The purpose of this study was to investigate Hong Kong preschool teachers’ music-specific professional development (PD) preferences and analyze the potential differences among teachers with varying levels of teaching experience (beginning, experienced, and advanced). A survey was developed to assess four music-specific PD preferences: content, facilitators, types, and activities/resources. We found that respondents (N = 1,019) preferred PD that was centered on musical creativity and curriculum integration; facilitated by experts in pedagogy and music performance; conducted as short workshops and mentoring sessions; and focused on observation, skill acquisition, and practice. The data also revealed significant differences between beginning, experienced, and advanced teachers and their PD preferences. Beginning teachers showed a higher preference for graduate studies and blended PD. Beginning and experienced teachers were more interested in playing instruments and in learning by observing other teachers. Advanced teachers showed preference for PD focusing on dance and music appreciation. The study shows that teaching experience is a crucial factor for determining preschool teachers’ music-specific PD preferences. Implications include considering teachers’ interests, motivations, and needs while planning and designing PD for preschool teachers. Further research should explore what teachers with different profiles require in specific educational settings. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s).

The study investigates the development of virtual classroom in secondary schools in Hong Kong from in-service teacher perspectives and focuses on teachers' concerns towards the virtual classroom and their preferences on designing virtual classroom. Quantitative survey data came from 352 secondary school teachers and qualitative interview data was collected from 8 of the surveyed teachers. The results indicated that major concerns of most studied teachers were lower stages of typical non-user concerns profile, implying that virtual classroom was still at the infancy stage of development in some secondary schools of Hong Kong during the research period. A minority of teachers, who exhibited high competency in information literacy and were competent users of virtual classroom, had their concerns profiles shifted to higher stages of concern. An analysis of teachers' paradigm for the use of virtual classroom revealed that most teachers still stuck to the traditional teacher-centered pedagogy and employed mainly receptive and directive architecture in teaching without using virtual classroom in guided discovery and exploratory approaches. Strategic plan and staff development program for the success of implementation of virtual classroom are finally discussed in this paper. Copyright © 2005 The authors. All rights reserved.

In Hong Kong, teaching ethnically diverse children (e.g. Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalis) has recently become a pressing issue. As teacher educators, we believe the crux of the issue lies in teachers’ understanding of cultural diversity. Specifically, this study adopted the theoretical framework of phenomenography to investigate the question of: What are precisely the qualitatively different ways teachers see ethnically diverse children? We recruited 81 in-service kindergarten teachers and conducted interviews and/or collected documents related to their practice of teaching. Four ways of seeing were identified: Ethnically diverse children are seen as: (A) of one and the same group, (B) not local to Hong Kong, (C) in need of support and deficient, and (D) overly devoted to their own cultures. We recommend teacher educators to discuss the descriptions of the four ways of seeing with teachers. The results of this study contribute to pedagogical knowledge of teacher educators for professional development of teachers. Copyright © 2022 Informa UK Limited.

The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of Professional Development Initiatives (PDIs) in relation to the implementation of New Secondary School curriculum in Hong Kong and student learning. Data were collected from 414 Key Learning Area coordinators and subject heads who were responsible for managing curriculum of senior secondary education in 91 Hong Kong secondary schools. Results indicated that three types of PDI (i.e. curriculum planning, professional sharing and support for teachers) mediated the impact of teachers' collaborative practices on their conceptions of student learning. Whereas two PDIs have exerted mediating effect of teachers' curriculum orientation on student learning. Implications for facilitating teachers' curriculum implementation towards reform and sustaining various types of PDIs are discussed. Copyright ©2021 Elsevier .

The discourse around combining local, national and international languages constitutes an important issue in the global education agenda (Kirkpatrick and Chau 2008). Ideas about how trilingual education ought to be designed and implemented vary across stakeholders. This study explores (1) the beliefs which early childhood education (ECE – ECE refers to teaching of young children up to the age of six) principals, teachers and parents exhibit about trilingual preschool education in Hong Kong; (2) the challenges in the trilingual preschool implementation processes, and (3) the mechanisms employed by ECE principals for coping with these challenges. Semi-structured interviews and observations were conducted to collect data from four preschools, and these were supplemented with documentary analysis. Findings indicate that the inconsistent beliefs among stakeholders about the aims of trilingual education and language choice, curriculum design, and instruction (pedagogy and activities) in trilingual preschools are the major challenge administrators-principals encountered impacting the implementation process. Teachers who lack professional knowledge and skills in the provision of trilingual education are also problematic. Moreover, the recruitment of native-speaking teachers of the target language is difficult due to perceived heavy workloads and poor pay. Findings also make evident important implications for policymakers, principals and professional development. Copyright © 2021 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

This paper reports on the design, implementation, and results of a video-based study that focused on supporting an individualized viewing experience, keeping a record of what was noticed, providing a degree of guiding framework, and facilitating a combination of individual and collaborative reflections in noticing activities for STEM professional development. A cohort of 20 prospective mathematics teachers at a public university in Hong Kong participated in the study. The participants engaged in a series of blended learning activities with a feature that allowed them to leave comments while viewing of a lesson video, which focused on technology integration in mathematics classrooms. The designed activities were helpful for the participants to document and reflect on their observations, while viewing videos outside the classroom allowed them to meaningfully engage with the course materials. Moreover, the use of videos supported the participants' broad but crucial STEM classroom practices that would help them prepare for future lessons. Copyright © 2021 International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS).

This study examines how teachers' discourse moves influence patterns of authority in the mathematics classroom. We identify changes in authority structure in one classroom taught by a primary mathematics teacher in Hong Kong. This teacher participant was one of 32 who participated in a larger teacher-intervention study that aimed to help teachers orchestrate dialogic classroom discourse for rich learning opportunities in mathematics. Previous research has investigated teachers' discourse behaviors and authority structures in mathematics classrooms, but the connection between the two has yet to be addressed in extant studies. Our analysis shows that certain features and patterns embedded in classroom discourse can constrain or enable certain kinds of authority in the classroom. This study contributes to understanding the ways in which dialogic discourse may influence how authority is structured, including how mathematics teaching and learning are enacted through authority styles, and how the discipline of mathematics is positioned from an authority perspective. Copyright © 2021 Springer.

The purpose of this study was to explore how instrumental teachers reflect their professional development pathways with reference to their own apprenticeship experiences. The participants were three female instrumental teachers who taught the piano and violin. Reflections of teachers’ own learning experiences on their career pathways and professional development were collected from the participants through interviews, teaching diaries, and field notes. Several themes emerged from the data collected over an approximately six-month period. First, all the participants experienced long musical apprenticeships. Second, the teachers rarely perceived pedagogical skills are ‘learnable’ skills as performing skills. Finally, all the teachers were only interested in practical, examination-oriented professional development programmes, as opposed to academic or pedagogically-oriented outcomes such as journals or conferences. The unitisation of professional development choices would appear to be the most urgent and pressing problem faced by instrumental teachers. Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This paper is to investigate kindergarten teachers’ understanding of play and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in practicing play-based curriculum. Kindergarten teachers’ professional knowledge, particularly their PCK, has always been considered an important component in securing the quality of early childhood education (Hedges & Cullen, 2005, Sheridan et al., 2009, Wood & Bennett, 2000). This study is built upon the work of Shulman (1986, 1987). Among seven domains of knowledge, PCK blends both content and pedagogy, encompasses both teachers’ understanding of content areas and enactments, with aims to develop better practices for children. This specific domain constitutes knowledge base of teachers to warrant the quality of play-based curricular practice. This study invited 19 kindergartens and 29 teachers. Using the interpretivist approach, qualitative data were collected through classroom observations and teacher focus group interviews to gain a deeper understanding about the kinds of PCK embedded in their actual practice. The present study has met the university’s research ethics. Informed consent has also been obtained from kindergarten principals, teachers and parents of the participating children. Our findings indicated that kindergarten teachers’ situated form of knowledge appeared as significant as their PCK in shaping their professional practice of play-based curriculum. Teachers conceived that ongoing complexities and dilemmas that circumscribing their practice required them to constantly frame, adapt and modify pedagogical strategies. Findings revealed that teachers’ knowledge on play-based pedagogy is contextually bounded. This study gives insights into how teachers develop situated wisdom to complement their PCK in constructing authentic play-based learning in classes. Copyright © 2018 28th EECERA Conference.

This study examined the perceptions of two groups of teachers, namely Secondary 3 and Secondary 6, regarding effective pedagogical practices in relation to curriculum reform. A total of 1,215 teachers from 91 secondary schools participated in the study. Collaborative inquiry, instructional strategy and catering for learner diversity were conceived as the three most effective pedagogical practices for implementation of the reforms while seven perceived student learning outcomes were also identified. Further multi-group analyses supported invariance between the two teacher groups in their perceptions of student learning when applying the three pedagogical practices in the classrooms. Results of path analyses revealed that Secondary 6 teachers viewed collaborative inquiry as having a significant effect on all aspects of student learning, but such impacts were not seen as very likely in the view of Secondary 3 teachers. On the contrary, Secondary 3 teachers conceived instructional strategy as the most effective way to enhance student learning. Catering for learner diversity had a positive association with various aspects of student learning in the view of both teacher groups. The study concludes with the implication for enhancing professional development of teachers. Copyright © 2021 National Institute of Education, Singapore.