This study explored the validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale in a sample of 853 practicing teachers from Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong), Indonesia, and Oman. The authors used multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to test the factor structure and measurement invariance across settings, after which they examined the relationships between work engagement, workplace well-being (job satisfaction and quitting intention), and contextual variables (socioeconomic status, experience, and gender). The 1-factor version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale was deemed preferable to the 3-factor version and showed acceptable fit to the cross-national data. The 1-factor Utrecht Work Engagement Scale showed good internal consistency and similar relationships with workplace well-being and contextual variables across settings. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale was invariant within broadly construed Western and non-Western groups but not across Western and non-Western groups. The authors concluded that the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale needs further development before its use can be supported in further cross-cultural research.
[Copyright of Journal of Experimental Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2012.678409]

Commonalities and distinctions in Hong Kong-Chinese and German kindergarten teachers' conceptions of play and learning were examined. Six video clips of play episodes reflecting common play behavior and themes were selected from observations made during free play in two kindergartens in Hong Kong and two in Germany. Ten Chinese and seven German teachers viewed clips of children in their own and the other culture in small groups, participated in a semi-structured group discussion, and completed questionnaires, respectively. Results indicated that teachers in the two contexts had different views on the role of play in curriculum, teacher intervention during children's play, and learning objectives in play. These differences may be a function of different ecological environments and preset learning objectives. Findings suggest that teachers' cultural beliefs about play and learning are translated into actions (play arrangements) which, in turn, influence children's play behavior.
[Copyright of Roeper Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2011.623511]

There has been increasing research on the study of discourse markers (DMs) in terms of their pragmatic use. However, their pedagogic use in the ESL classroom has received less attention. This paper explores the attitudes of Hong Kong teachers towards the pedagogic values of DMs using a questionnaire (N=132), a reliability test, factor analysis, and interviews (N=3) with NS and NNS teacher-informants. Both the quantitative and qualitative results indicate a very positive perception of the pragmatic and pedagogic values of DMs by the subjects, where students at the intermediate-advanced level are challenged to acquire DMs for both receptive and productive purposes. The findings also 200 reveal the underrepresentation of DMs in existing teaching materials and in subjects' teaching. The study proposes the need to develop learners' linguistic awareness of this aspect of spoken features to facilitate communication and suggests that DMs can be included as part of the lexical input in the ESL/EFL syllabus. The results have implications for utilizing corpora to exploit the polyfunctionalities of DMs in different contexts and across registers, modifying existing teaching materials and promoting professional involvement in preparing learners to develop more effective communication.
[Copyright of Asian EFL Journal is the property of Nanzan University.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/]

Education reforms underpinned by neo-liberal values have been criticised for bringing an adverse impact on teachers' professional identity. This article presents a qualitative study of teachers' professional identity in three historical periods in Hong Kong: Phase 1: 1965-84; Phase 2: 1984-97; and Phase 3: the post-1997 period. By juxtaposing the systemic narratives against the work life narratives of 23 teachers, the study finds the manifestation of the perils of neo-liberal pressures on education in three themes of educational change in Hong Kong: (1) the changing structural conditions of the teaching career; (2) the changing nature of teachers' work; and (3) the changing nature of educational change. The article concludes by suggesting possibilities to counteract neo-liberal pressures on education with the preservation, reclamation and renewal of teachers' 'student-focused' professional identity grounded on teachers' moral agency.
[Copyright of Roeper Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2011.608518]

One hundred and thirty-eight Hong Kong and 195 Shanghai in-service teachers participated in this study. Three different scales were used namely the trait anxiety scale, the self-esteem scale and the teaching anxiety scale. Each scale was translated from English into Chinese. This study aims to compare the teaching anxiety level of in-service teachers in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and from a psychological perspective, it also aims to find out if trait anxiety and self-esteem can predict teaching anxiety. Overall, the study found that Hong Kong in-service teachers had higher teaching anxiety than their Shanghai counterparts. In addition, it was found that teaching anxiety was predicted by both trait anxiety and self-esteem as assumed. Teaching anxiety has been found to have many negative effects on both students and teachers. Thus, based on results from the questionnaires, factors that may reduce teaching anxiety of Hong Kong in-service teachers were suggested by interviewing 10 Hong Kong in-service teachers who also participated in the first part of the study, and their suggestions could be applied to professional developmental courses in reducing teaching anxiety for in-service teachers.

This article reports on a qualitative study that explored the experiences of eight Hong Kong teachers of academic subjects who undertook a full-time, short-term professional development course (PDC) designed to provide them with specialized knowledge and classroom skills required to teach content subjects through the English medium. Using a theoretical framework for understanding teacher identity, the study examined how these eight teachers believed the experiences of a short-term PDC shaped their ongoing identity construction, particularly upon completion of the course and subsequent return to their respective schools. Based upon in-depth interviews with participants and using methods of discourse analysis, the results suggest that while participants believed the impact of the PDC in terms of their own classroom teaching was positive, they faced significant challenges in realizing their preferred identity positions within the context of their whole school communities. The response of some participants to these difficulties indicated that their PDC experiences may have contributed to the establishment of a rigid division between different types of teachers within schools and that relations of antagonism appeared to exist between these different teacher identities. Implications for overcoming such divisions for the design of PDCs and for future research are discussed.
[Copyright of Roeper Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2011.576262]

This study investigated the effectiveness of a gratitude intervention programme in promoting life satisfaction and reducing burnout symptoms. Sixty-three Hong Kong Chinese school teachers aged 22-54 participated in an eight-week count-your-blessings study that used a pre-test/post-test design. Increases in life satisfaction and the sense of personal accomplishment and decreases in emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation were observed in the post-intervention assessment. Significant changes were observed on life satisfaction and emotional exhaustion as a result of intervention interacting with the meaningful-life orientation to happiness. These changes favoured teachers who put higher value on the meaningful-life orientation, suggesting that the promotion of a meaningful-life orientation could be an important element in the repertoire of gratitude intervention efforts. Implications of the findings on developing gratitude intervention programmes that focus on human positives and the promotion of gratitude and the meaningful-life orientation in combating teacher burnout are discussed.
[Copyright of Roeper Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2011.608525]