The study involved student teachers enrolled in the Bachelor of Education English Language Programme at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Students (N = 77) participated in a pilot study by electronically submitting their field experience portfolios in their third and fourth year of study. Student teachers were invited through e-mails to participate in focus group interviews. The purpose of this interview was to examine the merits and challenges of digitising the existing FE paper-based portfolio, using a digital portfolio platform, and to plan for future development using Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the research framework. All participants were required to create e-portfolios to showcase their achievements, the effects of actual system used led to long-term behavioural intention to use, diverging from the TAM's original model, which predicted actual system use. Student teachers either participated in a semi-structured interview (n = 7) or replied via e-mails (n = 2). The results indicated that attitude towards usage (ATU) evidenced a direct relationship to behavioural intention to use. Furthermore, for those who had mixed ATU, perceived usage was the determining factor. The findings provide insightful information not only for the next implementation phase of an e-portfolio, but also for those considering implementing e-portfolios.
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The survey compared the scores of 159 (118 females) randomly selected Brunei and Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) student teachers on the New General Self-efficacy Scale (NGSS); Self-efficacy in Implementing Inclusive Practices Scale (SIIPS); Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale (SACIES); and Inclusive Classroom Setting Scale (ICSS). The scales were reliable and valid for use with participants in both countries. Females scored significantly higher on NGSS than male counterparts. In addition, Brunei participants scored significantly higher on NGSS and SACIES than Hong Kong peers. Furthermore, the samples' scores differed significantly on NGSS and SACIES by participants' educational level with A-Level trainees scoring highest. Moreover, the majority of the participants generally scored high on all the scales. However, Two-Way ANOVA revealed only one independent variable (ICSS) with a significant main effect on SIIPS, the dependent variable. Also only one lower-order interaction variable (gender and educational level) had a significant joint effect on the dependent variable, SIIPS. Overall, the results indicate a need to increase self-efficacy in males and Hong Kong students. Extra attention and interventions ought to be directed to SACIES and ICSS variables. Mixed-methods research was recommended to gain more comprehensive insights.
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This study investigates the challenges sixteen non-native preservice English as a second language (ESL) teachers in a Bachelor of Education (English Language) (BEdEL) program from Hong Kong experienced in an eight-week teaching practicum. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and reflective journals were collected from all 16 participants to obtain a detailed description of the participants' perceptions of their field-based practicum experiences. Results indicate that the preservice teachers' practicum was characterised by a reality shock due to difficulties in experimenting with pedagogical practices they were taught in the BEdEL program, and a lack of sense of control in class. This reality shock could destabilise the already anxious student teachers and have adverse effects well beyond the eight-week teaching practicum. Inadequacy in English language competence also appeared to affect not only these student teachers' teaching performance but also how they established and maintained their teacher role and relationship with their students. Implications of the results for strengthening current ESL teacher preparation programs in non-native English speaking contexts are discussed.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n3.3/]

This paper reports the results of an international study examining preservice teacher reports of teaching self-efficacy for inclusive education; principally focusing on the explanatory relationship between a scale designed to measure teaching self-efficacy in this area and key demographic variables within Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. The study builds on earlier work by this research team on attitudes towards inclusion and offers a more comprehensive picture of preservice teachers' preparedness to teach in inclusive classrooms. Data were collected from 380 preservice teachers in four countries. Results indicated that strong international differences existed. Other factors impacting responses regarding teaching self-efficacy for inclusion include the type of teacher preparation program offered by the institution; variations in the level of knowledge about inclusion law and policy; previous interactions with people with disabilities; confidence levels in teaching people with disabilities; and, prior teaching experience and training in working with students with disabilities. Implications for ongoing development of international teacher preparation programs are discussed within the context of improving self-efficacy.
[Copyright of Australian Journal of Teacher Education is the property of School of Education, Edith Cowan University. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n1.10]

This study extends the ownership of learning model by using e-portfolios in a field experience placement to examine student-teachers' attitudes towards learning in relationship to personal value, feeling in control and taking responsibility. The field experience e-portfolio pilot commenced in spring 2011, involving a cohort of 77 year 3 field experience student-teachers enrolled in the Bachelor of Education English Language Programme at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, and approximately 20 supervisors. A research model is presented based on research into ownership of learning. The student e-portfolio ownership of learning questionnaire (SEOLQ) was developed. Seventy-seven participants completed the survey measuring their responses to ownership of learning components of attitudes towards learning (ATL), personal value (PV), feeling in control (FIC), and taking responsibility (TR). Data were used to test the hypotheses postulating the main effects of ATL using e-portfolio on the constructs PV, FIC, and TR. The results of the study indicated that ATL had a significant influence on PV, FIC and TR. The results suggest the student-teachers valued the integration of the e-portfolio into the field experience and developed a sense of control of their learning. Responsibility-related findings suggest that participants were sensitive to both the means of manipulating the e-portfolio and the results of their efforts doing so. By providing student-teachers with the opportunity to reflect critically upon their work as educators, e-portfolios can serve as an invaluable resource for promoting effective ownership of learning.
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