Questions asked by teachers are vital to maintaining and sustaining learner engagement. In Hong Kong secondary classrooms where English is used as the medium of instruction (EMI), productive teacher questioning is key to promoting both language and content learning. Drawing on classroom observations and in-depth interviews, this study investigated the questioning practices of two teachers from EMI schools in Hong Kong. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data revealed that the teachers adopted different approaches to questioning. Their questioning practices can be captured by a dynamic model of two intersecting dimensions: cognitive demand (lower- and higher-order questions) and interactional orientation (authoritative and dialogic discourses). The findings of this study support the notion of teacher questioning as pedagogy and demonstrate how productive teacher questioning can mediate learner engagement. A guiding framework is proposed for productive teacher questioning that relies on the synergistic combination of cognitive demand and interactional orientation. Copyright © 2024 Springer.

Purposeful and strategic use of L1 can help with L2 learning. However, in many contexts, monolingual immersion approaches dominate, leading language teachers to refrain from using L1. It can also mean that teachers are not professionally prepared to implement evidence-informed uses of L1. In this article, we share the findings of an intervention study that aimed to raise preservice English language teachers' awareness of purposeful L1 use while co-exploring ways generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g. ChatGPT) can aid teachers' knowledge development and strategic utilization of L1 in L2 classrooms. Data were collected from fifty-six preservice language teachers in Hong Kong through a pre- and post-intervention mixed-method survey and follow-up group interviews. The findings show that explicit instruction on the use of L1 in L2 classrooms can increase preservice teachers' intention to use L1 as well as their knowledge about the evidence-informed use of L1 and the ways in which generative AI tools can assist their implementation of L1. Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press.

PurposeDespite the growing interest in the applicability and value of educational research for improving educational policy and practice, few studies have demonstrated how English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers apply research findings in their second language (L2) teaching. This paper reports on a study in which four Hong Kong ESL teachers were given research findings about L2 vocabulary teaching and learning and how they engaged in professional development (PD) sessions with a researcher specialising in vocabulary teaching and learning to make sense of the research findings.MethodologyIn addition to the dialogues between the researcher and teachers, individual semi-structured interviews with the participating teachers were audio-recorded and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.FindingsOur analysis revealed how ESL teachers made sense of the research literature to inform their L2 vocabulary teaching practices by (1) bridging the gap between the school culture and practices and empirical research findings; (2) connecting the researcher's explanations of the theoretical literature to real-life pedagogical practices; and (3) explaining how research findings can be applied to future classroom teaching and learning.Originality/ValueBased on the findings, we argue that professional dialogues between teachers and a researcher can facilitate the creation of a dialogic space for teachers to deploy their knowledge, including but not limited to pedagogical knowledge and beliefs, prior language learning experiences, and teaching experiences, to better understand research findings, thereby challenging their existing thinking and teaching. Such a dialogic space provides an opportunity for teachers to reflect on their pedagogical practices, which can promote quality teaching. Copyright © 2024 Routledge .

Entrepreneurial STEM, an interdisciplinary approach blending STEM and entrepreneurship education, has become a new trend for cross-subject collaboration that aims to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in students, enabling them to apply their STEM knowledge across various contexts. In this study, we investigate the challenges and corresponding strategies of head science teachers who initiated an entrepreneurial STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) curriculum in their schools. Grounded in social exchange theory, we explore how head science teachers with entrepreneurial attributes navigated asymmetrical power distribution presented by principals and other subject heads. This collective case study focuses on three schools in Hong Kong that successfully implemented a renowned entrepreneurial STEM curriculum. The findings reveal a common trajectory among head science teachers: initial enthusiastic promotion of the curriculum while meeting resistance; a downscaling and team reform struggles; and a handover and scale-up. This study illuminates the intricate process of balancing power dynamics and stakeholder perceptions through reciprocal negotiation, which were in turn shaped by societal norms. Copyright © 2025 Springer.

Kindergarten teachers’ performance at work has important implications for the quality of early childhood education and the development of children. Therefore, promoting teachers’ work performance is of interest to kindergarten managers and policymakers. Evidence suggests that professional development opportunities may play an important role in understanding employees’ work performance. However, the possible mechanism underlying the relationship between professional development opportunities and work performance remains underexplored, especially among kindergarten teachers. This cross-sectional study examined whether professional commitment and work engagement mediated the association of professional development opportunities with work performance among Chinese kindergarten teachers. Online questionnaire data were collected from 336 kindergarten teachers working in Hong Kong, China (mean age = 31.6 years; 86% of them were women). Kindergarten teachers rated the availability of professional development opportunities and their work performance. They also rated their professional commitment (indicated by affective, continuance, and normative commitment) and work engagement (indicated by vigor, dedication, and absorption). Structural equational modeling revealed that both professional commitment and work engagement uniquely mediated the association between professional development opportunities and work performance. The findings illustrated how professional development opportunities may enhance work performance by motivating teachers at the affective/cognitive and the behavioral levels. The findings also pointed to the potential utility of supporting the work performance of kindergarten teachers by providing them with ample professional development opportunities and promoting their professional commitment and work engagement. Copyright © 2025 by the authors.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a wellness programme for preservice teachers, Promoting Educational Excellence through Resilience to Stress (PEERS). The intervention group participants, who took part in the 4-week PEERS programme, and the comparison group participants were recruited online. A battery of self-report scales assessed various psychological constructs, including coping self-efficacy, resilience, mental health, well-being, mindfulness and self-compassion. Data were collected at three time points: before the intervention (T1), immediately after programme completion (T2) and 4 weeks after programme completion (T3). Results suggested that the intervention group participants reported significant improvements in coping self-efficacy, resilience and the nonjudging facet of mindfulness. High programme satisfaction was also reported, with 96% of the participants rating the overall programme as good or excellent. Therefore, the results demonstrate the effectiveness and positive impact of the PEERS programme on the resilience and coping efficacy of preservice teachers in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2025 The Author(s).

With technology integration efforts expanding to early childhood education globally, assessing preschool teachers’ technological competence beliefs is imperative. However, most existing tools measuring teachers’ information and communication technology (ICT) competence beliefs focused on primary through secondary grades. This study examined the factorial validity, reliability, and measurement invariance of the Basic ICT Competence Beliefs (BICB) questionnaire among 209 preschool teachers in Hong Kong and the Philippines. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the original nine-factor structure over plausible alternative models. All factors showed good reliability (α = 0.83 to 0.91) and theoretically meaningful factor intercorrelations. Multigroup CFA results supported the measurement invariance of the scale. Specifically, the results demonstrated the configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance across cultural groups. Findings provide further validity for the BICB as a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing preschool teachers’ ICT competence beliefs within and across contexts. The BICB can help identify teacher strengths and needs, guide professional development, and evaluate technology integration efforts in early childhood education in Asia. Copyright ©2024 Springer.

With a sample of 470 kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong, this study first examined these teachers' emotion regulation strategies assessed by a newly adapted scale, the Kindergarten Teacher Emotion Regulation Scale. Then, the study adopted a person‐centred approach and conducted the latent profile analysis, identifying different profiles of teachers' use of the emotion regulation strategies. It also examined the relationships between these profiles and teachers' self‐efficacy and two contextual antecedents, instructional leadership and trust in colleagues in kindergartens. The study validated a three‐dimensional measurement of kindergarten teachers' emotion regulation in Hong Kong, namely cognition‐focused regulation, (negative) emotion‐focused regulation, and behaviour‐focused regulation. Moreover, it identified four profiles of kindergarten teachers' emotion regulation strategy use with distinctive characteristics, and revealed some significant relationships between teachers' emotion regulation and self‐efficacy as well as school contexts. The findings highlight the role of beneficial school climate in eliciting teachers' effective emotion regulation and thereby enhancing their self‐efficacy. Copyright ©2024 Wiley.

The increase in ethnic and cultural diversity in kindergartens requires teachers to leverage their professional capacity to work competently with students from ethnically diverse backgrounds. This article reports the results of a teacher professional development (PD) programme infused with culturally responsive teaching for developing the multicultural teaching competence of early childhood teachers in Hong Kong regarding their knowledge, skills, and relationships. Sixty-six teachers attending the programme took 20 sessions of PD courses over eight months, whereas 58 teachers who did not attend were recruited to form a control group. The pre- and post-test data were examined via multilevel modelling. Results revealed significantly positive changes in programme group teachers’ reported knowledge, skills, and relationships after controlling for teacher demographic characteristics. The promising PD effects suggested that the PD opportunities enhanced teachers’ perceived multicultural competence; thus, they reported becoming more competent in engaging in culturally responsive practices upon completing the programme. Copyright © 2024 Teacher Development.