Defining the meaning of teacher success in Hong Kong

This paper reports the results of the study seeking the views of the practitioners on the concept of, and factors helping and hindering, teacher success, as well as the relationship between professional development and teacher success. Data was collected in two phases where qualitative and quantitative approaches were adopted respectively. The findings show that factors identified as contributing to teacher success are in line with the discussion in the literature on teacher leadership and successful teachers. These factors are: being responsible, caring for students, self-reflection, thorough understanding of the teaching subject, enthusiasm for teaching, the Principal's support, collaboration with and encouragement from colleagues, and positive feedback from students on the teaching methods. The factor stating that teachers need to be role models for students seems to be peculiar to the local context. The survey results also show that a heavy workload, an ineffective school management policy and system and insufficient school resources are the most detrimental to teacher success. The needs of the local teachers for professional development are also identified, and that programmes on subject knowledge, educational psychology and increasing self-confidence came top of the list of such needs. A comparison between the findings from the primary and the secondary teachers reflects a stronger feeling among the primary teachers on the importance of those factors where significant differences are found. The results of the current study help policy makers to gain a better understanding of the views of the teachers.