Teacher behaviors are one of the most significant factors influencing student learning. Students from different cultures may have different interpretations of their teachers’ behaviors. This study compared the associations between teacher strictness, teacher feedback, and students’ motivational beliefs using data from six Western countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Finland, Norway, Australia, and New Zealand) and six East Asian regions (Japan, Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015. A total of 89,869 15-year-old students were included in data analysis. The findings indicate that (i) teacher strictness was negatively associated with Western students’ motivation, but positively related to that of East Asian students; (ii) teacher feedback had significant positive associations with the motivational beliefs of both Western and East Asian students; and (iii) there was a positive relationship between teacher strictness and teacher feedback in East Asian context. These results highlight the need to consider cultural factors when interpreting students’ reactions to teacher behaviors. Copyright © 2021 Jiang, Lee, Wan and Chen.

This study examined pre-service primary teachers' (PSPTs) mathematics performance on a set of question items measuring at the sixth grade level in Hong Kong. These items covered the five learning strands of the local primary mathematics curriculum – number, algebra, measures, shape and space, and data handling. The participants of the study were 152 PSPTs who had chosen mathematics as a major in an undergraduate teacher education program. Their strengths and weaknesses in particular mathematics topics were identified. Across all four years of the teacher education program, only 6% of the participants were able to provide fully correct mathematical responses to all five items. Further, it is surprising that merely 14% of graduating cohorts achieved a full mark for the mathematical word problem that required them to show their working steps. These findings suggest that issues relating to the preparation of mathematics specialists should be further considered in primary mathematics education. Copyright ©Routledge.

Study abroad has become an important component of many teacher education programs. Through the lens of culturally relevant pedagogy, critical thinking, and educational freedom, this qualitative case study focuses on understanding Hong Kong teachers' perceptions about United States culture and education. Data were collected through in-depth, one-on-one interviews with five Hong Kong educators. The findings reveal that the Hong Kong teachers believe that respecting individual differences, inspiring students' critical thinking, and having freedom to choose how to teach and learn are top priorities in the U.S. However, there are also misconceptions in a few areas. This study not only helps prepare for a multicultural collaboration between U.S. teacher candidates and Hong Kong educators in a study abroad course, but it also aims to contribute to the literature the critical need of understanding unintentional biases and stereotypes that might negatively influence U.S. teacher candidates' assumptions of their students with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Copyright ©Petru Maior University Publishing House.

The number of teaching assistants (TAs) working in mainstream schools has soared in recent years as students with special educational needs (SEN) are integrated into regular classrooms. However, research on TAs is rare. This study investigated whether and how work engagement mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and job satisfaction among 292 Chinese TAs working in Hong Kong mainstream schools. Survey data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Supported by the social cognitive theory of self-efficacy and self-determination theory of work engagement, our results showed that TAs' self-efficacy is positively related to their job satisfaction through the mediation of work engagement. Implications for an appropriate focus on enhancing TAs' self-efficacy through classroom experiences and training courses are discussed.
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This paper gives some preliminary analysis on the relationships between perceptions of national identity and national education by using quantitative data. A pilot-tested questionnaire has been sent to all civic education team teachers in Hong Kong secondary schools in 2018. Through quantitative analysis, it is found that some possible types of national education are adopted by teachers. The qualitative interviews with some teachers also reveal a diversified range of teaching methods on national education. All these findings can, hopefully, contribute to the existing literature. This study shall be useful for anyone interested in understanding how teachers perceive their national identity and national education in this post-materialistic and globalized world. Copyright © 2019 CiCea.

Effective teaching is a key factor in educational effectiveness and improvement. To facilitate the knowledge exchange regarding effective teaching in secondary education internationally, there has been a growing interest in using classroom observation measures. However, little is known regarding the comparability of observation measures across various national contexts (measurement invariance). Consequently, comparing effective teaching behaviour across contexts is compromised by issues of construct and measurement equivalence. In the present study, we investigated measurement invariance of the International Comparative Analysis of Learning and Teaching (ICALT) for measuring teaching behaviour across various national contexts including the Netherlands, South Korea, South Africa, Indonesia, Hong Kong-China, and Pakistan. Results showed that ICALT indicates full strict invariance in four out of the six countries, which provides a possibility to compare teaching behaviour in the Netherlands, South Korea, South Africa, and Indonesia. South Korea indicated the highest quality of teaching behaviour, while Indonesia indicated the lowest. Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

對粵港澳大灣區體育教師教育能力的研究是踐行"立德樹人"的任務,是築牢粵港澳大灣區"南方人才高地"的基礎堡壘,是打破體育人才流通桎梏、加強粵港澳大灣區教育目標趨同性的要求,是優化體育教師職前職後培養內容、提升粵港澳體育教師實踐運用能力的要求。本文通過對粵港澳大灣區281名體育教師進行問卷調查,利用因子分析和驗證性因素分析建構出粵港澳大灣區體育教師教育能力內容結構,包括五個方面:自我成長與社會認知能力、理論積澱與創新能力、"互聯網+教學"能力、教學反思與實踐運用能力、職業基本素養能力。粵港澳大灣區老教師對自身教育能力提升熱情相較年輕教師有著明顯的"職業倦怠"特性,加快體育教師教育能力提升更應注重五大方面中對其發展影響最大的因素。結果認為:夯實體育教師職業基本素養能力,優化教師專業化發展方案是保障教師教育能力可持續的根基;打破陳舊思想桎梏,創設多元化教育情境是教學反思與實踐運用能力進階的有力推手;搭建粵港澳三地體育教師教育溝通交流平台,建成"互傳、互幫、互帶"的師資互通體系是加快教師自我成長與社會認知能力的現實路徑;加大多學科交流融合,拓寬體育教師專業理論視界是完善體育教師教育能力的重要舉措。