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Article
Publication date: 8 August 2016

Shujie Liu, Decheng Zhao and Wei Xie

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Chinese teachers’ attitudes toward performance pay. Specifically, this study examined the extent to which Chinese teachers supported…

1206

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Chinese teachers’ attitudes toward performance pay. Specifically, this study examined the extent to which Chinese teachers supported performance-pay programs. The study also examined the effects of these programs on teachers, particularly on their levels of collaboration, work motivation, and job stress.

Design/methodology/approach

This research was conducted in a northeastern city of China. Criteria sampling and maximum variation sampling techniques were used to select three schools, representing different characteristics of teacher performance pay (TPP) programs. In all, 150 questionnaires were administered to each of the three schools. The questionnaire contained three parts. Part 1 asked about respondents’ overall attitude toward pay-for-performance in general. Part 2 was composed of 20 closed-ended items asking respondents to rate their levels of agreement with various aspects of implementation of performance pay. Part 3 of the questionnaire comprised open-ended items.

Findings

Approximately 48.5 percent of the teachers supported the teacher-performance-pay programs. This indicated a low support of Chinese teachers in comparison to that in some countries. Regarding how teachers’ attitudes toward performance pay are related to teacher characteristics (e.g. teaching experience, professional ranking), the ANOVAs results showed no significant differences in any of the factors. This quantitative result was different from the qualitative result of this study (e.g. veteran teachers complained about the implementation of performance pay). In spite of the differences between quantitative and qualitative findings, some findings from the current study are consistent with those found in western countries.

Research limitations/implications

One limitation of this study was the small sample size for quantitative analyses. Future research should consider a larger sample size to conduct more advanced statistical analyses such as structural equation modeling to examine further the relations among, for example, how much the incentive pay should be, and what proportion of teachers should receive it, the level of teacher stress, their work enthusiasm, and peer relationships. Another limitation of this study was that the qualitative data were collected through open-ended questions of the questionnaire. Future research should interview teachers and principals to obtain richer voices from the teachers.

Originality/value

Very few articles published in Chinese journals surveyed the implementation of TPP. In addition, these few articles were not well-designed from an empirical sense. So far research of teacher opinions about performance pay was a missing area in China’s educational discourse. The present study provides information to non-Chinese readers who are interested in Chinese teachers’ attitudes toward TPP. It is hoped the present study adds knowledge to the literature of TPP from the perspective of Chinese teachers.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 October 2017

Xiangming Chen

The purpose of this paper is to examine the cultural roots of Chinese lesson study (LS) so as to account for its persistence in the Chinese education history as well as its…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the cultural roots of Chinese lesson study (LS) so as to account for its persistence in the Chinese education history as well as its importance in Chinese teacher professional development and student learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The overarching research question is: “How can Chinese lesson study be theorized from a cultural perspective?” The sub-questions include: “What cultural features do Chinese teachers demonstrate in their LS activities? How can traditional Chinese cultural resources be utilized in explaining the existence and development of these features?” Based on a close reading of firsthand classic texts on Chinese cultural thoughts and related literature, the researchers collected data from Chinese teachers’ LS activities, stimulated recall interviews and focus groups, and related documents. An analysis is conducted with interplay among the theoretical framework, the data, and the researchers’ personal insights.

Findings

The findings of the study include three aspects. First, in terms of their actions, the Chinese teachers enact their understanding of teaching in public lessons through unity of knowing and doing (知行合一) more than conceptual explication. Second, with regard to their thinking, the Chinese teachers use practical reasoning (实践推理) in deliberate practice of repeated teaching through group inquiry and reflection. Third, a tendency of emulating those better than oneself (见贤思齐) is evident in novice teachers’ learning from “good” examples by expert teachers.

Originality/value

The revelation of these cultural features can not only contribute to a deeper understanding about the persistence and importance of LS in the Chinese education history, but also provide an example of analyzing LS from a cultural perspective to the world LS community.

Details

International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Global Perspectives on Educational Testing: Examining Fairness, High-Stakes and Policy Reform
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-434-1

Article
Publication date: 10 April 2017

Haiyan Qian, Allan Walker and Xiaojun Li

The purpose of this paper is to develop a preliminary model of instructional leadership in the Chinese educational context and explore the ways in which Chinese school principals…

2845

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a preliminary model of instructional leadership in the Chinese educational context and explore the ways in which Chinese school principals locate their instructional-leadership practices in response to traditional expectations and the requirements of recent reforms.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 selected primary school principals in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. A qualitative analysis was conducted to categorize the major leadership practices enacted by these principals.

Findings

An initial model of instructional leadership in China with six major dimensions is constructed. The paper also illustrates and elaborates on three dimensions with the greatest context-specific meanings for Chinese principals.

Originality/value

The paper explores the ways in which Chinese principals enact their instructional leadership in a context in which “the west wind meets the east wind”; that is, when they are required to accommodate both imported reform initiatives and traditional expectations. The paper contributes to the sparse existing research on principals’ instructional leadership in non-western cultural and social contexts.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 55 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 October 2013

Xiangming Chen and Fan Yang

The purpose of this paper is to reveal how the meanings of the current national curriculum reform in China changed in its transmission from the outside authoritative mandate to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reveal how the meanings of the current national curriculum reform in China changed in its transmission from the outside authoritative mandate to the local school practice through a case study of a lesson study on a reform practice called the “thematic teaching” in the Chinese language course.

Design/methodology/approach

By a longitudinal study of the case for more than two months in a primary school in Beijing, China, the authors of this paper followed all the steps of the lesson study cycle conducted by all the Chinese language teachers in the school. Observations, interviews and document analysis were employed to capture the teachers’ thoughts, actions and especially group interactions in trying to understand and implement this new reform practice.

Findings

The study found that due to the marked differences between the professional reform discourse and the teachers’ native discourse, the meanings of the reform tended to look alien to school teachers. In order to make meanings out of the reform, the teachers in this lesson study resorted to their own native discourse to understand the reform. Such strategies as “de-contextualization” and “re-contextualization” were found in the teachers’ joint efforts to reconstruct and reenact the reform.

Originality/value

This research points to the importance of school teachers’ own belief system in teaching as revealed by their native discourse. Only by finding an adequate link between the outside reform discourse and the teachers’ native discourse, can the national curriculum reform truly take hold in the school.

Details

International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 November 2023

Rongjin Huang, Joanna C. Weaver, Gabriel Matney, Xingfeng Huang, Joshua Wilson and Christine Painter

This study aimed to explore teachers' learning processes through a hybrid cross-cultural lesson study (LS) because little is known about the learning process through this novel…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to explore teachers' learning processes through a hybrid cross-cultural lesson study (LS) because little is known about the learning process through this novel and promising LS approach.

Design/methodology/approach

This cross-cultural LS lasted over six months focusing on developing a research lesson (RL) related to linear functions/equations by addressing a commonly concerned student learning difficulty. The data collected were lesson plans, videos of RLs, cross-culture sharing meetings and post-lesson study teacher interviews. A cultural-history activity theory (CHAT) perspective (Engeström, 2001) was used as a theoretical and analytical framework, and contradictions were viewed as driving forces of teachers' learning. The data were analyzed to identify contradictions and consequent teachers' learning by resolving these contradictions.

Findings

The results revealed four contradictions occurring during the hybrid cross-cultural LS that are related to the preferred teaching approach, culturally relevant tasks, making sense of the specific topic and enactment of the RL. By addressing these contradictions, the participating teachers perceived their learning in cultural beliefs, pedagogical practice and organization of the lesson.

Research limitations/implications

This study details teachers' collaborative learning processes through hybrid cross-cultural LS and provides implications for effectively conducting cross-cultural LS. However, how the potential learning opportunity revealed from this case could be actualized at a larger scale in different cultures and the actual impact on local practices by adapting effective practices from another culture are important questions to be investigated further.

Originality/value

This study expands teacher learning through cross-cultural LS by focusing on contradictions cross-culturally as driving forces.

Details

International Journal for Lesson & Learning Studies, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

Ming Tak Hue and Shahid Karim

Developing a sense of belonging among immigrant youth in multicultural contexts has attracted significant attention from scholars during the last few decades. Studies have already…

Abstract

Purpose

Developing a sense of belonging among immigrant youth in multicultural contexts has attracted significant attention from scholars during the last few decades. Studies have already underscored how various educational factors hinder or facilitate students’ sense of belonging to the school or the larger society. Although most students in Hong Kong schools are ethnic Chinese, a significant number of non-Chinese children make students diversity an essential aspect of schooling. The study investigated how schools can develop a sense of belonging among ethnic minority youth in Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach

As the education system in Hong Kong lacks a multicultural education policy, how can schools help develop a sense of belonging to the school and the larger society among young ethnic minority people? To answer this question, this paper consolidates the two sets of data originally gathered for two research projects. The data was collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with nine secondary school teachers (Chinese and non-Chinese) and 15 students (non-Chinese) and analysed thematically.

Findings

The thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified several challenges and opportunities for developing ethnic minority students’ sense of belonging in Hong Kong.

Research limitations/implications

Researchers in comparative education can further explore how multicultural education and inclusive education approach together can help ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all and cater to students' diverse learning needs across the education systems.

Practical implications

Given that the aims of multicultural education and inclusive education resonate with each other, schools can focus on the Whole School Approach to developing a sense of belonging among ethnic minority youth in Hong Kong. However, policymakers and practitioners may need to adopt a multifaceted perspective on inclusive education that strives to ensure equitable quality education for all.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the existing body of scholarship on multicultural education and inclusive education. The study findings underscore the importance of an interdisciplinary research framework in education and advocate an integrative approach to supporting students with diverse learning needs in multicultural contexts.

Details

International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2396-7404

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2023

Christopher W. Day, Alyson Simpson, Qiong Li, Yan Bi and Faye He

This study aimed to investigate associations between the organisational and cultural contexts in which Chinese teachers work, the influence of these on their understandings of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate associations between the organisational and cultural contexts in which Chinese teachers work, the influence of these on their understandings of professionalism, and relationships between these and their perceived willingness and commitment to be effective in teaching to their best.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was part of a two-country collaboration between the universities of Beijing and Sydney into Australian and Chinese teachers' perceptions of influences on their professionalism in which research protocols were jointly developed and implemented. This paper focusses mainly upon the Chinese research but also refers to key differences between Australian and Chinese teachers' perspectives. Seventeen teachers in early, middle and later career phases were recruited from a convenience sample of primary and secondary schools in Beijing. Qualitative data analyses of individual interviews, and cross case comparative analyses were conducted.

Findings

The analyses of the data from Beijing indicated that almost all teachers emphasised their strong moral purposes and commitment to teach to their best, despite identifying the challenges of workload, school contexts and cultures and personal circumstances, which tested their resolve. In contrast, concerns about teacher autonomy and agency, which were common in the Australian study and other published research literature, were not highly visible in the Chinese data.

Research limitations/implications

The authors acknowledge that this study was small scale and data were collected from a narrow sample from one urban region of China, and we should be cautious with the generalisability of findings to other regions and schools of China since there are significant discrepancies between developed coastal areas and large cities and the remote rural areas in China. Furthermore, interview data were only collected once, restricting insight to a snapshot in time. This research may be seen as an encouragement to researchers from other regions and countries to further explore the impact of socially situated understandings of teacher professionalism on practice. Future research could also benefit from utilising multiple data sources, longitudinal design and cross-cultural collaborations to further explore the challenge of defining teachers' understandings of professionalism locally while engaging with global perspectives.

Practical implications

The practical implications relate to (1) expanding conceptualisations of teacher professionalism by developing locally nuanced understandings of perceptions and enactments of professionalism in different contexts across the profession, which take account of the unique roles of national and local cultural contexts; (2) designing initial teacher education and continuing professional development programmes so that they take account of the influences on the professions' ideals and individual teacher identities, of the ideological and practical interplay in the workplace of structures such as mandated standards, and different socio-economic geographical settings (e.g. rural and urban); (3) designing leadership development programmes that take account of research on associations between school leaders' values, qualities and practices on school cultures and their effects on teachers' well-being, and capacities and capabilities to fulfil their understandings of being professionals and teach to their best.

Social implications

The social implications relate to (1) further research on the associations between the effects of external policy demands on teachers' work and work–life tensions, teachers' sustained commitment and quality; and (2) further research on the impact of the collective influences of national cultures, broad-based policy conditions, personal values and the demands of particular schools, parents and students that influence teachers' experience, perceptions and enactments of professionalism in order to provide further insights into understanding the complexity of teachers' lives and promoting teachers' sustained enactments of professionalism in broad contexts.

Originality/value

The research findings, though tentative, revealed that the altruistic nature of their mission to serve students and the parental community was the dominant marker of professionalism for teachers in China, regardless of school structures, cultures, academic achievement imperatives and personal circumstance; and that their professionalism was informed by the socio-cultural formation of individual and collective moral responsibility, reinforced through national educational policies. These findings differed from the concerns reported by the teachers in the Australian study, which aligned with literature that suggests that teacher professionalism is being eroded through neo-liberal government policies, excessive workloads and performance-oriented cultures. Though the comparative data set is small, these findings suggest that whilst there are increasing policy convergences across nations, which seek to define teacher professionalism through their abilities to make improvements in students' measurable academic achievement, how teachers in different countries and cultures define themselves as professionals may differ.

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 January 2019

Adam Poole

This paper was written in response to the tendency for the international education literature to position the international teacher in essentialist and western-centric terms. The…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper was written in response to the tendency for the international education literature to position the international teacher in essentialist and western-centric terms. The international school landscape has changed significantly in the last 20 years, leading to the rise of type C non-traditional international schools, which requires a reconceptualisation of the international teacher. The purpose of this paper is to explore how a Chinese English teacher (Daisy) in an internationalised school in Shanghai constructed her identity as an international teacher.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper drew upon concepts from the teacher identity literature in order to construct a comparative conceptual framework comprised of personal, professional and cross-cultural domains of experience. Commensurate with this framework, in-depth phenomenological interviewing and member-checking were utilised in order to gain access to the participant’s lived experiences. Member-checking and data analysis became a dialogic and recursive process in which rapport was continually maintained and strengthened through the sharing of raw and analysed data, with additional comments and suggestions being fed back into an emerging interpretation in order to generate more data and enhance validity.

Findings

The findings highlighted how Daisy was active in not only constructing her identity as an international educator but also mobilising this identity to challenge the western-centric nature of international education. The findings also revealed moments of discursive dissonance. Daisy simultaneously constructed an identity as an “internationalising” teacher, but was also constructed as an international teacher through a discourse that presented international education as constructivist, and therefore western-centric, in nature. Implications and recommendations are made for practice and research based on these findings.

Originality/value

This paper offers an alternative perspective on the international teacher experience, which continues to be western-centric in focus, by exploring the development of an international teacher identity from a Chinese perspective.

Details

International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2396-7404

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Peng Liu

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of transformational school leadership on teachers’ commitment to change and the effects of organizational and teachers’ factors…

2701

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of transformational school leadership on teachers’ commitment to change and the effects of organizational and teachers’ factors on teachers’ perception of transformational school leadership in the Chinese urban upper secondary school context.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper mainly uses quantitative methods to explore the relationships between different constructs. The author asks: to what extent can transformational school leadership practices in the urban upper secondary schools of a particular Chinese city explain the variation in teachers’ commitment to change during curriculum reform? What are the effects of organizational and teachers’ factors on teachers’ perceptions of transformational school leadership?

Findings

The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the effect of transformational school leadership was moderate when transformational school leadership and teachers’ commitment to change were treated as single variables. Four dimensions of transformational leadership practice together explained the moderate effects on four dimensions of teachers’ commitment to change, among which the effect of managing the instructional program was the most prominent. The results of multiple regression analysis also revealed that variables like culture, strategy, environment, and teachers’ age had significant relationships with teachers’ perceptions of transformational school leadership. Culture, environment, strategy, structure, and teachers’ factors such as age and grade taught had moderate effects on different dimensions of teachers’ perceptions of transformational school leadership.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to explore the effects of transformational school leadership on teachers’ commitment to change in the Chinese urban upper secondary school context. The findings contribute to educational management in China and similar contexts, and this study advances knowledge and furthers the understandings of the transferability of theories to different contexts.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 53 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

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