Li, Y: The Work of Teaching

Kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong have been criticized for not incorporating the child-centered approach into their practice. This failure is often justified by the pressure of external constraints such as the demands of the academic curriculum, parents‘ expectation of success and the emphasis on discipline within the Chinese culture. This book is to explore the extent to which such constraints were affected by the stage of a teacher‘s professional development. Nine case studies were carried out. The data suggested that the professional development of teachers was limited by their inability to extend their thinking beyond their own personal concerns so that the needs of the children were not the major determinant of their classroom practice. Instead, external constraints dominated the teachers‘ thinking. Ways of bringing about a transformation in teachers‘ thinking to improve the quality of the children‘s learning experience are considered. The analysis should help shed some light on schools‘ professional learning, and should be especially useful to those who may be considering interventions/school support initiatives to raise quality.