Dr Zhang secured HK$0.83 million from the Research Grants Council’s Early Career Scheme in 2014/15 to fund a project investigating the early precursors of young children’s acquisition of mathematical knowledge. The findings are expected to highlight the need for early-childhood mathematics educators to equip children with multiple fundamental skillsets.

Since joining the Institute in 2012, Dr Zhang has published 16 refereed journal articles (12 as the first author) and a book chapter. All 16 articles have been published in high-quality journals, such as Child Development, an extremely prestigious journal in the field of child development, and Early Childhood Research Quarterly, the leading journal in the field of early-childhood education.

Dr Zhang has received international recognition for his outstanding research on childhood development and learning. He has been invited to serve on the editorial boards of three prestigious academic journals, namely BMC Pediatrics, Early Childhood Research Quarterly and the International Journal of Psychology. He has collaborated widely with local and international researchers in Hong Kong, mainland China, Europe and North America. He is currently in the process of establishing a collaborative research network across Hong Kong, Singapore, Finland and the US to explore cross-cultural differences in the acquisition of mathematics knowledge by young children and identify the optimal environment in which children can achieve their mathematics learning potential.

Dr Zhang is committed to translating his research findings into policy and practice. Based on the findings of a large-scale collaborative research project on the need for tobacco-prevention education in Hong Kong kindergartens, he provided professional consultation for the Tobacco Control Office of the Department of Health of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Dr Zhang and his colleagues are currently working on another project whose findings will enable them to advise the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals on implementing and evaluating a high-quality kindergarten curriculum for infants and toddlers. 

Dr Zhang has proven himself to be a diligent young researcher who has already made a significant contribution to the field of early-childhood education.