Research Findings: Previous studies have found that a growth mind-set was associated with optimal learning and well-being outcomes. However, much of this research has been conducted among adolescents and young adults. Relatively little is known as to whether these associations also apply to young children. The present study aimed to examine…

The script relativity hypothesis proposes that the scripts we read and write affect our cognition. The current study tested this hypothesis by comparing Chinese and English cognitive-linguistic skills and three cognitive abilities, including verbal working memory capacity, nonverbal IQ, and arithmetic calculation, across groups of children with…

Cross-language transfer happens in bilingual reading development. However, little is known about whether L1 affects L2 spelling development. In addition, longitudinal studies are needed to examine the L1-L2 relations developmentally from the beginning of literacy learning. We tested whether and which Chinese (L1) literacy-related skill(s) in…

We investigated the correlates of word reading and spelling as well as the relations of word reading and spelling in Hong Kong Chinese children. A set of literacy-related skills and delayed copying were administered in kindergarten, and Chinese word reading and dictation were tested at kindergarten as well as in first and second grade. The final…

Moving the hands or chewing in the encoding stage enhances memory, because body movement activates the frontal cortex, which is crucial to the memory process. However, how hand movement facilitates word memory in an applied setting and whether it produces long-term effects remain unclear. Grade 1 students studied 15 new words through different…

One hundred sixty-five Hong Kong Chinese children were administered measures of early mathematics, visual-spatial skills, and executive functioning (working memory, inhibition, shifting, updating) once in kindergarten (mean age = 62.80 months, SD = 3.74) and again in first grade (mean age = 77.25 months, SD = 4.60). In kindergarten, visual-spatial…

This article reports on an exploratory study on developing and adopting a 'Virtual Go Mode' feature embedded in a mobile vocabulary learning app, VocabGo, to enhance students' vocabulary learning engagement. Distinguished from other virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) applications, the Virtual Go Mode is designed for students to…

Despite decades of research, little is known about the dynamics of sustaining change in school reform and how the process of change unfolds. By tracing the nine-year reform journeys of four primary schools in Hong Kong (using multiyear interview, observational, and archival data), this study uncovers the micro-processes the schools experienced…

Reading self-beliefs, comprising self-concept and self-efficacy, play a pivotal role in shaping students' learning engagement and learning outcomes. However, existing literature on the self-beliefs of school-entry students primarily originates from Western contexts, and the exploration of differences in self-beliefs, engagement in learning, and…

Some children struggle with mathematics. Among these children, some of them may be learners with mathematical difficulties. While research has revealed multiple deficits as candidate causes for mathematical difficulties and probable subtypes, the cognitive profiles of these subtypes are not fully understood. Moreover, we have yet to discover…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to contribute to the research methodology literature that arose out of the (new) sociology of childhood and the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989) with regard to conducting ethical research with children rather than on children. In particular, this article reflects on the development of a method…

With a one-stage meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) analysis based on 49,416 individuals from 267 independent samples and 210 studies, the current study systematically investigated models including meta-linguistic skills, decoding, language comprehension, and reading comprehension for Chinese population. Findings showed that (1)…

This paper reports the findings of a field experiment that gamified the classroom experience of elementary school ESL students by implementing digital badges-and-points which students could earn by achieving specific behavioral and learning goals. Altogether, 120 children in eight different classes participated in this study. Four of the classes…

Research Findings: This study explored the moderating effect of child competence in independent learning in relations between the amount of learning assignment, length of online learning, and parent satisfaction with children's online learning during COVID-19 imposed class suspension. The data came from an online survey conducted in Hong Kong in…

Reading interventions developed to teach grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) were evaluated among L2 at-risk readers. In the direct mapping of grapheme (DMG) condition, children's attention was explicitly drawn to the application of a graphemes taught on that day to shared reading of words in authentic text. In the control condition there was…