Search

Copyright of International Journal of Educational Research (22196064) is the property of Association of Arab Universities 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.)

Entry to the teaching career in most education systems nowadays is based on academic qualifications and professional credentials. The requirements and trainings for teachers of English vary in different regions and countries. This short review presents the professional preparation of pre-service teachers of English and the English language qualification examinations for teachers in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Hong Kong has been a British colony for over 100 years and it has become the special administrative region of China since 1997. English has always been an important language in the city for business and other commercial activities with other parts of the world. The training of teachers of English in Hong Kong could feature a double degree in education and English language, an English-related degree with a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE), or a non-English-related degree with PGDE and postgraduate study in the subject knowledge. On top of teaching practices in real school settings, undergraduate programmes offer students the opportunities in immersing into English speaking countries to further polish their language skills. In order to benchmark the English ability of teachers, the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (LPATE) was introduced since 2000. On the other hand, English is a crucial foreign language for China in connecting with the world due to its rapid development. The normal universities in China have a long history in delivering teacher training, and students are granted the teaching licences upon graduation. In addition, the Test for English Majors - Band 8 is deemed as a high-level qualification for teachers of English and other students taking English-related subjects. The present review points out that the English language is an important subject at schools in regions like Hong Kong and China. Thus, trainings for the pre-service teachers are continuously improved and the regional testing systems are developed to ensure the English proficiency of the teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether teaching motivations and their outcomes in Hong Kong with a teacher surplus are similar to countries with teacher shortage. Results from 132 pre-service teachers showed altruistic and intrinsic motivations were the most important teaching motivations and they correlated positively with planned teaching engagement. Unlike other studies, two types of fallback career motivation were identified, but only one correlated negatively with planned engagement. Analysis of interview data revealed that the maladaptive effects of fallback career motivation could be reduced by altruistic and intrinsic subject matter motivations. The heuristic value to examine the complete motivation profile was discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As teacher educators, preparing student–teachers who are able to address diverse student needs is our main concern. It has been suggested in the literature that teachers who are adaptive to students’ needs are those who possess adequate pedagogical content knowledge or pedagogical understanding. However, it is not uncommon for teacher educators to find student–teachers with diverse pedagogical understandings even at the point of graduation from the teacher education programme. This paper aims to explain and analyse the development of pedagogical understanding among student–teachers in an initial teacher education programme. The findings are drawn from a study conducted at the Hong Kong Institute of Education where in-depth interviews were carried out during the four-year programme. The findings from the three selected cases provide an explanation for why some individual student–teachers show continuous development, whereas others remain confused in their pedagogical understanding throughout the teacher education programme. While acknowledging individual differences in pedagogical understanding, we attempt to explain such differences by investigating the relationship between different dimensions of the student–teachers’ learning such as the integration of pedagogical understanding with the teaching contexts, integration of feedback from lecturers and supporting teachers, and their focus of concern. The findings reveal that the three cases demonstrate different levels of pedagogical understanding and possess varying ‘senses of agency’. Of the three cases, the first one, Peggy has the strongest sense of agency. Despite influences related to classroom management, diverse learning ability among pupils, and the teaching methods which pupils were accustomed to previously, she actively introduced rhythmic movements into her lessons, developed pupils’ ability to learn gradually and achieved an impact on pupils’ learning which was also recognized by her supporting teacher. The analysis suggests that the second case, Lilian has a weaker sense of agency as she was severely limited by influences in the teaching context in her first teaching practice and resorted to teacher-centered teaching strategies. She improved later on in the programme and started to plan her own learning, drawing on the feedback she received as well as learning from other taught modules, from feedback from various sources, and from her pupils’ responses to her teaching and her own evaluation of her teaching. The third case, Stephanie remained confused throughout the programme and struggled with the implementation of student-centered teaching strategies. The ability to practice one’s own convictions and demonstrate an active sense of agency distinguishes the student–teacher who achieves better pedagogical understanding. Drawing on the findings, the paper concludes that it is crucial for teacher educators to identify ways to nurture a sense of agency among student–teachers. Implications for teacher education programmes are discussed, including providing opportunities for student–teachers to be able to articulate and integrate their pedagogical understandings, as well as negotiate how to accomplish their learning and teaching targets despite complex classroom situations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Liberal studies is a new subject in the new senior secondary curriculum in Hong Kong. This study attempted to identify factors that shape liberal studies student teachers' decisions in lesson planning. Based on interview data and lesson plans developed by the student teachers, this article maintains that four factors interacted with the subject features of liberal studies to shape the student teachers' planning decisions, namely, teacher knowledge, curriculum requirements, materials and resources, and interaction with equal and more capable partners. This paper further looks into how teacher knowledge expresses itself at different stages of lesson planning. The findings suggest that to facilitate enquiry learning in students, liberal studies teachers need to adopt an enquiry stance in lesson planning. This paper argues that the limitations of liberal studies student teachers' content knowledge need to be addressed in teacher preparation programmes and suggests teacher networking as one way to strengthen novice liberal studies teachers' content preparation. The implications for teacher education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]