Creating a Research Hub in Education The Institute has been playing its part in the advancement process through education and scholarship. We have taken an active role in research training in education and associated areas such as the humanities, languages and social sciences that have strong elements related to education. Our newly established Graduate School serves as a hub from which to develop a new capacity for knowledge creation through innovative research postgraduate and professional postgraduate programmes.
Applied Research
The Institute is proud of its research tradition, which has strong applied dimensions and is relevant to the needs of schools and the community. We encourage applied research with academic rigour to advance knowledge for professional improvement, practical innovation and policy formulation in education and beyond. During the year, the Institute was actively engaged in research and development projects funded by the General Research Fund, the Public Policy Research Fund, the government and other external funding agencies. These studies covered both the school sector and the community with a wide array of research topics that will have far reaching impacts on education and policy. Some studies are highlighted as follows.
A Comparative Study of Transnational Higher Education Policy and Governance in Hong Kong, Shenzhen China and Singapore
This study compares and contrasts the government policies and strategies that facilitate transnational higher education development in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Singapore. The project undertakes an analysis of policy change towards transnational education, by identifying and interviewing key policy actors and major players to examine the specific strategies used in promoting, regulating and assuring the quality of the growing number of transnational higher education programmes in these selected Asian societies.
Second Language Identity and Study Abroad: A Hong Kong-based Study
This study aims at constructing a model of second language identity development for Hong Kong English learners. To this end, the researchers will identify how students construct identities as members of “imagined” English-speaking worlds while studying in local institutions, the impact of actual overseas experience on these identities and the role of self-narratives in the process of second-language identity construction.
Assessing the Contribution of Distributed Leadership to School Improvement
This study is investigating the effects of leadership on school improvement and student learning in Hong Kong. Building on 40 years of research, it seeks to understand the extent, nature and means by which leadership impacts school change, effectiveness and improvement.
Publication of Research Findings
Our academic staff also contributed to education and the community. They proactively disseminated and transferred knowledge through the publication of their research findings and activities in scholarly books, monographs, academic journal articles, conference papers, creative and literary works, and consultancy reports. As at 30 June 2010, Institute staff had produced around 800 refereed output items, with topics covering various levels and sectors of education, and related disciplines.
Expanded Research Project Profiles
Applied research aside, in line with the Institute’s direction to transform itself into a multidisciplinary institution, the number of research projects extending beyond conventional education is on the increase. Projects newly funded during the year covered a variety of areas including the social sciences, health studies, languages and literature, and others. Research topics were also expanded under the “Education Plus” framework, and included Cantonese study, health care for the elderly and people with disabilities, modelling data with item-response theory, global warming and climate change. Some of these projects are highlighted as follows.
Research on China and Global Warming: Reconciling International Justice and the Realities of Climate Change
Supported by the General Research Fund, this two-year project is aimed at developing a better understanding of China’s opposition to binding greenhouse gas limitations, particularly the underlying official arguments, and to situate China’s conceptions of climate justice in the context of the practical future impacts of climate change, especially for poor people in the developing world.
Research Programme on Caregivers of Dementia Patients
With the anticipated acute increase in dementia cases in the coming decades, caregivers of dementia patients have also attracted considerable concern. This project is funded by two grants from the Research Grants Council, totalling $6 million. As the largest ever non-science subject research programme, the three-year project is longitudinally investigating stress and depressive symptoms in caregivers as they relate to patient condition over time.
Parallel to this study, a five-year intervention study funded by the Strategic Public Policy Research Scheme aims at developing an innovative benefit-finding programme and a scientific test of its effects using a double-blind randomised controlled trial design. The intervention programme will integrate psychoeducation, mutual support, telephone crisis couns elling and positive reappraisal to identify the positive aspects of caregiving.
Knowledge Creation and Transfer
The Institute is devoted to the advancement of scholarship through knowledge creation and transfer in education, society and beyond. At the school and community level, we are keen to transfer the knowledge we create to enhance the quality of education. Our knowledge transfer activities include, among others, commissioned projects, partnership projects, consultancies, continuing professional development courses, professional conferences and seminars. Although these efforts may not be completely quantifiable, some statistics are indicative of what the Institute did over the year. In 2009-10, the number of key partners involved in knowledge transfer activities increased fourfold from 420 to 1,755, benefiting 5,435 schools and 79,046 teachers, 37,937 parents and stakeholders, and 5,975 other participants.
Scholarly Accolades
An institute of higher education is a place where great minds meet for the pursuit of intellectual excellence. At the Institute, we have the critical mass of scholars who are academic leaders in their respective fields of expertise. Some of them have achievements that are recognised locally, nationally and internationally.
During the year, the followin g academic colleagues received honours and accolades in various areas. Professor Anthony Cheung was elected Secretary-General of Asian Association of Public Administration; Professor Cheng Yin-cheong was elected President of World Education Research Association and appointed Panel Advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Professor Cheng Sheung-tak was elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science; Professor Joshua Mok was named Chiang Jiang Scholar and President of Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong; Professor Joanne Chung and Dr Chen Jinghan were awarded the Silver Medal at the Korea International Women’s Invention Exposition 2010; and Dr Simon Shen was awarded a Visiting Fellowship at the Brookings Institution.
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