Learning to Teach: A Case Study of Kindergarten Teachers in Hong Kong

Abstract

453 p.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2001.

The "learning-to-teach" process of the two teachers revealed four elements (the teacher as a person, the school context, the teacher education program, and the socio-cultural context) that interacted with one another to shape their teacher knowledge. They began to learn about teaching long before receiving teacher education. On-the-job learning enabled them to reproduce a teaching practice. Teacher education propelled them into a critical phase of the learning-to-teach process. They emerged with a sense of teacher professionalism, coupled with substantial changes in their stock of teacher knowledge and a new conviction in life-long professional learning. Teacher education had made a significant contribution to their teacher development process. Differences between the two teachers in what they learned and the pace of learning revealed the social nature of learning to teach. Teacher education should be situated in teachers' learning-to-teach process. Professionalizing kindergarten teachers through sustained support of the learning-to-teach process is a way to ensure a high quality education for preschool children in Hong Kong.