Mantak Yuen

Cross-Cultural Predictors of Teachers' Attitudes toward Gifted Education: Finland, Hong Kong, and the United States.

This study investigated culture-dependent attitudes and predictors of these attitudes of teachers (147–Finland, 214–Hong Kong, 160–United States) toward gifted education. Preservice, regular classroom, and gifted education teachers completed the attitude scale toward gifted education developed by Gagné and Nadeau (1985). A new method was introduced as an alternative approach in prediction. Finally, the results of this study were compared to an earlier study using more traditional quantitative methods (Tallent-Runnels, Tirri, & Adams, 2000). Results revealed 5 major predictors of attitudes for the 3 countries. These were whether or not they believed (a) they had gifted children in their school, (b) all children are gifted, (c) gifted children should spend their spare time helping others progress, (d) parents have the major responsibility for helping gifted children develop then talents, and (e) the best way to meet the needs of gifted children is in special classes.

Body image and eating attitudes among adolescent Chinese girls in Hong Kong.

The study investigated the relation between body image and eating attitudes among adolescent girls in Hong Kong. A sample of 358 senior secondary school girls completed the measures assessing body-part satisfaction and behaviors associated with eating. Analysis indicated that even though only 4.8% of the girls were overweight, 85.16% desired to weigh less. These Chinese teenage girts were concerned about their weight, and the desire for slimness was widespread. Correlations indicated that higher Body Mass Index was associated with lower satisfaction with weight. Lower scores on weight satisfaction were associated with higher scores on attitudes of dieting and food preoccupation.

Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability of the Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory among guidance teachers in Hong Kong.

In 1995 Chan and Hui examined the responses of a sample of Chinese teachers on the Maslach Burnout Inventory and recommended a possible 2-factor rather than the original 3-factor model for the assessment of burnout among Chinese teachers. In the present study, the factor structure of responses to the Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in a sample of 1,398 Chinese secondary school guidance teachers was examined using the EQS approach to confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that a 3-factor model (Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment) provided the best fit, with the first two factors highly correlated (r = .80). Internal consistencies for the subscales ranged from .80 to .88.

Enhancing life skills development: Chinese adolescents' perceptions

This study explored Chinese adolescents’ perceptions of their own life skills development and the importance they place on such skills. The study also investigated the within‐school and outside‐school influences that may help develop and enhance life skills development. Six focus groups involving 52 high school students were conducted, using a set of predetermined discussion topics. Results revealed students’ awareness of many salient life skills, including those related directly to academic development, ‘learning to learn’, personal and social growth, and future career planning. The students were also able to suggest practical strategies that schools might use to further enhance students’ life skills development. Contextual factors influencing the development of life skills appear to include not only experiences within the school curriculum and the guidance and counseling program, but also talent development opportunities, and family and peer relationships. The implications of the findings are discussed with particular reference to implementing comprehensive school guidance and counseling programs in Hong Kong.

Talent development, work habits, and career exploration of Chinese middle‐school adolescents: development of the Career and Talent Development Self‐Efficacy Scale

This article describes the development of an instrument – the Career and Talent Development Self‐Efficacy Scale (CTD‐SES) – for assessing students’ self‐efficacy in applying life skills essential for personal talent development, acquisition of positive work habits, and career exploration. In Study 1, data were obtained from a large sample of Chinese middle‐school students (N=15,113) in Grades 7–9 in Hong Kong. The CTD‐SES is an 18‐item questionnaire with subscales containing items that address students’ orientations toward developing their own talents, acquiring and applying positive work habits, and exploring their career possibilities. Evidence is provided for internal consistency, temporal stability, and factor structure of the CTD‐SES. Goodness of fit statistics provided support for a three‐primary‐factor‐plus‐higher‐factor model, and this solution was used in the statistical analyses. The data also indicated that students with plans for university study reported significantly higher scores than those without on all three domains of career and talent development. In Study 2 (N=308) Grade 10 high‐ability students’ scores in CTD‐SES were correlated with scores in career decision self‐efficacy and academic performance. The development and validation of CTD‐SES is the first step toward investigating career exploration, work habits, and talent development among Asian middle‐school adolescents.

Heterosexism in School: The Counselling Experience of Chinese Tongzhi Students in Hong Kong.

ABSTRACT The study is part of a larger project involving a phenomenological inquiry into the lived experiences of tongzhi students in Hong Kong public schools. The research question of this article focuses on the counselling experiences of nine Chinese lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning/queer (LGBQ) students aged 14–18 in Hong Kong Chinese secondary schools. We conducted qualitative data analyses via a software package for data coding and data reduction. Four themes emerged: Feeling fearful: judging my sexuality; Feeling disengaged: omitting my sexuality; Feeling alienated: pathologising my sexuality; Feeling supported: making an effort to understand my sexuality. The findings from the present study inform the development of school counselling within Chinese societies by generating recommendations about counsellors’ professional codes of ethics, counsellor training and practice.

Applying solution‐focused questions with primary school pupils: a Hong Kong teacher’s reflections

It is a reality of schools today that most teachers are overwhelmed by daily demands on their time and energy. In particular, they find it difficult to allocate enough extra time for purposes of counselling individual pupils with problems. Any arrangement that enables them to fulfil this counselling role quickly and effectively – and with positive results – would therefore be welcome. This paper reports a teacher’s application of a brief form of solution‐focused counselling with pupils attending a primary school in Hong Kong. The teacher’s personal reflections after using the approach support the view that this form of counselling can be effective with children of this age. The authors believe that teachers who use solution focused counselling in helping their students would benefit from clinical supervision of a reflecting team.

Perfectionism and Chinese Gifted Learners

Over the past two decades a wealth of research data on perfectionism has drawn increased attention to the nature and impact of perfectionism on many aspects of student development. Much of the research has explored perfectionism in the gifted student population, but few studies have considered how perfectionism could be perceived differently in students of non-Caucasian descent and how it may have different impacts on their learning, development, and adjustment. In view of the apparent cultural divide in the research literature, and the emphasis on pursuing perfection within Chinese culture, this article reviews studies that do address perfectionism in Chinese gifted students. The aim was to offer a cultural perspective for understanding perfectionism in this population and to locate pertinent information to assist identification, counseling interventions, and future research.

The Counselling Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE): does it work in Chinese counsellors?

Counselling self-efficacy is an important construct for research and evaluation in counsellors’ competencies and training effectiveness. Larson et al. developed the Counselling Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE) for counsellors in America and examined its factor structure using exploratory factor analysis. They recommended a five-factor model (microskills, counselling process, difficult client behaviour, cultural competence, and awareness of values) and the use of the COSE for future research. However, little research has investigated the validity of the COSE in the context of counselling Chinese students in schools. In the present study, the factor structure of responses to the Chinese version of the Counselling Self-Estimate Inventory in a sample of 578 Hong Kong secondary school guidance teachers was examined using the EQS approach to confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that while a five-factor model was fairly able to fit the data, the deletion of items related to the awareness of values factor yielded a better fitting model. The discussion of potential uses and limitations of the C-COSE in the context of preparing and supervising school guidance personnel in student counselling is relevant to counselling psychologists and researchers in Hong Kong and other parts of the world.

Differentiation in key learning areas for gifted students in regular classes: A project for primary school teachers in Hong Kong

Gifted students usually require much less time spent in practising and revising basic skills; instead, they benefit greatly from opportunities to work through the curriculum at a faster pace (acceleration). Teachers currently working with mixed-ability classes do not always find it easy to differentiate their teaching approach in this way, so there is a need to facilitate in-service professional development to provide teachers with practical strategies for implementing effective differentiation for gifted learners. In response, a project for primary school teachers was organized by a university in Hong Kong. The purposes of the project were (a) to enhance the confidence of teachers in planning and delivering differentiated lessons in specific key learning areas (KLAs) with particular reference to gifted students; (b) to empower teachers with knowledge and strategies necessary for designing and implementing a differentiated curriculum in KLA domains and (c) to establish a professional development practice that connects local academics with schools and teachers. The project was implemented by inviting curriculum leaders, panel chairpersons and subject teachers from primary schools to attend a 3-hour lecture and a 6-hour workshop in which differentiation practices were explored. The project was later evaluated based on feedback from participants and university consultants. Overall, the feedback was positive, but suggestions are provided here for enhancing future projects of a similar nature.