An electronic news database for upper primary school students and teachers in Hong Kong

Abstract

The current research extended the pilot study and examined the use of an electronic news database by upper primary school students and their teachers in five local schools in Hong Kong. We used a mixed-methods design for data collection and analysis. We examined records of users' database activities for the usage patterns of students and teachers. Surveys and phone interviews were conducted to assess their perceptions of the usefulness of the electronic database for learning and teaching. The Revised Two-Factor Learning Process Questionnaire (R-LPQ-2F) was employed to assess students' learning approaches and their associations with news database use, and perceptions were examined. Findings revealed that younger students tended exclusively to browse, while older students and teachers used both browsing and keyword searching. Use patterns also confirmed that the news database provided accessibility to a vast amount of information. Both students and teachers perceived the electronic database to be useful for learning and teaching. Finally, we found that a deep learning approach was associated with frequency of use and positive perceptions of the usefulness of the electronic database. These results provide potentially important implications for teachers, school administrators, and system designers in developing an efficient electronic database to facilitate learning at upper primary school levels. © American Library Association.