Helping Hong Kong business students to appreciate how they learn

Abstract

Hong Kong students enrolling in the tertiary sector exhibit tendencies to passivity and non-participation. There is also some evidence that, in common with other countries, the tertiary educational environment in Hong Kong may encourage the adoption of inappropriate approaches to learning. A programme was developed within the first year of a business studies degree with the purpose of enhancing students’ approach to learning. This was attempted by making them aware of different approaches, giving them the analytical tools to examine their own conceptions of and approaches to learning and by involving them in different forms of learning experience. Most students conceived ofieaming as a quantitative increase in knowledge. They exhibited similar patterns in respect of SPQ scores to other Hong Kong students, scoring slightly higher than their Australian peers with respect to “deep” and “achieving” approaches and slightly lower on the “surface” approach. Evaluation of the programme was based on a range of sources including unprompted views using the “slip” technique, course evaluation questionnaires and a second administration of the SPQ at the beginning of the students’ second year. The evaluation shows that student reaction to the programme was mixed, though with an overall balance in favour. The SPQ results showed.that although the mean scores for the “surface” approach rose and those for the “deep” and the “achieving” approach fell, they did so to a much lesser extent than on similar programmes.