Yiu Chi 黎耀志 Lai

Teachers’ experiences of autonomy in Continuing Professional Development : Teacher Learning Communities in London and Hong Kong

This paper examines teachers’ experiences of autonomy as they undertook Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the form of Teacher Learning Communities (TLCs) to develop Assessment for Learning (AfL). Participant teacher interview data were used from two parallel TLC projects, one in Hong Kong and one in London, UK. Autonomy was defined in terms of taking initiatives, acting independently and making critical inquiries. Links between autonomy and effective CPD were argued and the findings indicated that some teachers in both the projects experienced limited autonomy in terms of taking initiatives and being critical, although several described a new sense of professional independence as they attended TLCs. Their limited autonomy looked likely to inhibit the long-lasting impact of the projects, although one TLC in London seemed likely to shape teachers’ AfL principles and practices more profoundly because attendance was voluntary and egalitarian.

From a technology graduate to a competent IT teacher

Information Technology (IT) has become pervasive in our society and it is playing an increasingly important role in education. There is a growing expectation that teachers will be able to make effective use of IT in all facets of their work in schools. There are at least two major reasons which underpin the need to prepare IT teachers in secondary schools. First, schools are expected to prepare students for future jobs. It is quite clear that most of the jobs of the future will require some knowledge of IT. It is therefore important that students learn about IT while they are in schools. This indicates that there is a great need for more teachers who are competent in IT. In particular, secondary schools are short of teachers who are capable of teaching IT as a subject and to incorporate the current learning theories into practice. Second, given the increasing deployment and application of IT in secondary schools, there will be a serious shortage of teachers who are capable of managing and coordinating the use of IT across the school in the secondary context. Under these circumstances, we are offering the IT major in the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) (PGDE(S)) Programme in our Institute. The IT Major is designed to prepare university graduates in technology discipline to be able to act as competent IT subject teachers for all levels in Hong Kong secondary schools. This article will discuss the rationale, principles and approach in designing the programme.