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Little research has been conducted to gain deeper understandings of policy change of piloting special educational need coordinators (SENCO) in a Chinese education community. In response to the change in policy towards regularisation of the SENCO, we examined a trajectory of policymaking for SEN support in Hong Kong's integrated education. Critical discourse analysis as a discursive method of analysing the local SEN practices in relation to the international policy development was adopted. The key questions are: What is the difference between this Chinese integrated education and international policy development for inclusion? What effects of the pilot SENCO have emerged in the policy and media texts in the Chinese integrated education? What recommendations can be derived to inform the regularisation of SENCOs in ordinary public schools? The findings shed light on the conceptual discrepancy between integrated and inclusive education in the policymaking. The economic considerations and administration accountability of the pilot SENCO affected the regularisation. As reflected in this Chinese integrated education, we also discuss the implications of changing the SENCO policy for quality SEN support in schools.

Little research has explored the challenges of difference and difficulty to principal leadership in changing school contexts. This paper explores two Chinese principals' journeys to enact different leadership approaches to overcome these challenges during a time of massive education reform. Three specific questions are asked: What challenges do the principals face in diverse student populations? What leadership practices do the principals adopt to support the learning development of these students? What support do the principals need most to enact this leadership? This cross-case study, conducted in Hong Kong, finds that principal leadership that focuses on inclusion is important in efforts to overcome these challenges, with innovative and flexible interventions to ensure equality in student learning development. Despite this, they need support from every part of the school community: the school sponsoring body, the teaching team and parents. The implications of these findings for interpreting the meanings of principal leadership for inclusion are also discussed.

A synchronous blend of online learning and "face-to-face" teaching is becoming a feasible instructional approach in higher education with the advent of technology. Although this learning mode is not new in higher education, little research has been done to contextualise social presence experiences in which effects of interactions were explored for enhancing learning. A qualitative approach was adopted using the case study method to examine the instructor and students' pedagogic interactions in the social presence of a blended synchronous learning environment. This paper reports an exploration of the blended learning with an online group of students at a remote site attending a computer-aided engineering drawing course synchronously with a face-to-face group taught by an instructor in a laboratory. The process of interaction was visually and verbally mediated by video-conference as if in an online face-to-face learning community. The findings show that the online and face-to-face groups had different social presence experiences in which interaction emerged. Emotional adaptation and practice is needed for the students and the instructor in such a complex environment. Based on the interaction patterns, a framework of interactions in the blended synchronous learning environment is conceptualised to inform course development and instructional design. Implications for further study are also discussed.

Understanding student teachers' development of conceptions of teaching and learning is critical for teacher educators. Drawing from the findings of a four-year longitudinal study in Hong Kong, this paper examines the trajectories of the student teachers' changing conceptions of teaching and learning approaches throughout their undergraduate programme. Three types of trajectories: guided touring, experiential detouring and self-guided touring, as the changes in both conceptions of teaching and learning approaches, are presented. The results suggest that three factors: faculty, learners' attitudes towards learning and ability to integrate different learning resources, influenced the development of the student teachers' trajectories. This study adds to the international body of knowledge on the interconnected development of conceptions of teaching and learning approaches. The paper concludes with the implications for teacher education.

Previous research suggests that student-teachers graduate from initial teacher education programmes with varying degrees of motivation to teach. In recent literature, there are student-teachers described to be ambivalent regarding motivation for teaching. More understanding about these cases will inform the design of initial teacher education programmes and the provision of measures to support beginning teachers. Moreover, in-depth research is required such that the meaning of ambivalence regarding motivation for teaching can be better defined. This article reports findings from a 4-year longitudinal study on student-teachers engaged in an initial teacher education programme. Cases showing ambivalence regarding motivation for teaching are identified. The article provides the meaning of ambivalence and analyses the programme experience of student-teachers who are ambivalent regarding teaching. The findings inform us as to whether ambivalence changes at the beginning, the end and/or during the teacher education programme, and the factors affecting the perceptions of ambivalence. The factors are concern about career prospects; lack of confidence in their ability to fulfil the role of a teacher; and influence from the social context. The analysis suggests that ambivalence regarding motivation to teach needs to be addressed beyond the initial teacher education programme level. Implications for ways to build up student-teachers' confidence and enhance their motivation for teaching are discussed.

This article presents four student teacher cases using an examination of the nature of shifts in student teachers' motivation for choosing teaching as a career in relation to the development of their sense of self-as-teacher. The analysis relates positive and negative shifts in teaching motivation and sense of self-as-teacher to variation in professional learning experiences in initial teacher education (ITE) that constituted the four student teachers' development of classroom competence and wider professional competence. Rich learning experiences in fieldwork, student teachers' active stance in learning-to-teach, productive interactions with various agents in professional learning, co-curricular activities in higher education, as well as modeling by mentors and teacher educators constituted productive learning experiences that might bring positive shifts in teaching motivation and strengthen sense of self-as-teacher. Implications for maximizing student teachers' professional learning in ITE are discussed.

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.

This paper reports the findings collected from a four year longitudinal study aiming to investigate the professional learning of student-teachers in Bachelor of Education programmes. Four case studies which suggest a typology of ways of practicalising theoretical knowledge with one extreme as the testing out of teaching approaches mainly to find out their practicality in the school context to the other extreme whereby the student-teacher sought to work out a schema or personal theory were identified. Influences from the campus-based and the field-based components of the teacher education programme are drawn. The paper ends with implications for initial teacher education. (Contains 1 table.)

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. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Purpose: The Hong Kong government recently reformed pre-primary education with the introduction of a voucher scheme. At the time this policy caused considerable opposition from across Hong Kong Society. This paper seeks to use Fairclough's model of critical discourse analysis to explore a key policy text and seeks to assess to what extent such an analytical framework can help develop a better understanding of the processes of policy development. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses critical discourse analysis methods and applies these to a specific policy text relating to the reform of pre-primary education. Findings: The paper suggests that critical discourse analysis can provide a useful analytical tool for analysing the complexities of the policy development process. In particular it surfaces key tensions within policy, such as those between commitments to equity and efficiency, that may have a significant impact on the outcomes of subsequent policy implementation. Research limitations/implications: The paper is based on a small scale study. Its findings are tentative. There is some merit in the approach adopted, but the use of this approach in relation to policy development requires further work to develop it. Originality/value: The paper adds to the understanding of how a range of methods of data analysis can help develop a more sophisticated understanding of the nuances of policy development.

Little research has been conducted to gain deeper understandings of policy change of piloting special educational need coordinators (SENCO) in a Chinese education community. In response to the change in policy towards regularisation of the SENCO, we examined a trajectory of policymaking for SEN support in Hong Kong's integrated education. Critical discourse analysis as a discursive method of analysing the local SEN practices in relation to the international policy development was adopted. The key questions are: What is the difference between this Chinese integrated education and international policy development for inclusion? What effects of the pilot SENCO have emerged in the policy and media texts in the Chinese integrated education? What recommendations can be derived to inform the regularisation of SENCOs in ordinary public schools? The findings shed light on the conceptual discrepancy between integrated and inclusive education in the policymaking. The economic considerations and administration accountability of the pilot SENCO affected the regularisation. As reflected in this Chinese integrated education, we also discuss the implications of changing the SENCO policy for quality SEN support in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research has explored the challenges of difference and difficulty to principal leadership in changing school contexts. This paper explores two Chinese principals' journeys to enact different leadership approaches to overcome these challenges during a time of massive education reform. Three specific questions are asked: What challenges do the principals face in diverse student populations? What leadership practices do the principals adopt to support the learning development of these students? What support do the principals need most to enact this leadership? This cross-case study, conducted in Hong Kong, finds that principal leadership that focuses on inclusion is important in efforts to overcome these challenges, with innovative and flexible interventions to ensure equality in student learning development. Despite this, they need support from every part of the school community: the school sponsoring body, the teaching team and parents. The implications of these findings for interpreting the meanings of principal leadership for inclusion are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing early-career teachers' leadership is a part of teacher learning both inside and outside schools. Teachers' learning processes have not yet been explored in relation to principals' delegation and teachers' recognition of leadership roles in a culturally hierarchical structure. This article discusses a cross-case study of four early-career Chinese teachers' experiences of leadership development in the Hong Kong school system. After teaching for five years, the teachers' leadership capabilities are reflected in their functional roles, membership, and promotion in their schools as approved by their school principals. Implications for teacher leadership development through teacher learning are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A synchronous blend of online learning and “face-to-face” teaching is becoming a feasible instructional approach in higher education with the advent of technology. Although this learning mode is not new in higher education, little research has been done to contextualise social presence experiences in which effects of interactions were explored for enhancing learning. A qualitative approach was adopted using the case study method to examine the instructor and students’ pedagogic interactions in the social presence of a blended synchronous learning environment. This paper reports an exploration of the blended learning with an online group of students at a remote site attending a computer-aided engineering drawing course synchronously with a face-to-face group taught by an instructor in a laboratory. The process of interaction was visually and verbally mediated by videoconference as if in an online face-to-face learning community. The findings show that the online and face-to-face groups had different social presence experiences in which interaction emerged. Emotional adaptation and practice is needed for the students and the instructor in such a complex environment. Based on the interaction patterns, a framework of interactions in the blended synchronous learning environment is conceptualised to inform course development and instructional design. Implications for further study are also 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]

The article examines one study which tests the effectiveness of the proposed Fairclough model of critical discourse analysis in exploring a specific policy text implemented by the Hong Kong government for the reformation of pre-primary education. For testing purposes, the proposed model was applied to the so-called specific policy text. Data analysis reveals that the new model is effective in providing a useful analytical tool for analyzing the complexities of the policy development process. It claims that the new model has been able to detect key tensions brought by the new policy.