The professional development of teacher identities in Hong Kong: can a short-term course make a difference?

Abstract

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.

Contradictions and Tensions in Students’ Motives of Enrolling in a Teacher Education Programme in Zimbabwe

“…Students identified actors in teacher education in order of their areas of 'specialism', 'teacher' and 'student'. Most lecturers were conscious of their position(ing) (Trent, 2011) from the beginning of the conversations. For example, L3 describes himself as lecturer teaching citizenship education.…”

“…She talked about others lacking the 'right' qualifications. Such a perceived identity seem to suggest giving oneself a more privileged position (Trent, 2011) than the rest of the lecturers or 'us and them' division (Maclure, 2003;Trent, 20011). A commonly used identity of lecturer like L7 was science educator, emphasizing specialism in science.…”

“…Lecturers e.g. L15 cited above believed that students assumed various identities depending on the context (Trent, 2011). In one instant they would be identified as students and in another as teachers during applied science education (ASE).…”

Professional learning and agency in an identity coaching programme

“…Amid the economic, managerial, technological, and societal challenges of the 21st century, work organizations, including those in education and health care, are increasingly expected to develop their management practices, work culture, and operations in order to provide high-quality and innovative services, including teaching and research (Billett 2011. At the same time, changing work practices and organizational structures impose strong demands on employees, who are required to develop their professional competencies and practices, cross traditional professional boundaries, re-construct professional relationships, negotiate their career, and transform their professional identity (Brown et al 2007, Kira and Balkin 2014, Shagrir 2010, Trent 2011. For example, the pressures to engage more actively in research have challenged academics to craft their professional identity, moving from teaching towards research (Hökkä and Eteläpelto 2014, Willemse et al 2015, Ylijoki and Ursin 2013.…”

Engaging school teachers and school principals in an action research in-service development as a means of pedagogical self-awareness

“…Additional research has correlated the use of investigation and reflective practices with the development of teachers' professional consciousness (Jacobs, Assaf, and Lee 2011;Lee 2009;Snoek and Moens 2011;Stanulis and Ames 2009;Trent 2011), the improvement of student outcomes (Crippen et al 2010;Davies 2010) and improvements in the teaching procedure (Langdon 2011;Pedder and Opfer 2011;Strand and Bosco-Ruggiero 2011). The specific investigation and research practices suggested in the above articles included the following: the individual trial and testing of different practices during the teaching procedure; the trial and testing of different practices in collaborative communities of practice with the aim of enhancing the teaching procedure; the regular collection of data on the progress of the children by their teachers in relation to the educational methods and practices that teachers used; the use of portfolios and other reflective tools; and dialogue between the educators on different educational issues based on the data collected.…”