Living with Tensions: Stories of Chinese Early Childhood Teachers’ Teaching and Learning Experiences in the Contemporary Urban Chinese Context

<p>This narrative inquiry explores 6 Chinese early childhood teachers’ teaching and learning experiences in Shanghai and Beijing, where Chinese and Western educational ideas and practices co-exist. Interviews with teachers, kindergarten directors, and parents, and participatory observations and collected documents are analysed and interpreted to reveal the teachers’ experiences of being both teacher and learner in the contemporary urban Chinese context. The teachers’ experiences and voices are at the centre of this study and are represented in poetic format. The themes emerging from the teachers’ poems are discussed alongside relevant literature in order to gain in-depth understanding of each teacher’s teaching and learning experience in specific kindergarten contexts. Emerging themes embody the reality of teaching and learning, professional learning in the embedded community of practice, and the teachers’ professional and personal selves. Tensions and challenges the teachers faced in teaching and learning are identified. The enabling and constraining factors that may deskill, re-skill, or empower the teachers are discussed. The teachers’ stories suggest that they experience tensions between the multiple and contradicting educational ideas; the embedded kindergarten community’s interpretation of teaching and learning at multiple levels; the teachers’ personal practical knowledge; and their life as a multifaceted human being. The research suggests the need for kindergarten directors, scholars and policymakers to pay attention to the dynamic relationships between a kindergarten’s structure, curriculum, pedagogy, images of the child, teachers’ personal practical knowledge, professional learning, and teachers’ inner selves and agency.</p>

Living with Tensions: Stories of Chinese Early Childhood Teachers’ Teaching and Learning Experiences in the Contemporary Urban Chinese Context

<p>This narrative inquiry explores 6 Chinese early childhood teachers’ teaching and learning experiences in Shanghai and Beijing, where Chinese and Western educational ideas and practices co-exist. Interviews with teachers, kindergarten directors, and parents, and participatory observations and collected documents are analysed and interpreted to reveal the teachers’ experiences of being both teacher and learner in the contemporary urban Chinese context. The teachers’ experiences and voices are at the centre of this study and are represented in poetic format. The themes emerging from the teachers’ poems are discussed alongside relevant literature in order to gain in-depth understanding of each teacher’s teaching and learning experience in specific kindergarten contexts. Emerging themes embody the reality of teaching and learning, professional learning in the embedded community of practice, and the teachers’ professional and personal selves. Tensions and challenges the teachers faced in teaching and learning are identified. The enabling and constraining factors that may deskill, re-skill, or empower the teachers are discussed. The teachers’ stories suggest that they experience tensions between the multiple and contradicting educational ideas; the embedded kindergarten community’s interpretation of teaching and learning at multiple levels; the teachers’ personal practical knowledge; and their life as a multifaceted human being. The research suggests the need for kindergarten directors, scholars and policymakers to pay attention to the dynamic relationships between a kindergarten’s structure, curriculum, pedagogy, images of the child, teachers’ personal practical knowledge, professional learning, and teachers’ inner selves and agency.</p>

Developing 'My Way' in Chinese Language Teaching: Qualitative Case Studies of Teachers' Personal Practical Knowledge

<p>Much of L2 teacher cognition research has focused on L2 English education with native speakers teaching adult students at private institutes and tertiary levels. The present study was set up to investigate Chinese language teachers' personal practical knowledge (PPK) in teaching Chinese in New Zealand secondary schools. Taking qualitative case study as the approach, the present study selected three teachers as participants - two native Chinese speakers (immigrants) and one non-native Chinese speaker with Chinese heritage background - to explore the characteristics of their PPK, and to identify the factors shaping that PPK. The purpose of the study is to gain insight into teacher professional development processes. The data for the present study are mainly interviews with the teachers, supplemented with classroom observations of their teaching, post-lesson discussions, and my field notes. Data analysis and interpretation revealed that each teacher developed her own unique characteristic of PPK, which was captured by a dominant image, an overriding perspective that guided her practice. The factors shaping their PPK and practice are shown to be their prior knowledge, particularly ideologies originating from their native culture, their awareness of their status as native and non-native speakers, their teaching experience, and the institutional context. However, the extent of the impact on each teacher differed depending upon their personal background and level of professional development. The present study supported the view that a teacher's PPK is the dynamic integration of her prior knowledge and understanding of the situation, is oriented toward practice, and is constructed and reconstructed out of the narratives of a teacher's life. Based on this study, a number of implications have been identified for teacher development, as well as suggestions for further study of teachers' PPK.</p>

Developing 'My Way' in Chinese Language Teaching: Qualitative Case Studies of Teachers' Personal Practical Knowledge

<p>Much of L2 teacher cognition research has focused on L2 English education with native speakers teaching adult students at private institutes and tertiary levels. The present study was set up to investigate Chinese language teachers' personal practical knowledge (PPK) in teaching Chinese in New Zealand secondary schools. Taking qualitative case study as the approach, the present study selected three teachers as participants - two native Chinese speakers (immigrants) and one non-native Chinese speaker with Chinese heritage background - to explore the characteristics of their PPK, and to identify the factors shaping that PPK. The purpose of the study is to gain insight into teacher professional development processes. The data for the present study are mainly interviews with the teachers, supplemented with classroom observations of their teaching, post-lesson discussions, and my field notes. Data analysis and interpretation revealed that each teacher developed her own unique characteristic of PPK, which was captured by a dominant image, an overriding perspective that guided her practice. The factors shaping their PPK and practice are shown to be their prior knowledge, particularly ideologies originating from their native culture, their awareness of their status as native and non-native speakers, their teaching experience, and the institutional context. However, the extent of the impact on each teacher differed depending upon their personal background and level of professional development. The present study supported the view that a teacher's PPK is the dynamic integration of her prior knowledge and understanding of the situation, is oriented toward practice, and is constructed and reconstructed out of the narratives of a teacher's life. Based on this study, a number of implications have been identified for teacher development, as well as suggestions for further study of teachers' PPK.</p>

A Narrative Inquiry into a Newcomer School Principal’s Professional Development for ELLs

This paper employs narrative inquiry (Clandinin &amp; Connelly, 2000) as the methodology to uncover a school principal&rsquo;s experiences and perceptions related to ELL teacher professional development. It recognizes educators&rsquo; personal practical knowledge as the greatest driving force in their professional growth. Through reflecting on her professional development experiences and narrating her personal practical knowledge in action, this study has provided some practical considerations in designing and enacting ELL teacher professional development. More often than not, teacher professional development focuses on the &ldquo;best practices&rdquo; and &ldquo;research-based programs,&rdquo; but provides little input from the recipients about their experiences and perspectives. This study strives to break this prevalent model of professional development by gearing towards how an educator/administrator perceives the problems in teacher professional development for ELLs and how to best address their problems. It is hopeful that this study will shed important light on how to construct positive professional development that benefits teachers and ELL students both theoretically and practically.