notwendigerweise Interaktion vermindert. Andererseits kann das Interaktionsniveau von der angenommenen Kompetenz des Lerners in der Zielsprache abhängen. Tiene el aprendizaje de una lengua en linea una influencia reductora sobre la interacción entre el profesor y el alumno? Algunos críticos han comentado que los cursos en línea serían contraproducentes para la interacción profesor‐alumno que los profesores y investigadores consideran como un componente importante en el aprendizaje de una lengua. Un total de unos 60 estudiantes matriculados para un título asociado y que habían cursado un programa de inglés en línea en Hong Kong han contestado a un cuestionario sobre sus esfuerzos y intérès para aprender el inglés, sobre sus inquietudes frente a las aplicaciones informatizadas, su capacidad de auto‐diagnóstico, su interacción con el profesor y los otros alumnos además de su competencia en inglés. Un análisis de los resultados de las variaciones demostró que los estudiantes que se consideraban como más competentes tenían una percepción más favorable de su interracción con el professor que sus compañeros que eran menos competentes; pero entre los dos grupos, no había diferencia marcada en todas las otras variables. Esos resultados significan que el aprendizaje de una lengua en línea no conlleva necesariamente una disminución de la interacción. En cambio el nivel de interacción puede depender del sentido que los alumnos tienen de su propia competencia en la lengua que estudian.

Teachers' Perceptions of Appraiser-Appraisee Relationships.

Teacher appraisal procedures may lead to formative (teacher development and improvement of teaching) and summative (managerial decision) outcomes. Elementary school teachers in Hong Kong (N=527) responded to survey items on formative outcomes, summative outcomes, perceived purposes of appraisal, overall effectiveness of appraisal, and summative purposes such as promotion and dismissal of staff. Principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis yielded the two a priori outcome factors, each of which was significantly correlated with perceived overall effectiveness of appraisal. Analysis of variance found that senior teachers appraised by the school principal (SP) perceived that appraisal had formative purposes and this perception was stronger than for those teachers appraised by senior staff (TS). Teachers in the TS group did not perceive the importance of the promotion purpose as did the other groups. Teachers appraised by the principal (TP) perceived that appraisal had dismissal purposes whereas teachers in the TS group did not. Although the three groups did not differ in their perceptions of formative outcomes, summative outcomes, or overall effectiveness of teacher appraisal, the appraiser-appraisee combination did make a significant difference in teacher perceptions of the purposes and appropriateness of the appraisal.

Domain specificity of trilingual teachers' verbal self-concepts

Teachers from Hong Kong (N = 437) responded to English, math, Cantonese, and Mandarin self-concept items. Confirmatory factor analysis found good support for the distinction of 4 domain-specific self-concepts. English self-concept had a low correlation with Mandarin self-concept (r = .09) and a negative correlation with Cantonese self-concept (r = -.19). Cantonese and Mandarin, which presumably pertain to a single Chinese language domain, were also negatively correlated (r = -.11). These very low correlations did not allow the 3 language constructs to form a single verbal factor. The results challenge the assumption of a single verbal self-concept construct for speakers of multiple languages. For trilinguals, the verbal self-concept constructs can be very distinct and unrelated to each other.

Academic self-concept of gifted students : when the big fish becomes small

Abstract Students’ self-concept is developed primarily on the basis of a sense of belonging to the group (an assimilation effect) and a comparison of competency with other students (a big-fish-little-pond effect). A total of 840 fourth and fifth graders were divided into five groups: (1) 29 gifted students instructed together in a gifted program, (2) 29 gifted students and (3) 31 non-gifted students instructed together in a gifted program, (4) 30 non-gifted students instructed together, and (5) 721 all other students. The self-concept scores for Group 1 were higher than for Groups 3, 4, and 5, but Group 2 did not score significantly higher than Group 3. The results suggest that gifted students are not homogeneous in respect to academic self-concept. Thus caution in grouping arrangements should be exercised.

Evaluation of Teacher Development Programs: Participant Satisfaction and Recommendation.

To managers, course designers, developers and instructors of educational programs, course participants’ feedback is important. The perceptions of course participants regarding the effectiveness of delivery of the program may lead the course manager, for example, to readjust the length of the program, the course designer to rethink the appropriateness of the course content, or the instructor to rearrange some of the learning activities (Decker, 1997; Fisher, 1998; Imrie, 1996; Ziehl, 1996). A commonly used approach to obtaining feedback from course participants is the survey method. Often, a survey comprises a series of Likerttype response items that are assumed to be asking course participants about their perceived effectiveness of course implementation (e.g., Marshall, 1973; Williford & Mayes, 2000). In the case of continuing education programs that emphasize life-long education, it is important to keep the length of the survey form to a minimum so that the participants are willing to complete all items. Thus it is essential to develop an evaluation instrument that is simple enough and yet has good construct validity. For the evaluation of programs of a selffunded nature, in addition to knowing the satisfaction level of the course participants, it is also important to know whether the course participants would recommend the course they have attended to their colleagues and friends. This study tests the dimensionality of a simple course evaluation instrument and examines the association between course participants’ level of satisfaction and their likelihood of recommending the course to other people.

Validity of Social, Moral and Emotional Facets of Self-Description Questionnaire II

Studies adopting a construct validity approach can be categorized into within- and between-network studies. Few studies have applied between-network approach and tested the correlations of the social (same-sex relations, opposite-sex relations, parent relations), moral (honesty-trustworthiness), and emotional (emotional stability) facets of the Self-Description Questionnaire II with external criteria. Using a sample of high school students (n = 628), the authors examined the relations of these 5 nonacademic self-concept facets with nonacademic external criteria (between-network studies) besides examining the factor structure of these five facets of self-concept (within-network studies). Results provided strong support for the convergent validity in that each predicted correlation was statistically significant. Also, the discriminant validity of the 5 nonacademic subscales was clearly demonstrated by showing that each external criterion was more highly correlated with the predicted (matching) Self-Description Questionnaire II subscale than any of the Self-Description Questionnaire II subscales. Hence, these facets of self-concept are 5 distinct factors.

Inclusion of Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Education: What Teacher Characteristics Matter.

Whereas the inclusion of children with special needs in regular classrooms has gained increasing advocacy, teachers’ attitudes vary. Previous studies examining teacher attitudes have focused on primary and secondary schools in the Western world, and little is known about early childhood settings in Eastern countries. This study used MANOVA to examine preschool teachers’ attitudes in Hong Kong (N = 410). Teachers reported only modest support for inclusion. Teachers with training in special education were stronger advocates of inclusion, irrespective of their professional roles (administrator or class teacher), for children with intellectual disability, or visual, hearing, and speech and language impairments. However, neither teacher training nor professional role made a significance difference to teachers’ support of including children with physical disability, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specific learning difficulty, and the gifted and talented. Implications for practice and further research are explored.