The Faculty of Education and Human Development (FEHD) is delighted to announce the recipients of the Dean’s Research Awards 2025/26, recognising outstanding scholarly achievement and research impact across the Faculty.
This year’s awards honour excellence in journal articles, books, research engagement and impact, and postgraduate journal articles.
Dr Shen Ba, Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, received the Journal Article Award for his paper entitled “Community of inquiry in motion: Modeling inquiry dynamics with movement analysis (MOVA).” By reconceptualising the Community of Inquiry framework as a dynamic process and introducing MOVA to model transitions between inquiry states, the study offers an original approach to understanding how teaching, social and cognitive presences interact over time.
Dr Kevin Yung, Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, received the Books Award for his book, “Narratives of English Language Learners in Private Tutoring: An L2 Motivational Self Perspective.” The book examines the interplay between learner motivation, private tutoring and second language development, offering valuable insights into how identity and personal aspirations shape language learning in both mainstream and shadow education contexts.
Dr Jess Luo, Assistant Professor in the Department of Education Policy and Leadership, received the Research Engagement and Impact Award for advancing higher education assessment in the era of Generative AI. Her work explores the intersection of academic integrity, policy and emerging technologies, addressing the practical and ethical challenges that Generative AI presents for student evaluation and academic authorship.
The Postgraduate Journal Article Award was presented to three outstanding student researchers. Ms Jiahe Gu (Department of Curriculum and Instruction) was recognised for her meta-analysis, "Effects of GenAI interventions on student academic performance: A meta-analysis," which provides important evidence on the impact of Generative AI on student academic performance. Ms Lin Wang (Department of Special Education and Counselling) received the award for her study, "Daily mindfulness and depressive symptoms among parents of autistic children: A dynamic structural equation modelling study," highlighting the importance of sustaining daily mindfulness practices in families of autistic children with higher levels of externalising problems. Ms Yu Xu (Department of Early Childhood Education) was honoured for her qualitative paper, "Chinese early childhood educators’ manifestations of social-emotional competence at work: A qualitative study," which examines how Chinese early childhood educators demonstrate social-emotional competence in their professional practice.
These awards recognise research exemplifying originality, rigour and societal significance in line with the Research Assessment Exercise criteria. The Faculty warmly congratulates all recipients on their achievements and their valuable contributions to the advancement of education.
The list of recipients of the Dean’s Research Awards 2025/26:
Dr Shen BA, C&I
Ba, S., Swiecki, Z., Tan, Y., Lu, G., Shaffer, D. W., & Gašević, D. (2026). Community of inquiry in motion: Modeling inquiry dynamics with movement analysis (MOVA). Computers & Education, 242, 105513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105513
Dr Kevin Wai Ho YUNG, C&I
Yung, K. W. H. (2026). Narratives of English language learners in private tutoring: An L2 motivational self perspective. New York: Routledge.
Dr Jess Jiahui LUO, EPL
Leading and navigating higher education assessment in times of GenAI
Each award winner will receive $50,000 to further their research, scholarship, and impact efforts. Finalists will receive a certificate.
Ms Jiahe GU, C&I
Gu, J., & Yan, Z. (2025). Effects of GenAI interventions on student academic performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 63(6), 1460-1492. https://doi.org/10.1177/07356331251349620
Ms Lin WANG, SEC
Wang, L., Hua, M., Hu, X., Wang, Y., Xie, Q., Yang, G., & Chen, Y. (2026). Daily mindfulness and depressive symptoms among parents of autistic children: A dynamic structural equation modelling study. Autism, 30(6), 1576-1592. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613261439930
Ms Yu XU, ECE
Xu, Y., Qiu, S., Chen, J., Sun, J., & Li, J.-B. (2025). Chinese early childhood educators’ manifestations of social-emotional competence at work: A qualitative study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 165, 105161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2025.105161
