Teacher management and educational reforms: Paradigm shifts

Abstract

In the past 15 years, numerous reforms and initiatives in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region have aimed to change education and promote new learning to prepare the new generation for the future. Unfortunately, despite good intentions and huge investments of resources, many of these reforms have been found to be ineffective and unsustainable-if they succeed at all. Reflecting on the trends and waves of educational reform in the Asia-Pacific region, this paper introduces an international lesson on the emerging syndrome of educational reform across the region and illustrates its negative impacts on teacher ecology and teacher management. Then, the paper outlines the implications of this lesson and of a study of the world's best-performing educational systems, using them to develop a holistic approach to managing teachers and planning for their sustainable professional development. Finally, it highlights the paradigm shifts in teacher management, reviewing the three waves of educational reform in the last two decades, and draws further implications for formulating teacher management policies in ongoing and future educational reforms to support students' new learning and sustainable development.

Building the capacity of Indonesian education universities for ICT in pre-service teacher education: A case study of a strategic planning exercise

“…Pre-service teacher education programs in education institutions (TEIs) play a crucial role in preparing quality teachers who are open to information and communication technologies (ICT), and are able to understand and accept the need for change (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 2006;Cheng, 2009;Northcote & Lim, 2009). In a context of increasing ICT literacy and rapidly growing availability of ICT infrastructure in Indonesia, the integration of ICT in the curriculum of teacher education programs in Indonesian TEIs is inevitable.…”

Teacher Demoralization, Disempowerment and School Administration

“…For example, the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers (2011) found that nearly 30% of teachers in Hong Kong were unhappy at work and nearly 60% perceived teaching as a less rewarding occupation than before. Moreover, Cheng (2009) estimated that 50% of Hong Kong teachers felt under stress at work and over 25% were depressed and anxious and the ratio of teachers suffering from anxiety and depression has largely increased in Hong Kong due to the reform. Therefore, the Hong Kong case should be a window to investigate the social causes of teacher demoralization.…”

“…A significant impact is teacher demoralization (Santoro, 2011). For instance, since the wave of educational reform has centralize-decentralized school system in Hong Kong, more and more Hong Kong teachers have been reported as being stressful, dissatisfied, anxious, exhausted, and depressed (Cheng, 2009). A prominent explanation to the phenomenon is that the process of centralized decentralization leads to bureaucratization of school administration which legitimatizes top-down control over teachers (Robertson, 2000).…”

Information and communication technology in teacher education in Vietnam: from policy to practice

“…The pressure to acquire ICT and the associated vast array of choices for decision-makers can lead to confusion and ad hoc decisions (UNESCO 2007). Shifts in policy concern and paradigmatic gaps may lead to confusion and frustration among educational managers, educators and school practitioners (Cheng 2009). It can be argued moreover that in the region, education reform is not based on the knowledge-in-practice of educators.…”

“…In the context of globalization as an economic process, researchers identify a deterministic conception of ICT however (Bryderup and Kowalski 2002;Clegg et al 2003;Hawkridge 1990;Sawchuk 2008;Sein and Harindranath 2004;Shin and Harman 2009;Tondeur et al 2007). Moreover, researchers describe a gap between rhetoric in government policy and reality of education practice (Cheng 2009;Kozma 2008;Selwyn 1999;Tondeur et al 2007).…”