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

Foreword (Kennedy)

Foreword Teachers play a fundamental role in the social and economic development of any society. Their preparation as professionals to meet the challenges of post-modern living is a key priority for both governments and universities. Many changes have taken place in teacher education since the establishment of formal institutions of teaching training in Hong Kong over one hundred years ago. Today, the Hong Kong government is committed to an “all graduate, all trained” profession and university level institutions are now responsible for all teacher education across early childhood, primary and secondary education. It is against this background that the Hong Kong Teacher Education Series has been developed. The incentive behind the series is simple: the need for resources that reflect local values, professional contexts and cultures. The market for resources is dominated by Western materials that are either embedded in non-local contexts or that assume there is a general context that is relevant across cultural boundaries. Such resources, of course, can be useful but they do not help Hong Kong’s future teachers appreciate and understand the unique contexts that characterize Hong Kong’s schools. Thus the Hong Kong Teacher Education Series will provide culturally relevant resources that embed both theory and practice in local classroom contexts. Hong Kong’s aspirations to be a bilingual triliterate society will be reflected in the Hong Kong Teacher Education Series. Dual-language versions of the resource material will be produced for use in either Chinese or English teacher education contexts. This is recognition of the centrality of language in the lives of Hong Kong people. It places value on both English and Chinese in the teaching/learning process and will ensure that the resources are accessible to all teacher education students in Hong Kong. The initial titles that have been selected for this series reflect the needs of future teachers in Hong Kong’s classroom: classroom management, assessment for learning, managing and understanding diversity. Subsequent titles will deal with curriculum, human development, and school guidance and counselling. These professional areas will introduce teacher education students directly to the concepts, ideas and practices they will need as young professionals in Hong Kong’s classroom. xiv Foreword Case studies of actual school practice will bring the text to life as students engage with the realities of actual teachers and classrooms. This will help to prepare them in a realistic and practical way so that they are well prepared for their own students and classrooms. As important as the focus on practice is in this series, it does not mean that theory has been neglected. Concepts, ideas and issues are located in broader theoretical and cultural contexts but not in an abstract way. For teachers, classrooms and students provide the ultimate context against with theories can be tested and cultures can be better understood. In these challenging and demanding times, teachers need to be fully equipped with the latest thinking and ideas based on research and advances in understanding. Yet these must always be tested in the laboratory of practice so that teachers are not only knowledgeable but they also know how to translate this knowledge into action that can benefit students. In developing this series, I have been grateful for the dedication of my colleagues at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. They have taken up the challenge of writing and shown great commitment in providing meaningful and relevant resources for their students. I am also grateful to Senior Management at the Hong Kong Institute of Education since they supported this endeavour from the very beginning. I have also been encouraged by Hong Kong University Press which has seen the value of the series and the need to support Hong Kong’s future teachers. As is so often the case in educational matters, collaboration and cooperation can produce great outcomes, and I believe such has been the case in this instance. Hong Kong’s future is in no small way linked to the quality of its teachers and their capacity to support the learning of young people throughout this new century. Hopefully, the Hong Kong Teacher Education Series will contribute to this important objective. Kerry J. Kennedy General Series Editor The Hong Kong Teacher Education Series ...