In-person teaching abroad experiences, where pre-service teachers spend a defined period teaching in schools in a foreign country, have received considerable research attention in recent years. However, virtual alternatives have yet to be explored. This exploratory study sought to understand the effects a virtual teaching abroad experience had on pre-service teachers' professional learning. Data included teaching logs and reflective writings of two groups of pre-service teachers from Hong Kong who participated in a virtual teaching abroad experience hosted by a university in the United Kingdom and interviews with their course coordinators. The findings suggest that the PSTs found the virtual teaching abroad experience novel and unique, contributing to professional learning. Specifically, the experience (a) increased the PSTs' confidence and flexibility; (b) improved their synchronous online teaching skills; (c) gave them greater awareness of learner differences and needs; and (d) exposed them to innovative pedagogical approaches. The study suggests that virtual teaching abroad experiences could have a place within initial teacher education, especially as the financial costs associated with them are lower than in-person experiences. However, they do not seem adequate to replace a sustained period immersed in an overseas school context. Copyright ©2023 Routledge.

Most students with disabilities who previously attended segregated special schools are now enrolled in regular schools in Hong Kong. The number of students with disabilities attending regular schools has increased. Hence, teachers are critical in implementing inclusive practices that include students with disabilities. It is essential that these teachers feel supported and prepared to teach students with disabilities for inclusive education to be successful. A qualitative study comprising focus group interviews with 16 in-service primary and secondary school teachers was conducted to identify the perceived challenges they face and their support needs for implementing inclusive practices. Despite the comprehensive legislation and policies and sufficient funding, teachers felt they needed more support in the form of human resources, teaching in classrooms, collaboration, and knowledge about including students with disabilities. This paper discusses the necessity for enhancing professional learning and teachers' understanding of inclusion. Copyright ©2023 Springer.

Teacher agency plays a vital role in professional learning. The revealing practice indicates its fluidity in the process of collaboration. Research suggests that learning through interaction happens by engaging teachers. However, the role of teacher agency remains unclear at a systemic level. This article reports a yearlong ethnographic study of overlapping members from two teams collaborating on contemporary liberal arts curriculum across two different education systems in a Hong Kong secondary school. Discourse analysis of collaborative meetings demonstrated that the overlapping members performed various functions in the two settings. The connections and disconnections suggested that teacher agency was conditional based on the ecological boundary. By identifying their patterns of practice, individual teachers collectively demonstrated different capacities in the two settings within and over time. The findings imply that collaboration is an embedded activity and strongly influenced by the school environment. Overall, this study contributes to a reconceptualisation of professional learning. Copyright © 2021 Routledge.

In this paper, we review the challenges of sustaining effective teacher professional learning in Hong Kong and propose that professional learning could enable teacher innovation, and teacher innovation reversely rejuvenates professional learning. We also argue that greater exploration is needed of how professional learning is theorised in relation to broader themes that influence it. These key themes explored have significant implications for both organisational and wider systemic culture and practice both in Hong Kong and in systems around the world. Copyright © 2020 IPDA.

The relative contributions of higher education and schools, and hence the conceptual and practical aspects of ITE, to student teachers’ professional learning have been an issue of concern in teacher education. This article reports a mixed-methods study showing the relationship between student teachers’ engagement with the practical and conceptual aspects of a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) Programme in Hong Kong and different facets of their perceived professional competence. One hundred and thirty-two student teachers participated in the quantitative survey of whom seven were interviewed. The findings reveal that experiences associated with learning the pragmatic facets of professional practice were more valued by student teachers compared to learning the conceptual aspects of ITE. Yet, in terms of relationship with professional competence, student teachers’ engagement with the practical aspects of ITE was related to competence in classroom teaching, whereas their engagement with the conceptual aspects contributed to their mastery of professional knowledge, competence in classroom teaching and competence in interacting with stakeholders. The study illuminates the distinctive contributions of schools and higher education in ITE. While acknowledging the important role of schools in providing a setting for practical work, this study affirms the distinctive contribution of higher education in equipping student teachers with practical and conceptual tools in the preparation of professionally competent teachers.
[Copyright © 2015 Taylor & Francis.]

This paper is concerned with a qualitative study of how 15 pre-service PE teachers, who are taking the two-year full-time teacher training course, develop professionally in their second field experience. With the interpretive research paradigm as conceptual framework, data were collected through interviewing and writing of reflective journals. Groups of pre-service PE teachers were found possessing different professional learning experiences concerning their conceptions and socializing strategies. Their professional conceptions included "educating pupils to learn", "seeing PE as catharsis, discipline and having fun". Their socializing strategies composed of finding means to improve teaching, and adopt social tactics for managing pupils and defensive attitude for handling crisis. The study provides an understanding of pre-service PE teachers in the Hong Kong Institute of Education and their learning-to-teach processes. The findings serve as the backdrop for recommending possible pedagogical changes for facilitating desirable professional development of pre-service PE teachers.
[Copyright © 2007 Department of Physical Education, Hong Kong Baptist University.]