This study considered the influences of the home learning environment and preschool quality on the development of 5-year-old Chinese (N = 43) and South Asian (N = 32) children in Hong Kong. Children were recruited from two preschools--one admitted only South Asian children, and the other admitted only Chinese children. Children were assessed in…

Purpose: Gesture delay in autistic infants and toddlers has been widely reported. The developmental trajectory of gesture production during early childhood is understudied. Thus, little is known about the possible changes of gesture production over time. The present study aimed to document the development of gesture production in autistic children…

This study establishes a sequence of developing mental state understandings in infants. We used three violation-of-expectation paradigms to assess fifty-seven 16-month-olds' ability to (a) infer an actress's intention from her prior repeated approaches to an object, (b) recognize her emotion by watching her facial-emotional display, and (c) deduce…

In this study, a modified version of the Curriculum Orientation Inventory for Early Childhood Education (COI-ECE) is developed and validated with a sample of 717 in-service teachers from fifty Hong Kong pre-primary schools. Results of confirmatory factor analysis show that the curriculum beliefs of pre-primary school teachers can be conceptualised…

Research Findings: A growing number of stakeholders in early childhood education (ECE) rely on self-assessment to assess and improve the quality of ECE. In this systematic review, we investigated the reliability and validity of self-assessment in ECE, summarizing findings from 27 publications. We meta-analytically synthesized findings from 25…

This study examined the relationships between leadership practices, professional learning communities, teachers' efficacy beliefs and perceptions of whole-child development in the context of kindergarten education. A sample of 2120 teachers from 153 Hong Kong kindergartens participated in a questionnaire survey. The results showed that principals'…

It has been debated whether the progressive emergence of theory of mind (ToM) in autistic children is compatible with a "delayed" or "different" development model, and whether and how the sequential consolidation of ToM concepts is subject to cross-cultural variations in autistic and typically developing (TD) children. To study…

Research Findings: This study investigated the relationship between the use of digital devices (DD) by preschool children in Hong Kong and their early development. The moderating role of family socioeconomic status (SES) was also examined. A total of 877 Chinese Hong Kong children aged 3-5 years old from 18 kindergartens and their parents…

This paper explored the challenges to the infant care profession in Hong Kong crèches, with an aim to contribute to the existing early childhood care literature for reference and comparison elsewhere. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 55 childcare workers and 12 supervisors, followed by interviews with some selected participants to examine…

This study examined early development of cool and hot self-regulation and how they were related to Chinese preschoolers' early achievement. A total of 951 children (448 girls) aged three to five in Hong Kong participated in this study. Children's self-regulation was assessed with a battery of five tasks tapping either cool or hot self-regulation;…

While play-based learning is important for a high quality early education, only when teachers are confident and competent in enacting play-based learning in their everyday practice are expected benefits of play-based learning for whole-child development realized. A sample of 592 early childhood educators who assumed different job titles in Hong…

This study investigated the direct relationship between home play opportunity and prospective school readiness, and the indirect relationships as mediated through object and social mastery motivation among Hong Kong Chinese kindergarten children. Participants were 106 local children (44.4% girls, mean age = 60.0 months) and their parents and…

This study looked into the experience of a group of elementary school students as well as their parents from Hong Kong, in a service-learning programme that aimed at facilitating the social-emotional development among gifted students. A total of 51 students and 72 parents participated in the focus group interview three months after the…

Children with special educational needs (CSEN) in the early years have been identified as vulnerable to the pandemic restrictions. This study explored the lived experiences of educators teaching CSEN online in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 school closures. Semi-structured interviews with 21 educators revealed that educators perceived the prolonged…

This study examines the value priorities of Chinese parents regarding their children's education in globally competitive context. Although Chinese parents are often viewed as being excessively controlling of their children and preoccupied with their academic performance, research indicates that contemporary Chinese families hold diverse beliefs…