Search

Theory-practice gap has been a long-standing challenge in teacher education, however, there has been scarce attention to student teachers' theory learning experiences. This ethnographic study aimed to examine Chinese EFL (English as a foreign language) M.E.d. student teachers' perceptions of the value of theory and their experiences of theory learning on the Master of Education programme. Four triangulated sources of data were employed, including student teachers' portfolios of written responses to academic papers and reflections on their two-stage school experiences, longitudinal participant observations, course evaluations, and focus groups. It was found that the student teachers held paradoxical perceptions about theory learning. They endorsed the importance of theories, but resisted the mainstream theory learning methods which heavily relied on de-contextualised lecturing by teacher educators. To enhance student teachers' theory learning experiences requires teacher educators' overall instructional transformations, increased opportunities for reflective learning-to-teach experiences, and student teachers' attitudinal change and sustained efforts.

The teacher shortage is a critical issue in many rural areas around the world. This paper presents the findings of two studies that investigated the impact of financial incentives on teacher attraction and retention in rural schools in Western China. Using the theory of compensating wage differentials and a mixed-method approach, we found that providing living subsidies to student-teachers has an impact on teacher attraction but not retention, while tuition fee and loan reimbursements have a positive impact on both attraction and retention. For teachers already teaching in rural schools, the amount of the living subsidy, satisfaction with the policy, and identification of the policy are the key factors that affect the success of the policy. We argue that for the subsidy amount to be effective, it should be based on feedback from rural teachers and be at least 15% of their monthly salary.

This paper reports on a study that looks at the micro-processes of teacher learning in a language teacher professional community in China. Following the tradition of ethnomethodology, teacher learning in this paper is conceptualised as interactional accomplishment of negotiation of practice through talk. Based on a purposively selected discourse sample, this paper illustrates the trajectory of how the differences in the understandings of creativity among a small group of language teacher educators (or 'teachers' thereafter) were taken up, talked through and finally resolved (or not). The research demonstrates that teachers' tacit knowledge was distributed among individual members of the professional community where different pedagogical understandings existed. The micro-analysis also shows that teachers' talk created a dialogic space for the participants to externalise and mobilise their tacit knowledge for negotiation. Implications are drawn which point to the importance of creating opportunities for teacher collaboration and teacher talk as part of professional development.

This paper reports on how varied study abroad experiences transformed understanding of difference of student-teachers from two universities. Data were collected through a qualitative questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with 14 Chinese and Scottish student-teachers who presented what they had experienced and how they had made sense of difference. Drawing on transformative learning, this study reveals that opportunities to experience difference and resultant emotional struggles can develop student-teachers' emotional maturity and readiness for change. It also highlights that critical reflection on challenges in their preconceptions about the self and others is essential to transform their preconceived views and develop their openness to difference. To maximise the transformative potential of study abroad programmes, we argue that student-teachers must be provided with a discourse that disrupts their taken-for-granted views and learning opportunities that have a critical orientation.

School experience has been practised as an integral component of undergraduate teacher education programmes in many countries. This has spurred a large amount of research on various issues in the whole experience. However, the stage of school visits and classroom observations remains unexplored as a research subject. This paper reports on a study of a group of Chinese EFL (English as a foreign language) M.E.d. student teachers' perceptions of their year-long experience of school visits. It was found that, whilst the student teachers benefited from the experience, such as increased familiarity with school life, an enhanced motivation for professional development, and an emerging collaborative community, three limitations emerged in the process, including limited professional experiences and understanding, potential oscillation from an idealistic to realistic mindset, and the limited depth of collaboration. Therefore, the study indicates that extensive school visits experience alone is insufficient, and should be offered in tandem with well-structured reflective teaching practicum to facilitate student teachers' gradual teacher identity formation. Dynamic and systematic partnerships are necessary to set concrete goals and assessments at each stage, and make curricular and pedagogical transformations responsively.

Tensions between vision and reality in the teaching practicum is a significant issue in research and practice globally, but scanty attention has been awarded to research into areas of tension in teaching practice itself. This paper reports on a study that examines a cohort of Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student teachers' perceptions of the tensions arising in their teaching practicum in secondary schools. Triangulated research methods were employed for data collection. Reflective papers were employed as the main instrument of data collection, with classroom observation and fieldnotes used as supplementary sources of evidence for the occurrence of various unexpected difficulties. The overriding cause of this situation appeared to be the foundationalism paradigm that the teacher education program followed. The study highlights the need for teacher education programs to deal with emergent issues by way of critical postmodernist ideologies and make concerted efforts with schools to help student teachers continually adjust their visions in their practice.

This research frames student teachers' professional identity formation through the lenses of emotions and dilemmas based on semi-structured interviews and emotional journals. Utilizing grounded-theory analysis method, this paper reveals a pattern of the emotional trajectories that the six student teachers experienced from the beginning to the end of the practicums: eagerness and anxiety at the beginning of the teaching practicums, shock and embarrassment immediately after the student teaching, anger and puzzlement at the middle of the internship, helplessness and loneliness toward the end of the practicums, and guilt and regret after the teaching practice. Furthermore, the participants were faced with four dilemmas: (1) tensions between classroom authority and the ethic of caring, (2) acting as a community member or an "outsider," (3) working as an office assistant or a "real teacher," (4) conflicting pedagogies regarding teaching different academic performance levels of students. All these dilemmas contribute to the complexity of the teaching practicum in China. Finally, implications for teacher education, especially for preservice teachers' pedagogy of identity and ethical professionalism, are discussed.

In this paper, we report on an inquiry exploring the experiences of 10 mainland Chinese student teachers of English so as to understand why they came to Hong Kong for a teacher education programme. The study revealed that these students were largely attracted to teaching in Hong Kong because of its extrinsic benefits such as professional stability, the prestige associated with the English language teaching profession and the opportunities to acquire valued skills transferable to other professions including English competence. Facing challenges as non-local students, they were also uncertain of becoming teachers in the new context. As "elite" Chinese students were often unwilling to become teachers, we found it strategic to attract a large number of talented non-local students to the teaching profession and retain them. We conclude the paper with recommendations for various stakeholders to support these non-local students' adaptation and development as committed and competent teachers in local schools. (Contains 1 table.)

The field experience component in a teacher education programme serves both a gate-keeping function and a formative purpose that supports student teacher development. The authors were members of a research team which took care of the re-design of the assessment instrument for the field experience component of a teacher education programme, as well as conducting a pilot implementation test. The new assessment instrument, referred to as a Professional Development Progress Map, was developed with reference to the professional standards formulated by an official teacher education policy advisory body. This paper looks into the comments of the users, that is the supervisors and the student teachers (or participants, as in-service teachers were involved in the pilot implementation test) after the pilot implementation test. Findings suggest difficulties in using the Progress Map as a summative assessment instrument regarding the determination of grades and levels, making judgements based on observable performance and collection of evidence, and difficulty in assessing the domain "Involvement in Education Community". The discussion highlights the dilemma related to the use of professional standards as summative assessment instruments, and how users may be re-orientated to enhance the formative purpose. The paper concludes with suggestions on prudent use of the Progress Map. (Contains 2 notes and 1 figure.)

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.

This paper reports the results of a pilot in-service teacher training program undertaken in China from 2001 to 2004. Upon completion, the in-service teachers were awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree (non-honor) specializing in English Language Education. Many interesting findings resulted from this pilot program. By integrating low- and high-technology in the distance in-service teacher training programs, both the trainers (the university lecturers) and the student teachers (in-service school teachers) were able to transform their pedagogical skills. The student teachers learned to become independent learners. The university lecturers learned to adjust their teaching styles to be more learner-centred. Both the lecturers and the student teachers adopted task-based approaches to learning and teaching. Finally, the student teachers were given the means to upgrade their qualifications and teaching skills. Based on these findings, the authors offer suggestions for the future development of student teacher training in China using distance modalities. (Contains 2 figures.)

The purpose of this paper was to examine the motives, the educational experiences, and the plan after graduation of a particular group of mainland Chinese students pursuing teacher education in Hong Kong by using a modified two-way push-and-pull model as our analytical framework. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants were 130 prospective student teachers from The Hong Kong Institute of Education, the largest teacher training provider in Hong Kong. The findings confirm a long-standing concern regarding the lack of an English environment and internationalization in universities in mainland China. In addition, the majority of the participants were satisfied with the overall quality of the teacher education programs in Hong Kong. Finally, our participants were a very special group of mainland Chinese students because, unlike those on other academic programs such as business or computing, the graduates from teacher education programs do not have much transferable academic capital. When they decide to pursue their teacher training degrees in Hong Kong, they have already made up their mind to stay in Hong Kong after graduation. Thus, we extend the threefold classifications of mainland Chinese students studying overseas, as defined by Dimmock and Leong, by adding a new category--labeled "settlers'"--in their classification.

The theme of the paper is to reveal how well-prepared pre-service teachers think they are. It aims at reviewing the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 cohorts studying for a BA in TEFL at a university by examining the impact and the effectiveness of four-year pre-service English education in a Chinese university context, and what needs to be improved and maintained from the perspective of trainees. Questionnaires were used, followed by semi-structured interviews. The questionnaires were completed by 300 participants, 200 of whom were then randomly chosen as interviewees. Despite finding some inconsistency in the four-year BA TEFL program, the result obtained from investigation of the cohort of student teachers is still satisfying.

Limited evidence is available from the existing literature that relates teachers' career motivation to their attitudes towards special and inclusive education and their motivation for professional development in China. A mixed-method approach was used to investigate teachers' perspectives in this respect. A sample of teachers at seven mainstream schools (N = 326), two special schools (N = 36) and student teachers from one university (N = 565) in a city in China was identified. Triangulation of data collected from questionnaire surveys, interviews and observations facilitated the identification of cases for narrative enquiry. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) was applied in data analysis and discussion. The key findings indicate that teachers researched were largely extrinsically motivated. Some were amotivated (unwilling) and were regretful of their career choice. Low teaching competencies influenced teacher attitudes towards inclusive education. Despite a high awareness of, and motivation for, professional development, many teachers were not taking an active initiative in engaging themselves in professional development. The paper highlights the impact of the multi-dimensional factors on teacher career motivation and professional development in special and inclusive education in China. It implies a correlation between the key themes and extends the discussion of the SDT model in terms of the continuum of extrinsic motivation. (Contains 4 tables.)

This study examined the perspective of a cohort of 60 Chinese EFL pre-service teachers with regards to microteaching. Reflective paper writing was employed to explore the student teachers' perceptions of the experience. The study results show that microteaching was a useful tool for the pre-service teachers' professional development; however, the experience was not without flaws. The most commonly perceived deficiency was artificiality, which appeared to have to some extent limited the student teachers' development of real-life classroom teaching competence. The study suggests that microteaching should be supplemented with various alternative forms of school experience and practice.

Reports the views of two deaf American graduate students to an intern experience at a school for the deaf in China. Also explains critical procedures to establishing such international internships, necessary cultural and educational accommodations, and issues related to communication modality, educational philosophy, expectations for deaf learners, and teaching methods. (Author/DB)

Great changes have taken place in educational methods under the background of "internet plus", and the emergence of mobile learning indicates that there is another effective way for the development of pre-service teachers. This study takes the related papers published from 2008 to 2020 as the research objects, summarizes the research status of MALL in China from the aspects of concept definition, research methods and research topics, and analyzes the existing problems and development trends. The results show that in recent years, the research development of mobile learning at home and abroad has been accelerated, and the research objects and topics are diverse, but the research on the dimensions of pre-service English teachers is less, which needs to be strengthened urgently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

In this paper, we evaluate the incentive role of a teacher performance‐based compensation reform in rural China. Using the value‐added model widely adopted in the education literature, we first estimated the teacher effects on student academic scores with panel data of a large number of students and teachers from rural and urban schools in one county in a south‐western province of China. The estimated teachers' value‐add was then allowed us to examine the effectiveness of the 2009 teachers' compensation reform. We find that despite the strong intent of the performance‐based compensation reform to improve student's academic performance, teachers' compensations are not closely tied to teachers' value‐add to student academic achievement. This suggests that the performance‐based compensation reform is not able to provide strong incentives for teachers to raise students' test scores and points towards the possible problems with the design and/or implementation of the reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thorough understanding of how ICT support provided by teacher preparation programmes influences preservice teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) has become increasingly essential. This study aimed at exploring the mediating role of ICT perception, perceived ICT competence and ICT self‐efficacy between university ICT support and preservice teachers' TPACK. Data were collected through an online self‐assessment questionnaire translated and adapted from existing studies and verified with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A total of 298 preservice teachers, who were senior students studying at three different normal universities in China, participated in this study. Structural equation modelling revealed the following: (a) university ICT support significantly predicted preservice teachers' ICT perception, perceivedICT competence and ICT self‐efficacy, but had no significant direct effects on their TPACK; (b) ICT self‐efficacy was a strong predictor of preservice teachers' TPACK and ICT perception was a weak one, while perceived ICT competence did not predict TPACK at all; and (c) among three potential mediators, ICT self‐efficacy mediated the most effects of university ICT support on preservice teachers' TPACK. These findings demonstrate strong positive effects of institutional support on preservice teachers' TPACK development, which was strongly underestimated in previous studies. Findings suggest normal universities should create practical opportunities for preservice teachers to perceive the power of technology, especially opportunities that could improve preservice teachers' self‐efficacy while applying technology into instruction. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicICT support from schools is an essential precondition while enhancing in‐service teachers' motivation to apply ICT into instruction.Research revealing how ICT support provided by teacher preparation programmes affects preservice teachers' TPACK is absent.What the paper addsThis study adds to the previous literature by exploring the mediating role of ICT perception, perceived ICT competence and ICT self‐efficacy in the relationship between university ICT support and preservice teachers' TPACK.This study found that university ICT support significantly predicted preservice teachers' ICT perception, perceivedICT competence and ICT self‐efficacy, but had no significant direct effects on their TPACK.Among the three potential mediators, ICT self‐efficacy mediated the most effects of university ICT support on preservice teachers' TPACK.Implications for practice and/or policyNormal universities need to provide effective and professionally targeted ICT support to meet preservice teachers' needs.The mediating role of ICT self‐efficacy should be highlighted on the path from university ICT support to TPACK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine the relationship between teachers' knowledge, beliefs and instructional practices based on a study with 495 Chinese pre-service mathematics teachers. The results indicate that Chinese pre-service mathematics teachers tend to hold mixed beliefs about the nature of mathematics, and a constructivist view about mathematics teaching and learning, and that they are inclined to report that their teaching is inquiry-oriented. Mathematical content knowledge (MCK) and mathematics pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) were found not to correlate with the teachers' self-reported instructional practice, in contrast to pre-service mathematics teachers' beliefs, which showed a stronger association with their self-reported inquiry-oriented instructional practice. Moreover, pre-service teachers' dynamic beliefs about the nature of mathematics, and constructivist beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning, acted as mediators between pre-service mathematics teachers' MCK, MPCK and instructional practice respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the international mobility of mainland students in special administrative regions of China and in places outside China. Design/methodology/approach: There have been studies using the framework of push–pull and reverse push–pull factors to explore the movement of mainland students to North America, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. This study follows up by exploring such research directions in Macau, which is another special administrative region of China. Different from previous studies, the sample of this study came specifically from 130 students enrolling in teacher education undergraduate programs in Macau. Findings: In this study, using data collected from questionnaires and interviews, the factors affecting mainland student teachers' choice of Macau as a place for their undergraduate studies are examined. Other related issues such as the challenges these students face and their intentions after their graduation are also studied. Originality/value: The data collected for this study were primary and original, drawing specifically from students enrolling teacher education programs. Following the various studies on the global movement of mainland students, this study aimed at understanding mainland students' mobility pattern in one of China's special administration regions, Macau. In this regard, cultural identity and cultural factors were considered on top of other factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant effort has been made to support pre-service and novice teacher learning abroad; however, not enough attention has been paid to promoting pre-service and novice teacher learning via collaboration with peer teachers and more expert educators at secondary education level in the context of mainland China. In order to facilitate this type of teacher collaboration and provide necessary support for pre-service and novice English language teachers in high schools in the southern part of China, a micro-teaching program has been incorporated into the pre-service training for these novice teachers. The micro-teaching program aims at equipping novice teachers with relevant teaching skills and behaviors through practice of teaching under controlled conditions. The purpose of this paper is to trace the developmental trajectories of the novice teachers participating in this program and examine the effect of formal assessment on the development of novice teachers. This study reveals that the program can help teachers share teaching strategies and solve practical problems in teaching, thus novice teachers acquire teaching skills and gain confidence in teaching. It is recommended the faculty should incorporate the program not only in pre-training service for novice teachers but also in service for teachers to improve their teaching routine. [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]

Drawing from the phenomenographic perspective, an exploratory study investigated Chinese teacher educators’ conceptions of teaching Nature of Science (NOS) to pre-service science teachers through semi-structured interviews. Five key dimensions emerged from the data. This paper focuses on the dimension, NOS content to be taught to pre-service science teachers. A total of 20 NOS elements were considered by the Chinese science teacher educators to be important ideas to be taught. It was also found that among these educators, whether focusing on the classical or contemporary NOS elements in NOS instruction was a prominent controversy. After explaining the criteria for differentiating between classical and contemporary NOS elements, this paper reports the specific NOS elements suggested by Chinese science teacher educators in this study. Afterward, it describes how all educators in this study were categorized in term of NOS content taught by them to pre-service science teachers. In the end, it discusses three factors influencing the decision on NOS content to be taught, i.e., view of the concept of NOS itself, vision of teaching NOS, and belief in general philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of University Research / Üniversite Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Journal of University Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: In recent years, China has made strides in adopting studentoriented teaching approaches, particularly in tertiary English education, through the integration of enhanced technology. This study aimed to investigate the impact of flipped classroom on the English proficiency of first-year pre-service teachers at a Chinese normal university. It also sought to determine whether educational background (urban or rural) interacted with the teaching approach (flipped or traditional) in affecting the language proficiency of the learners. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was utilized with two treatments: a flipped classroom approach and a traditional teacher-centered teaching approach. Both approaches were implemented in the Integrated English Course over a 12-week semester. Two randomly selected classes, consisting of 60 preservice teachers in each class, were assigned to either the experimental or control group. Data were collected from pretest and post-test assessments and analyzed using two-way ANOVA. Results: The results revealed a positive impact of the flipped classroom and a significant interaction between educational background and teaching approach on English proficiency. Specifically, urban pre-service teachers achieved higher English proficiency than their rural peers when taught in the flipped classroom, but not in the traditional classroom. Furthermore, urban pre-service teachers in the flipped classroom outperformed their urban peers in the traditional classroom, while rural pre-service teachers did not show any significant difference in their performance between the two classes. Discussion: The findings suggested that the flipped classroom approach was more effective than the traditional approach for Chinese pre-service teachers, particularly those with an urban educational background. However, it is important to ensure that rural learners receive sufficient support to benefit equally from this innovative teaching approach. Accordingly, implications and recommendations for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to raise awareness of the importance of attributional beliefs in relation to the educational outcomes of students with a learning disability (LD) in China. The study presented in this paper examined the attributional beliefs that Chinese pre-service teachers had developed towards students with LD, in comparison to students without LD. The findings show that Chinese pre-service teachers did not differ in their attributional beliefs between students with and without LD. Implications from the findings, and future research recommendations are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine how Lesson Study of an initial teacher education course develops the instructional design competency of pre-service teachers in Hong Kong. Lesson Study is a collaborative action research approach for developing teacher professional competency. This study assesses the effectiveness of the Lesson Study course conducted in a teacher education institute that based on a quasi-experimental design. There were 341 pre-service teachers participated to a questionnaire survey. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability test were used to confirm the constructed validity and reliability of the survey instrument. Canonical correlation was applied to explore the relationship between the approaches of their learning process and their learning outcomes. Results show that action research tutorials and collaborative practice are predictors of their instructional design skills and teaching competency. This paper discusses the critical success factors and the potential for using Lesson Study as a model to help pre-service teachers develop their teaching competency. [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]

To provide a holistic profile of tbe factors pertinent to teachers' knowledge in technology integration in teacbing, tbe experiences of technology uses and tbe tecbnolog#cal pedagogjcal content knowledge (TPACK) of Chinese presenice teachers (PSTs) were investigated. Tbe researchers also studied wbat demographic backgrounds and tecbnology use experiences predict PSTs' TPACK. A TPACK survey was translated from English into Chinese and administered to tbe PSTs at a large universify in Southern China. Tbe PSTs in tbis study bad adequate access to technology. Most PSTs (92°/o) reported using computers for learning related activities, but fewer (20%) used technology for productivity purposes (e®, creating wei*a#s). Tbe PSTs were less confident in tbeir technological knowledge, compared to other TPACK domains. Tbe PSTs bad significantfy diferent levels of knowledge in other TPACK domains if compared by gender, major, prior experience tbrougb educational tecbnology course work, or pnor classroom teaching experience. Tbe researchers identified statisticall strong predictors for eacb TPACK domain. Implications of tbe findings, limitations of tbe study, and directions for future research are provided at tbe end of tbe paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Guided by the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) model, this study investigates the career choices of student teachers majoring in childcare and analyses the factors influencing their career choices to address the teacher recruitment issue in the childcare industry in China. Methods: A total of 444 participants from vocational colleges were selected, and questionnaires were used to ask about their career choice intention and the influencing factors. Results and discussion: The FIT-Choice model is theoretically acceptable, although the subscales for personal utility value should be reformulated. Students majoring in childcare have a positive but weak intention to become childcare educators. Their career choice intentions are jointly influenced by their social influences, task perceptions, values and fallback career, with task perceptions and values playing mediating roles between social influences and career choice intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on self-reported questionnaires from 2040 pre-service early childhood education (ECE) teachers from three provinces in China, the researcher explored a structural model of the link between adult anxious attachment and mental health through negative coping style and social support. Moreover, the moderating role of social support was tested in the mediation model of adult anxious attachment-negative coping style mental health. The results indicated that (1) adult anxious attachment was positively associated with three dimensions of mental health—depression, anxiety, and stress; (2) retreat and self-blame of negative coping style and social support mediated the relationship between anxious attachment and mental health. While fantasy could mediate the relationship between anxious attachment and anxiety and stress, respectively, but was not the mediator in the relationship between anxious attachment and depression; (3) social support moderated the mediation models of attachment anxiety–self-blame–depression and attachment anxiety–self-blame–anxiety. This study provided the implications for designing interventions to alleviate the mental health problems among Chinese pre-service ECE teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the noticing of six Chinese mathematics prospective teachers (PSTs) when looking at a procedural error and responding to three specific tasks related to that error. Using video clips of one student's procedural error consisting of exchanging the order of coordinates when applying the distance formula, some variation was found in how PSTs attended to, interpreted, and responded to this error. A more important finding is represented by the inconsistent responses that individual PSTs provided to the three related tasks. This finding suggests that, to some extent, prior learning experience, beliefs, and orientations inform what PSTs notice. But the finding also suggests the centrality of selecting tasks that provide accurate representations of PSTs' emerging professional noticing. Implications for teacher educators are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the collective case study of two teacher education programs at a normal university in South China, this paper examines the role of curriculum leadership in the development of information and communication technology (ICT) in education competencies of pre-service teachers. The two cases allow comparisons to uncover the complex interrelationship of components in curriculum leadership system and its role in the ICT in education curriculum structure and content, and ICT in education competencies of pre-service teachers. As the self-assessed pre-service teachers' technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) perception is more likely to be a good predictor of their ICT in education competencies, a total of 99 pre-service teachers in the two programs were surveyed to examine their self-assessment of the TPACK. The study employed the sequential mixed-method approach. Data from this survey supported by documents and interviews suggest that curriculum leadership has an impact on pre-service teachers' ICT in education competencies. The curriculum leaders at the university level [e.g., the Vice -President (Academic)] provide support in terms of policy formulation and resource allocation. Subordinate school level curriculum leaders [e.g., the Vice-Dean (Academic)] have a significant impact on the ICT in education curriculum structure, course objectives and academic credit management; whereas curriculum leaders at the classroom level (e.g., course coordinators or lecturers) have a significant impact on course content and pedagogy. The findings also suggest that (1) curriculum leadership shapes and is shaped by the teacher education program; (2) sustained efforts are required to improve coordination and communication between different curriculum leadership levels; and (3) feedback and reflections of pre-service teachers' ICT learning experiences are important to inform the practices of the curriculum leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theme of the paper is to reveal how well-prepared pre-service teachers think they are. It aims at reviewing the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 cohorts studying for a BA in TEFL at a university by examining the impact and the effectiveness of four- -year pre-service English education in a Chinese university context, and what needs to be improved and maintained from the perspective of trainees. Questionnaires were used, followed by semi-structured interviews. The questionnaires were completed by 300 participants, 200 of whom were then randomly chosen as interviewees. Despite finding some inconsistency in the four-year BA TEFL program, the result obtained from investigation of the cohort of student teachers is still satisfying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the call for using assessment to promote effective learning, most language teachers remain underprepared to conduct classroom-based formative assessment and interpret the summative assessment information for improving instruction as well as learning. Drawing upon a survey of programme and government documents, interviews, student assessment tasks, and teaching evaluation, this paper aims to explore the overall language assessment training landscape in five Hong Kong teacher education institutions against the backdrop of assessment reforms in primary/secondary school contexts. It specifically attempts to investigate the extent to which two assessment courses may facilitate and/or inhibit the development of pre-service teachers’ language assessment literacy in one teacher education institution. Findings indicate that language assessment training in Hong Kong remains inadequate and selected language assessment courses are still unable to bridge the theory-practice gap within the assessment reform context. Implications and recommendations for promoting language assessment literacy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

Teaching nature of science (NOS) is beginning to find its place in science education in China. This exploratory study interviewed twenty-four Chinese science teacher educators about their conceptions of teaching NOS to preservice science teachers. Although five dimensions emerged, this paper mainly focuses on reporting the findings relevant to one dimension, i.e., incorporating NOS instruction in the courses of training pre-service science teachers. There were two preferences: twelve out of the twenty-four educators preferred having NOS instruction infused into the teaching of various course components, including inquiry-based science teaching approach, history of science, science subject content, and school science textbook analysis. The others chose to have a separated NOS module in their courses, though they indicated NOS might be also touched upon in other course components. It was found that three factors influenced their preference; the textbooks currently used by Chinese science teacher educators to train pre-service science teachers, their views of NOS content to be taught, and their vision of teaching NOS. We argue that the findings in this study provide some hints on ways to encourage science teacher educators to give higher priority to NOS instruction in their courses, which is believed necessary for achieving the goal of developing public's scientific literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Purpose: This study explores the achievements and process of a group of Chinese primary school teachers learning from a research-based school--university collaborative project. Design/Approach/Methods: We used qualitative methods to construct our research design, collecting data through participatory observations of weekly meetings, teacher interviews, and participants' reflective journals. Both thematic analysis and discursive analysis were employed as strategies to scrutinize the data. Findings: We categorize teachers' learning into five achievements: outcome, processual, democratic, catalytic, and dialogic achievement. A further examination highlights seven successive learning actions composing an implicit mechanism to facilitate these achievements: questioning, analyzing, modeling, examining, implementing, reflecting, and consolidating. Originality/Value: Through this longitudinal study, we more comprehensively record details about teachers' learning as they conduct their own research. Although school--university heterogeneous collaboration has potential conflicts, teachers can improve their problem-solving and knowledge creation and sharing abilities, promoting a sense of professional accomplishment. These findings also suggest the need to reconsider the authentic process of teacher research, a task equally significant for international educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the potential attributes of teacher leadership among preservice teachers with higher levels of reflection, especially in the Chinese context. Design/Approach/Methods: A mixed research method was adopted in this study. First, a quantitative research method was conducted to examine preservice teachers' reflection depth. The top 10% of the preservice teachers with higher levels of reflection were selected as the target respondents for comparison. Second, qualitative data analysis was conducted to identify potential attributes of emergent teacher leadership in these preservice teachers. Findings: This study identified five potential attributes of emergent teacher leadership among preservice teachers who showed deeper reflection depth. Additionally, this study identified how the unique attributes fit into preservice teachers' professional development in the Chinese context. Originality/Value: This study proposes a new development model to develop preservice teachers that emphasizes the role of continuous reflections in context for professional growth. This study holds implications for understanding the potential attributes of emergent teacher leadership among Chinese preservice teachers. Additionally, this study appeals to the importance of cultivating preservice teachers to practice teacher leadership during the teacher training stage to support them to become outstanding future teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Preparedness for teaching” refers to the degree of confidence preservice teachers have, and reflects their ability. Developing preparedness for teaching is an important part of preservice teachers’ professionalization. A substantial body of literature has documented the critical influence of the motivation to teach on preparedness; however, how this relation is impacted by mediating and moderating mechanisms remains unclear. To respond to this gap in knowledge, the present study constructed a mediated moderation model through structural equation modeling and multigroup tests using 383 questionnaires completed by preservice teachers in China. The findings indicate that the preservice teachers’ genders, entry path, and levels of certainty about their future teaching career choices all influence their preparedness for teaching. Specifically, preservice teachers who believe that they will choose a teaching career in the future have more intrinsic motivation, stronger constructivist teaching beliefs, and a higher levels of teaching preparedness. Moreover, preservice teachers’ motivations to teach can positively predict their constructivist teaching beliefs and preparedness for teaching, but their constructivist teaching beliefs alone do not have a mediating effect on the relationship between motivation to teach and preparedness for teaching. However, the findings reveal that the constructivist teaching beliefs of highly conscientiousness group can partially mediate the relationship between the motivation to teach and the preparedness for teaching. Additionally, conscientiousness moderates the influence of constructivist teaching beliefs on preparedness for teaching. The study provides meaningful insights into the within-personal traits of how and when motivation to teach affects preparedness for teaching, which may be useful for the motivation best practices for preservice teacher recruitment, training, and support to create high-quality teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of a student teaching internship program on the self-efficacy of pre-service teachers in China. Design/methodology/approach: With 1,367 participants, structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the fit of the hypothetical model and a latent path analysis was conducted to identify the relationship among various variables. Findings: The results suggested that the program had a significant impact on efficacy in terms of personal skills, general teaching skills and personal qualities of the student interns concerned. Although this study was set in rural China, the findings of this study offered insights for teacher education in other places. Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, no research studies have been conducted on this in-service teacher training program in a systematic and comprehensive way using a large sample size and involving all major stakeholders. The aim of the present study is to fill this gap, by exploring the experience of a large cohort of pre-service teachers participating in this student teaching internship program. Studying the experiences of these student teachers will illuminate some of the key challenges faced and how they impacted their teaching and learning during their teaching practices in rural areas. The findings may help teacher education institutions to review and enhance their existing approaches to teaching practices and professional development initiatives not only in rural China but in similar contexts in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data analysis knowledge is an indispensable aspect of teachers' data literacy, which not only has a profound impact on the cultivation of students' data analysis ability, but also is related to reasonable decision-makings in education. Based on the analyses of teachers' data literacy and data analysis ability, this study constructed a cognitive model of teachers' data analysis knowledge and developed an instrument for measuring teachers' data analysis knowledge. Meanwhile, from a data-driven approach, G-DINA package in software R was used to select a well-fitted GDM Model from a series of cognitive diagnostic models such as DINA, DINO, RRUM, ACDM, LLM, G-DINA and Mixed Model for parameter assessment of cognitive diagnosis, and the reliability and model fit of the instrument were analyzed afterwards. By analyzing the pre-service dataset of 531 Chinese teachers, it made the conclusion that teachers with the same attributes have differences in attribute mastery and knowledge status, and teachers show a main learning path of A8 → A4 → A1 → A3 → A7 → A5 → A2 → A6 in terms of data analysis knowledge. It provided a systematic case study for the assessment of pre-service teachers' knowledge of data analysis, and also provides a new perspective in assessing other knowledges and abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]