Teacher self-concept enhancement: Effects of an in-service training program in Hong Kong

Researchers have found that the self-concept of students in academic work is domain specific such that the self-concept in a specific curriculum domain is distinguishable from that in another curriculum domain. Few studies have examined the self-concept of teachers in various teaching domains. Teachers in Hong Kong attending an in-service program in the teaching of art and those attending an inservice program in the teaching of music were surveyed to examine their selfconcepts in the respective domains. Structural equation models found that the teachers’ self-concepts in the two curriculum areas were clearly distinguishable from each other. Analysis of variance found that teachers of art had a higher selfconcept in art than in music whereas teachers of music had a higher self-concept in music than in art. The results showed that similar to the domain specificity found in students’ self-concepts, the effects of the in-service teacher training programs on self-concept enhancement through acquisition of respective skills were also domain specific. Teacher trainers should, therefore, be aware of the domain specificity of interventions that aim to develop teacher competencies in specific areas of teaching.