分析深圳、香港和臺北三地公辦（非牟利）幼兒園教師的工資待遇發現：（1）香港幼兒園教師的工資架構比較單一，沒有津貼、獎金或福利；臺北幼兒園教師的工資架構最為全面、合理、人性化；深圳介於二者之間。（2）深圳和臺北均採用崗位績效工資制，而香港是名義上的能力工資制。（3）臺北幼兒園教師的工資水準是三地中最高的。在扣除每月房租後，香港幼兒園教師的工資實際購買力最低。針對香港幼兒園教師工資待遇最低的問題，研究者建議香港特區政府進一步完善幼兒園教師的工資架構，考慮採用崗位績效工資制，發放住房、交通、教育等津貼。 Copyright © 2013 浙江教育報刊總社.

As the caregivers and educators of young children, kindergarten teachers often have to make spontaneous decisions and deal with challenging situations on a daily basis. The well-being of kindergarten teachers is of interest to parents, teacher trainers, and policymakers, as whether kindergarten teachers do well physically, psychologically, and occupationally has important implications for young children—the future pillars of society. Therefore, it is important to examine factors that may contribute to our understanding of the well-being of kindergarten teachers. This cross-sectional study examined whether mindfulness was linked to Chinese kindergarten teachers’ physical, psychological, and occupational well-being and tested self-compassion as a mediator. Online questionnaire data were collected from 336 kindergarten teachers working in Hong Kong, China (mean age = 31.6 years; 86% of them were women). Kindergarten teachers rated their physical well-being (indicated by physical health and voice disorder symptoms), psychological well-being (indicated by life satisfaction and depressive symptoms), and occupational well-being (indicated by job satisfaction and turnover intentions) as well as their mindfulness and self-compassion. Structural equational modeling revealed that mindfulness was associated with all three aspects of well-being and self-compassion mediated such associations. Theoretically, findings highlighted the multidimensional nature of kindergarten teachers’ well-being and the roles of intrapersonal factors—such as mindfulness and self-compassion—in understanding it. Practically, findings pointed to the potential utility of supporting kindergarten teachers’ well-being by targeting their mindfulness and self-compassion. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s).

Early childhood educators' (ECEs) well-being is important for many outcomes. Drawing on the job demands-resources model, many variable-centered studies have found that job demands, job resources, and personal resources are linked to ECEs' well-being. Yet, little is known about the heterogeneity of these demands and resources and their implications for well-being, especially considering school-level effects and the adoption of a holistic view of well-being. This study used multilevel latent profile analysis to examine these issues. Participants included 1198 Chinese ECEs from 50 kindergartens who reported their job demands (i.e., quantitative, cognitive, and emotional demands), job resources (i.e., influence at work, quality of leadership, support from supervisors and colleagues, and sense of community at work), and personal resources (i.e., self-control and resilience). At the teacher-level, four profiles emerged: (a) at risk, (b) undemanded, (c) safeguarded, and (d) vulnerable learners. ECEs with lower salaries, higher educational levels, and larger class sizes were more likely assigned to the at-risk profile. Teachers in the at-risk and the safeguarded profiles reported the worst and the best well-being, respectively. Demands (in particular quantitative and emotional demands) appeared more critical than resources in distinguishing well-being. At the school-level, two profiles emerged: (a) high demand climate and (b) mixed climate. Kindergartens in Hong Kong were more likely assigned to the high demand climate profile and kindergartens with a high demand climate showed poorer school average well-being. This study reveals the complex configuration of job demands, job resources, and personal resources in ECEs and its implications for well-being at both teacher- and school-levels. The findings also inform strategies to enhance ECEs' well-being. Copyright © 2024 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those

Gratitude is usually conceptualised psychologically and approached through interventions largely detached from pedagogy and the wider context of school. However, its roles in learning and socialisation differ across cultures, and may impact teachers’ perceptions and practices. We interviewed teachers in Hong Kong. International school teachers emphasised the importance of gratitude in developing interpersonal relationships and saw performative acts of gratitude as lacking genuineness. Local (public) school teachers valued explicit gratitude, which they saw as essential for maintaining social harmony. These differences suggest that gratitude serves different functions in the two school systems. We discuss implications for gratitude education. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd.

Online professional development (PD) can be a sustainable and easily scalable alternative to provide early childhood teachers with training opportunities. However, there is limited research on teachers’ levels of satisfaction and engagement in online PD initiatives. Understanding teachers’ levels of satisfaction and engagement is crucial, as these may influence the effectiveness of online PD in benefiting teachers and ultimately young children. This study aimed to examine Hong Kong kindergarten teachers’ satisfaction and engagement in a music-and-movement (M&M) online PD course. This study involved 56 participants who received an 11-week online PD course. Questionnaires were administered after course completion. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-tests. Participants had high levels of satisfaction with the course, particularly those with no or some M&M background, who were more satisfied with the course content and instruction. Participants had moderate-to-high levels of engagement in the course, particularly those with no or some M&M background, who were more emotionally engaged. We conclude that sustainable and easily scalable online PD initiatives can result in high levels of satisfaction and engagement among kindergarten teachers, especially those with limited M&M background. This study supports the idea that online PD can be responsive to teachers’ needs and preferences. Copyright © 2024 by the authors.

The increase in ethnic and cultural diversity in kindergartens requires teachers to leverage their professional capacity to work competently with students from ethnically diverse backgrounds. This article reports the results of a teacher professional development (PD) programme infused with culturally responsive teaching for developing the multicultural teaching competence of early childhood teachers in Hong Kong regarding their knowledge, skills, and relationships. Sixty-six teachers attending the programme took 20 sessions of PD courses over eight months, whereas 58 teachers who did not attend were recruited to form a control group. The pre- and post-test data were examined via multilevel modelling. Results revealed significantly positive changes in programme group teachers’ reported knowledge, skills, and relationships after controlling for teacher demographic characteristics. The promising PD effects suggested that the PD opportunities enhanced teachers’ perceived multicultural competence; thus, they reported becoming more competent in engaging in culturally responsive practices upon completing the programme. Copyright © 2024 Teacher Development.

Differentiated instruction has been advocated for embracing learner diversity, but it has been found that differentiated instruction implementation is difficult and teachers often feel unprepared. This qualitative case study explored the professional development of two English language teachers in two participating schools of a school-university collaboration project on diversity management in Hong Kong. Based on the data collected from co-planning meetings, lesson observations, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and artefacts, the study showed that research-informed teaching and teaching-informed research were both indispensable to differentiated instruction infrastructure building; school cultures and teacher efficacies both affected teachers’ attitudes towards researcher-practitioner collaboration modes for professional development. Teachers whose efficacy and professional learning community remained at a developing stage tended to rely on an expert-guided collaboration mode. Yet, those whose efficacy and professional learning community had advanced would prefer a more self-redirected learning mode. These findings shed light on bridging the researcher-practitioner divide in teacher education. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Limited research has examined the well-being of international preschool teachers, while intervention targeting their well-being is even rarer. The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a 2-month EASP (i.e., Early Advancement in Social-Emotional Health and Positivity) positive psychological intervention program based on the PROSPER—which stands for positivity, relationship, outcome, strength, purpose, engagement, and resilience– framework on international preschool teachers' well-being in Hong Kong. Eighty-three teachers (Mage = 34.44 years, SD = 8.43, range = 19–53; female = 95.18%) were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 44) and waitlist control groups (n = 39). Teachers completed survey measures of PROSPER well-being at baseline and after the intervention. The results of the multivariate regression analyses revealed that the intervention did not have significant overall effects on the PROSPER well-being, Wilks' lambda F(7, 56) = 1.28, p = 0.28, η2 = 0.14. Yet, findings of univariate analyses suggested the intervention yielded significant medium effects on participants' relationship, outcome, strength and engagement (b = 0.26 to 0.45, 95% CI [0.04, 0.95], p = 0.02 to 0.03, η2 = 0.07 to 0.08). The findings underscore the practical utility of the PROSPER framework in supporting international preschool teachers' well-being but, at the same time, highlight the need to further examine how cultural variations might implicate its effectiveness. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s).