Press Release

(Hong Kong—18 Dec 2018) In celebration of its 10th Anniversary, the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) conducted a press meeting themed “Once Upon a Time in HKAGE” cum the release of “The Parental Expectation” Research Outcomes. Student members of the early years and their parents shared their life under the halo of “giftedness”. In addition, the research outcomes also revealed the impact of parental expectation on gifted children.

Professor TK NG, Executive Director of HKAGE, said in the event, “HKAGE has served more than 20,000 gifted students since its inception in 2008, by providing multi-aspect support. In addition to the tailor-made programmes and affective education to accommodate the students’ affective needs, the multi-aspect support covers also the parents of gifted students. Programmes and workshops are provided for those parents to help overcome the challenges they face when nurturing their gifted children.”

To keep abreast of the latest trend, HKAGE has established its Research Division to study and evaluate different issues of gifted education since 2012. Based on the research and study outcomes, HKAGE as well as other stakeholders could develop more gifted programmes that match the needs of gifted students and consequently fully unleash the potentials of them.

The Influence of Parental Expectation

In early 2017, HKAGE conducted a survey to understand parental expectation and other adjustment issues of its gifted student members. Nearly 1 000 primary student members participated in the survey. The adjustment issues concerned include Perfectionism, Multi-potentiality, Intense Involvement, Poor Interpersonal Relationship and Unchallenging School Work.

Dr Eric FUNG, Head of Research Division, stated, “The survey outcomes suggest that high parental expectation may increase the chance of occurrence of other adjustment issues faced by gifted primary student members. For example, parents’ over-expectation may induce gifted children’s intense involvement for things around them. For certain adjustment problems, the chance of their occurrence may even be doubled.” The key to a healthy balance may be frequent communication between parents and children to set mutually acceptable goals for achieving a happy and successful life.

Once Upon a Time in HKAGE - Parents

The HKAGE’s multi-aspect support for its student members covers also their parents. With the knowledge gained from the parent programmes and the mutual support from the parent groups, parents grow together with their gifted children. At the event, two parents of student members of the HKAGE shared their own experience with their gifted kids and talked about how they had adjusted their methods of nurturing their children to suit their growth needs.

Alice is from a typical grassroot family. She and her husband immigrated to Hong Kong from the Mainland some thirty years ago. Her husband obtained his university degree from a Mainland university of which the degree was not recognised in Hong Kong. Alice has not received any tertiary education. Of her two children, the elder son has already started working shortly after graduating from a university whereas the younger daughter Angel was assessed to be a gifted child during her primary school years. With her outstanding academic achievement, Angel entered a traditionally renowned secondary school after finishing her study in a regional band 1 primary school.

Like many traditional Chinese mothers, Alice has very high expectation on Angel. When Angel was in primary school, Alice required her to be the top two students in her grade. Whenever Alice saw her daughter having a break from her study, she would become furious. She admitted that for some occasions she was so angry that she almost hit her daughter. Having attended HKAGE’s parent programmes and listened to other parents’ experience, Alice started to realise that her own problem was much bigger than her daughter’s. She started to adjust her expectation and learn how to get along with Angel.

Pat is another parent who has given up an enviable high-paying job to accompany her gifted daughter to prepare for the DSE, so that she can walk beside her daughter through the valley of her life. Being gifted does not guarantee a smooth life without difficulties. Sometimes gifted children may even experience more ups and downs in their life. Pat’s daughter had always been one of the best achievers in school. However, when she was in S4, her performance dropped dramatically due to various reasons and there was a point that she almost gave up herself. Seeing that the DSE was just around the corner, Pat decided to try her best to help her daughter get out of the situation. With the counselling provided by HKAGE, her daughter pulled herself together to start anew and finally attained a seat in the university. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Once Upon a Time in HKAGE - Alumni

Having been nurtured by the Academy for 10 years, the first batch of HKAGE student members are now pursuing their further study or contributing in the workforce. Three of our alumni shared their experience over the past decade at the press meeting.

Having attained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Lawrence YU went to the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong for further studies in psychology. He then went to the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom to pursue a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology. Lawrence was born in a grassroots family and he loved to ask questions since he was a child - a typical "child with problems". His had a very strong drive to pursue knowledge, to a point that the routine in the classroom was affected. Lawrence was once mistaken to be hyperactive by his parents but was later confirmed as a gifted child with the assessment done. Lawrence’s performance during his primary school years was not outstanding. The secondary school he attended was a CMI school of band 2 or band 3. However, these have not restrained his desire for knowledge. With his uncommon interest and behaviour, Lawrence was considered to be an "alien" by his peer, and he did not have many friends. After starting his journey of gifted education, Lawrence’s horizon was opened up and more fun was found from learning. He has been officially honoured with the title of “Hong Kong Scholar” and has also been granted the “Global Study Award”. Lawrence has also been granted a scholarship to pursue a doctorate degree in psychology at the University of Oxford for the study of treatments for those suffer from stress.

Andy LOO, another alumnus who was graduated from Princeton University in the United States, is currently a Ph.D. student in economics at Stanford University. He is also one of the coaches of the International Mathematical Olympiad Hong Kong team. Coming from a middle-class family, Andy was among the first batch of HKAGE student members. He has represented Hong Kong and won many awards at the International Physics and Mathematical Olympiads. Andy' s father works in the management team of an IT company and is a columnist and moderator for certain media. Following his father's footsteps, Andy is now a columnist of the "Hong Kong Economic Journal" Commentary Page. He is also one of the moderators at today’s press meeting.

Tracy LOK is the only working alumnus among the three alumni attending the event. She is currently working in a professional consultancy firm. Tracy has been performing well in all aspects since childhood. With an athletic build, she is faster than others even in running - a typical winner in life. She has achieved the highest average score in 11 subjects during the same school term and was addressed by her fellow classmates as “Miss Number One” since then. She was then recommended to participate in the special training programmes for the exceptionally gifted students, from which HKAGE has been evolved. Tracy does not think the gifted label has much adverse impact on her. However, her parents were once worried that the label of “giftedness” and the nickname “Miss Number One” might excert too much pressure on Tracy. Hence, they told her to relax. Even Tracy’s teacher has talked with her to find out whether she felt stressful because of the nickname. Tracy thinks that the gifted programmes she has participated have broadened her horizon. She is also grateful that she has been able to learn many things outside the regular syllabus, such as the training courses for the Mathematical Olympiad and some philosophy courses.

Life is a journey with different experiences. After leaving the secondary school and HKAGE, Tracy successfully started her university study. During this part of the journey, she chose to cover up her identity as “Miss Number One” or “being gifted” and lead an ordinary life. In the workplace, Tracy tries even harder to hide her gifted qualities and learn to lead an extraordinary lifestyle with an ordinary life.

Annex

#1. Three alumni and two parents pose with HKAGE management after the press meeting themed “Once Upon a Time in HKAGE”.	#2. Prof. TK NG, Executive Director of HKAGE, says at his welcome speech that the HKAGE endeavours to provide multi-aspect support to gifted students which covers also their parents.
#3. Dr Eric FUNG, Head of Research Division, presents the outcomes of the survey on ‘The Influence of Parental Expectation’.	#4. Two parents of student members of HKAGE demonstrate the skills of empathetic communication to other parents of gifted children during the ‘role-playing’ session (left: Alice, right: Pat).
#5. Alice, a parent of an HKAGE student member, says that she has been very harsh to her gifted daughter but has learnt to adjust her expectation and let go after attending the parent programmes.	#6. Pat, a parent of another HKAGE student member, shares her experience in accompanying her gifted daughter to go through the valley of her life and supporting her to get out of the difficult situation and start anew.
7. Lawrence YU, an alumnus of HKAGE, has been a ‘student with problems’ since early childhood and was once restricted by his teacher on the number of questions he could ask. His strong desire for knowledge has driven him to pursue a Ph.D. in the University of Oxford.	8. Tracy LOK, an alumnus of HKAGE, is a typical winner in life who has been performing well in all aspects since childhood – including running and jumping. Tracy is currently working in a professional consultancy firm pursuing her career dream.
9. Andy LOO (right), another alumnus of HKAGE, has been a high-achiever since childhood. He has represented Hong Kong and won many awards at the International Physics and Mathematical Olympiads. Andy is currently a Ph.D. student in economics at Stanford University. Being a newspaper columnist, Andy takes up the role of moderator at HKAGE’s press meeting and interviews two alumni of the Academy.