scholarly journals Nurturing Holistic Development of University Students in Hong Kong: Where Are We and Where Should We Go?

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 563-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. L. Shek
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
General Education ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Freshman Seminar ◽  
Holistic Development ◽  
Developmental Problems ◽  
Relationship Skills ◽  
Development Approach

With reference to the mental health and developmental problems among university students, there is a need to review the university's role in nurturing holistic development of students. This paper explores the question of how holistic development of university students in Hong Kong can be promoted. Based on the positive youth development approach, it is argued that promotion of intrapersonal competencies, interpersonal relationship skills, civic responsibilities, and citizenship among university students is an important strategy to facilitate holistic development of young people in Hong Kong. Two general education or freshman seminar courses that focus on the cultivation of intrapersonal competencies, interpersonal relationship skills, civic responsibilities, and sense of citizenship among university students in Hong Kong are proposed.

scholarly journals Development and Evaluation of a Positive Youth Development Course for University Students in Hong Kong

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. L. Shek ◽  
Rachel C. F. Sun ◽  
Y. H. Chui ◽  
S. W. Lit ◽  
Walter W. Yuen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Outcome Evaluation ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Holistic Development ◽  
Developmental Problems ◽  
Academic Year

With higher education, university graduates are important elements of the labor force in knowledge-based economies. With reference to the mental health and developmental problems in university students, there is a need to review university’s role in nurturing holistic development of students. Based on the positive youth development approach, it is argued that promoting intrapersonal competencies is an important strategy to facilitate holistic development of young people in Hong Kong. In The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a course entitled Tomorrow’s Leader focusing on positive youth development constructs to promote student well-being will be offered on a compulsory basis starting from 2012/13 academic year under the new undergraduate curriculum structure. The proposed course was piloted in 2010/11 school year. Different evaluation strategies, including objective outcome evaluation, subjective outcome evaluation, process evaluation, and qualitative evaluation, are being carried out to evaluate the developed course. Preliminary evaluation findings based on the piloting experience in 2010/11 academic year are presented in this paper.

The students were happy, but did they change positively?

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Lu Yu ◽  
Cecilia M.S. Ma
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
General Education ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Leadership Qualities ◽  
Moral Competence ◽  
Service Leadership ◽  
The Subject

AbstractAt The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a 2-credit General Education subject entitled “Service Leadership” was developed to promote service leadership qualities (including leadership competencies, moral character, and caring disposition) in university students. The subject was piloted in one class with 60 students in the 2012/2013 academic year. Pretest and posttest data utilizing measures of positive youth development, life satisfaction, and service leadership qualities were collected. Positive changes in the program participants were found, particularly for measures in behavioral competence, moral competence, character strengths, general positive youth development qualities, and overall service leadership qualities. The present study provided preliminary support for the effectiveness of the subject in nurturing service leadership qualities of Chinese university students in Hong Kong.

Do university students change after taking a subject on leadership and intrapersonal development?

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Cecilia M.S. Ma
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
University Students ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Holistic Development ◽  
The Subject

AbstractThe changes in university students after taking a subject on leadership and intrapersonal development (“Tomorrow’s Leaders” at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) are presented in this paper. Adopting a pre-experimental design (one group pretest-posttest design), 1029 students responded to a questionnaire assessing different aspects of development, including measures of positive youth development and life satisfaction. While students showed positive changes in self-determination, thriving and life satisfaction, their scores declined in some measures of positive youth development. The present findings are consistent with the previous findings that the subject is able to promote the holistic development of university students in Hong Kong, but it also generated some odd findings to be clarified in future studies.

scholarly journals Psychological Morbidity among University Students in Hong Kong (2014–2018): Psychometric Properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) and Related Correlates

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 8305
Author(s):  
Xiang Li ◽  
Daniel T. L. Shek ◽  
Esther Y. W. Shek
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Morbidity

Although mental health problems among Hong Kong university students are serious, there is a lack of studies examining the psychometric properties of related assessment scales and correlates. This study attempted to validate the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) in Hong Kong university students and examine the demographic (gender), time (cohort), and well-being correlates (positive youth development attributes and life satisfaction) of psychological morbidity. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the factor structure of the DASS (n = 6704). Gender and cohort invariance were further established using a multigroup CFA. The three-factor model of the DASS showed a superior fit and factorial invariance across gender and five different cohorts. Regarding gender and cohort correlates of psychological morbidity, males exhibited more depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms than their female counterparts. The intensity of psychological distress also escalated after the Umbrella Movement in 2014. Furthermore, well-being measures (positive youth development and life satisfaction) were negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. In short, the Chinese DASS demonstrated good psychometric properties. This study also showed that gender, cohort (occurrence of political events), and well-being were associated with psychological morbidity indexed by the DASS measures.

Developmental issues of university students in Hong Kong

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Boris P.M. Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
University Graduates ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Developmental Issues ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Psychosocial Competencies

Abstract Four domains of developmental issues of university students in Hong Kong are examined in this paper. First, behavioral and lifestyle problems of university students are identified, including alcohol consumption, Internet addiction, cyber-pornography, irregular sleep patterns, and interpersonal violence. Second, the mental health problems of university students, including suicidal ideation, depression and anxiety problems, are outlined. Third, issues on self-determination (including establishment of personal goals), self-confidence, and materialism of the students are reviewed. Fourth, issues related to students’ connection to the society, including egocentrism and civic engagement, are discussed. The views of employers about university graduates in Hong Kong are also examined. With the emergence of developmental issues among Hong Kong university students, it is argued that promoting the psychosocial competencies of university students via positive youth development programs is an important strategy in addressing such issues.

scholarly journals Postlecture Evaluation of a Positive Youth Development Subject for University Students in Hong Kong

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. L. Shek
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Global Evaluation ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Leadership Qualities ◽  
Teacher Attributes ◽  
The Subject

The purpose of this study was to examine the postlecture evaluation by the students taking a course (Tomorrow's Leaders) that attempted to promote their leadership qualities and intrapersonal competencies at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong. Except for the last lecture, students were invited to respond to a 12-item postlecture questionnaire after each lecture. Results showed that the students had positive perceptions of the subject, class, and teacher attributes, and they had positive global evaluation of the teacher and the subject. The postlecture evaluation questionnaire was found to possess good psychometric properties. Multiple regression analyses showed that subject, class, and teacher attributes were predictive of global evaluation of the lecture and the teacher. In conjunction with other evaluation findings, the present findings strongly suggest that students had positive perceptions of the attributes and benefits of “Tomorrow's Leaders.”

Evaluation of a subject on leadership and intrapersonal development: views of the students based on qualitative evaluation

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Moon Y.M. Law
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Holistic Development ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Chinese University Students

Abstract“Tomorrow’s Leaders” is a subject developed to satisfy the leadership and intrapersonal development requirement at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. After taking this subject, students were invited to use three descriptors and a metaphor to describe their experiences about the subject. Based on the reflections of 143 students, results showed that 94.4% of the descriptors used by informants were positive and 2.31% of the descriptors were negative. For the metaphors used to describe the subject, 92.7% were positive and 4.47% were negative. In conjunction with other findings, the present study suggests that Tomorrow’s Leaders is a subject that can promote the holistic development in Chinese university students in Hong Kong.

The impact of 3-year and 4-year undergraduate programs on university students: the case of Hong Kong

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Lu Yu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
General Education ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Degree Program ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Year ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Better Than

Abstract The undergraduate curriculum structure in Hong Kong was changed from 3 years to 4 years starting from the 2012–2013 school year, with the extra year of study primarily devoted to general education study. At The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the General University Requirements (GUR) has been designed in response to this change. In this study, the question of whether the development of students in the 4-year program was better than that of the 3-year program was examined via a static group comparison design. The treatment group was Year 3 students of the 4-year undergraduate degree program (n=566) whereas the control group comprised Year 3 students of the 3-year degree program (n=290). Measures on empathy, positive youth development, and student engagement were used as indicators of student holistic development. While the mean age of students in the 3-year program was higher than that of the 4-year program, students in the 4-year program performed better than the students of the 3-year program on several indicators of desired graduate attributes. Bearing in mind the limitations of the static comparison group design, the present study provides support for the positive impact of GUR at PolyU on students of the 4-year undergraduate curriculum.

scholarly journals Reflective Journals of Students Taking a Positive Youth-Development Course in a University Context in Hong Kong

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Daniel T. L. Shek ◽  
Florence K. Y. Wu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Thick Description ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Development Course ◽  
Psychosocial Competencies

To promote the holistic development of university students, a course entitled “Tomorrow's Leaders” was developed and offered at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Based on a case study approach, reflective journals of five outstanding students of the course are presented and analyzed (i.e., thick description), with several themes emerging from the reflection. First, the students liked the course, and they identified many positive attributes. Second, the students appreciated the instructors. Third, the students viewed that the course contributed to different aspects of their development. Fourth, some areas of improvements were proposed. In conjunction with other evaluation mechanisms, the present findings strongly suggest that the course is able to promote psychosocial competencies in university students taking this course.

Focus group evaluation of teachers’ views on a new general education program in Hong Kong

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-74
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Lu Yu ◽  
Xinli Chi
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
General Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Difficulty Level ◽  
Freshman Seminar ◽  
Group Evaluation ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Using teachers’ focus group interviews (n=40), this study examined the impact of the General University Requirements (GUR) implemented at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). Results showed that teachers were generally satisfied with the GUR subjects and its implementation in its second year. Teachers regarded the design of GUR subjects was good and the students generally welcomed the subjects. Interactive teaching and learning methods adopted in GUR subjects such as fieldwork, hands-on projects, and team debates were highly appreciated by the respondents. Teachers also reflected that the GUR had promoted the intrapersonal and interpersonal development of the students. However, several challenges were also reported by teachers, including the difficulty level of Freshman Seminar subjects and lack of interaction in some GUR subjects, which suggested directions for further improvements.

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