Internationalisation of the curriculum (IoC) is on the agenda of many higher education (HE) institutions worldwide. Typically seen as associated with a top-down strategy, IoC often meets resistance from university teachers, many of whom struggle to understand its relevance to teaching practice. This phenomenographic study investigates university teachers’ conceptions of IoC. Five conceptions ranging in sophistication have been identified. The least sophisticated focuses on making the curriculum content internationally relevant, whereas the most sophisticated centres around developing self-awareness, awareness of others, and a change in mindset in students. The latter is realised by embracing reflexivity and criticality and, more importantly, utilising societal and political issues as learning opportunities for identity development. Situated in the Hong Kong context, the findings not only suggest the need for teachers to shift their focus from curriculum content to value-based development but also for educators to reflect on their role in helping students to reconcile their identity in relation to their counterparts regionally and globally. Copyright © Springer Nature B.V.

This report describes the adaptations made to one initial teacher education course at a Hong Kong university designed for face-to-face instruction that was required to be delivered exclusively online due to the suspension of face-to-face classes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It describes the adaptations the tutor made, and the challenges faced adapting to the new mode of delivery. It is hoped that others can learn from the author’s experience and be prepared for the suspension of face-to-face classes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic or other health emergencies. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Ltd.

The number of teaching assistants (TAs) working in mainstream schools has soared in recent years as students with special educational needs (SEN) are integrated into regular classrooms. However, research on TAs is rare. This study investigated whether and how work engagement mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and job satisfaction among 292 Chinese TAs working in Hong Kong mainstream schools. Survey data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Supported by the social cognitive theory of self-efficacy and self-determination theory of work engagement, our results showed that TAs' self-efficacy is positively related to their job satisfaction through the mediation of work engagement. Implications for an appropriate focus on enhancing TAs' self-efficacy through classroom experiences and training courses are discussed.
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Visual methods are effective in facilitating human learning while metacognition is a critical aspect of the learning process. In this context, the purpose of this study is to explore the metacognition of pre-service teachers in response to their participation in a series of visual reflections after an online dialogue on the topic of inclusive education. A global online platform was used to facilitate dialogue in three discussion sessions of real-time videoconferencing between pre-service teachers in England, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, and South Africa. A group of Hong Kong pre-service teachers participated in a face-to-face post-discussion session using visual methods. Their transcripts and artefacts were recorded and analysed by applying a shared metacognitive construct. The power of visual methods in online collaborative inquiry for teacher education was noted by the participants’ deeper reflection on discussion issues when the issues were presented visually.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Teaching is the property of Routledge.]

Using Deleuze and Guattari's concept of rhizome, this study examines the key measures of the Kindergarten Education Scheme introduced by the Hong Kong government in 2017 after a large‐scale advocacy movement. It argues that these measures have expanded the power of the neoliberal imaginary through producing an enhanced market apparatus and an apolitical teaching profession. The neoliberal expansion reflects the manifestation of different kinds of rhizomatic connections to reterritorialise the field. This study calls for the rethinking of teacher educators’ ethical responsibility in addressing the complexity of teacher work frequently neglected by policy and the policy/practice divide in teacher education. Copyright © 2020 National Children's Bureau and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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.

This study investigates the perceptions of teaching competency in multicultural classrooms held by 421 teachers at 16 schools in Hong Kong. The aims of the study are (a) to use confirmatory factor analysis to validate a culturally appropriate version of the Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale (MTCS), (b) to assess three types of multicultural-teaching competency, and (c) to provide recommendations for teacher-education institutes and policy makers on developing effective training in multicultural education. The results indicate that a tripartite model assessing skills, knowledge, and relationships, the core features of multicultural-teaching competency as assessed by the MTCS from a Hong Kong sample. The teachers all identified multicultural-teaching relationships as the most important component of multicultural-teaching competency. Future researchers should examine the concurrent validity of the MTCS and the cultural contexts of multicultural-teaching relationships. Recommendations are also made for incorporating the Confucian beliefs of fairness, justice, and equity into multicultural classroom. Copyright © 2020 Edith Cowan University. All rights reserved.

This paper analyses the learning impacts of a social justice learning unit, which was implemented through three lectures in each of two undergraduate teacher education courses in 2017/18 across two semesters. The design of the unit allows for social inquiry and experiential learning in the undergraduate curriculum. A sequential mixed-methods design was adopted, with pre and post questionnaire and interview data gathered from undergraduate students. We argue that learning and applying social justice concepts through group inquiry and other learning activities on social justice related issues, together with an experiential learning site visit, can facilitate the development of understanding of both the concept and application of social justice, a positive perception towards ethnic minorities and a desire for further learning and engagement in the community. This study would be useful for any university educators who want to teach about and for social justice in ways that may help students to develop an increased willingness for community service. Copyright © 2020 The Author(s).

"Content and Language Integrated Learning" (CLIL) aims at enhancing both the academic language awareness and academic content awareness in teachers. Such a special curriculum approach necessitates that teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) consists of distinctive categories and domains that are different from either the PCK of teachers of content subjects (e.g., mathematics, sciences or liberal studies) or that of language teachers (e.g., SLA/L2 education). Drawing on the frameworks of studies on PCK (Grossman, 1988, 1990; Shulman, 1986, 1987; Tsui, 2003) and Teacher Language Awareness (Andrews, 2003; 2006; 2007), this research starts with the assumption that effective representation of subject content in L2 English demands PCK that goes beyond simple addition of the subject matter knowledge and the pedagogical knowledge of both subject content and the English language. Such PCK inevitably involves the integration of other knowledge and skill domains that are unique to the CLIL context. More importantly, how does teacher identity change interact with change in the teacher's pedagogical content knowledge? When does a content teacher start to see him/herself also playing the partial role of an academic language teacher, and when does a language teacher start to see him/herself also playing the partial role of helping students to learn academic content? Through ethnographic case studies, this research explores the CLIL PCK as well as the CLIL teacher identity change in three content teachers (in science, mathematics, and liberal studies) as well as two English language teachers. All of them have enrolled in a part-time Master of Education programme specializing in CLIL in Hong Kong schools. The study examines and explores the transformation of the teachers' PCK as well as their identity during their participation in the teacher education programme. The implications on our understanding of the teacher knowledge base of CLIL as well as its impact on teacher identity

This article reports on a qualitative study investigating the teaching experiences of ESL teachers of ethnic minority students from South Asian countries. Eight ESL teachers from two secondary schools in Hong Kong were interviewed. Informed by the concept of neoliberal governmentality, this study explores the shaping effect of neoliberal education on these teachers’ professional development, their negotiation with the current examination-oriented educational policy, and the overall neoliberal discourse in education. The teachers were found to be ambivalent in their contradictory positions regarding whether to encourage or prohibit the use of heritage languages in English learning, whether to conform to the curriculum or develop new materials and try out new ways, and how to unravel social responsibility for ethnic minority groups’ development. This study has implications for the importance of awareness of the impact of macro-level neoliberalism on micro-level educational practices among teachers, principals, and policy makers, and for the necessity of developing teacher education programmes to prepare teachers with a particular concern about the well-being of children (especially those in underprivileged communities), and enable them to think critically about scripted curriculum packages and to work within more diverse and challenging contexts. Copyright © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.