This mixed-methods study investigates whether and to what extent positive psychology constructs (classroom enjoyment, grit, and growth mindset) and Extramural English predict primary school students' willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) both in the classroom (a fictitious but common setting for English communication among…

The adoption of online learning approach in education is becoming more popular around the world to overcome the time and spatial barriers of traditional face-to-face learning. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the normality of learning and avoiding face-to-face activities is one tactic to minimise the spread of…

Critical thinking has gained much attention in many countries over the past few decades; however, there is no clear definition of what it is due to the richness in meaning of the term 'critical thinking' and the ambiguity of the word 'critical'. In spite of this, many scholars had contributed their conceptions of critical thinking, in which…

Research Findings: This study investigated the relationships of preservice teachers' year of study in the teacher education program, creativity, zest, and self-efficacy in managing children's behaviors to self-efficacy in creating child-centered learning environments. Data were collected from 275 Hong Kong preservice teachers via self-reported…

In contrast to a burgeoning research literature on the role of emotions in learning and instruction in Western culture, research on how emotions impact student and teacher development in Asian countries is lacking. The present paper reviews seven publications included in the 2019 Special Issue of The Asia--Pacific Education Researcher examining…

International schools provide a unique context for examining the influence of culture on adolescent personality and identity. In order to investigate whether intercultural education attenuates or amplifies known cultural differences in personality, the traits of 81 students from Chinese, North American, and mixed Chinese-North American cultural…

The purposes of this paper are to identify: (1) the factors affecting the intrinsic motivation of university students in Hong Kong; and (2) gender differences in the perception of intrinsic motivation in Hong Kong higher education environment. The factors of curiosity and external regulation with intrinsic motivation are taken into investigation…

The influence of culture on adolescent prosocial behavior is a neglected aspect in existing studies. Objectives: This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Cultural Influence on Helping Scale (CIHS) among Chinese adolescents. CIHS is an instrument that assesses Chinese cultural influence on helping other people. Method: The CIHS was…

Locus of control (LOC) is a personality variable shown to possess potential explanatory power in the study of ethical decision making. There have been, however, diverse results reported in the literature. Whenever differences on this variable are indicated by the research, individuals with an Internal LOC report the more ethical responses. This…

This study evaluated the viability of using a self-report instrument to assess separately the positive form and negative form of perfectionism among 317 Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong. These students tended to endorse positive perfectionism more than negative perfectionism. Positive and negative perfectionism were also found to relate…

First-year University of Hong Kong students were subjects in a study using sex, verbal intelligence, personality, and attitudinal variables as predictors of English language skills. Results showed that levels of proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking were independent of one another. (LMO)