Prof Lee Kerry, Dr Chan King Chung Derwin, Dr Lau Yi Hung Eva, Dr Fong Yui Chi Cathy, Dr Gao Xiaozi, Dr Hu Xinyun, Dr Kong Siu Hang Eric and Dr Li Yixun from the Department of Early Childhood Education (ECE) were awarded the General Research Fund (GRF) and the Early Career Scheme (ECS) by the Research Grants Council (RGC).
On June 27, 2024, the RGC announced the application results of the GRF and ECS 2024/25 exercise. The university as a whole secured 44 grants (32 GRF and 12 ECS), achieving a success rate of 26.2%, while the ECE Department submitted 16 applications and secured 8 grants (4 GRF and 4 ECS), achieving a success rate at 50%. Particularly, Dr Lau Yi Hung Eva was awarded over HK$900,000 for her project.
Dean of Faculty of Education and Human Development, Prof Bruce Macfarlane, remarked, "This achievement is particularly impressive given the significant increase in competition this year. The total number of applications submitted by eight UGC-funded institutions rose from 3,556 to 4,167. Only projects that scored 4 or above out of 5 were considered for funding.” The great result of this year’s GRF and ECS acknowledges the department’s strong foundation in research.
Below is the list of awardees from ECE Department in the funding exercise:
|
Principal Investigator |
Project Title |
GRF/ECS |
Co-Investigator |
|
Dr Chan King Chung Derwin |
A Mixed-Method Longitudinal Study of Children’s Swimming Competence: Testing an Integrated Health Psychology Model of Motivation and Social Cognition |
GRF |
Dr Wong Ming Yu Claudia [HPE] |
|
Dr Fong Yui Chi Cathy |
Orthographic Executive Functions: A Missing Component for Understanding Early Writing Ability in Chinese? |
GRF |
Dr Gao Xiaozi [ECE] |
|
Dr Gao Xiaozi |
From Home to the Classroom: An Investigation of the Relation between Environmental Chaos and Children’s Executive Function. |
ECS |
Prof Kerry Lee [ECE], |
|
Dr Hu Xinyun |
Refine and Evaluate a Pedagogical STEM Toolkit for Young Children’s Spatial Reasoning: A Design Experiment |
ECS |
Prof Chiu Ming Ming [SEC], |
|
Dr Kong Siu Hang Eric |
Exploring the Role of Cultural and Social Capital in Inequalities of Children’s Arts Education: A Comparative Study in the Greater Bay Area |
ECS |
Prof John Erni [LCS],
|
|
Dr Lau Yi Hung Eva |
An Integrated Approach to Enhancing Executive Functions and School Readiness in Hong Kong Preschoolers: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study |
GRF |
Prof Li Hui Philip [ECE], |
|
Prof Lee Kerry |
The Impact of Parental Stress, Parenting Practices, and the Provision of Learning Environments on the Development of Working Memory in Kindergarten-aged Children |
GRF |
Dr Lau Yi Hung Eva [ECE], |
|
Dr Li Yixun |
Orthographic Learning in First and Second Languages: Re-thinking and Re-evaluating the Self-teaching Hypothesis with Evidence from Chinese-English Bilingual Children |
ECS |
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