In recent years, it seems that teachers in Hong Kong feel negatively about their work. To some extent, the negative emotional experiences may not only affect teachers’ well-being, but also the quality of schooling. Thus, it is necessary for us to pay attention to the phenomenon of teachers’ emotional experiences, especially the negative ones. In the literature, researchers have investigated teachers’ emotional experiences from the psychological perspective. Nevertheless, the psychological perspective may neglect the social impacts on teaches’ emotional experiences. The limitation may create an incomplete or inaccurate understanding about the phenomenon. In order to overcome the limitation, this article proposes a sociological research agenda for further investigation on the basis of symbolical interactionism. Copyright © 2014 Sjournals. All rights reserved.

Informed by symbolic interactionism, this study examines how positive emotional experiences in teaching, teacher identity, and student behaviors are associated. According to the symbolic interactionism perspective, positive student behaviors signify that teachers have successfully embodied the teacher identity, which results in positive emotional experiences from their teaching. This study’s analysis of interviews with 21 secondary schoolteachers in Hong Kong suggests an alternative explanation: positive emotional experiences in teaching are a result of attaining the goal of teaching, that is, making a difference in students’ lives, rather than verifying a teacher identity. This explanation does not necessarily contradict that of symbolic interactionism, but may help elaborate upon the process of emotional experiences in teaching. The findings provide recommendations for improving teachers’ emotional experiences in teaching. Copyright © 2018 by Francis W. Parker School, Chicago. All rights reserved.

This study, drawing upon data triangulated from interviews, classroom research reports, and school documents, sheds light on how cross-border teachers from mainland China to Hong Kong construct and negotiate their identities when teaching English creative writing. Using identity control theory (ICT) this study examines discursive and complex identity development and reveals contextual and interpersonal factors that hinder identity construction among teachers of English creative writing. Factors include isolation from local colleagues, failure to integrate into the host community due to cultural and linguistic differences, standardized school instruction, heavy workloads, students' distrust, and students' low English proficiency. Cross-border teachers were found to experience negative emotions including stress, anger, and unease due to failed teacher identity verification in a new land. This study contributes to theoretical knowledge of ICT, suggesting inaction and secondary emotions as outcomes of the incongruence between the meanings of identity standard and input. Relevant theoretical and pedagogical implications are also discussed. Copyright © 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.

The present study aims to (1) identify the profiles of subjective well-being (SWB) and psychological well-being (PWB) in a sample of pre-service teachers during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, and (2) explore how different profiles are linked with teachers’ self-efficacy. Participants were 291 pre-service teachers (Mage = 21.295, SD = 2.812, female = 89.903%) who were invited to complete self-report measures of SWB, PWB, and teachers’ self-efficacy. Latent profile analysis with maximum likelihood estimation was conducted to identify well-being profiles that emerged in this sample. The results suggested a 3-class model with a high, moderate, and low well-being group. The findings also revealed that the pre-service teachers’ well-being profiles as reflected by SWB and PWB indicators were consistent. Moreover, the pre-service teachers in the higher well-being group reported higher teaching self-efficacy than those in the lower well-being group. Findings highlighted the benefits of supporting pre-service teachers’ well-being (i.e., SWB and PWB) to maintain their teachers’ self-efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic when teacher education and practicum are significantly disrupted. Interventions targeting various positive psychological skills (e.g., mindfulness, self-compassion, and positive reappraisal) are warranted. Future investigation is needed to examine the longitudinal relationship between pre-service teachers’ well-being and self-efficacy. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s).

This study draws on the findings from a STEM education project to examine Hong Kong in-service primary school teachers’ perceived challenges in implementing STEM education, the support they received in STEM teacher professional development (STEM TPD), and their needs for future STEM TPD. The study engaged teacher professional development through a school-university partnership and adopted a practitioner research approach that aimed at enhancing primary school teachers’ professional capacity of designing STEM activities relevant to the Hong Kong curriculum, with an emphasis on the learning of crosscutting concepts and inquiry-based teaching. STEM TPD is aimed at collaborative curriculum development as an opportunity to foster active learning through co-creating curriculum materials among teachers and university facilitators. Twelve primary school teachers from various subject teaching backgrounds were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect the teachers’ experiences with the STEM TPD and their views on the integration of cross-cutting concepts in designing STEM lessons. Findings of the study revealed teachers' perceived challenges during the preparation and teaching phases related to STEM instruction and lesson planning, limited resources, and other concerns embedded in broader contextual situations. While teachers reported to have received different types of support from the STEM TPD relating to the pedagogical knowledge of STEM, future directions for STEM TPD were expressed in relation to content components of STEM TPD, opportunities for authentic learning and first-hand experiences, and coherence. Finally, this chapter discusses areas that need to be resolved before a further enhancement in terms of quality and quantity of STEM lessons could be expected. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s).

Novice teachers are often eager to embark on their journey in the teaching profession after years of teacher education, ready to actualize their educational ideals. Some head towards a smooth start while others encounter a wide range of constraints during their initial years of teaching. Drawing on narrative interviews with a number of novice English teachers in Shenzhen and Hong Kong for at least one academic year and other data sources such as their EFL learning autobiographies and school documents, this paper examines and compares (1) the opportunities and constraints these teachers face in their initial years of teaching and (2) their responses to the perceived opportunities and constraints in their attempts to take control of their teaching, in two different socio-cultural and educational contexts of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. This paper highlights how possibilities for and constraints on teacher autonomy are mediated by teacher agency, teacher identity and teacher beliefs. It also sheds light on how novice teachers can be afforded more opportunities in their struggle to become autonomous practitioners. Copyright © 2016 華中科技大學外國語學院.

The growing concerns regarding the risks of transmitting the COVID-19 virus have intensified the job-related stressors commonly encountered by teachers in various cultural contexts. Evidence shows how the COVID-19 crisis has negatively impacted teachers' mental health outcomes such as stress, depression, and quality of life, which highlights the significance of designing psychological programs to boost teachers' well-being. This study examined the effects of a well-being intervention based on the Positivity, Relationship, Outcomes, Strength, Purpose, Engagement, and Resilience (PROSPER) framework on well-being outcomes among 76 in-service teachers (Mage = 26.05 years, SD = 4.71, range = 20–45; female = 93.4%) in Hong Kong. Participants completed survey measures associated with the seven PROSPER outcomes at baseline and 2-month follow-up. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that there were statistically significant multivariate effects for intervention conditions, Wilks' Lambda F(7, 58) = 4.50, p =.01. Results demonstrated that teachers who were assigned to the intervention condition (n = 36) had significantly higher scores than those in the control condition (n = 40) on positivity (b = 0.41, 95% CI [0.16, 0.65], p =.01), strength (b = 0.62, 95% CI [0.23, 1.01], p =.01), purpose (b = 0.61, 95% CI [0.18, 1.04], p =.01), and resilience (b = 0.57, 95% CI [0.07, 1.07], p =.04). Our findings provide evidence on the mental health benefits of the PROSPER-based psychological intervention program for preschool teachers. Copyright © 2022 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.