With the unique character of Hong Kong in a postcolonial context, where eastern philosophies and approaches meet those of the west, it could be presumed that it is an ideal system for generating innovative ideas and practices (Bautista et al. in Int J Res Educ 46:203–260, 2022; Lu and Campbell in Practice 3:67–72, 2021). However, understanding the role, influence, and impact of teacher education as a career-long pursuit in Hong Kong remains both contested and under-theorised (Bautista et al. in Int J Res Educ 46:203–260, 2022). While Hong Kong enjoys a complex and sophisticated teacher education infrastructure which includes a range of opportunities and legislated time to dedicate to the varied forms of teacher education throughout a teachers’ career, such opportunities are frequently reported on as a being too demanding, rigid, or unrelated to practice (Lu and Campbell in Practice 3:67–72, 2021; Pang et al. in Asia Pac J Educ 36:231–247, 2016). This chapter begins by exploring the context of Hong Kong, and the nature and functions of teacher education. Following this, varying conceptualisations of teacher education, professional learning, and agency, with a particular focus on Hong Kong, are explored. Finally, this chapter explores new ways of understanding the role of teacher agency in the context of teacher education and the implications of this for policy, practice, and research as we imagine the future possibilities of teacher education and education more broadly. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Since the retrocession of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, the Hong Kong SAR government and key curriculum developers have been determined to make use of the school curriculum (formal and informal) and in particular, the two history subjects, 'Chinese History' and 'History,' to promote a national identity among students. This study shows that a Chinese national identity in ethnic, cultural and historical terms has been promoted through 'Chinese History.' At the same time, through the other history subject, 'History,' a Hongkongese identity that includes both an international and a national dimension has also been made possible. However, it is argued that in promoting a sense of national identity through the school curriculum, the government has turned the curriculum to a form of nationalistic propaganda. In addition, the emphasis on national identity would create tension between Hong Kong students, students from China and ethnical minority students.
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