This study reports on a longitudinal inquiry into professional identity construction among six novice cross-border English language teachers from mainland China, who completed their pre-service teacher education in Hong Kong (HK) and began their teaching practice in local HK schools. The findings indicate that the participants navigated obstacles in teaching by deploying their own multiple languages as a cultural and linguistic repertoire. The findings also show that the teachers experienced difficulty legitimising their professional identity in the teaching community, where contextual issues and power interplays mediated the process. Furthermore, it is found that the participants' commitment to teaching was negatively influenced by their non-legitimate position in the teaching community and the discordance between their teaching beliefs and the norms and values of their workplace. This study suggests that complex inter-relationships between marginal status in and legitimate membership of the community, between historical and cultural background, present practice, and future expectations, between social discourse and personal location, are involved in the process of identity construction. Measures to legitimate these teachers' position and to transform the linguistic and cultural repertories of these teachers into valuable resources of the local schools are suggested. Implications for future research are outlined.
[Copyright of Educational Studies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2013.801769]

This study investigates the challenges sixteen non-native preservice English as a second language (ESL) teachers in a Bachelor of Education (English Language) (BEdEL) program from Hong Kong experienced in an eight-week teaching practicum. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and reflective journals were collected from all 16 participants to obtain a detailed description of the participants' perceptions of their field-based practicum experiences. Results indicate that the preservice teachers' practicum was characterised by a reality shock due to difficulties in experimenting with pedagogical practices they were taught in the BEdEL program, and a lack of sense of control in class. This reality shock could destabilise the already anxious student teachers and have adverse effects well beyond the eight-week teaching practicum. Inadequacy in English language competence also appeared to affect not only these student teachers' teaching performance but also how they established and maintained their teacher role and relationship with their students. Implications of the results for strengthening current ESL teacher preparation programs in non-native English speaking contexts are discussed.
[Copyright of Australian Journal of Teacher Education is the property of School of Education, Edith Cowan University. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n3.3/]

This paper reports the results of an international study examining preservice teacher reports of teaching self-efficacy for inclusive education; principally focusing on the explanatory relationship between a scale designed to measure teaching self-efficacy in this area and key demographic variables within Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. The study builds on earlier work by this research team on attitudes towards inclusion and offers a more comprehensive picture of preservice teachers' preparedness to teach in inclusive classrooms. Data were collected from 380 preservice teachers in four countries. Results indicated that strong international differences existed. Other factors impacting responses regarding teaching self-efficacy for inclusion include the type of teacher preparation program offered by the institution; variations in the level of knowledge about inclusion law and policy; previous interactions with people with disabilities; confidence levels in teaching people with disabilities; and, prior teaching experience and training in working with students with disabilities. Implications for ongoing development of international teacher preparation programs are discussed within the context of improving self-efficacy.
[Copyright of Australian Journal of Teacher Education is the property of School of Education, Edith Cowan University. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n1.10]

This paper examines teachers' experiences of autonomy as they undertook Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the form of Teacher Learning Communities (TLCs) to develop Assessment for Learning (AfL). Participant teacher interview data were used from two parallel TLC projects, one in Hong Kong and one in London, UK. Autonomy was defined in terms of taking initiatives, acting independently and making critical inquiries. Links between autonomy and effective CPD were argued and the findings indicated that some teachers in both the projects experienced limited autonomy in terms of taking initiatives and being critical, although several described a new sense of professional independence as they attended TLCs. Their limited autonomy looked likely to inhibit the long-lasting impact of the projects, although one TLC in London seemed likely to shape teachers' AfL principles and practices more profoundly because attendance was voluntary and egalitarian.
[Copyright of Teacher Development is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2012.748686]

This article reports on an exploratory qualitative investigation of an initiative to use an electronic teaching portfolio at a teacher education institution in Hong Kong. Using in-depth interviews, this initiative is examined from the perspective of preservice teachers themselves. Interviews sought to gain an understanding of how the construction of participants' identities as teachers was shaped by their engagement with an electronic teaching portfolio throughout an eight-week teaching practicum. The study highlights the identity struggles that participants confronted in using an e-portfolio to negotiate their own and others' professional identities within their teaching practicum placement schools. Implications for preservice teachers, teacher educators, and school authorities are discussed and suggestions for future research considered.
[Copyright of Technology, Pedagogy and Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2012.720416]

This study extends the ownership of learning model by using e-portfolios in a field experience placement to examine student-teachers' attitudes towards learning in relationship to personal value, feeling in control and taking responsibility. The field experience e-portfolio pilot commenced in spring 2011, involving a cohort of 77 year 3 field experience student-teachers enrolled in the Bachelor of Education English Language Programme at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, and approximately 20 supervisors. A research model is presented based on research into ownership of learning. The student e-portfolio ownership of learning questionnaire (SEOLQ) was developed. Seventy-seven participants completed the survey measuring their responses to ownership of learning components of attitudes towards learning (ATL), personal value (PV), feeling in control (FIC), and taking responsibility (TR). Data were used to test the hypotheses postulating the main effects of ATL using e-portfolio on the constructs PV, FIC, and TR. The results of the study indicated that ATL had a significant influence on PV, FIC and TR. The results suggest the student-teachers valued the integration of the e-portfolio into the field experience and developed a sense of control of their learning. Responsibility-related findings suggest that participants were sensitive to both the means of manipulating the e-portfolio and the results of their efforts doing so. By providing student-teachers with the opportunity to reflect critically upon their work as educators, e-portfolios can serve as an invaluable resource for promoting effective ownership of learning.
[Copyright of Australasian Journal of Educational Technology is the property of ASCILITE. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet.html]

Preschoolers with autism face a number of challenges in integrating into different community activities owing to behavioural, communication and emotional concerns. Since the year 2009, the Hong Kong Heep Hong Society has developed a training programme for enhancing community participation among individuals with autism. The current project reports findings of a qualitative study of special education teachers' perceptions concerning a range of issues with regard to the programme. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted to gather information from eight teachers who used the community participation programme. The results indicated that teachers perceived the programme as a useful tool for promoting community participation among preschoolers with autism. However, participants pointed out a number of barriers to implementing the programme effectively. The participants suggested ways to improve the quality of community participation programmes. Implications for teachers and other professionals are discussed.
[Copyright of Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2012.695535]