1

Ora KwoThe University of Hong Kong

Teacher ChallengesTeacher Challengesin 21st Century:in 21st Century:

Pedagogy, Standardized TestingPedagogy, Standardized Testingand Pay Checksand Pay Checks

Tensions in our Education:Tensions in our Education:Impact ofImpact of

Standardized TestingStandardized Testing

Education for All:Education for All:Education for What?Education for What?

Conversations with university students: “We

have made it, until the next competition!”

The drive in schooling?

Competition

Competition

Competition

UNESCO’s Delors ReportUNESCO’s Delors Report, , Learning: The Treasure WithinLearning: The Treasure Within

(1996)(1996)

But are these just high-sounding But are these just high-sounding aspirations?aspirations?

What is the reality for our young people?

What is the role of the What is the role of the examination system?examination system?

What sorts of studentsare we producing?

What sorts of studentsare we producing?

The shadow education system of private

supplementary tutoring

The shadow education system of private

supplementary tutoring

• 54% Grade 9• 72% Grade 12

Hong Kong

• 29% lower secondary

China (Mainland)

• 12% primary• 8% secondary

UK

• 25% lower secondary

• 33% upper secondary

France

• West Bengal, 57% primary

• Kerala, 72% secondary

India

•16% Primary 1; •65% Secondary 3

Japan

• 88% elementary• 72% middle• 60% high

Korea

In-your-face marketingIn-your-face marketing

Hong Kong ‘Star’ TutorsHong Kong ‘Star’ Tutors

“The Godfather of Science”

“Brand-A Tutor”

“Queen of English”

More subtle European approaches?More subtle European approaches?

A Shadow Education SystemA Shadow Education System

Why a shadow?

• Private tutoring only exists

because the mainstream

exists.

• As the size and shape of the

mainstream changes, so does

that of the shadow.

What sorts ofWhat sorts ofsupplementary tutoring?supplementary tutoring?

one-to-one

small groups

large classes

internet

Who provides tutoring?Who provides tutoring?

• Teachers, on a supplementary basis after school hours

• University and secondary school students

• Professional tutors, working as individuals or for companies

In the school sector:In the school sector:

How many teachers are providing tutoring:

• to their own pupils?• to pupils of other teachers in their schools?• to pupils from other schools?

And with what implications?

What about the amateur tutors?What about the amateur tutors?

• What do parents and families get for their money?

• How can the consumers recognise quality?

• And what are the risks?

Back to the Delors Report (1996)

Different types have different Different types have different implications?implications?

pressure on young people

If you agree to take private

tutoring lessons, sit down…if you don’t, show me your palms!!!

If you agree to take private

tutoring lessons, sit down…if you don’t, show me your palms!!!

corruption

Good luck Sherif, my son…please do your best…you’re obviously not blind to the effects your

private tutoring lessons have had

on our family

Good luck Sherif, my son…please do your best…you’re obviously not blind to the effects your

private tutoring lessons have had

on our family

Does not necessarily increase student achievement

Look at the consequence of your private

tutoring lessons!!!

Look at the consequence of your private

tutoring lessons!!!

Consumes household resources

May reduce stress on students, but may also increase it

Can undermine as well as support the school teachers

Inadequate indicators of quality

Exacerbates social inequalities

IssuesIssues

Inquire into the causes before identifying the remedies…

Inadequacies in schools?

Social competition?

BalanceBalance

between the positive & the negativebetween the positive & the negative

Vicious Cycle?Vicious Cycle?(Chris Wong, HKU BEd LS Year 4)

The Crisis

Socio-economic

inequalities

University admission

Teacher Professionalism: Teacher Professionalism: Accountability & AutonomyAccountability & Autonomy

Power & ResponsibilitiesPower & Responsibilities

But how well are systems co-ordinated?

Where are the gaps between the desirable

and the routines in practice?

And balance between supervision and

teachers’ autonomy?

Human relationships in the systems?

EFA:EFA:“more training & better training!”“more training & better training!”

Quality of education for 21st century!

education reform as a worldwide

phenomenon

expectation of ‘critical thinking’ &

‘moral responsibilities’

What about modelling from the adult

world?

Conflicting Discourses (1)Conflicting Discourses (1)

Performance indicators!

scoring by students

scoring by teachers

Tyranny of measurement? (vs policy

development)

Validity of measuring instruments?

What principles are being carried? Impact?

Conflicting Discourses (2)Conflicting Discourses (2)

Teacher Images?Teacher Images?

Huberman & Guskey (1995)

pedagogy & refresher training…

passive, inadequate, disempowered?

Teachers’ Inner PowerTeachers’ Inner Power

coming from…

self-understanding,

whereas collective understanding of

inner power will advance

self-empowerment as a profession.self-empowerment as a profession.

• completed ‘thesis’

authenticity of inquiry

• “brought together”

converging, driven by… values

• disciplinary expertise

inter-disciplinary quest

Towards a Culture Towards a Culture for Learning Togetherfor Learning Together

Pedagogical Principles and Strategies (I)

Pedagogical Principles and Strategies (III)

Pedagogical Principles and Strategies (II)

Values / Beliefs

Pedagogical InnovationPedagogical Innovation

Pedagogical Principles and Strategies (I)

Pedagogical Principles and Strategies (III)

Pedagogical Principles and Strategies (II)

Values / Beliefs

Collegiality and Peer Supportfor Paradigm Shift

Pedagogical Innovation as a Pedagogical Innovation as a Collaborative VentureCollaborative Venture

asymmetrical relationship between research and teaching

•research and publication are keyed into reward incentives for promotion and salary increase (Nicholls, 2005:29)

•research and teaching are in competition for time, resources and space

(Brew 2007:1)

Challenges to AcademicsChallenges to Academics

39

Scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL)

Boyer (1990):

problem of teaching and learning as absence of inquiry

incorporate teaching into scholarship as scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL)

Scholarship ofScholarship ofTeaching & Learning (SoTL)Teaching & Learning (SoTL)

• SoTL is not really finished until it has been captured in ways that others can see and examine. (Huber and Hutchings 2005:26)

• SoTL is moving teaching from a mostly private enterprise to a place where teaching can be documented, shared, and built upon as ‘community property’. (Shulman, 1993: 7)

Making teaching ‘community property’Making TeachingMaking Teaching

‘Community Property’‘Community Property’

Individual Inquiry EnhancedIndividual Inquiry Enhancedin a SoTL Communityin a SoTL Community

41

Individual inquiry

Individual inquiry

Individual inquiry

Individual inquiry

Literature reading

Personal reflection

Personal experience

developing teacher knowledge: personal practical knowledge (PPK)

collaborative inquiry interwoven with individual inquiry

Other Influences…

• It should be public,

• susceptible to critical review and evaluation, and

• accessible for exchange and use by other members of one’s scholarly community.

(Shulman, 1998)

Three Key Characteristics of SoTLThree Key Characteristics of SoTL

Relationships Relationships in the learning communityin the learning community

Relationships Relationships in the learning communityin the learning community

(Palmer, 1998, p.102)

RelationshipsRelationships

in the Learning Communityin the Learning Community

Learning is never void of values…

What is this ‘subject’ in the centre?

For what are colleagues convergent – what do we care most beyond the individual space?

What core values are being actualized when we learn together?

A critical questionCritical Questions on UnityCritical Questions on Unity

HKU Vision

How are our core values actualized

in a diversity of:

contexts of practice

perspectives & foci

levels of articulation

receptivity in listening

experiences & maturity

????

Diversity as Diversity as Enriching Resources for LearningEnriching Resources for Learning

HKU Vision

Teacher learning is about the processes of teachers’ engagement to take challenges as opportunities for learning, with thoughtful reconnections within their inner worlds to address the disequilibrium raised by the challenges.

(Kwo 2010, p.325)

Voices of ReconnectionsVoices of Reconnections

47

• narrative inquiry as a tool for SoTL (refer to handout)

• self-study & social action (Pithouse,, Mitchell & Moletsane 2009).

MethodologySeeking Unity from Diversity:Seeking Unity from Diversity:a Process of Joint Inquirya Process of Joint Inquiry

Policy Implication (1)Policy Implication (1)

Empowerment in dialogues:

Through actualization of teachers’

voices amidst internal / external

dialogues, learning is empowered

as recognised struggles.

Policy Implication (2)Policy Implication (2)

A collective moral drive:

in unity

with respect of diversity

Policy Implication (3)Policy Implication (3)

Learning to live together:

conflicts

inquiry / research

understanding

conflict-resolution

Policy Implication (4)Policy Implication (4)

Learning to be…

as a sustainable process of

identity renewal

as a process of relationship-

building for sharing

responsibilities

Leadership as a Moral QuestLeadership as a Moral Quest(Kwo 2010)

Learning to be Learning to be is like a timeless goalfor moral development in humanity,which is articulated, re-visited and

reinforced in the heartsof the committed educators whose

persistent moral choices for learningdemonstrate a form of living…

bring together educatorsacross generations

and cultural traditions.

PerspectivesPerspectivesfrom Comparative Studiesfrom Comparative Studies

Kwo, Ora (Ed) (2010). Teachers as Learners: Critical Discourse on Challenges and Opportunities. Hong Kong and Dordrecht: Springer. 349 pp.

This book can be ordered from: cerc@hku.hk

Website:www.hku.hk/cerc/Publications

Comparative Education Research Centre

Faculty of Education

University of Hong Kong

wykwo@hku.hk

Thank you -let’s pursue this timeless goal!

Thank you -let’s pursue this timeless goal!

Boyer, E. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities for the professoriate. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, University of Princeton.

Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (1988). Teachers as curriculum planner: narrative of experience. New York: Teachers' College Press.

Brew, A. (2006). Research and teaching : Beyond the divide. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

REFERENCES

Connelly, F. M., Clandinin, D. J., & He, M. F. (1997). Teachers' personal practical knowledge on the professional knowledge landscape. Teaching and Teacher Education, 13(7), 665-674.

Huberman, M. & Guskey, T. (1995), The diversities of professional development, in T. Guskey & M. Huberman (Eds.), Professional development in education: New paradigms and practice. New York: Teachers college Press. 269-272.

Huber, M. T. & Hutchings, P. (2005). The advancement of learning: Building the teaching commons. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Shulman, L. (1993). Teaching as community property: Putting an end to pedagogical solitude. Change, 25(6), 6-7.

Shulman, L. (1998). The Course Portfolio. Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education.

Nicholls, G. (2005). The challenge to scholarship: Rethinking learning, teaching and research. New York: Routledge.

Palmer, Parker J. (2009). The courage to teach: exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kwo, O. (2010). Teachers as learners: A moral commitment. In O. Kwo (Ed.), Teachers as learners: Critical discourse on challenges and opportunities. Hong Kong: Springer.

Pithouse, K., Mitchell, C. & Moletsane, R. (2009). Making connections: Self-study & social action. New York: Peter Lang.

AcknowledgementAcknowledgementThis presentation has benefitted from:

(1) photographs & data used in the inaugural speech of Mark Bray for the launch of UNESCO Chair at University of Hong Kong, 18 May 2012; and

(2) references compiled by a doctoral student Yang Weijia, University of Hong Kong.

Connectivity:Connectivity:Challenges for the 21Challenges for the 21stst

Century Century

Iron Cage?Iron Cage?Aspirations for

liberation of human resources…

Challenges as

inertia?

vested interest?

???

Identify and re-visit…Identify and re-visit…Principles underpinning accountability

systems?

Impact?

Gaps between aspirations and reality?

LegitimacyLegitimacyLegitimacy is a generalized perception or

assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions. (Suchman, 1995, p.574)

Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches. The Academy of Management Review, 20(3), pp. 571-610

LegitimacyLegitimacyLegitimacy is also treated as an intangible

resource conferred by both internal and external stakeholders.

Therefore, the link between organizational legitimacy and accountability is that the recognition from key stakeholders certainly increases one organization’s accountability.

A Flourishing Life