The study investigated the effects of four class sizes (16, 23, 30, and 37) on teachers’ expectations; the attitudes and opinions of participants (students and teachers); student achievement in reading, mathematics, composition, and art; student self-concept; and a variety of classroom process variables (e.g., teacher-pupil interaction, pupil participation, method of instruction). Teachers and students were randomly assigned to a class size in Grades 4 and 5. A total of 62 classes in three school districts in Metropolitan Toronto participated in the two-year study. Findings indicated that teachers had definite expectations of class size effects that subsequently were reported to be confirmed by their experience in the study. However, most other results failed to support teachers’ opinions. Few of the observed classroom process variables were affected by class size. Although students’ mathematics-concept scores were higher in size 16 than 30 or 37, there were no class size effects for the other achievement measures (reading, vocabulary, mathematics-problem solving, art, and composition) or for students’ attitudes and self-concepts.

Issues Concerning the Design and Implementation of an Experimental Study of the Effects of Class Size.

Educational Measurement and Evaluation

Fostering critical thinking in English-as-a-second-language classrooms: Challenges and opportunities

Development and evaluation of a WebQuest-based teaching programme: Students' use of exploratory talk to exercise critical thinking.

This paper examines whether Hong Kong teachers and students perceived Liberal Studies and its ongoing curriculum review as politically driven during and after the Umbrella Movement, a large-scale civil disobedience campaign that took place in September 2014. The findings presented herein show that both groups disagreed with the claim that Liberal Studies was used as a political instrument to instigate students’ participation in the protest movement. Moreover, they also reveal that teachers have maintained their neutrality towards controversial issues related to politics during Liberal Studies lessons. Whilst the participating teachers and students considered the government's proposed reform of Liberal Studies to be politically motivated, they held differing attitudes towards the addition of more China-related elements to the subject. On the basis of these results, this paper analyses the potential role of Liberal Studies in the democratisation of local society. It also provides an indication of th...

Is Liberal Studies a political instrument in the secondary school curriculum? Lessons from the Umbrella Movement in post-colonial Hong Kong

Promoting good practice in small classes: Lessons learnt from small class teaching professional development programmes in Hong Kong

This study reveals the perceptions of over one hundred Hong Kong teachers who were asked to reflect upon the implementation of Liberal Studies in secondary schools in response to the latest government review of the subject’s curriculum. Questionnaire-based surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted to probe the participating teachers’ perceptions and suggestions in such areas as the subject’s objectives, content and assessment, with the ultimate goal of tracing the subject’s developmental trajectory. The findings indicate that, whilst the teachers appear to have faith in Liberal Studies’ objective to develop students into critical and independent thinkers, they feel that the pedagogical challenges with which they have been confronted have influenced their teaching motivation and support for the subject’s mandatory status in secondary education. Further, the potential tension between the challenges they have encountered in reality and the ideal outcomes envisaged by policymakers raises the question of how Liberal Studies can move forward in giving teachers a greater role in educational reform. Recommendations for relieving that tension, as well as the findings’ implications for future research on curriculum development in Hong Kong and elsewhere, are also discussed.

The way forward for the development of Liberal Studies: how teachers perceive its introduction and implementation in Hong Kong secondary schools

Liberal Studies was initially introduced as a non-statutory subject in Hong Kong in 1992. It then confronted intense opposition and a bumpy implementation path before securing mandatory sta...

Tim Weijun Liang

Papers

Promoting good practice in small classes: Lessons learnt from small class teaching professional development programmes in Hong Kong

The way forward for the development of Liberal Studies: how teachers perceive its introduction and implementation in Hong Kong secondary schools

The legitimacy of curriculum development in post-colonial Hong Kong: insights from the case of Liberal Studies

The Effectiveness of Collaborative Mind Mapping in Hong Kong Primary Science Classrooms

Fostering Critical Thinking Through Collaborative Group Work: Insights from Hong Kong