Preceptions of pre-primary student teachers on roles played by schools, parents and community

The significant role played by family, school and the community on education is unequivocal. How teachers perceive the role is but one of the important parts of the whole teaching and learning system. The views expressed by student teachers are even more important among others as they are to be future practitioners in the field. How student teachers view may have close relation to how they teach, and how pupils learn. Based on findings from a recent qualitative survey of a group of about forty pre-service and in-service pre-primary student teachers in Hong Kong, this paper aims at providing an outlook and comparison of the opinions from the student teachers on roles of education played by the three generic factors, school, parents, and community. Data of the study were collected from short answers in three set of questions which asked about the roles and responsibilities of the three factors in enhancing students' education. A comparison of answers from the two groups, and among the three factors, and implications on future teacher training in Hong Kong will be discussed.