Research Themes

We foster and maintain a culture of collaborative interdisciplinary research that is innovative, impactful, and world-leading. Four interdisciplinary research themes are developed:

Theme1

#1
Capacity building for the education workforce

This theme researches: teacher shortages in developing sectors/countries; teacher and principal burnout and attrition; decline in the teaching workforce; international partnerships for education workforce development; mental health issues affecting the education workforce; education policy and curriculum reform and its impact on teaching and school leadership; teacher preparation for addressing loss of educational gains due to the COVID-19 pandemic; academic attrition and higher education workforce shortages.

Project 1

Building teacher educators’ capacity to innovate teaching and assessment through new technologies

Team Leader: Dr Zhihong WAN, Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Wan, Z. H., So, W. M. W., & Zhan, Y. (2023). Investigating the effects of design-based stem learning on primary students’ stem creativity and epistemic beliefs. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 21, 87-108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-023-10370-1
Zhan, Y., Yan, Z., Wan, Z. H., Wang, X., Zeng, Y., Yang, M., & Yang, L. (2023). Effects of online peer assessment on higher‐order thinking: A meta‐analysis. British Journal of Educational Technology, 54(4), 817-835. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13310
Zhan, Y., Wan, Z. H., & Sun, D. (2022). Online formative peer feedback in Chinese contexts at the tertiary Level: A critical review on its design, impacts and influencing factors. Computers & Education, 176, 104341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104341

Unpacking the Dynamics of the Agency of Young STEM Makers: A Cross-sequential Study Combined with Mixed-methods Design, Research Grants Council
Developing e-Content for STEM Robotics Education: Using Learning Management System to Promote Blended Learning Model and Content Sharing, Education Bureau of HKSARG
Investigating Primary School Teachers’ E-assessment Practices, Intentions and Influencing Factors in the New Normal: Implications for Developing E-assessment Policy, Policy Unit of HKSARG

Project 2

Teacher well-being literacy in the GBA and beyond: Drivers, measure, and outcomes

Team Leader: Prof Junjun CHEN, Department of Education Policy and Leadership

Chen, J. (2024). Reimaging teacher resilience for flourishing. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-023-00810-5
Chen, J., Zhang, L., Li, X., Li, Y., Xu, W., & Yan, Z. (2023). The multidimensional teacher well-being: A mixed-methods approach. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2023.2282483
Chen, J., Li, X., Hallinger, P., & Lee, J. C-K. (2023). Looking back and ahead: A bibliometric review of research on principal well-being, 1960 – 2022. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432231190

The missing link: Principal well-being literacy and its drivers and outcomes, General Research Fund, Research Grants Council, $613,585, 01/01/2024-31/12/2025, Co-Is, Allan Walker, Phil Riley, Lindsay Oades.
Principal resilience and its influential occupational drivers in Hong Kong: Developing and validating the Principal Resilience Inventory, Research Grants Council
Investigating the occupational well-being of Hong Kong school principals and influential psychosocial risk factors: A mixed-methods approach Research Grants Council

#2
Parent and community engagement in education

This theme researches: parent-school communication and conflict; Competing interests between parents and schools (e.g., parental demands regarding rights/religious freedoms that would lead to exclusion/discrimination in school communities); the nature and purpose of schooling and curriculum and parents’ roles in relation to these; parental engagement in school governance; engaging parents in culturally diverse schools and communities; non-normative families and education; school engagement with adoptive, foster and non-custodial parents; the role of schools in supporting at risk children and families; engaging with parents affected by family violence; the impact of Covid-19 on parents and children’s learning support.

Parent and community engagement in supporting academic and non-academic learning beyond the classroom among underprivileged young learners

Team Leader: Dr Dan LIN, Department of Psychology

Yung, K. W. H., & Zeng, C. (2022). Parentocracy within meritocracy: Parental perspective on lecture-style English private tutoring in Hong Kong. Language and Education, 36(4), 378-394. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2021.1981924
Cheung, S. K., Kwan, J. L. Y., Li, Z. Y., Chan, Y. Y., & Kwan, K. T. (2023). Parents’ epistemological beliefs, home practices, children’s early numeracy interest and abilities. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 65, 13-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.05.005
Pan, D. J., & Lin, D. (2023). Cognitive–linguistic skills explain Chinese reading comprehension within and beyond the simple view of reading in Hong Kong kindergarteners. Language Learning, 73(1), 126-160. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12515

Theme 2

#3
Equity, Ethics and Social Inclusion

This theme researches: equity of access and participation; inclusive educational practices in schools and classrooms; inclusive curriculum and pedagogy; multiculturalism and diverse community values and practices; bullying, conflict and violence in schools; social and environmental impacts on children’s cognitive development; multidimensional poverty and education; impact of gender-based and family violence on schooling; schools’ duty of care for LGBTQI+ students, families and staff; decolonisation of the curriculum; fair access to higher education; equity, diversity and inclusivity in higher education; academic ethics and patronage.

The attitudes of higher education leaders towards equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI): The role of emerging technologies

Team Leader: Dr Miron BHOWMIK, Department of Education Policy and Leadership

Bhowmik, M. K., Walker, A., & Bryant, D. (2023). Reconceptualizing inclusive leadership to address diversity in schools. Multicultural Education Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/2005615X.2023.2250713
Bhowmik, M. K. (2021). A qualitative inquiry of acculturation experiences of minoritised youth in Hong Kong. Curriculum Perspectives, 41, 131-141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41297-021-00141-9
Bhowmik, M. K., Cheung R. Y. M., & Hue, M. T. (2018). Acculturative Stress and Coping Strategies among Mainland Chinese University Students in Hong Kong: A Qualitative Inquiry. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 88(5), 550-562. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000338

Theme 3

#4
Child/Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing

This theme researches: Child/youth mental health issues such as depression, stress and anxiety during Covid-19; child/youth suicide and suicide prevention; educational factors associated with children’s mental health issues; child/youth grief and loss; child safety and wellbeing; child displacement and trauma due to global conflict, child labour and trafficking; learning after trauma.

Well-being among youth: Socioecological perspectives

Team Leader: Dr Liman LI, Department of Psychology

Ho, H. C. Y., Poon, K. T., Chan, K. K. S., Cheung, S. K., Datu, J. A. D., & Tse, A. C. Y. (2023). Promoting preservice teachers’ psychological and pedagogical competencies for online learning & teaching: The T.E.A.C.H. program. Computers & Education, 195, 104725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104725
Lou, N. M., & Li, L. M. W. (2023). The mindsets × societal norm effect across 78 cultures: Growth mindsets are linked to performance weakly and well-being negatively in societies with fixed-mindset norms. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 134-152. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12544
Jiang, D., Lay, J. C., & Fung, H. H. (2024). Older adults experience better affective well-being in solitude: The moderating role of goal for conflict de-escalation. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-being, Online Advance Publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12533

Theme 4

Anchor 1

Anchor 2

Research Themes

#1 Capacity Building for the Education Workforce

#2 Parent and community engagement in education

#3 Equity, Ethics and Social Inclusion

#4 Child/Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing

#1 Capacity building for the education workforce

Project 1

Project 2

#2 Parent and community engagement in education

#3 Equity, Ethics and Social Inclusion

#4 Child/Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing

#1
Capacity Building for the Education Workforce

#2
Parent and community engagement in education

#3
Equity, Ethics and Social Inclusion

#4
Child/Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing

#1
Capacity building for the education workforce

#2
Parent and community engagement in education

#3
Equity, Ethics and Social Inclusion

#4
Child/Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing