Affective education in guangzhou, China: A case study

While the affective domain is believed globally to be one of the main areas of human experience and development, affective education is interpreted differently in different countries, and its manifestation varies from region to region. It is argued that affective education is culturally contextualized. The present paper reports a qualitative case study attempting to investigate how affective education is conceptualized and implemented in contemporary China. A middle school in Guangzhou, the biggest city in South China, was chosen as the case school. The study was conducted via semi-structured interviews (both individual and group), analysis of textbooks and school documents, and on-site observations. Findings show that perceived aims and contents of affective education were closely related to character formation, traditional Chinese values and political ideology. Affective education was also interpreted as a response to the rapid social changes in modern China. These findings highlight the influences of Chinese cultural values and political ideology on the conceptualization and interpretation of affective education. Our findings suggest that affective education from the Chinese perspective is 'value-oriented' rather than 'affect-oriented' and it serves as the means to promote the well-being of the collective rather than that of the individual. © Common Ground, Kai Yuen Cheng, Eadaoin K. P. Hui.published_or_final_versio

Developing a career development self-efficacy instrument for Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

A 24-item measure, the Career Development Self-Efficacy Inventory (CD-SEI), was developed to assess career development self-efficacy among adolescents in Hong Kong. The CD-SEI covered six domains representing competencies needed by high school students transiting from school to work in Hong Kong. The confirmatory factor analyses of the responses from 6776 Grades 10-13 students showed that the six primary factors with one higher order factor model was the best fit to the data, though the one general factor model yielded an adequate fit. Reliability analyses showed that the total scale and subscales were internally consistent. The data suggested that Hong Kong adolescents had some, but not strong confidence in their career development. Students with plans to study at a university had more confidence in their career development than those who did not have such plans. This is the first study to develop and validate a career development self-efficacy measure for Chinese adolescents. Issues related to comprehensive guidance programming and assessment instrument development from a cross-cultural perspective were discussed. © Springer 2005.postprin

Forgiveness and interpersonal relationships: A nepalese investigation

The present study examined the practice of forgiveness in Nepal. A model relating collectivism and forgiveness was examined. Participants (N = 221) completed measures of collectivism, individualism, forgiveness, conciliatory behavior, and motivations for avoidance and revenge toward the offender. Collectivism was positively related to forgiveness. Forgiveness was strongly related to conciliatory behavior and motivations for avoidance and revenge toward the offender. Decisional forgiveness was a stronger predictor of motivations for revenge than was emotional forgiveness. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.postprin

The counselling self-estimate inventory (COSE): Does it work in Chinese counsellors?

Counselling self-efficacy is an important construct for research and evaluation in counsellors' competencies and training effectiveness. Larson et al. developed the Counselling Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE) for counsellors in America and examined its factor structure using exploratory factor analysis. They recommended a five-factor model (microskills, counselling process, difficult client behaviour, cultural competence, and awareness of values) and the use of the COSE for future research. However, little research has investigated the validity of the COSE in the context of counselling Chinese students in schools. In the present study, the factor structure of responses to the Chinese version of the Counselling Self-Estimate Inventory in a sample of 578 Hong Kong secondary school guidance teachers was examined using the EQS approach to confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that while a five-factor model was fairly able to fit the data, the deletion of items related to the awareness of values factor yielded a better fitting model. The discussion of potential uses and limitations of the C-COSE in the context of preparing and supervising school guidance personnel in student counselling is relevant to counselling psychologists and researchers in Hong Kong and other parts of the world.postprin

Do parents’ collectivistic tendency and attitudes toward filial piety facilitate autonomous motivation among young Chinese adolescents?

The present study investigates the association of Chinese parents' collectivistic tendency, attitudes towards filial piety (i.e., children respecting and caring for parents (RCP) and children protecting and upholding honor for parents (PUHP)), parenting behaviors (i.e., autonomy granting (AG) and psychological control (PC)) with young adolescents' autonomous motivation. Participants were 321 Chinese parents and their eighth-grade children who independently completed a set of surveys. Results showed that parents' collectivistic tendency indirectly and positively contributes to children's autonomous motivation through the mediation of AG and PC, respectively. Parents' attitude toward RCP has an indirect and positive contribution to children's autonomy motivation through the mediation of AG while parents' attitude toward PUHP shows an indirect and negative contribution to children's autonomous motivation through the mediation of PC. The findings suggest that different cultural emphases in collectivist-based societies play different roles in adolescents' autonomy development. The implications of the findings are discussed. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

A guidance curriculum for student development: A qualitative study

This study examined the implementation of developmental guidance as a formal curriculum in a Hong Kong secondary school. A qualitative approach was employed to explore teachers' perceptions of the curriculum and of the factors which facilitated or hindered its implementation. The study found that teachers perceived the curriculum exerting positive effects on students' self-appreciation, self-control and behaviour, and on teachers' attitudes and management style. Implementation of this curriculum also facilitated a more inviting school atmosphere. Teachers' acceptance of the belief advocated in the curriculum, the use of experiential teaching approaches, and support from the school system were crucial in the process of implementation. The implications of the findings for school's implementation of developmental guidance via a formal curriculum were discussed.link_to_subscribed_fulltex