Brief description


Developing Teachers, Developing Futures


Teacher professionalism—the capacity to make informed educational judgements about what is in the best interests of students and their communities—is influenced by ever-evolving and interactive institutional, social and political contexts. Teachers are not only expected to meet diverse and sometimes competing local needs but they must also be responsive to global developments and concerns. This project aims to enhance the impact of teaching and research on teacher education both locally and globally in three major strategic components as follows:


  1. School Engagement

  2. Holistic Development of EPL Minor Plus

  3. Teachers as Researchers through the Undergraduate Final Year Project


Brief information sheet


1. Summary


Teacher professionalism—the capacity to make informed educational judgements about what is in the best interests of students and their communities—is influenced by ever-evolving and interactive institutional, social, and political contexts. Teachers are not only expected to meet diverse and sometimes competing local needs but they must also be responsive to global developments and concerns. In Hong Kong, the recent introduction of T-Standard+ for teachers and principals and such government initiatives as one special needs education coordinator (SENCo) per public school, one social worker per primary school, and expansion of life-wide learning resources, have created a new set of dynamics for professional practice and leadership in schools. At a global level, scientific and technological innovations have vastly transformed how teaching and learning are conceived and delivered, while burning issues such as widespread poverty and global warming demand educational responses. The expectation that teachers play a leadership role in constructing new imaginaries and better futures has serious implications for teacher education. This points to the importance of a continuous and critical reconsideration of what constitutes the basic professional capacity of new teachers and how this capacity can be developed and further strengthened and transformed in schools; what is at stake is the cultivation of passionate, educational leaders—teacher researchers—who are intellectually curious, practically innovative, and ethically engaged with local and global issues.


Against this educational backdrop, the purpose of the project proposed by the Department of Education Policy and Leadership (EPL) is to enhance the impact of teaching and research on teacher education both locally and globally—referred to hereafter as research-teaching impact.


The project is composed of three major strategic components to enhance research-teaching impact as follows:


  1. The first component focuses on school engagement. Such strategies as linking staff research (e.g. middle leadership, professional learning communities, civic education) and the new T- Standard+ with knowledge transfer activities, PDPs, and government/school tenders; building teacher and school leadership in the current local and global context of education; and enriching research initiatives and the scholarship of teaching at the school level; will be developed and implemented.


  2. The second component supports the quality enhancement and holistic development of the newly revamped EPL Minor Teacher Leadership and Education Innovation, GE courses (e.g. IC, EL, CSL) and the Final Year Project. In addition to cultivating passionate and ethical teacher leaders in the current local and global context, the EPL undergraduate courses emphasise experiential learning as well as student and community engagement as the basis for preservice teachers to conceive innovative ideas, rethink professional practices, explore alternative research methods, and formulate the Final Year Project. Strategies like capacity building in the said areas (e.g. experiential learning, alternative research methods) for both staff and students through academic and practical advice from international scholars and local community partners will be adopted.


  3. The third component takes up the notion of teachers as researchers, emphasising research literacy as core to the basic professional capacity that supports the generation of research- teaching impact to effect change in practice and policy. It is linked to the Final Year Project, especially the development of the Generic Research Methods and Capstone Project offered by Faculty of Education and Human Development (FEHD), of the new undergraduate core curriculum of both full-time and part-time BEd programmes.


All three components will be simultaneously implemented and inform each other as the project progresses. Meanwhile, the project seeks to establish collaboration with international scholars to strengthen global-local connections in teacher education research, practice, and policy and identify new research areas to generate greater impact.


In sum, the project weaves together knowledge transfer of staff research, international and local collaboration, capacity building of staff, students and school communities, and support for new research to expand impact. It engages both academic and teaching staff within and across departments. The project involves both preservice and in-service teachers, as well as serving teachers, principals and other related stakeholders. The research-teaching impact created through the project can facilitate further enhancement and potentially new development of courses/programmes that benefit students, schools, and society.


  1. Aims

    1. To identify focused areas of research-teaching impact that have strong global and local relevance for teacher education;

    2. To strategise ways to create research-teaching impact internally and externally;

    3. To implement the identified strategies in the focused areas of research-teaching impact;

    4. To strengthen the research literacy element of the Final Year Project of both full-time and part-time BEd programmes; and

    5. To enhance contents and pedagogies of courses and programmes for teacher education.


  2. Team


Role

Name

Leaders

TANG Yee Fan Sylvia and YUEN Wai Kwan Gail (EPL)

Members

Core members:


CHIM Ho Yeung Hastings (SEC)


CHIU Chi Shing (CELT & EPL)


CHOI Tai Hee (EPL)


HO Chun Sing Maxwell (EPL)


POON Yu Hin (EPL)


WAN Lai Yin Sarah (PS)


YIP Yam Wing Stephen (C&I)


Advisor:


CHENG May Hung May (C&I)


School representatives:


2 to 3 school principals and teachers