There has been a widespread belief that teachers in Asian contexts including Japan and China are well protected by a tradition that reveres teachers. However, in Chinese contexts, cultural traditions have been found to undermine the teaching profession, together with educational reforms and societal changes. This paper reports on an inquiry that explored the social censure of teachers, especially language teachers in Hong Kong. The inquiry took advantage of an Internet discussion concerning the 'falling' language standards, a widespread concern in the region. The analysis of the discussion revealed the high expectations that the public had for language teachers as well as the increasingly complex conditions for teachers' professional practices due to ongoing educational reforms and cultural changes. The Internet discussion also offers a unique opportunity to examine how the teaching profession was constructed in these discourses and provides insights into teachers' professional vulnerability in Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Research Papers in Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02671521003637146]

九七年版香港小學普通話科課程綱要頒行以來， 配應的教科書陸續面世。由於課程架構和理念的翻新， 教科書編者又嘗試從不同的角度體現綱要的精神， 各種教材的編排系統、內容重點等難免有不同程度的差異。要有效運用及發揮這些教材， 是新教師面臨的一大挑戰。透過一項新入職教師專業成長的研究，我們探討了一些新教師在教材運用方面遇上的困難和限制， 並歸納出他們有待增強的知識和技能。
Since the implementation of the current Putonghua curriculum in Hong Kong in 1997, corresponding teaching materials have been developed to meet the requirements of the curriculum. Because different textbook writers interpret the curriculum differently in terms of teaching objectives, teaching contents and teaching approaches, etc., teaching materials generated vary in focal points. To use these materials effectively in teaching becomes a big challenge, especially for beginning teachers. In a study on the professional growth of beginning Putonghua teachers, their problems in adopting commercial teaching materials are investigated, and the knowledge and skills with which they need to become competent language teachers are identified.
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

在學校裏，校長的領導固然重要，但是沒有高質素的中層管理人員的協助和配合，要達致優質學校教育的目標是有困難的。中層管理人員是學校的骨幹，亦是校長和教師的橋樑，他們在學校扮演著很重要的角色。近年，由於校本管理的落實和多項教育變革在學校推行，大大增加了中層管理人員的工作量和領導需求。本文透過對六十多名負責推行教育變革的學校中層管理人員，瞭解他們在其崗位上所面對的困難，並作出了分析及建議。
There is no doubt about the significance of principal leadership in schools. However, without the assistance and cooperation from the effective middle managers, it is difficult for principals to meet the targets for quality school education. School middle managers are the backbone of the schools and also the bridge between the principal and teachers. They play a crucial role in the school organization. Recently, the implementation of school-based management and many other school reforms in Hong Kong have increased the workload of middle managers. There is an increasing need of their leadership in schools. This study has collected data from about sixty middle managers who are responsible for implementing school reforms in the primary educational sector. Problems faced by the middle managers of Hong Kong primary schools in leadership are analyzed and discussed. Implications for future improvement are made.
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

This paper attempts to identify the distinctive qualities of successful veteran teachers, referred to as "expert teachers", which separates them not only from novice teachers but more importantly from experienced non-expert teachers. Based on earlier case studies, this paper maintains that the critical differences between expert and non-expert teachers are manifested in three dimensions: their ability to integrate aspects of teacher knowledge in relation to the teaching act; their response to their contexts of work, and their ability to engage in reflection and conscious deliberation. The paper further addresses the question of why some teachers become experts while others remain experienced non-experts by examining the developmental processes of the experienced teachers in the case studies. The findings suggest that engagement in exploration and experimentation in teaching and learning, in problematizing the unproblematic, and in tasks which challenge teachers to extend their competence are crucial to the development of expertise. The implications for teacher development are discussed.
[Copyright of Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13540600903057179]