Joining the Department of Education Policy and Leadership at the EdUHK seems very much like a joyful home-coming after having been away for so long for Dr. Chen. Having taught at High school and university level in Mainland China, Dr. Chen left to study for a master's degree in Education at the University of Groningen and then for her PhD at the University of Auckland. During her time as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, where the numbers of researchers in education are small and therefore people are strongly tempted to diversify, she is amazed at what she got herself into. Her research has focused on teacher and principal well-being and resilience, systematic literature review, psychometric measurement, and how these have contributed to teaching improvement and school effectiveness. She is willing to apply these skills and knowledge and enlarge her research interest to advance the work of the EdUHK cooperating with colleagues. This opportunity to work at EdUHK has made her feel very privileged indeed.

Research interests

• Teacher well-being, resilience and development
• Principal well-being, resilience and development
• Systematic literature review
• Psychometric measurement

Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (RGC) funded-General Research Fund (GRF) Projects as Principal Investigator (PI)

• The missing link: Principal well-being literacy and its drivers and outcomes (2024-2025)
• Principal resilience and its influential occupational drivers in Hong Kong: Developing and validating the principal resilience inventory (2023-2024)
• Investigating the occupational well-being of Hong Kong school principals and influential psychosocial risk factors: A mixed-methods approach (2021-2023)
• The psychological well-being of PhD students in Hong Kong: A territory-wide study and an international comparison (2020-2021)

Foundation Funding Projects as Principal Investigator (PI)

• Enhancing holistic well-being for underprivileged children living in rural mainland China (2023-2024, Keswick Foundation)

International Baccalaureate Commissioned Research Project as Co-Investigator (Co-I)

• The International Baccalaureate Continuum: Principals, teachers, students, and school outcomes (2012-2014, PI: Prof. Allan Walker)

External Government Research Grant as member

• The Brazil Government Research Grant. The effectiveness of leadership in schools in Brazil (2014-2015, PI: Prof. Christopher Day).
• The Economic and Social Research Council Grant of British & The University Grants Committee of Hong Kong. Reshaping educational practice for improvement in Hong Kong and England: How schools mediate reforms (2012-2013, PI: Prof. Allan Walker, Prof. Qing Gu & Prof. Christopher Day)

Recognition and Awards

• The top 2% of the world's most-cited scientists by the Stanford University, 2021 & 2022
• The President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Research, 2021
• The Faculty Caring Teacher Award Scheme, Certificate of Merit, 2022 
• The most-cited article by Web of Science, 2021
• The most cited paper out of 25 papers from Chinese researchers by Wiley, 2020
• The Faculty Quality Publication Award, EdUHK, 2016 & 2018
• The Faculty Quality Publication Award Finalist, EdUHK, 2019 & 2021
• The Top 10% Faculty Publication Award, EdUHK, 2014 & 2015
• PhD Dissertation Award by The University of Auckland, New Zealand, 2012

Editorship

• Associate Editor for Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 2020-Present (SSCI)
• Senior Associate Editor for the Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 2018-Present (SSCI)
• Associate Editor for Frontiers in Psychology (Educational Psychology) (2020-Present) (SSCI)
• Consulting Editor for Educational Psychology, 2020-Present (SSCI)
• Member of the editorial board of School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 2023-Present (SSCI)

Teacher and principal development; Teacher and principal well-being; Research methods