The junior secondary history curricula in Hong Kong and Shanghai: a comparative study

Since 1997, Hong Kong's reintegration with China has been founded on the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’, which serves to guarantee the sustainability of the capitalist system in Hong Kong under the rule of the socialist motherland. This paper is an intra‐cultural and inter‐regional comparative study of the curricula of two systems (socialist and capitalist) under one country, using the junior secondary History curricula in Shanghai and Hong Kong as a case study. In addition to tracing the differences and similarities, divergences and convergences in the junior secondary History curricula of the two systems, the paper also generates proposals for the future improvement of History education in both cities.     

Teacher Education and the University: A comparative analysis with implications for Hong Kong

The university of education might be seen as a new type of university, which has emerged in recent decades in Asia, and which may be able to contribute both to teacher education and the needs of the knowledge society in new ways. This article begins with a historical overview of the development of universities and normal colleges in Western and Asian societies. It explores the value orientations of these two types of institution, and their links to the different historical periods in which they emerged. These contrasting value orientations are schematized in the second part of the paper, which addresses its core question: how can teacher education attain a level of excellence parallel to that of universities, while maintaining those values of the normal college that are relevant to the knowledge society? A comparative historical analysis of three Western and three Asian societies in the third part of the paper gives an overview of different ways in which this dilemma has been resolved. The fourth part then draws out four distinctive models of teacher education that have emerged historically, and evaluates them comparatively. The paper concludes with comparative reflections on teacher education in Singapore and Hong Kong, suggesting the model of a university of education as uniquely suited to the Hong Kong situation, and possibly only culturally viable in an Asian environment.     

Teacher commitment trends: Cases of Hong Kong teachers from 1997 to 2007

This article examines the commitment of Hong Kong teachers in the decade after the political transition in 1997, when large-scale education reforms were launched. The life history method was employed to investigate teachers’ self-appraisal of their commitment levels in their career course and factors contributing to such trends. Findings not only affirm the previous view that teacher commitment involves the interplay of personal, workplace and education systemic factors but also illuminate how these factors interplay differently to effect sustained/increased or decreased commitment. ‘Love for students’ is argued to be a crucial personal factor which counteracts unfavorable external conditions to sustain teacher commitment.     

Teacher professionalism in educational reform: the experiences of Hong Kong and Shanghai

Beginning in the 1990s, the education departments of Hong Kong and Shanghai began to actively initiate reform with a focus on the quality of education. In reviewing the implementation of educational reform in these two societies, we found that Hong Kong teachers tended to only adopt those policies which they felt were beneficial for students' learning, whereas Shanghai teachers tended to conform more to the state's requirements. Teachers in Hong Kong strongly expressed their frustration over the intensification of their work, while teachers in Shanghai seldom expressed disagreement over the state initiatives. Concerning the meaning of teacher professionalism, teachers in Hong Kong were more able than their counterparts in Shanghai to develop their own interpretations. However, at the same time, teachers' work in Hong Kong was still being monitored by the emerging schooling market, while the work of Shanghai teachers was monitored by the state. Teachers' work in both societies can be interpreted as ‘confined professionalism’. In addition, in both of the two societies teachers' awareness of their professionalism was comparatively weak. Further empowerment in this area is needed.     

以"学习者为中心"的教学模式中外语教师角色的定位

文章通过传统教学模式和“以学习者为中心”的教学模式中教师角色的对比,探讨“以学习者为中心”的教学模式中外语教师角色定位的转化问题,并指出在转化过程所需要面对的挑战。     

General,collective, and domain-specific teacher self-efficacy among Chinese prospective and in-service teachers in Hong Kong

This study assessed two global (general and collective) and seven domain-specific sets of teacher self-efficacy beliefs among 273 Chinese prospective and in-service teachers in Hong Kong. While teachers generally reported having the highest confidence in teaching highly able learners and the least confidence in classroom management, there were significant teacher group differences. Among four groups of teachers, the experienced teachers reported the highest level of global and domain-specific teacher self-efficacy, suggesting that there could be a trend of rising teacher self-efficacy as a teacher went through preparation and teaching practice to becoming a novice and then a more experienced teacher.     

A comparative study of teaching efficacy in pre-service and in-service teachers in Korean early childhood education and care (ECEC)

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between pre-service and in-service teachers in terms of their levels of teaching efficacy and teaching professionalism. In addition, the patterns in predictors of teachers’ teaching efficacy were compared between the two subgroups of this study. Five hundred and seventy-three teachers completed self-administered questionnaires. The in-service teachers were found to have higher efficacy than their counterparts in only one of the six subscales of teaching efficacy, the subscale “Teaching Strategies”. Additionally, the college major specialisation and some domains of professionalism were found to be predictive to both groups. Along with the main results of this study, implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Training needs of career guidance personnel in Australia and Hong Kong: A comparative study

An increasing emphasis on the need for provision of career development programs for all ages has prompted a parallel call for greater provision of training for career personnel. The present study surveyed career personnel in Hong Kong who were undertaking additional training, and Masters level students at an Australian university who were engaged in some careers work in their schools but who were not employed in a formal role as career teacher or counsellor. The survey focused on competencies of careers coordinators. The findings generally high-lighted a need for more training in the area of career development competencies.     

Teacher efficacy: An investigation of Economics teachers

Abstract

In an era of unprecedented curriculum change it is not surprising that many South African teachers have begun to question their ability to affect learner performance. Teachers have to engage with a changing learner culture, with new curriculum content and are under pressure to embrace different teaching strategies without fully understanding the theoretical principles on which they are based. In this paper the authors explore high-school Economics teachers' beliefs about their capacities to influence learning. This paper is based on a quantitative empirical investigation into Economics teachers' efficacy beliefs about the teaching of Economics. Economics teachers from each of the 45 Department of Education delineated districts in KwaZulu-Natal province were selected to be participants in the study. We argue that while Economics teachers perceive their role as important in the learning process, male teachers in particular see the teacher as the dominant influence on learner performance, and are more confident than female teachers of their knowledge and teaching abilities.     

Comparative analysis of expectancies of efficacy in in-service and prospective teachers

This study examines the beliefs about effective teaching in student teachers and inservice teachers. We constructed a measurement composed of an adaptation in Spanish of the Gibson and Dembo's (1984. Teacher efficacy: A construct validation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 569–582). Teacher Efficacy Scale and of the items included in Emmer and Hickman's (1991. Teacher efficacy in classroom management and discipline. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 51, 755–765) “classroom management/discipline efficacy” dimension. A total of 339 participants took part in the study. The factor analysis carried out of the results obtained showed three principal factors: classroom management/discipline efficacy, personal teaching efficacy and general teaching efficacy. Analyses which compared efficacy expectancies showed significant differences in the management and discipline dimension in favour of the group of working teachers, whereas an opposite pattern emerged in the general teaching dimension. In addition, there were differences in the management/discipline dimension in terms of the number of years’ experience in the group of inservice teachers. The interpretation of the results is expressed in terms of the Bandura's perceived self-efficacy theory. We also indicate some implications that the analysis of these expectancies may have for the training and professional development of teachers, and we suggest lines for future research.     

Teacher Evaluation and Effectiveness in Hong Kong: Issues and Challenges

This article first provides an overview of teacher effectiveness and evaluation in Hong Kong. Several studies related to classroom environment and teacher behavior in selected subjects are referenced, as are recent studies of teachers instructional leadership. Finally, the preliminary use of the Revised Classroom Observation Instrument (RCOI) from the Louisiana School Effectiveness Study in three secondary schools is reported. The results from using the RCOI in Hong Kong indicate that some items may be irrelevant in the Hong Kong context (e.g., physical characteristics), while more items may be needed to reflect good teaching in Hong Kong (e.g., questioning skills). In addition, the potential use of teacher profiles to drive staff development and school improvement is explored.     

Teacher agency and professional learning in cross-cultural teaching contexts: Accounts of Chinese teachers from international schools in Hong Kong

This study examined how teacher agency shaped professional learning in cross-cultural teaching contexts. Interviews with 14 Chinese language teachers showed that teacher agency varied in different dimensions of professional learning. Social suggestions, power relations, teachers' professional and social positioning and the imposed identity and social roles in the school contexts interacted to shape teacher agency. The findings suggest both creating school cultures and structures that value and share diverse discursive and pedagogical practices and managing teachers' professional identity and self-positioning to enhance teachers' agency to engage in mutual learning and remaking of their work practices.     

Distance Language Teacher Education: New challenges for Hong Kong

An urgent need for a relatively large number of qualified Putonghua language teachers in Hong Kong has led the Open University of Hong Kong to establish a distance education programme for in-service language teachers, most of whom are non-native speakers. The programme designed by the university involves distance study coupled with regular face-to-face tutorials, and is designed to enable the in-service teachers to apply their learned knowledge directly in their daily teaching. The article explains how evaluation of the first presentation of the course in 1996 showed that the course alone could not fully address the actual deficiencies in the teachers' Putonghua listening and speaking skills while, additionally, there was also a need to restructure the teaching methodology component of the course. The basis upon which these judgements were made is explained, and the steps taken to strengthen the course to meet these perceived deficiencies, while not adding to the students' workload, are outlined.     

Women teachers in Hong Kong: stories of changing gendered identities

In a time of mass schooling in most parts of the world, the discourse of the “woman primary teacher” is often the subject of discourse. Yet most stories of these women teachers emerge from other (Western) contexts, with little known about how changing education processes affect the gendered identities of women in other cultural settings. This paper explores how women teachers negotiate their gendered identities in Hong Kong, where modernization has already mingled with the indigenous Chinese culture. It provides the stories of four Chinese women teachers as they engage in ongoing construction and negotiations of gendered identities over their life histories in Hong Kong. All are ethnically Chinese, of different ages and at different stages of their personal and professional lives, and all have grown up in Hong Kong. A framework of post-colonial concepts of hybridity and border crossing helps to suggest how identity resources develop in relation to a range of contemporary practices which are experienced as both pressures and opportunities. These Chinese women teachers' identities are seen to be complex, fluid and multi-faceted, continually under construction in their daily lives, with changes experienced in both work and family settings.     

The professional development needs of Hong Kong ESL teachers

In the light of changing needs for the professional development (PD) of ESL teachers in Hong Kong, this study investigates current practice and future needs within the context of the implementation of educational reforms by the Hong Kong Government. A cohort of ESL teachers, members of a knowledge sharing community project, participated in a survey to gauge their experience of, and attitudes towards, PD. The survey produced a 100% response. Data from the cohort indicated that experienced, well-qualified ESL teachers perceive the need for PD from a broader perspective than their less qualified, less experienced peers who are driven by more immediate needs. These findings resonate with those from countries where PD is viewed as an integral part of ongoing teacher development. The paper concludes with the recommendations that the current findings would be augmented by a further, qualitative study.     

From beginning teacher education to professional teaching: A study of the thinking of Hong Kong primary science teachers

This is a longitudinal study of the thinking about teaching science of beginning Hong Kong primary teachers. The research explores how their thinking changed from pre-service teacher education through to their first year as classroom teachers. It takes a more holistic view of teacher thinking than typical in the literature considering the nature, interrelationships, and changes over time of four major aspects: conceptions, planning, teaching, and reflection. Positive findings were that the majority of participants became more constructivist in terms of their conceptions and practice of teaching, but they also tended to become more simplistic in planning and less coherent in thinking as they progressed from pre-service teacher education to beginning teachers in schools.     

The logic of Hong Kong teachers: An exploratory study of their teaching culturally diverse students

This study aims to report how Hong Kong teachers handle a seemingly conventional, orderly schooling phenomenon—the teaching of the newly arrived children (NAC) migrated from mainland China. Semi‐structured interviews with ten teachers from nine primary schools were conducted. The principal findings are that the teachers are not prepared for the challenges of teaching NAC, that the traditional approaches adopted by many teachers are ineffective, that subtle transformation of the pupil population due to the everlasting influx of NAC has yet to be appreciated by the teachers, and that teachers' logic—their worldview, mindset and conceptualisation of forces at work in Hong Kong schooling—remains unchanged. This paper highlights the various issues of monoculturalisation. Implications are discussed.     

规限的专业性:香港及中国内地教师评鉴工作比较

香港及中国内地两地在上世纪90年代末起均积极推动教育改革,以发展优质/素质教育为主要的发展方向,以期培养适切的人才,提高两地的国际竞争力。基于此,两地均强调课程改革,引入新的教学法,如专题研习/研究性学习,强调问责性的评核机制。面对教与学的种种改革,教师的工作出现了新的转变及挑战,本文比较两地在教改情境下,如何透过教师评鉴保证及提升教育质素,两地教师如何以不同策略作响应,呈现两地教师在工作评鉴下的处境。     

深圳、香港、台北幼儿园教师工资待遇比较分析

分析深圳、香港和台北三地公办(非牟利)幼儿园教师的工资待遇发现:(1)香港幼儿园教师的工资架构比较单一,没有津贴、奖金或福利;台北幼儿园教师的工资架构最为全面、合理、人性化;深圳介于二者之间.(2)深圳和台北均采用岗位绩效工资制,而香港是名义上的能力工资制.(3)台北幼儿园教师的工资水平是三地中最高的.在扣除每月房租后,香港幼儿园教师的工资实际购买力最低.针对香港幼儿园教师工资待遇最低的问题,研究者建议香港特区政府进一步完善幼儿园教师的工资架构,考虑采用岗位绩效工资制,发放住房、交通、教育等津贴.