While recent research has examined cross-national curriculum and teacher preparation for second language writing, little research has investigated the influences of the pandemic and other social changes in preparing teachers to teach writing. The purpose of the study was to understand the preparation of teachers to teach writing, the factors that influenced pedagogical practices, and the changes over a five-year period during political and social changes in Hong Kong. Interviews with university professors indicated that there was limited time devoted to writing both at the university level and in primary and secondary schools. Instructors modelled process and genre approaches with the preservice and practising teacher, noting there was an increased focus on prewriting strategies in schools; however, there was little emphasis on providing feedback or revising texts. Language policies and exam pressure continued to influence writing instruction. However, signs of changing writing practices included teachers taking up process writing and formative assessment; a focus on the 21st century skills including technology use learned through the pandemic; and preservice teachers adopting more critical stances. Copyright ©2024 Taylor & Francis.

The paper draws upon a collaborative action research project using Photovoice aiming at empowering participants to voice and critically reflect by thinking deeply about their context and difficulties, and using images to foster critical consciousness. Nineteen prospective teachers in a Hong Kong public university participated in this collaborative action research project. Findings highlight the obstacles and concerns that prospective teachers faced, core reflections, and action plans for overcoming such challenges. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using Photovoice to facilitate reflective dialogues in developing professional teachers in initial teacher education. Copyright © 2021 Routledge.

From the Americas to Asia, neoliberal policy restructuring continues to present major challenges to educational equity. In Hong Kong, teacher educators grapple with training students in pedagogy they believe in, versus the daily status quo of high-stakes exam prep, privatized "shadow education," and a system seemingly pushed to the brink of neoliberal social efficiency. Indeed, in recent years, Hong Kong has recorded top rankings on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and the Programme for International Student Assessment, along with record-setting protests and student suicides. Like in the USA, neoliberalization of teacher education in Hong Kong has proffered dilemmas of standardized curricula, evaluation, and licensure, often under the guise of "21st century skills and technology." Both regions also face perpetual threats of being under- or de-funded, based on "data-driven" decision-making and leadership that are supposedly more accountable and efficient. Unsurprisingly, neoliberal policies and practices have often exacerbated inequities in teaching and learning, especially for communities labelled as minority or working-class. Within traditions of critical pedagogy, this article's authors engage in a discussion on how educators and students are navigating the neoliberal behemoth and developing more inclusive spaces across local contexts of language, class, and culture. Based on the authors' research in the Americas and Greater China, this article interrogates some of the junctures and ruptures of neoliberal education in Hong Kong, long-held as bridge between "East" and "West." The article draws from the first author Benji Chang's action research projects with pre-and in-service teachers in the region, which examines how they are critiquing and challenging dominant discourses of neoliberalism (e.g., positivism, standardization, and market-economy), and what brings hope. Given Hong Kong's history of colonization with Europe and the USA, and the