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This paper describes a qualitative participatory action research study applying critical cosmopolitan literacies principles with pre-service English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers to address global human rights issues through international English youth literature. Using literary works on sociopolitical issues alongside critical pedagogy engagements and teaching practicum in various educational settings, the author as a teacher-researcher attempts to raise the student teachers' critical awareness to issues of power, privilege, and social justice embedded in the multicultural and multimodal texts. Analysis of the qualitative data indicates important outcomes in terms of an enhanced understanding of critical human rights issues pertaining to the formation of student teachers' identities as global-conscious and socially responsible educators. Meanwhile, with explicit guidance from the teacher educator, the student teachers also develop communicative intercultural competence, high-order thinking skills, and learning agency by engaging in multiliteracies practices within a cosmopolitan liteacies orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The school-university partnership is considered a promising approach to teachers' learning. However, few studies have focused on the brokering practice of university experts and its potential influence on teachers' learning. Employing two years' longitudinal qualitative data from a small-scale partnership in China, this study explores from teachers' perspective how university experts perform their boundary broker role to support teachers' learning. Firstly, findings show that the university expert's broker role has multiple facets ranging from resource linker, knowledge conveyor, translator and co-creator to learning network builder and authoritative judge. Secondly, the study discusses the connection between university experts' brokering practice and teachers' learning at multiple levels. Thirdly, the study re-examines the impact of university experts on teacher professionalism and stresses the significance of university experts' competences to cross school-university boundaries. The paper concludes with several implications and the way forward for future study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces 120 student teachers’ professional identity transformation during practicums in China and US. By eliciting the participants’ 240 written metaphors at the start and the end of the teaching practicums respectively, this study reveals the change of the embodied metaphors revolving around four arenas: (1) from idealistic expectations of teachers’ roles to authentic perceptions; (2) from the felt inadequacy of professional knowledge and capability in teaching to varying professional growth; (3) from the transition shock to professional identity adjustment; and (4) the dynamic relationship with the school-based mentors. Meanwhile, this project found that the Chinese and American student teachers’ professional identity transformation is a continuous process of interpretation and re-interpretation of professional experiences, which involves the interaction between person and socio-political context. The process is also idiosyncratic and is replete with identity construction. Implications for facilitating student teachers’ professional identity transformation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the results of a qualitative study that explored the experiences of one group of pre-service English language teachers in Hong Kong as they undertook an action research project as part of their undergraduate teacher training programme. Grounded in a theory of teacher identity construction as both practice and discourse, the paper examines how participation in an action research project by one group of pre-service English language teachers in Hong Kong shaped their experiences of becoming teachers. The study indicates that as teacher researchers, the trainee teachers contested previously held perceptions about their engagement in teaching, their images of teachers and teaching, as well as their alignment with some aspects of contemporary educational discourse. Implications for teacher education and future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student teachers' learning in the field experience is seen as being at the heart of their professional training in initial teacher education. This paper reports a qualitative case study of preservice student teachers' learning experiences in school placements in Hong Kong. A multi-case study was conducted in a concurrent teacher education programme for secondary school teachers, with the examination of seven student teachers' professional learning journeys over two years. Methods of data collection included interview, field observation, document analysis and audio-recording of supervisory conferences. Progressive focusing characterized the research process. Student teachers' professional learning is conceptualized as learning how to frame teaching situations. By exploring pre-training influences, the teacher education programme and the student teaching context, the paper seeks to examine the dynamics and complexity of learning how to frame teaching situations. It develops an integrated framework for understanding student teachers' professional learning as the dynamic interaction of the teaching self, knowledge construction in the teaching repertoire and the framing process. This framework can be used as an analytical tool for understanding the dynamics and complexities of student teachers' professional learning and exploring the contribution of coursework and fieldwork to such learning in initial teacher education. The findings of the study reveal that the strength of the teaching self, the richness of the teaching repertoire and the appropriate mix of challenge and support in the student teaching context are important variables that constitute student teachers' productive learning experiences. Implications for practices in initial teacher education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how the design and implementation of a core teacher education course develops pre-service teachers’ information communication technology (ICT) in education competencies in a mainland Chinese university. This course adopted a four-component instructional design system to develop its curriculum, incorporated an inquiry-based learning approach to develop pre-service teachers’ pedagogical competencies, and used an online learning platform to facilitate the sharing of experiences of using ICT for teaching and learning. This case study demonstrates that innovative pedagogies together with more relevant course content supported by an online learning platform may enhance the effectiveness of a core ICT in education course. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study that examined the experiences of six preservice English language teachers in Hong Kong as they prepared for, engaged in, and reflected upon a compulsory research project during the final year of their Bachelor of Education degree program. Drawing upon in-depth interviews and using methods of discourse analysis, the study considers how the student teachers’ expectations and experiences of a compulsory research project shaped and were shaped by the construction of their professional identities. The results illustrate the identity conflicts the preservice teachers experienced as their research engagement required that they cross institutional and educational boundaries to confront, question, and reject various identity positions, including ‘student teacher’, ‘full-time teacher’, and ‘teacher-researcher’. Implications for how schools and teacher education programs that include a compulsory research component might support preservice teachers during such identity formation experiences as well as for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The gap between the theory and practice of teaching is an issue of concern in teacher education. Although researching this gap is not new, few studies have been conducted in Hong Kong. It is worth investigating the contemporary Asian models of teacher education that can provide reference to the international literature. This paper examines this theory-practice gap by reporting a study that researched the inconsistencies between student teachers' best teaching strategies and their most commonly employed ones. Specifically, we investigated: (1) the considerations that contribute to the inconsistencies in the student teachers' conceptions of teaching; and (2) the enhancing factors of the teacher education programme which help to close the gap between the theory and practice of teaching. Through examining the interview data, the findings revealed three main dimensions of consideration attributing to the inconsistencies in the conceptions of teaching: pre-training experience, teaching context and student needs. These considerations lead to expansive or constraining impacts on the student teachers' selections of teaching strategies. Influences from the teacher education programme that might close this gap are identified. Implications for improving teacher education programmes are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the views of student teachers in Hong Kong on two mechanisms - supervised teaching practice and onsite peer observation (OPO) - which involve school-university partnership. Data were collected by using self-administered questionnaires (n = 59) and semi-structured interviews (n = 40). Results of the study indicated that student teachers regarded the two mechanisms as contributing to their learning and professional development. However, they highlighted a lack of school support for conducting OPO. Findings are discussed with reference to existing models of school-university partnership pointing to the possible existence of some aspects of a university-led model in which the university takes a dominant role in teacher education. Recommendations are made to formalise the operation of OPO in schools and to initiate a dialogue and cooperation between the participating parties involved in OPO so as to better facilitate student teachers' learning within a supportive school-university partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of implicit professional identity (IPI) and its relationship with explicit professional identity (EPI) and well-being of pre-service teachers. A total of 81 Chinese female pre-service teacher volunteers participated in the study, in which their IPI, EPI, and well-being were measured using the Single Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT), the professional identification scale for pre-service teachers, and the short depression-happiness scale, respectively. The results indicated that (a) pre-service teachers had positive IPI; (b) the correlation between the measures of pre-service teachers' EPI and IPI was not significant; (c) IPI significantly predicted well-being negatively, while EPI positively predicted well-being; and (d) IPI moderated the relationship between EPI and well-being. In the weak IPI group, EPI did not significantly predict well-being; however, in the strong IPI group, EPI significantly predicted well-being positively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the out-of-class English language learning activities of student teachers in Hong Kong, using questionnaires, interviews and learner diaries. The study Found that while many of the students devoted considerable time to studying and practising English outside the classroom, much of this time was spent on more receptive activities such as Listening and reading, rather than speaking. Students had a tendency to locus on private rather than public activities which did not involve face-to-face contact. Two students' out-of-class learning activities and their feelings towards using in English are examined in more detail. It is suggested that the reasons for their avoidance involved both individual and social/political factors, principally the implications attached to using English and the fear of negative judgement. However, it is pointed out that despite their negative feelings about using English in public, these were successful English learners who actively sought opportunities to use English in their private domain. It is suggested that the private domain may be a valuable setting for out-of-class language learning, since it is both less threatening to identity and is also easier for the student to control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Editorial. Talks about the status of early childhood education in Hong Kong, China. Importance of proposed reforms of education system for early childhood education in Hong Kong; History of early childhood education; Impact of mentoring process to student teacher confidence and skills.

Small cohorts of pre-service teachers (PSTs) have been successfully undertaking teaching practicums in a range of international settings for more than 40 years, as part of their initial teacher education studies. Most research into these international teaching practicums (ITPs) has concentrated on the benefits for western PSTs and their western academic mentors, but limited attention has been paid to the experiences, benefits and challenges of non-western practicum partners. The study addresses this gap in the literature by focusing on Chinese students' perceptions of a three-week international teaching practicum in China. The purpose of the study was to examine the experiences of Chinese students who were taught by Australian PSTs as part of an international teaching practicum in China. Using content analysis methods and a border-crossing theoretical framework, this small scale qualitative case study analysed, in depth, the reflective writing of Year 7 (12- to 13-year-old) and Year 11 (16- to 17-year-old) students from three schools across two different cities in China. The analysis indicated that students enjoyed the practicum experience, with many of the older students showing a nuanced appreciation of the cultural and pedagogical contrasts between the Australian PSTs' teaching of English and that of their usual Chinese teachers. While some students were concerned that the Australians' teaching did not adequately prepare them for high-stakes national tests, others reported that their whole attitude to learning English had changed so that English was now one of their favourite subjects as a result of being taught by the Australian pre-service teachers. Through investigating local Chinese students' experiences of an international teaching practicum, this study contributes to the now substantial body of literature that affirms the value of such intercultural education programmes. The study argues for the value of intercultural 'crossing over' experiences for non-western as well as western practicum partners, and urges educational researchers to listen to the voices of local students when researching international teaching practicums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, 227 pre-service teachers majoring in special education at two normal universities in eastern China were studied using a questionnaire survey. The survey sought to understand pre-service teachers' beliefs about students and teachers' role in special education, using a metaphor approach. The results are as follows: First, in terms of beliefs about students, more pre-service teachers hold an 'Existence Orientation', especially 'Particularity of Existence' Orientation. In regards to beliefs about teachers' roles, more teachers hold the belief of teachers as 'Facilitator'. Second, there is a significant difference between pre-service teachers' beliefs, depending on their grade level in university. Finally, teachers' belief about students are significantly related to their belief about the role of teachers. More specifically, teachers who hold the belief about students of 'Reality of Development' are more likely to hold the belief of teachers' role as 'Facilitating Orientation'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the dual perspectives of teacher educators and student-teachers, this research explores the complex learning needs of pre-service school counselling teachers (SCTs) in China. Relying on data from in-depth interviews and relevant curriculum documents, the findings of the study demonstrate four critical needs of SCTs, namely, developing a strong knowledge foundation with research competence, linking theories with practice in specific institutional and socio-cultural contexts, seeking social support and emotional guidance, as well as constructing a sense of vision and agency. However, due to a linear curriculum structure as well as various contextual obstacles (e.g. the exam-oriented system and potential social bias), the learning needs of student-teachers were not sufficiently addressed in the pre-service teacher education programme. The study argues for a recursive, integrative and context-specific teacher education curriculum in which student-teachers can be afforded rich practical opportunities and sufficient social and emotional support in the process of learning to teach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article was to present an overview of pre-service science teacher preparation in China, which is heavily influenced by Chinese tradition, Confucianism, and rapid social and economic development. The policies, science teacher education systems and related programs jointly contribute to producing enough science teachers for hundreds of thousands of schools at different levels. At the same time, some important reforms should be undertaken, and more candidates with the ability to do educational research should be trained. These qualified science teachers not only face the challenges of the new round of science education reform, but also take opportunities to implement new science curriculum effectively. Therefore, it will facilitate professional development and improve science education in turn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese Government has conducted a series of top-down reforms of teacher education over the past several decades. The reforms have established a relatively stable teacher education system, regulated teacher education programmes and curricula, and provided opportunities for in-service teachers to be trained and to upgrade their educational credentials. Teacher education institutions have been upgraded, merged and made comprehensive, and they have initiated some innovative approaches. However, the teacher education process has not changed considerably, and most problems have not been solved. These problems have influenced the quality of teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article describes the results of a qualitative multiple case study investigation of the experiences of preservice teachers during a teaching practicum in Hong Kong. The study uses in-depth interviews with pairs of student teachers and their school-based supporting teachers to understand how the former positioned themselves as particular types of teachers through mutual interactions with other communities of teachers during a teaching practicum. Three case studies explore the ways in which the pairs of student teachers not only supported each other within the context of a teaching team, but also jointly deployed strategies to establish and defend the values of teaching and learning that were afforded a premium by their community of preservice teachers. The results underscore the importance of investigating relations between different communities, such as student teachers, school-based teachers and school authorities if the learning goals of the teaching practicum are to be attained. Implications for how relations that foster the professional development of all teachers within and across different communities during a teaching practicum might be achieved and sustained are discussed and implications for future research considered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, we discuss an ethnographic case study of the teaching practice (practicum) experience of a student teacher, Lynn, in a university partnership school in mainland China. Drawing on Activity Theory, we conceptualise Lynn's practicum as boundary-crossing between two different activity systems: those of the school community and the university community. The impact of the tensions of the conflicting discourses between the school activity system and the university activity system on Lynn's professional identity formation is analysed. Clarke's model of teacher identity formation is further drawn upon to analyse how Lynn undertook her ‘teacher identity work’ amidst these conflicting discourses and power relations. Based on this study, we propose that English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher preparation is more than just a pedagogical or technological task but a task deeply infused with conflicting cultural and ideological beliefs and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examined similar and differing initial motivations to teach between 257 US and 542 Chinese preservice teachers using the recently validated FIT-Choice scale. In both countries, participants were motivated to enter teaching because of their social utility values. US preservice teachers reported significantly higher motivations from social utility values, teaching abilities, intrinsic career value, and prior teaching and learning experiences, and lower fallback career motivations. While both viewed teaching as low in return, Chinese participants rated teaching to be low in demand whereas US participants perceived it as high in demand. Despite this, US participants were more satisfied with their career choice. Subtle similarities and differences between the two countries are discussed in relation to social and cultural-value differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are increasing opportunities in many countries for pre-service teachers to engage in a transnational school-based experience as part of study abroad programmes. The transformative potential of such transnational teaching experiences is recorded in research studies, often supported by data from participant surveys. However, there has been a lack of evidence investigating shifts in professional understanding derived from such experiences. This qualitative study addresses this issue by exploring the perspectives of 16 pre-service teachers of English as a Second Language from Hong Kong, who engaged in transnational teaching activities with primary school pupils in Australia during their study abroad programme. Discourse analysis of participants’ dialogues traces how they encountered conflicting Discourses of ‘student-centredness’ in the Australian classroom. Reflecting dialogically on their experiences led participants to negotiate and reframe their understandings of language teaching pedagogy and themselves as language teachers. The findings demonstrate the importance of both peer and lecturer feedback into the process of dialogic reflection and the need for more longitudinal research into the impact of transnational school-based experience in pre-service teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses discourse theory to explore the teaching identities of a group of mainland Chinese pre-service teachers of English in a teacher education institute in Hong Kong. Exploring how the teaching identities are discursively constructed, the study reaches two conclusions. First, that the pre-service teachers negotiate their own positions within multiple positionings from peers, students on the teaching practicum and the broader enterprise of professional language teaching in Hong Kong; and second, that they discursively construct their teaching identity as English language teachers with particular linguistic and cultural backgrounds to gain legitimacy. The study extends understandings of the interconnected relations of discourse and identity in such contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the attitudes of teacher educators in China toward recent reforms in professional experience for pre-service teachers proposed by the Chinese Ministry of Education and their perception of the challenges facing the implementation of the proposed reforms. An analysis of data from an online survey and semi-structured interviews with Chinese teacher educators indicates that some of the challenges related to the effective implementation of professional experience for pre-service teachers are similar to those identified in the Australian context. Others reflect the unique context in China, where supply of teachers now exceeds demand, the management of professional experience is marginalised, there is minimal contact between schools used for professional experience placements and teacher education institutions, and where teaching is not the preferred profession of the majority of students undertaking teacher education courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated how open attitudes, attribution beliefs, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge were related to teaching performance among teacher interns. The participants were 72 teacher interns in Hong Kong, where large-scale education reform has been launched since 2000. Multiple methods (self-report, academic grades, and ratings from mentors and supervisors) were used to measure the interns' attribution beliefs, open attitudes, pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and teaching performance. It was found that their openness to advice and challenges, effort attribution for failure, and pedagogical content knowledge were positively associated with their teaching performance in an era of education reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey study was conducted to investigate the epistemological beliefs of 352 student teachers of the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Schommer's 63-item questionnaire was used in the survey study with Schommer's 12 conceptual subscales as variables in Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) analysis followed by varimax and oblimin rotation. Three factors were generated with an eigen value of 1.00 as cut-off. Some features distinct from Schommer's studies were identified. The three factors were complex, with two to three subscales representing different dimensions loaded together. The subscale concerned with Omniscient Authority, which was not reported in Schommer's findings, substantively loaded in one of the factors. Social-cultural factors were suggested to account for the apparent differences in factor structure obtained in this study, with implications drawn for teacher education. Revision of Schommer's questionnaire was suggested to study epistemological beliefs for local context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed the repertory grid technique to investigate how a sample of 27 student teachers in Hong Kong developed a personal sense of teaching efficacy. The analysis indicated that the third year students' perceptions were more homogenous than were those of the first year students. The results also indicated that teaching efficacy was viewed in terms of the dimensions of concern for instructional participation and learning needs of pupils, communication and relationships with pupils, academic knowledge and teaching skills, lesson preparation, management of class discipline, teaching success, teaching commitment, and a sense of self-confidence. Experiences of teaching practice, electives, pupils, and teaching practice supervisors (Electives) were the major sources for the development of a sense of teaching efficacy. Implications of how those aspects of teacher training can be more effective in engendering a sense of efficacy in the student teachers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research on a school-based professional development programme in Hong Kong, China that seeks to help in-service primary school teachers improve their English writing instruction in the English as a second language (L2) classes they teach. Topics discussed include the teaching of process writing, the benefits of school-based trainings due to busy teacher schedules, and workshops that are administered by the Hong Kong Education Bureau (EDB).