Learning and Teaching in the Chinese Classroom: Responding to Individual Needs

10. Teachers as Researchers and Teacher Development

10 Teachers as Researchers and Teacher Development Bick-har Lam This chapter, which outlines the roles of teachers in the twenty-first century, will help readers develop a personal orientation towards teacher development and lead them to understand the professional capacity of teachers in these challenging times. The chapter focuses on professional teachers in East Asia, particularly in countries with a Confucian culture, such as Hong Kong. After completing this chapter, readers will be able to: • recognize the role of teachers in the contemporary classroom; • appreciate reflective practice as an important process in the professionalization of teachers; • comprehend various reflective practices that support teacher development; • understand the concept of a teacher as a researcher; • appreciate the techniques involved in conducting action research; • understand teacher development as an important ongoing process in the professionalization of teachers; and • develop a clear orientation towards teacher development. Educational Reforms and the Changing Role of Teachers During the nineteenth century, when Hong Kong was still a British colony, education aimed at meeting the needs of the workforce—needs that were focused on trade with China. As the society developed and nine-year compulsory education was introduced in 1978, Hong Kong moved towards a more egalitarian system of education which brought comprehensive education to young people. Although pre-vocational schools were established in the late 1970s to introduce a vocational orientation towards education, academically oriented schools remained the norm and enjoyed a superior status. Hong Kong’s educational system was modelled on that of Britain and so, since colonial times, achievement in academic subjects has been highly valued in Hong Kong. The early educational system was made more complex by a Chinese 266 Learning and Teaching in the Chinese Classroom orientation that reinforces elitism, relying on examinations as the means for producing government officials and high-ranking professionals, thereby screening out ‘the mediocre’. However, in the 1970s, educational reforms were introduced which questioned the role of elitist education. In 1976, the separate disciplines of science and humanities were first integrated into the junior secondary curriculum. Specific science subjects, such as physics, chemistry and biology, formed a single subject called ‘Integrated Science’; and humanities subjects, such as economics, history and geography, were integrated into one Social Studies subject. These changes emphasized the need to change the focus of education to suit the needs of the general population, promote the idea that all subjects are connected, enhance the application of knowledge and eliminate the academic practice of separating knowledge disciplines. In addition, in the early 1970s, primary education put a heavy emphasis on ‘learning by doing’ as a way of implementing a learner-centred approach to pedagogy. Also, the Target Oriented Curriculum reform in the early 1990s was developed based on the theories of constructivism. These efforts called for a paradigm shift in learning and teaching in schools. In July 2000, the Hong Kong government released a blueprint for education in the twenty-first century which was a major educational reform that sought to engineer Hong Kong’s future in the globalized world. It included the following statements: To prepare our younger generation to meet the challenges of an ever advancing knowledge-based society and the dynamically changing environment, it is not enough to impart them with mere ‘knowledge.’ Instead, we have to help them develop a global outlook, equip them with a repertoire of skills and the positive attitudes to respect knowledge and to learn how to learn. (message from the Chairman of the Curriculum Development Council 2000) In the tide of changes, everyone has to meet new challenges. Adaptability, creativity and abilities for communication, self-learning, and cooperation are now the prerequisites for anyone to succeed, while a person’s character, emotional qualities, horizons, and learning are important factors in achieving excellence. (Education Commission 2000, 3) (emphasis added) Instead of serving only the most able in society, education now expects everyone to be ‘the able’. The idea of cultivating a ‘neo-elitist’ educational system was publicized in 2000 by Tung Chee Hwa, then chief executive of Hong Kong, in a document that explains exactly what is to be expected from the system (Figure 10.1). The new curriculum, which is known by its catchphrase ‘learning to learn’, signifies that the purpose of schooling is to help young people to acquire skills that will enable them to become independent learners (Curriculum Development Council 2001). To achieve this, subjects were replaced by Key Learning Areas (KLAs), which were conceived as broad knowledge dimensions for learners to explore [18...