Press Release: HKU Study Finds Cumulative Impact of Recurring School Suspensions under the New Normal from 2020 to 2022 – Positive Action Insights for Students, Parents, Schools and Community
新聞稿：香港大學教育學院研究發現2020至2022年新常態下反覆停課帶來積累影響 — 為學生、家長、學校和社區的積極行動提供啟示

HKU Study Finds Cumulative Impact of Recurring School Suspensions under the New Normal from 2020 to 2022 – Positive Action Insights for Students, Parents, Schools and Community

The first batch of findings from eCitizen Education 360 (2022) Project are released today (November 3, 2022). The project is led by Principal Investigator, Dr Cheng Yong Tan, and Co-Investigators, Professor Nancy Law and Professor Catherine K.K. Chan, from the Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU). The D. H. Chen Foundation is the Growth Partner and Funder for this Project, which is designed to provide a comprehensive picture on how students, parents, schools, and teachers adapt in the New Normal after multiple waves of school suspensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Project is built on the eCitizen Education 360 (2020) conducted in 2020, and it aims to identify the cumulative impact on learning and well-being outcomes of students since then.

Data collection was conducted from July to early September 2022, involving a total of 51 schools (20 primary schools and 31 secondary schools). Over 8,000 students, 3,000 parents, 800 teachers, and 200 school leaders took part in the Project.

As compared to 2020, results in 2022 show that (1) primary and secondary students experienced more online learning activities and had more confidence in online learning. However, secondary school students had less positive online learning and well-being outcomes than primary students (e.g. self-efficacy, self-regulation strategies, cyberbullying experiences), and were much less likely to seek help from adults; (2) parents were most concerned about the impact on their children’s learning due to school suspensions; and they increased their interactions and involvement with their children’s teachers and schools in 2022; Furthermore, parents of secondary students were less involved in their children’s learning and had lower parenting self-efficacy; and; (3) school leaders and teachers reported more e-learning practices in 2022; were most concerned about the impact of prolonged suspensions on students’ academic standards; and found strategies to provide professional development and other facilitative mechanisms for the enhancement of e-learning, a collaborative school culture and community support, were the most important in helping schools to cope with the challenges in the New Normal.

Moving forward, based on the above research findings, the team recommends the following for different stakeholders under the New Normal:

• For students: Providing support services to enhance student learning, cyber wellness and socioemotional wellbeing is necessary. Particular attention should be paid to the support to secondary students. There is also a need to conduct further research to investigate the cumulative impact of school suspensions on students’ academic outcomes.

• For parents: There is a need for parenting services and support, particularly on digital parenting to support their children’s learning and wellbeing. Special attention should be given to parental education and support for parents of secondary students as they are less engaged in both home-based and school-based involvement, and the findings also show that secondary students are less well-adjusted, in terms of digital wellness, than primary students.

• For schools: School strategies to provide online learning and teaching support to students and teachers, and to enhance communication with parents have brought positive outcomes. More efforts should be given to the provision of professional learning opportunities and to foster a collaborative culture among teachers of effective online, blended, and hybrid teaching and learning to support student-centered learning and wellbeing. Efforts should also be made to leverage community resources and support for school development.
• For the concerned communities and policy makers: The strategies and efforts of school leaders and teachers to provide online learning and teaching support to students, and to enhance communication with parents have brought positive outcomes, which should be applauded and recognised. Community partners’ support have shown to have positively contributed to schools’ adaptations under the New Normal. Such efforts should be continued and strengthened.

Dr Esther Ho Yuk-fan, Chairperson of Hong Kong Association of Careers Masters and Guidance Masters, believed that the data on students’ wellbeing is consistent with their observations, and hoped that researchers could conduct more in-depth research on cyberbullying, especially in bystander contexts.

Mr Charles Chan Kin-hung, Executive Director of The Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong said that cyberbullying and peer relationships are inextricably linked and deserve wide community attention. He highlighted the importance of cultivating students' awareness to stop bullying in the first place and reduce the secondary harm. Meanwhile, we should encourage bystanders to take actions to intervene, stop and report cyberbullying incidents. In addition to mastering appropriate individual responses, we need to work together at the societal level to create a caring environment of love and respect that has zero tolerance for cyberbullying.

Principal Joanne Lau from LST Leung Kau Kui Primary School (Branch) mentioned that the current topic of cyberbullying is indeed important. Parents should be educated to differentiate between playful acts and bullying acts that affect their children. At the same time, the stipulation by the “Health Protection Measures for Schools” issued by Education Bureau (EDB) on “face-to-back” setting and facing one direction teaching arrangement have restricted interactions among students during classroom teaching and extracurricular activities. This could be more explicitly relaxed as these are adversely affecting the development of students' communication and collaboration skills.

Principal Fong Chi Heng HHCKLA Buddhist Chan Shi Wan Primary School said it has been three years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and many external social welfare organisations, colleges and universities and even some business circles have enthusiastically joined in and become her school’s partners, allowing everyone to share resources, and truly take from the society and use it for the society. Throughout the pandemic, the EDB has also supported her school to bring different stakeholders together. Despite the ruthlessness of the pandemic, she hopes that during these special times, students and parents can feel the love and concern in our society.

Project Team

Principal Investigator

• Dr Cheng Yong Tan, Associate Professor, Academic Unit of Social Contexts and Policy of Education (SCAPE), Faculty of Education, HKU>

Co-Investigators

• Professor Nancy Law, Professor, Academic Unit of Teacher Education and Learning Leadership (TELL), Faculty of Education, HKU
• Professor Catherine K.K. Chan, Academic Unit of SCAPE, Faculty of Education, HKU
• Dr Min Lan, Lecturer, College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University
• Dr Qianqian Pan, Research Scientist, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University
• Dr Sisi Tao, Post-doctoral Fellow, Centre for Information Technology in Education (CITE), Faculty of Education

Post-doctoral Fellow

• Dr Qianru Liang, Post-doctoral Fellow, CITE, Faculty of Education, HKU

Project Manager

• Miss Sophie Wenhui Li, CITE, Faculty of Education, HKU

Research Assistant

• Miss Cassie Yimeng Li, CITE, Faculty of Education, HKU

About eCitizen Education 360 (2022):An extension of the Learning and Assessment for Digital Citizenship Project

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019, face-to-face lessons in classrooms have been supplanted by long periods of home-based online lessons in Hong Kong schools. During this challenging period of time, many schools, families, and students have struggled to cope with this New Normal of teaching and learning. Understandably, there are widespread concerns in Hong Kong society that student learning and wellbeing may have been adversely affected. It is therefore imperative to take stock of the impact of the New Normal on students’ learning and wellbeing.

Building on the strengths of the eCitizen Education 360 Project (2020) which has yielded valuable findings and practicable actions for stakeholders, this project, eCitizen Education 360 (2022), is underpinned by the understanding that teaching and learning opportunities and outcomes during (and after) the fifth wave of school suspension are continuously influenced by a comprehensive range of factors (or enablers) at the school, teacher, parent, and student levels. By gathering information about students’ digital learning, wellbeing and relevant self-evaluation data available in schools, we aim to provide a comprehensive picture of students’ learning and socioemotional wellbeing after multiple waves of school suspension and to support different stakeholder communities including policy-makers in developing evidence-based action plans that build capacity and resilience to support student learning in the New Normal.>

For more details of the “eCitizen Education 360 (2022)” Project and the report, please visit https://www.ecitizen.hk/360. For more details of the “eCitizen Education 360 (2020)” Project, please visit https://www.ecitizen.hk/360/e360-2020. To view the e-version of this press release, download related photos, presentation file and further reference materials, please visit http://web.edu.hku.hk/press. 

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Emily Cheung, Senior Manager (Development and Communications), Faculty of Education, HKU (Tel: 3917 4270 / Email: emchy@hku.hk), or Miss Sophie Li, Project Manager, “eCitizen Education 360 (2022)” Project, Faculty of Education, HKU (Tel: 3917 4759 / Email: dcitizen@hku.hk).

November 3, 2022

香港大學教育學院研究發現2020至2022年新常態下反覆停課帶來積累影響

為學生、家長、學校和社區的積極行動提供啟示

「數碼素養360」（2022）的首輪研究結果於2022年11月3日發布。該研究由香港大學（港大）教育學院首席研究員陳鐘榮博士、聯合研究員羅陸慧英教授和陳嘉琪教授領導進行。陳廷驊基金會為本研究項目的發展夥伴及捐助機構。建基於2020年開展的「數碼素養360」（2020），此研究旨在全面了解學生、家長、學校和教師在疫情期間多次停課後如何適應新常態，探討此期間對學生的學習和福祉帶來的積累影響。

研究團隊於2022年7月至9月初收集數據，參與者來自共51 間學校 (20間小學和31間中學) ，包括逾8,000名學生、3,000名家長、800名教師和200名學校領導。

與2020年相比，2022年的研究結果表明，（一）中、小學學生體驗更多網上學習活動，對網上學習更有信心。然而，與小學生相比，中學生有較少的正面網上學習和福祉成果（例如：自我效能、自我調節策略、網絡欺凌經歷），亦較少向成年人尋求幫助。（二）在2022年，家長最關心的是學校停課對子女學習的影響，同時增加與子女就讀學校和教師的互動和參與。此外，中學生家長對子女的學習參與較少，育兒的自我效能感較低。（三）學校領導和教師都認為他們在2022年實踐更多電子學習，同時他們最關心的是長時間停課對學生學業成績的影響。他們認爲提供專業發展和其他促進機制的校本策略以增強電子學習效能、學校協作文化和社區支持，均屬幫助學校應對新常態挑戰最有效的方法。

根據研究結果，研究團隊為不同持分者在新常態下作出以下建議，共同邁向未來：

• 對於學生：有必要加强關注和支援學生的學習、網絡健康和社交情緒健康，並特別注意對中學生提供支援。同時亦需就學校停課對學生學業成績造成的積累影響, 作進一步研究。
• 對於家長：需為家長提供育兒服務和支援，尤其數碼育兒，以支援孩子的學習和福祉。應特別關注中學生家長，向他們提供教育子女的支援，因爲他們在家庭和學校教育的參與度都較低。調查結果亦顯示中學生的數碼健康適應能力低於小學生。
• 對於學校：學校為學生和教師提供的網上學習和教學支持、加强與家長溝通等策略帶來正面成效。未來應加大力度為教師提供專業學習機會，促進教師協作文化, 以及各種線上和混合教與學模式，有效支持以學生為中心的學習和福祉。此外，還應充分利用社區資源支持學校發展。

• 對社區關注人士和決策人士：學校領導和教師為學生提供的網上學習和教學支援, 以及加强與家長溝通帶來正面成效，應加以讚賞和認可。社區合作夥伴的支援證實對學校適應新常態具積極貢獻，應持之以恆，並再加強該支援。

香港輔導教師協會主席何玉芬博士認為關於學生福祉的調查數據與學校觀察所得一致，希望研究團隊能夠在欺凌議題，尤其對欺凌旁觀者的情況，作出更深入的研究。

香港小童群益會總幹事陳健雄先生表示，網絡欺凌和朋輩關係息息相關，社區應廣泛關注。他強調培養學生即時制止欺凌行為、減低二次傷害的意識是十分重要，是維繫健康人際關係的要素。同時，我們應鼓勵旁觀者發現網絡欺凌時，應主動勸解、制止和舉報。除了掌握合適的個人應對措施，社會各界應共同合作，對網絡欺凌零容忍，創建相親相愛，互相尊重的環境。

樂善堂梁銶琚學校（分校）劉鐵梅校長表示需重視近期的網上欺凌問題，並應教育家長辨別開玩笑和欺凌行爲，明辨對子女有影響的行為。同時，教育局提供的「學校健康指引」中，提及課堂教學和課外活動期間「面對背」和單向方式授課的教學安排, 此等安排都應稍放寬, 避免繼續影響學生溝通和協作能力的發展。

香海正覺蓮社佛教陳式宏學校方子蘅校長表示，新冠疫情爆發已持續三年，很多校外的社福機構和大專院校, 甚至商界都熱心加入成爲學校的夥伴，令大家可共享資源，真正做到取之社會，用之於社會。在整個疫情期間，教育局也作出支援，讓不同的持份者同心同行。儘管疫情無情，但仍希望在此特殊時期學生和家長都感受到社會的關愛。

研究團隊首席研究員

• 港大教育學院教育政策與社會學部副教授陳鐘榮博士

聯合研究員

• 港大教育學院教師教育及學習領導學部羅陸慧英教授
• 港大教育學院教育政策與社會學部陳嘉琪教授
• 浙江師範大學教育學院講師藍敏博士
• 南洋理工大學國立教育學院研究科學家潘前前博士
• 港大教育學院教育應用資訊科技發展研究中心博士後研究員陶思思博士

博士後研究員

• 港大教育學院教育應用資訊科技發展研究中心梁倩茹博士

項目經理

• 港大教育學院教育應用資訊科技發展研究中心黎文暉小姐

研究助理

• 港大教育學院教育應用資訊科技發展研究中心李逸萌小姐

關於「數碼素養360（2022）」數碼世代公民的學習和評估項目的擴展

自2019年底爆發新冠肺炎疫情以來，香港學校家庭網上教學長時間並多次取代面授教學。此充滿挑戰的時期，許多學校、家庭和學生都在努力應對教與學的新常態。香港社會普遍擔心學生的學習和福祉可能因而受到不利影響。因此，當務之急是評估新常態對學生學習和福祉的影響。

建基於數碼素養360項目（2020）的重要發現，以及對持份者作出可實踐的建議，數碼素養360（2022）旨在探究第五波疫情期間（及其後），因停課而對學校、教師、家長和學生帶來教學和學習機會與結果的持續影響。通過收集有關學生網絡學習、福祉和學校以所得的自我評估數據，我們的目標是了解學生在多次停課後的學習和社會情緒福祉等的全面情況，並支援不同的持份者包括決策者制定以實證為本的行動計劃，培養學生於新常態下的學習能力和彈性。

有關「數碼素養360（2022）」計劃的詳情及報告，請瀏覽https://ecitizen.hk/360。有關「數碼素養360」（2020）研究計劃，請瀏覽https://www.ecitizen.hk/360/e360-2020。如欲查看網上版新聞稿，下載相關相片、發佈會簡報和其他參考資料，請瀏覽http://web.edu.hku.hk/press。

傳媒查詢，請聯絡香港大學教育學院高級經理張可恩女士（電話：3917 4270 / 電郵︰[javascript protected email address]）或香港大學教育學院「數碼素養360（2022）」項目經理黎文暉小姐（電話︰3917 4759 / 電郵︰[javascript protected email address]）。

2022年11月3日