Title: eCitizen Education 360: An extension of the Learning and Assessment for Digital Citizenship project

Abbreviated title: e360 (2022) (數碼素養360 2022)

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 form of teaching and learning. Indeed, during the almost two and a half years of pandemic-induced social distancing measures in the city to-date, students have struggled with sustained disruptions to their learning throughout the waves of prolonged intermittent total/partial school suspensions or resumption. 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 pandemic-induced prolonged school disruptions on students’ learning and wellbeing.

The proposed study (e360 (2022)) builds on the conceptual and methodological foundations of the baseline eCitizen Education 360 (referred to henceforth as e360 (2020) for brevity) study, originally entitled eCitizen Education 360 (數碼素養360): an Action Focused Post-COVID-19 Study for Equitable Quality Education for All, that was initiated in mid-2020 in response to the school suspension (February – June 2020) as a result of the first and second wave of COVID-19) (For the list of the dissemination activities, publications, media coverage and Award for e360, please refer to previous studies ). The e360 (2022) is underpinned by the understanding that teaching and learning opportunities and outcomes during (and after) the fifth wave of school suspension is influenced by a comprehensive range of factors (or enablers) at the school, teacher, parent, and student level. These factors then affect intermediate outcomes at different levels (school, teacher, parent, and student) and distal student outcomes that include learning and wellbeing. A group of researchers from The University of Hong Kong, National Institute of Education, and Zhejiang Normal University has joined hands with professional and community organizations to launch the current project. We look forward to your support and participation.

The subjects of this research include school staffs in Hong Kong primary and secondary schools such as principals, teachers, IT coordinators, as well as students and their parents.

• School Leaders (including Principal, Vice Principals, Academic Master/ Curriculum Leader, Counselling and Guidance Head, ICT/ Stem Coordinator, Life-wide Learning/ Extra-curricular Activities Coordinator and preferably some KLA/Subject panel chairpersons)
• Teachers (all teachers are welcome to participate)
• Students and their parents:
  • Secondary schools - one or two classes at each form (S1-5)
  • Primary level - one or two classes at each Primary 4, 5, 6 levels, preferably including P3 too.

The first research report will be released in October 2022. An individual school report summarising findings from the school-based data collection will be provided to each participating school.

We would like to invite local Hong Kong primary and secondary schools to participate in the study. If your school is interested to participate, please fill in the School Participating Reply Slip and send back to dcitizen@hku.hk. We will then follow up with the teacher designated by the school to oversee the school’s participation to facilitate the completion of the online surveys.

Deadline of Application: 18 July 2022