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Transforming Early Childhood Education - From Policy to Practice

PECERA-HK Celebration of 25th Anniversary of HKSAR Establishment cum

22nd PECERA Annual Conference

July 8 – 10, 2022

– Online Conference – 

Hong Kong SAR, China

Programme

Welcome

We are excited to announce that the PECERA-HK Celebration of 25th Anniversary of HKSAR Establishment cum 22nd PECERA Annual Conference will be held in Hong Kong SAR, China on July 8-10, 2022!

    Our theme this year is:

Transforming Early Childhood Education

– From Policy to Practice

The Conference will be held fully online, open to both local and international Early Childhood Education scholars, practitioners, and policy makers. 

In light of the continuous challenges and uncertainties all nations and communities are facing, particularly by our youngest citizens, now is the time that most requires our joint wisdom, innovation, and collaboration beyond borders and across cultures. 

We warmly invite you to join us virtually this July, and look forward to your valued contributions.

Conference Details

This is an accredited event celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

News

Paper and poster abstract acceptance notification released!

2022-05-31

Invitation for Applications for the ‘Young Scholar Award’ of PECERA International

2022-03-09

Please be noted that the deadlines of ‘CALL FOR PAPER’ and ‘Early Bird Registration’ have been extended!

2022-03-07

The 22nd PECERA Annual Conference is now CALLING FOR PAPERS!

2021-12-20

IMPORTANT DATES

Deadline for submission of abstracts: May 2, 2022

Paper and poster abstract acceptance notification: May 31, 2022

Deadline for early bird registration: June 15, 2022

Regular registration: starting June 16, 2022

Conference days: July 8-10, 2022

Call for papers

Abstract submission is now closed.

Abstract submission

Presenters are required to register to the Conference.  Presentation will not be arranged if registration and payment have not been completed.

Presentation Guideline

  • Paper / Poster Presentation Guidelines
Submission is closed

Curriculum

Child development and learning

Children with diverse needs (multicultural, inclusive, the unreached)

Parenting / home-school partnerships

Action research

Teacher education Policies and issues

Nutrition, health & safety

Leadership & management

Environmental education

​Technology in Early childhood

Programme

ONLINE CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

(Thailand, Indonesia)

Hong Kong

Standard Time

(GMT +8)

(Japan, South Korea)

(Australia)

Day 1: 8 July 2022 (Fri)

Opening Ceremony & Invited Addresses to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the HKSAR

 

08:00 – 09:15

 

09:00 – 10:15

 

10:00 – 11:15

 

11:00 – 12:15

Officiating Guests

– Professor JIANG Jianxiang, Director-General of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR

– Dr. CHOI Yuk Lin, JP, Secretary for Education, Hong Kong SAR

       

Greeting by MC

       

– National Anthem

       

Opening Remark

       

– Celebratory Address by PECERA-HK President, Dr Betty CHAN

       

Remarks by Officiating Guests

       

– Officiating Speech by LOCPG Official, Professor JIANG Jianxiang

       

– Officiating Speech by Secretary for Education, Dr. CHOI Yuk Lin, JP

       

Group Photos with Officiating Guests

       

Welcome Remarks

       

– Welcoming by PECERA-HK Conference Chair, Professor Nirmala RAO

       

– Address by PECERA Int’l President, Professor Soyoun BAE

       

Special Remarks

       

– Invited Speech by Executive Director of Charities & Community at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mr Leong CHEUNG

       

– Invited Speech by Director for Education and Skills at OECD, Professor Andreas SCHLEICHER

       

Gift presentation & Group Photo with Sponsors, Co-Organizers and Supporting Organizations

       

Break (15 min)

09:15 – 09:30

10:15 – 10:30

11:15 – 11:30

12:15 – 12:30

Keynote Address (I)

09:30 – 10:30

10:30 – 11:30

11:30 – 12:30

12:30 – 13:30

“From Practice to Research: Completing the circle of effective improvement in Early Childhood Education”

       

by Professor Catherine SNOW with Dr Si CHEN

       

(Chair: Professor Nirmala RAO)

       

Break (30 min)

10:30 – 11:00

11:30 – 12:00

12:30 – 13:00

13:30 – 14:00

Keynote Address (II)

11:00 – 12:00

12:00 – 13:00

13:00 – 14:00

14:00 – 15:00

“Addressing Inequality in the United States from Birth to Primary School Entry”

       

by Professor Hirokazu YOSHIKAWA

       

(Chair: Dr Lydia CHAN)

       

Meal Break (60 min)

12:00 – 13:00

13:00 – 14:00

14:00 – 15:00

15:00 – 16:00

Symposium (I): Gaps and Goals of Young Children’s Learning and Development in Hong Kong

13:00 – 15:00

14:00 – 16:00

15:00 – 17:00

16:00 – 18:00

(I) “Ready children, ready family, ready school and ready community”

       

by Dr Patrick IP

       

Q&A Session

       

(II) “Fun to Move@JC – a technology enriched framework to quality physical education”

       

by Professor Amy HA Sau-ching

       

(III) “How may we close the learning gap in kindergarten children? A culturally responsive approach to teaching language and literacy skills”

       

by Professor CHUNG Kien Hoa Kevin

       

(Chair: Professor Kerry LEE)

       

Invitation to Publish in PECERA Journal (APJRECE) (APJRECE Editor: Dr Soohwan KIM)

15:00 – 15:15

16:00 – 16:15

17:00 – 17:15

18:00 – 18:15

Promotion of 23rd PECERA International Conference in 2023 (Presenter: Dr Sofia HARTATI)

15:15 – 15:30

16:15 – 16:30

17:15 – 17:30

18:15 – 18:30

MC to wrap-up for the day and briefly introduce the next two days

15:30 – 15:45

16:30 – 16:45

17:30 – 17:45

18:30 – 18:45

         

Day 2: 9 July 2022 (Sat)

       

Symposium (II): Transforming Early Childhood Education in Mainland China

08:00 – 09:30

09:00 – 10:30

10:00 – 11:30

11:00 – 12:30

(I) “Rethinking ‘Play’: The Key to Understand Young Children’s Mind” by Ms CHENG Xueqin

       

(II) “Adopting Living Education Theory to Support the Growth of ‘Living Teachers’ in Kindergartens” by Dr ZHANG Jun

       

(Chair: Dr Derwin CHAN)

       

Break (30 min)

09:30 – 10:00

10:30 – 11:00

11:30 – 12:00

12:30 – 13:00

Concurrent Paper Session 1

10:00 – 11:30

11:00 – 12:30

12:00 – 13:30

13:00 – 14:30

Meal Break (60 min)

11:30 – 12:30

12:30 – 13:30

13:30 – 14:30

14:30 – 15:30

Concurrent Paper Session 2

12:30 – 14:00

13:30 – 15:00

14:30 – 16:00

15:30 – 17:00

Break (10 min)

14:00 – 14:30

15:00 – 15:10

16:00 – 16:30

17:00 – 17:30

Live Chat with e-Poster Presenters

14:10 – 16:40

*15:10 – 17:40

16:10 – 18:40

17:10 – 19:40

         

Day 3: 10 July 2022 (Sun)

       

Concurrent Paper Session 3

08:00 – 09:30

09:00 – 10:30

10:00 – 11:30

11:00 – 12:30

Break (30 min)

09:30 – 10:00

10:30 – 11:00

11:30 – 12:00

12:30 – 13:00

Concurrent Paper Session 4

10:00 – 11:30

11:00 – 12:30

12:00 – 13:30

13:00 – 14:30

Concurrent Session: (60min)

       

Research and Publication Workshop

*10:00 – 11:00

*11:00 – 12:00

*12:00 – 13:00

13:00 – 14:00

“How to get your papers published? Let’s talk to the Editors.” by Dr Bonnie YIM and Dr Derwin CHAN

       

Q&A Session

       

Meal Break (60 min)

11:30 – 12:30

12:30 – 13:30

13:30 – 14:30

14:30 – 15:30

Concurrent Paper Session 5

12:30 – 14:00

13:30 – 15:00

14:30 – 16:00

15:30 – 17:00

Break (30 min)

14:00 – 14:30

15:00 – 15:30

16:00 – 16:30

17:00 – 17:30

Concurrent Paper Session 6

14:30 – 16:00

15:30 – 17:00

16:30 – 18:00

17:30 – 19:00

Closing Ceremony

16:00 – 16:15

17:00 – 17:15

18:00 – 18:15

19:00 – 19:15

– Closing Address by PECERA Int’l President, Professor Soyoun BAE

       

– Presentation of PECERA Int’l’s ‘Young Scholar Award’

       

– Closing Remarks by PECERA-HK Conference Chair, Professor Nirmala RAO

       

 

Please CLICK HERE  to view the Concurrent Paper Sessions Schedule.

Please CLICK HERE  to view Live Chat with e-Poster Presenters Schedule.

E-Posters will be available at virtual gallery during the Conference.

The Conference will be hosted on a virtual platform. Participants will receive personalized login for the virtual platform before the conference.

Recordings will be available on the platform until August 10, 2022. (expect “Live Chat with e-Poster Presenters”)

Registration is closed

Registration is now CLOSED.

Early bird Early bird Member Normal Normal Member
Regular (Online)
USD 200
USD 80
USD 300
USD 120
Student (Online)
USD 100
USD 40
USD 150
USD 60

In view of the development of COVID-19 epidemic situation in Hong Kong, catering services will not be available at the venue during conference.  

Conference Fee

* A confirmation letter for your registration will be issued upon receipt of your conference registration fee. Please note that registration will not be processed unless accompanied by full payment.

Cancellation and Refund Policy on Conference Registration

Cancellation made on or before June 20, 2022: Refund will be arranged with an administrative charge of USD30 to be deducted from the amount.

Cancellation made after June 20: No refund will be arranged.

Request for “Invitation Letter to the Conference”

If you need an official Invitation letter from PECERA (Hong Kong) for application of funding from your organization, please email to conferencesecretariat@pecera.org.hk.

Other Information

The Certificates of Participation will only be issued to registered presenters / co-authors / participants who have completed the full conference registration and payment.

PECERA (HK) Personal Data Privacy Statement

PECERA (HK) strictly complies with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. The information collected is used to respond to and process your request and inform you of the latest developments of PECERA(HK) in a timely manner. You may request access to or correction of your personal information held by PECERA (HK) by contacting conferencesecretariat@pecera.org.hk

Registration is closed

Keynotes

Keynote Address (I)

 

“From Practice to Research: Completing the circle of effective improvement in Early Childhood Education”

Professor Catherine SNOW with Dr Si CHEN
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Abstract

Though the emphasis on using research to guide practice is unassailably wise, it is incomplete if we don’t also consider how to use the wisdom of practice to guide research.  Ideally, researchers and practitioners would join forces to inform one another from their separate but equally important domains of expertise.  We will present two examples of how attending to practice enriched and informed a research agenda, with positive effects for the internal validity of the research effort and for the utility of the research to practitioners.  One such example derives from the research activities carried out with the China Development Research Foundation to expand and improve quality in the One Village One Preschool (OVOP) sites; the second example derives from work with the Boston Public Schools in their efforts to expand high-quality universal prekindergarten education to community-based programs serving four-year-olds. In both cases close attention to the emergent needs of the practitioners involved in delivering the classroom practices guided the research focus, with the result that research findings were more likely to be taken up and incorporated into classroom practice.

Professor Catherine Snow

Professor Catherine E. Snow is the John and Elisabeth Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE).  She received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from McGill University during the heyday of nativism in child language research, with a thesis on the distinctively untrendy topic of how adult speech to children supports their language development.  She subsequently worked for several years in the Linguistics Department of the University of Amsterdam before moving to Harvard, where her interests expanded to include literacy development.  She chaired the National Academy of Sciences Committee that produced Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (1998) and the RAND Reading Study Group that produced Reading for Understanding: Toward an R&D program for reading comprehension (2000), a volume that influenced the federal education funding agenda over the next 20 years.  Her work has been characterized by a willingness to defend unpopular positions on questions of relevance to language learning and teaching, early childhood education, and literacy instruction. Much of her recent work has been carried out in collaborations with educational practitioners and other researchers focused on understanding the most urgent problems of practice in literacy education, under the auspices of the SERP Institute and the Boston Public Schools.

 

Dr Si Chen

Dr. Si Chen is an Assistant Professor of Education Psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow of 2020. Dr. Chen’s work is primarily concerned with the ways in which language and literacy environments of young children—in and out of school, monolingual and bilingual—can be designed to support children’s development. Dr. Chen’s research focuses on detecting the effectiveness of randomized literacy interventions in China, especially in rural early childhood education settings. Using experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational methodologies, Si Chen has studied: the causal impacts of bilingual curricular resources on the vocabulary development of language minority children in China, the effects of large-scale family-oriented shared book reading interventions on parental education beliefs and children’s vocabulary development, and how free-of-charge early childhood facilities in villages improve economically disadvantaged children’s academic achievement in elementary schools.

 

Professor Nirmala RAO
The University of Hong Kong
(Chair)

Professor Nirmala Rao

Nirmala Rao is Serena H C Yang Professor in Early Childhood Development and Education and Chair Professor of Child Development and Education, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU).  A Developmental and Chartered (Educational) Psychologist by training, her research on early childhood development and education in Asian cultural contexts has been recognised internationally. This work has focused on the development of psychometrically robust and culturally-sensitive measures of both early childhood development and the quality of Early Childhood Education; early educational policy in the Asia-Pacific; evaluation of early childhood programmes; and culture, policy and pedagogy in the early years.  Professor Rao has published widely; serves on the Editorial Board for premier scholarly journals; has participated in high-level international meetings; written advocacy materials, and undertaken consultancies for international organisations. She has received awards for both research and teaching. Furthermore, she has also had significant administrative leadership roles in the Faculty of Education and at the Graduate School of HKU.

 


Keynote Address (II)

“Addressing Inequality in the United States from Birth to Primary School Entry”

Professor Hirokazu YOSHIKAWA
NYU Steinhardt

Abstract

This lecture will present new evidence and policy applications on integrating high-quality early care and education with poverty reduction.  A review of policy developments in the United States in early care and education will focus on the Cradle to Kindergarten proposal (Chaudry, Morrisson, Weiland, & Yoshikawa, 2021), which integrates paid family leave, a child care guarantee, universal preschool, resources for quality, and targeted, intensive support for vulnerable families. Applications of the proposal to several U.S. states’ policy actions, the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better proposal, and to a national ECD policy proposal for the country of El Salvador will be discussed. In addition, new evidence on impacts of the first causal impact evaluation in the United States of an unconditional cash transfer for early childhood will be presented, including impacts on infant brain activity and family processes.  Relevance of this new evidence for direct poverty reduction policies will be discussed.

Professor Hirokazu Yoshikawa

Professor Hirokazu Yoshikawa is the Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education, and a University Professor at New York University.  He co-directs the Global TIES for Children Center at NYU.  He is a community and developmental psychologist who studies the effects of public policies and programs related to immigration, early childhood, and poverty reduction on children’s development. He conducts research in the United States and in low- and middle-income countries. His current projects include leading the research and evaluation for the MacArthur Foundation 100&Change and Lego Foundation funded partnerships of Sesame Workshop with the International Rescue Committee and BRAC to provide early childhood programming for Syrian refugee families in the Middle East and Rohingya refugee families in Bangladesh (with Alice Wuermli); the first experimental evaluation of an unconditional cash transfer for families with young children in the United States (with Greg Duncan, Kimberly Noble, Lisa Gennetian, Katherine Magnuson, Nathan Fox and Sarah Halpern-Meekin); and the Listening Project, a project to empower youth and adults to engage in in-depth questioning and listening at scale to address the societal crisis of connection (with Niobe Way, Joseph Nelson and Jinjoo Han). His recent books include Cradle to Kindergarten: A New Plan to Combat Inequality (with Ajay Chaudry, Taryn Morrissey, and Christina Weiland, 2021, 2nd edition, Russell Sage) and Immigrants Raising Citizens: Undocumented Parents and Their Young Children (2011, Russell Sage). In 2020 he served on the Biden / Sanders Unity Task Force on Education. He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Education, the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr Lydia CHAN
Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education
(Chair)

Dr Lydia Chan

Dr Lydia Chan is the Deputy CEO of the non-profit Yew Chung Education Foundation (YCEF), and Member of the Board of Governors and Chairperson of the Council of YCEF’s degree-granting arm, the Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education (YCCECE), which is the first and only Higher Education Institution specialising in the early years. Dr Chan is also a Council member of the Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association (PECERA) and Executive Council member of the PECERA Hong Kong Chapter. As an elected Hong Kong Representative, she serves on the China National Society of Early Childhood Education (CNSECE) too.

Born into a family of distinguished educators, Dr Chan grew up steeped in ideas about progressive teaching and learning, appreciating the best approaches of the East and West. Educational research is her forte, and she heads up the in-house Chor Hang Educational Research Institute (CHERI) as Executive Director, which was established in loving memory of her late grandmother, Madam Tsang Chor Hang, the Founder of Yew Chung.

Prior to returning home to Hong Kong, Dr Chan was a researcher at the University of Oxford’s Department of Education, where she had obtained her Doctorate and Master’s. She also read Land Economy at the University of Cambridge as an undergraduate, and picked up a Graduate Diploma in Law.

Dr Chan firmly believes in the transformative power of high quality education, particularly in the early years. As the third generation of educators at YCEF, she is passionate about sharing Yew Chung’s unique philosophy and pedagogy through teacher training, applied research, and community engagement, spearheaded by YCCECE and its Pamela Peck Discovery Space – a specialist learning-through-play space designed for children up to eight years and their families. The goal is to nurture successive generations of innovative ‘Yew Chung Educators’ for Hong Kong and beyond, advocating for the needs and wellbeing of our youngest citizens.

Symposia

Symposium (I): Gaps and Goals of Young Children’s Learning and Development in Hong Kong

Professor Kerry Lee
The Education University of Hong Kong
(Chair)

Professor Kerry Lee

Professor Kerry Lee joined the Education University of Hong Kong in 2017. He is currently the Head of the Department of Early Childhood Education and Director of the Centre for Educational and Developmental Sciences. Trained as a cognitive developmental psychologist at the University of Sydney and Macquarie University, his work focuses on mathematical achievement, working memory, and the development of executive functioning. He is an associate editor of Learning and Individual Differences, and he serves on the editorial or review boards of Child Development, the European Journal of Psychological Assessment, and Frontline Learning Research.

Abstract

“The earlier, the better” presents the central beliefs that guide the early childhood education and care services to young children, in particular those from families in poverty. To respond to the rising numbers of the child poverty rate, the symposium will include three large scale projects funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust to bridge the developmental and learning gaps of young children from less disadvantaged background, and from ethnic minority families since 2017. Home and school are immediate settings where children spend most of their time. A supportive context and collaboration of immediate significant others in these contexts are beneficial to children. Training services are thus provided to teachers and parents in quality stimulation, cultural responsive learning in Chinese language, and adopting healthy and active lifestyles for children. The symposium includes three papers: a) Ready children, ready family, ready school and ready community; b) How may we close the learning gap in kindergarten children? A culturally responsive approach to teaching language and literacy skills; and c) using a technology enriched framework to quality physical education.

 

“Ready children, ready family, ready school and ready community”

Dr Patrick Ip
The University of Hong Kong

Abstract

The vision and mission of the KeySteps@JC Project is to strengthen family; school; and community functioning to build stronger foundations for better life outcomes for the Project children. Through the collaboration of multi-disciplinary medical, education, and welfare sectors, the Project aims to bring together schools, families and the community in providing the conditions and programmes to promote the positive development of the children. There are five Project domains: a) children with interventions on health and educational benefits in community hubs, b) family with interventions on parent-child interactive programs and activities in the community hubs, c) school with 4-tier professional development and on-site coaching, d) community with a multi-disciplinary collaboration in two community hubs, and e) infrastructure with a child data bank for making data informed approach to all the above four components. The project is being implemented from 2017 to 2022.

 

Based on the project data and evaluation, five successful categories are summarized: a) the integrated model to promote enhanced development in underprivileged children is a successful factor to innovate a synergy and a community hub as a built environment to bridge service gaps and streamline delivery across education, health and social welfare disciplines, b) improvement in overall school readiness with the use of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales as a school improvement tool and the adoption of the 4-tier professional development model with coaching support, c) enhancement in teachers’ attitude towards early childhood development, d) enhancement in emotional coaching, quality interaction, and reading motivation among parents, and e) the data bank and technology providing objective benchmarks in supporting holistic development of young children. Policy implications and future directions will also be discussed.

 

Dr Patrick Ip

Dr Patrick Ip is a Clinical Associate Professor of Department of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong and a Consultant in Paediatrics, Queen Mary Hospital. He also appointed by HKSAR as Non-official member in Hong Kong Commission on Children, Advisory Committee on Mental Health, Steering Committee on Prevention and Management of Non-Communicable Diseases.  He is also the President in Hong Kong Paediatric Society.

 

Dr Ip is a specialist pediatrician with special interest in Child Health, Neurology and Developmental Behavioral Paediatrics. He is an expert in early childhood development and has been working for UNICEF and China Development Research Foundation (CDRF) on various child health projects in East Asia Pacific Region as well as in Greater China. Dr Ip has much experience and publications on early childhood development, neurodevelopmental disorders, and global health issues.  He has been one of the key coordinators of integrated child health service between hospital and the community and coordinated the Comprehensive Child Development Service (CCDS) of Hospital Authority since its implementation in 2006 until he joined the University of Hong Kong in 2009. He is an appointed tutor of the Association for Research in Infant and Child Development, United Kingdom and the official trainer of Griffith’s Mental Developmental Scale. His research focus on different dimensions of Community Child Health including early brain development, early intervention, underprivileged children, safeguarding children, child abuse, child mental health, disability and rehabilitation, public health & health promotion.

 

“How may we close the learning gap in kindergarten children? A culturally responsive approach to teaching language and literacy skills”

Professor Chung Kien Hoa Kevin
The Education University of Hong Kong

Abstract

With the poverty rate of Hong Kong reaching 23.6%, the development and well-being of children from economically disadvantaged families becomes a concern for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. Children with lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds tend to have poorer development in early language and literacy skills, which may then adversely affect their later academic achievement and school success. This development gap between low- and middle-SES children may begin in kindergarten and persist throughout their formal education and beyond. This may be particularly true for ethnic minority groups, which often have to deal with not only economic pressure but also other stressors, including prejudice, discrimination, and cultural adaption. Composed of mostly Southeast Asians, ethnic minority groups constitute about 8% of the Hong Kong population. Importantly, the number of ethnic minority children continues to rise, underscoring the importance of increasing teachers’ multicultural competence and promoting the cultural integration among students in school. In this talk, the speaker will provide an overview about the language and literacy development among children from low-SES and ethnic minority families. The speaker will also explain how we may support these children by promoting culturally responsive teaching in kindergartens, providing professional training for early childhood educators and multicultural teaching assistants, and developing culturally responsive education benchmarks

 

Dr Chung Kien Hoa Kevin

Dr Kevin Chung is a Chair Professor of Child Development and Special Education and Director of the Centre for Child and Family Science at the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). He was the Head of Department for the Department of Early Childhood Education from July 2014 to December 2019 and the Department of Special Education and Counselling from July 2011 to June 2014 at EDUHK. Kevin previously served as an Associate Dean (Research) from 2008 to 2010, Faculty of Education Studies, and a Coordinator, KRA: Learning and Assessment at the Hong Kong Institution of Education (HKIED). Before joining the Institute, he was an Assistant Professor and Program Director of Master of Education (Special and Inclusive Education), Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). He was also a high school teacher in Sydney for more than four years before embarking on an academic career.

 

His research and teaching focus on developmental dyslexia and other learning disabilities, literacy acquisition, assessment and instruction, cognitive and social-emotional development, family relations, and inclusive education. Kevin has published more than 150 research papers in the areas of reading difficulties, reading and writing, psycholinguistics, child development, educational psychology, and family relationships. As a principal investigator, Kevin received around HK$200 million in funding from 6 General Research Fund, 3 Quality Education Fund, 1 Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR), 4 Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, and 2 Simon K Y Lee Foundation. He is also listed among the world’s top 2% scientists by Stanford University.

 

Kevin received the President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Research (Research Excellent Award) from EdUHK and the President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Knowledge Transfer (Team Award). Dr. Ian Lam and Kevin also won the 2021 iCAN Silver Medal, Special Award, and the International Innovation and Invention Competition (IIIC 2021), Gold Medal to develop a screening tool-The Chinese Inventory of Children’s Socioemotional Competence (CICSEC).

 

Kevin serves as a consultant and advisor on large-scale research and development projects such as PISA 2018. He was a Core Member of the 2018 International Reading Expert Group – Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) project and is a Chairperson of the Steering Committee of the PISA 2018 and PISA 2021 in Hong Kong. He is a Specialist of the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ). Kevin is the Vice President and Board Member of Association for Reading and Writing in Asia. He also offers advice to government departments, higher education institutions, and NGOs both regionally and internationally.

 

“Fun to Move@JC – a technology enriched framework to quality physical education”

Professor Amy Ha Sau-ching
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Abstract

According to UNESCO, Quality Physical Education (QPE) is a framework to promote active, inclusive, and peer-led learning. In the current society in which changes to our daily lives are constantly driven by new technology being developed, it seems natural to think that technological advancements would be commonly applied to support QPE. However, this does not seem to be the case. Instead, the impact of new technology on educational practices in physical education or motor skill instruction appeared to be small compared to other contexts. There seems to be a lack of driving force, at both policy and practice levels, to push for stronger adoption of new technology into this area of teaching. In view of this, the Fun to Move@JC project team have made long strides with an aim to breach the policy-practice gap in physical education, which is also a goal of QPE. Through implementation of gadgets and system built on state-of-the-art technology, we developed a system to allow better support, evaluate, and hence realize the policy goal of MVPA60 (i.e., accrual of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day) set by the Education Bureau. Further, in this symposium we will share our experiences in how technology could be applied to mitigate reductions in physical activity due to the pandemic. In particular, parents’ roles in supporting children’s have become more important since children are forced to remain indoors for long periods while only being with their parents. As such, the project has also implemented internet-based strategies to elevate parents’ physical literacy, children’s fitness and fundamental movement skills, and ultimately, their health and happiness.

 

Professor Amy Ha Sau-ching

Professor Amy Ha is currently the Associate Dean for research of the Faculty of Education and formerly the Chairperson of the Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). She leads the Sport Pedagogy & Physical Activity Assessment Laboratory of CUHK, with the aim of generating high quality research evidence and social impact in terms of individuals’ physical activity and health, and quality of life. Her research interests include application of information technology in physical education, family-based physical activity, fundamental movement skills, physical literacy, and teachers’ professional development. She has secured a range of competitive research funding (e.g., RGC GRF/RIF) and worked on collaborative projects (e.g., SUNRISE) and publications (e.g., Lancet Physical Activity Series) with researchers around the globe.


 

Symposium (II): “Transforming Early Childhood Education in Mainland China”

Dr Derwin Chan
The Education University of Hong Kong
(Chair)

Dr Derwin Chan

Dr Derwin Chan is an applied social psychologist with diverse research interests in the areas of health education, sport and exercise science, and behavioural medicine. He is an Associate Professor and Associate Head of the Department of Early Childhood Education at the Education University of Hong Kong. He is appointed as the Editor-in-Chief in Stress and Health, Executive Editor in Health Psychology Bulletin, and editorial board member in 6 scholarly journals.

Abstract

The child-centered philosophy has been the basic idea behind the reforms of early childhood education in mainland China over the past 20 years. This principle is advocated through the exploration of curriculum, learning environment, and teacher professional development to facilitate children’s development through active engagement.

“Rethinking ‘Play’: The Key to Understand Young Children’s Mind” 

Ms Cheng Xueqin
 “Anji Play” Organization

The “Anji Play” approach is based on five interconnected principles: love, risk, joy, engagement, and reflection. Through constantly creating an environment for children’s play and learning, “Anji Play” gives children the autonomy in play so that children can gain experience, form ideas, express opinions, refine plans, continuously challenge, and finally reach their fullest potential. In Anji programs, children are encouraged to describe and reflect on their own experiences in play through representations and expressions. Teachers will listen to and record children’s reflections one-on-one. During this process, teachers get to learn more about the inner world of the child. Ms. Cheng Xueqin will share about the practice, discovery and thoughts on teacher’s one-on-one listening and record of children’s reflections on play in her speech.

Ms Cheng Xueqin

Ms Cheng Xueqin is a senior teacher, the founder of “Anji Play” approach and “Anji Play” organization, and the creator of the True Play Foundation. She is a member of the Early Childhood Education Professional Committee of the Basic Education Teaching Professional Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education. She is also the Executive Director of China National Society of Early Childhood Education, Director of the Chinese Society of Educational Development Strategy, member of the Toys and Games Committee of China National Society of Early Childhood Education, and Consultant of the Hong Kong “Anji Play” Learning Circle Program. Her research focuses on public policy and management in early childhood education, play, and curriculum in early childhood. Her research project Explorations and Practice based on “Anji Play” has won the First Prize in the National Teaching Achievements.

“Adopting Living Education Theory to Support the Growth of ‘Living Teachers’ in Kindergartens”

 Dr Zhang Jun
Nanjing Normal University

Chen Heqin is a famous Chinese educator in the 20th century and known as the “Father of Chinese Early Childhood Education”. Being inspired by the educational philosophy of John Dewey, he criticized the rigid mode of traditional education in China and put forward the theory of “Living Education”. The meaning of “living” in the theory of living education is twofold: One is the living of life, that is education should be closely related to children’s lives; the other is the living of vitality, that is, education should be in accordance with children’s nature and stimulate their vitality.

 

Nanjing Heqin Kindergarten, Jointly organized by Nanjing Normal University and the local government, has made it its mission to practice and develop the theory of Living Education in the new era. Nanjing Heqin Kindergarten has cultivated a team of “Living Teachers” who love children, love life, and love thinking.

 

Nanjing Heqin kindergarten has been adhered to the principle of growing through active creation and open communication. Through the class-based curriculum implementation, embedded in-class observation and evaluation, kindergarten-based teaching and research, and kindergarten-family partnership, teachers can grow in the educational field and become “Living Teachers” in the new era.

 

Dr Zhang Jun 

Dr Zhang Jun obtained his Ph.D. degree from the University of Hong Kong. He is currently an Associate Professor at Nanjing Normal University, Associate Director of the department, and the kindergarten principal of Heqin kindergarten in Nanjing. His research mainly focuses on science education and mathematics education in early childhood. He has participated in the formulations of Guideline to the Learning and Development of Children Aged 3-6, Curricular Standards of Science for Compulsory Education in Elementary Schools, etc.

Conference Committee members

 

Organizing committee

Chair

Professor Nirmala Rao

Serena H.C. Yang Professor in Early Childhood Development and Education, Chair Professor of Child Development and Education, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

Vice-Chair

Dr Lydia Chan

Council Chair, Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

Members

Dr Maria Lee

Vice-President, PECERA (HK)

Dr Sanly Kam

Vice-President, PECERA (HK)

Secretary

Ms Rainlla Chen

Senior Project Officer, PECERA (HK)

Public Relations Sub-committee 

Co-Chairs

Mrs Betty Ip

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

Vice-Chair

Mrs Adelina Chan

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

Members

Ms Mary Wong

Service Coordinator, Early Childhood Education Services, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

Ms Yau Lin Lau

Service Director, ELCHK, Social Service Head Office

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

Sponsorship Sub-committee

Co-Chairs

Dr Sanly Kam

Vice-President, PECERA (HK)

Ms Yin Kam Ng

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

Members

Dr Amelia Lee

Associate Dean (Programme Development) / Head (Early Childhood and Elementary), The School of Continuing Education, Hong Kong Baptist University

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

Mrs Betty Ip

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

Mrs Adelina Chan

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

Ms Priscilla Yeung

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

YCEF Liaison

Mrs Winnie Kwong

Head (CEO Office) / Senior Executive Assistant to the CEO, Yew Chung Education Foundation

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

Jockey Club Liaison

Dr Anna Hui

Associate Professor, Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong

Executive Council Member, PECERA (HK)

 

Programme Sub-committee 

Co-Chairs

Professor Kerry Lee

Head / Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong

Dr Derwin Chan

Associate Head of Department/ Associate Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong

Members

Dr Zhang Xiao

Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong

Dr Sun Jin

Associate Head of Department/ Assistant Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong

Dr Alfredo Bautista

Associate Head of Department/ Associate Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong

Dr Stephanie Chan

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong

Dr Brad Chan

Director (Student Development & Learning Resources), Assistant Professor, Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education

Dr Suzannie Leung

Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Dr Cecilia Chu

Lecturer, Early Childhood and Elementary Education Division, School of Continuing Education, Hong Kong Baptist University

Dr Dandan Wu

Assistant Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong

Dr Weipeng Yang

Assistant Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong

Dr Li Yixun Annie

Assistant Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong

Dr VALDEZ Jana Patricia

Assistant Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong

 

e-proceedings

Please CLICK HERE for the e-Proceedings in English.

A final version will be uploaded after the conference, thank you so much!

 

Virtual tours

Host

Venue: Yew Chung International School – Secondary

3 To Fuk Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

 

Diamond Sponsorship 

 

        

 

 

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

       

 

 

 

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What is PECERA (Hong Kong)?

The PECERA is an organization dedicated to disseminating and supporting research in early childhood education in the Pacific area. Inauguration conference of PECERA was held in Kobe, Japan in July, 2000. With over 150 scholars, researchers and professionals participating in the conference, Dr. Bernard Spodek, founder of PECERA invited participants to form an organization which aims at facilitating scholars, researchers and professionals to serve the interests of young children in the Pacific area.


During the 2001 PECERA Annual Conference held in Christchurch, New Zealand, the PECERA constitution was approved. 14 July marked the birth of PECERA.


On 28 January 2005, a team of early childhood educators successfully registered PECERA (Hong Kong) as a new chapter of PECERA. 25 February 2006 marks the official launching of PECERA (Hong Kong).

Aims of the PECERA (Hong Kong) are to:

  1. Develop and provide a platform for exchange of expertise, sharing of research and dialogue among educators and professionals working in the early childhood settings;
  2. Provide an academic forum in Hong Kong and the Pacific region for the development and dissemination of high quality research in early childhood education and related professions;
  3. Facilitate cooperation and collaboration among scholars, researchers and professionals working in early childhood settings;
  4. Promote links between research and practice in early childhood education; and
  5. Raise the visibility and status of research in early childhood education in Hong Kong and the Pacific region

What is PECERA?

Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association (PECERA) is dedicated to disseminating and supporting research in early childhood education within the Pacific area.

Objectives of PECERA

The primary objectives for which the Association was established are:

  1. To provide an academic forum in the Pacific region for the development and dissemination of high quality research in early childhood education.
  2. To facilitate cooperation and collaboration among researchers in the Pacific area working in the field of early childhood education.
  3. To promote links between research and practice in the field of early childhood education.
  4. To raise the visibility and status of research in early childhood education in the Pacific region.
  5. To facilitate the exchange of information and views on early childhood education, to collect and disseminate information pertaining to early childhood education and to develop skills and techniques relating to early childhood education.
  6. To promote research, studies, surveys, investigations and discussions of any nature for early childhood education, and to encourage and aid in the publication and public dissemination of results of any such research, studies, surveys, investigations or discussions.
  7. To provide professional development opportunities for students and young scholars, thereby empowering the next generation of early childhood researchers in the Pacific region.

These aims are to be accomplished through:

  1. Holding an annual conference and other meetings;
  2. Sponsoring a research journal, either published by the association or in concert with other associations;
  3. Establishing a Pacific network of researchers and scholars in order to facilitate communication, cooperation, and collaboration among them;
  4. Organizing professional development opportunities for students and early career researchers at annual conferences.
  5. Providing a database of member’s research interests, areas of expertise, and current research activity; and
  6. Engaging in such other activities that might facilitate the development of research, policy and practice in early childhood education.
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