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This study assessed perceptions of self-efficacy and successful intelligence among 220 Chinese prospective and in-service secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. Teacher self-efficacy in six domains - teaching highly able learners, classroom management, guidance and counselling, student engagement, teaching to accommodate diversity, and teaching for enriched learning - was related to the three triarchic dimensions (analytical, creative, and practical) of successful intelligence. Each of the three triarchic abilities was found to contribute independently and in combination to the prediction of the six domains of teacher self-efficacy. Practical abilities were the most significant predictor of self-efficacy beliefs in five domains. Teaching teachers for successful intelligence, in strategies to enhance teacher self-efficacy, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study empirically addresses two longstanding controversial issues in the field of intellectual styles. The first concerns the distinction (or similarity) between various style constructs. The second relates to whether or not intellectual styles make a difference to students' academic achievement. Specifically, the study investigated the relationship between Torrance's modes of thinking and Sternberg's thinking styles. It also examined the role of the two style constructs in achievement in Chinese, English, and mathematics. Three self-report inventories were administered to 452 students from a senior secondary school in rural China. After students' age, gender, and self-rated abilities were controlled for, thinking styles predicted modes of thinking. In general, conservative intellectual styles predicted better achievement across the three subjects among students in lower grade levels, whereas creative intellectual styles contributed to achievement in Chinese among students in higher grade levels. It is concluded that each of the two style constructs has a unique value in explaining individual differences in human performance. Furthermore, the study makes another call for cultivating creative intellectual styles among school students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed multiple intelligences in a sample of 96 Chinese secondary school teachers in Hong Kong, and explored the consistency between these teachers' multiple intelligences and their areas of responsibilities. Teachers typically reported relative strengths in interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences and weaknesses in visual-spatial and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences. While there were no gender or age group differences, arts/music/sports teachers indicated greater strengths in musical intelligence when compared with language and social studies teachers, and guidance teachers indicated greater strengths in both intrapersonal intelligence and interpersonal intelligence than did non-guidance teachers. Using the eight intelligences as predictors, teachers' interpersonal intelligence was the significant predictor of their self-efficacy in helping others. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of the current Hong Kong education reform movement and the inadequacy of teacher education programs in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]