This research explores the possibility of a relationship between students’ learning approach and attendance to private supplementary tutoring. The phenomenon of private supplementary tutoring is prevalent in Hong Kong because of the public examination at the end of senior secondary. There have been numerous researches on private supplementary tutoring in Hong Kong. However there has not been any research relating private supplementary tutoring to learning approach. The research was done using mixed method. For qualitative data Kember, Biggs and Leung’s (2004) Revised Learning Process Questionnaire (R-LPQ-2F) was used to identify student’s learning approach. For quantitative date a semi-structured interview was used, containing questions pertaining to learning approach of students. The result of the research was that there was not a strong relationship between students’ learning approach and attendance in private tutorial center. This is due to the fact that learning approach of students is a dynamic entity and is not stagnant. External and internal factors affect students’ learning approach. Therefore learning approach does not seem to have a strong relationship to attendance to a private tutorial center. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This dissertation investigates the issue of shadow education in Hong Kong. It addresses the phenomenal choice for many secondary school students to attend private tutorial classes in addition to mainstream schooling with a comparative study. Two schools offering supplementary tutoring in Hong Kong – a locally-based private tutorial chain-store and an American-franchised learning centre – are selected for inquiry into students’ educational needs and how the schools respond to the needs through their curriculum. The schools are compared in terms of curriculum content, teaching mode, and assessment. The study reveals a gap between what is taught in mainstream schools and what is assessed in public examinations, leading local secondary school students to turn to tutorial schools for examination skills, the right to choose their own coaches, and extra training opportunities. Both tutorial schools respond to these needs by spicing up the learning environment, providing frequent assessments, and letting students choose their own learning style and pace. The two schools, however, are found to be very different when it comes to class sizes, business orientations, and approaches to teaching. The two different models of tutorial school are compared. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Background & Problem discussion: In recent years, private tutoring in Hong Kong and elsewhere has expanded into a vast enterprise. Private supplementary tutoring could be found in Japan and many other countries. Private supplementary tutoring has for decades been provided to primary and secondary school children in Hong Kong. During recent years, there is an increasing number of preschool children who receive private supplementary tutoring. However, it is less vigorous at this level compared to primary and secondary schools. Rather than that, most of the research done has been focused on the factors underlying the demand for private supplementary tutoring for primary and secondary levels, but less focus on the determinants of demand for private supplementary tutoring for preschoolers. Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation is to identify the determinants of demand for private supplementary tutoring for preschool children in Tsuen Wan New Town in Hong Kong. Theoretical framework: The history of preschool education in Hong Kong since 1950s is presented. Moreover, factors underlying the demand for private supplementary tutoring for primary and secondary levels in two contexts, particularly Asia and Europe are presented. Such theory assisted me in identifying the determinant of demands for private tutoring for preschool children in Tsuen Wan New Town. Method: A qualitative research approach is applied to the dissertation. I have conducted face-to face interviews with four parents whose children study in Discovery Funful Kindergarten in Tsuen Wan New Town. All of the interviews were tape-recorded. Conclusion: The findings show that parents’ attitude towards private supplementary tutoring are positive. Four of the parents perceived tutoring as essential and supplement to kindergarten. They believed that supplementary tutoring could bring a lot of benefits to their children and they recognized the importance of private tutoring. They perceived academic results were not the only determinants when considering sending their children to private tutoring; other determinants of demand particularly personal determinants did play important role. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study yields insights into the symbolic and metaphorical value of advertisements produced by the private English programmes in Hong Kong. Exploring the domain of advertising as a medium, the author examines the semiotics of metaphor as a tool to unravel the symbolic and metaphorical representations embedded in the visual images of advertisements produced for private English programmes for the local market. From deciphering the symbolic signs and metaphors, this study moves to a broader context for further researching into the transfer of symbolic meaning from the advertisement to the advertised product and then to the prospective student. The identification of symbolic interactionism helps to understand the dynamics of the private English education market in Hong Kong. Three types of metaphor identified by Lakoff &Johnson (2003), namely: orientational metaphor, ontological metaphor and structural metaphor, form the theoretical framework of analysis. By examining the mapping of domains from the concrete source (source domain - the featured object) to the abstract target (target domain – the advertised course), this study discovers the metaphorical connections between different domains, and hence understands what features and characteristics of the advertised products are made the core messages and selling propositions to the target market. The commodification of ideology and the consumer behavioural change from material consumption to sign consumption are also discussed. Findings from this study provide significant insights for colleges or education institutions which are interested in employing advertising strategies in their marketing plans. / published_or_final_version / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

邱家偉. / Thesis submitted in: December 2009. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 221-227). / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Qiu Jiawei. / 中、英文摘要 --- p.i / 鳴謝 --- p.iii / 目錄頁 --- p.iv / Chapter 第一章 --- 前言 --- p.1 / Chapter 一、 --- 社會學、社會脈絡與生命歷程 --- p.4 / Chapter 二、 --- 自反性：風險和安全感之平衡 --- p.6 / Chapter 三、 --- 全文內容及重要性簡介 --- p.8 / Chapter 第二章 --- 文獻回顧 --- p.11 / Chapter 一、 --- 自反性現代化 --- p.11 / Chapter 二、 --- 本體性安全感與傳統社會 --- p.13 / Chapter 三、 --- 風險社會與新風險 --- p.16 / Chapter 四、 --- 生命歷程社會學 --- p.27 / Chapter 五、 --- 自反性現代化對生命歷程的反動 --- p.36 / Chapter 第三章 --- ?究問題和方法 --- p.38 / Chapter 一、 --- 孩童時代 --- p.38 / Chapter 二、 --- 近年香港情況 --- p.51 / Chapter 三、 --- ?究問題 --- p.53 / Chapter 四、 --- ?究方法 --- p.55 / Chapter 第四章 --- 學習社會及課外活動制度化 --- p.61 / Chapter 一、 --- 學習社會 --- p.61 / Chapter 二、 --- 香港作?學習社會´ؤ´ؤ孩童時代的發展 --- p.66 / Chapter 三、 --- 孩童閒暇生活與課外活動的發展 --- p.72 / Chapter 四、 --- 全天候的學習社會 --- p.88 / Chapter 第五章 --- 孩童閒暇時間之專業化及規範化 --- p.90 / Chapter 一、 --- 興趣班風潮´ؤ´ؤ課外活動市場化 --- p.90 / Chapter 二、 --- 興趣班風潮的專業論述 --- p.97 / Chapter 三、 --- 系統入侵孩童時代´ؤ´ؤ閒暇生活規範化 --- p.109 / Chapter 四、 --- 市場化、專業化與制度化´ؤ´ؤ現代性的吊詭發展 --- p.122 / Chapter 第六章 --- 家長的自反性培育 --- p.134 / Chapter 一、 --- 成?父母的風險與焦慮 --- p.135 / Chapter 二、 --- 家長的自反性培育心態 --- p.143 / Chapter 三、 --- 全方位的競爭´ؤ´ؤ焦慮風險的惡性循環 --- p.157 / Chapter 四、 --- 刻不容緩的壓力 --- p.168 / Chapter 五、 --- 自反性孩童時代´ؤ´ؤ充滿競爭的社教化環境 --- p.172 / Chapter 六、 --- 自反性培育方式 --- p.182 / Chapter 第七章 --- 自反性生命規劃´ؤ´ؤ吊詭的生命歷程 --- p.192 / Chapter 一、 --- 實證反思 --- p.194 / Chapter 二、 --- 理論反思 --- p.203 / Chapter 三、 --- 全文結語 --- p.214 / 附表 --- p.217 / 參考資料 --- p.221

In view of the popularity and continuous expansion in the scale of shadow education (private supplementary tutoring) all over the world, research in this field has recently received more attention. However, the study of English language learning in this context has been rather limited although it is the subject having the greatest demand in Hong Kong. This study aimed to fill part of the research gap by focusing on the experience of learners of English under shadow education in Hong Kong. It investigated, from the learners’ perspective, why they received English tutoring, the strategies tutors used and how their motivations and attitudes were influenced. It also explored what learners ‘wanted’ and ‘needed’ in English learning under shadow education, and whether their ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ were satisfied. A qualitative study was carried out. Data were collected using background questionnaires and one-to-one semi-structured interviews. Fourteen Year One university undergraduates were recruited as interviewees to narrate their experience of English learning through tuition in their whole life before they were admitted to university. The data showed that learners participated in four types of tutoring, namely one-to-one, small-group, large-group and star-tutoring. The frequency, duration, costs, learners’ attitudes, motivation and reasons for receiving tutoring changed in different periods. A theoretical framework was developed to investigate how learners were motivated under shadow education. The data also suggested that learners’ ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ overlapped to various degrees in different periods. The study has indicated that shadow education has had a significant impact on the mainstream education system. While shadow education seems to be developing in an opposite direction to the current education reform, there is clearly something that mainstream schoolteachers and curriculum developers can learn from it. It would be wise to look at the issue seriously instead of ignoring it. / published_or_final_version / Applied English Studies / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

Liberal Studies was introduced to the Hong Kong Senior Secondary Curriculum as a compulsory subject in 2009. Liberal Studies lays strong emphasis on students’ self-learning abilities and critical thinking skills, and reduces rote memorization or cramming of knowledge. However, the large-scale tutorial schools – also known as cram schools - which are notorious for teaching students to focus on examination materials instead of genuine learning have ironically been successful in attracting student-consumers for the subject. This dissertation describes elements students receive from tutorial schools and reasons why the elements can successfully retain student-customers, followed by a discussion on the possible impacts of tutorial school learning which may have on students’ learning and on their formal schooling. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is employed in the analysis. It is found that tutorial business have made use of a lot marketing strategies for the promotion. Not only that they employ a lot of tactics to satisfy students’ needs, but they also create and stimulate demand by boosting students’ anxiety levels and by devaluing the day school education that they are receiving. On one hand, the extent to which the so-called ‘examination techniques’ or ‘skills’ is useful to students’ learning is doubted; on the other hand, it is found that tutorial schools’ unethical business practices and their business-driven ways of teaching would impose hidden yet serious long-term impacts on students’ learning and whole-person development. Moreover, tutorial schools’ marketing strategies would hinder the education reform which is in progress. All in all, tutorial school’s hindrance to successful schooling deserves immediate attention from educational policy makers. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy