Teacher thinking and practice in response to imposed change: The influence of the social reality of teaching

Typical primary pedagogy in Hong Kong tended to be teacher-centered, emphasizing on transmission of information and academic achievement. Despite attempts in recent years to modify teaching practices through introduction of curriculum initiatives, changes in pedagogy did not happen in classrooms (Llewellyn, 1982; Nicholson, 1993; Morris, 1995; Cooke, 1996). This situation is not unique in Hong Kong. Among studies on educational or school changes, the work of teachers are often critically examined. Teachers are expected to be the implementers, especially in large-scale innovation initiated outside schools. Research in curriculum changes and school improvement recognizes the need for systematic study of teacher thinking, which is important for the understanding of teaching (Clark & Peterson, 1986; Brown & McIntyre, 1993). This paper reports on a research on understanding and interpreting the ways teachers think and teach, focusing on teachers’ (a) conceptualization of their own teaching; (b) response to specific curriculum changes; and (c) adjusting to classroom and school context. The study employs a naturalistic approach, combining different methodological techniques including observation, in-depth interviewing and documentary analysis. It is mainly an interpretive study during which researcher is central to the sense that is made. Description-analysis-interpretation of data is taken as a parallel process, data are organized and developed according to (1) interview transcripts, (2) analysis by research questions, (3) cases of individual teachers, and (4) discussion by themes. Findings suggest that although teachers’ beliefs are affected by their past experience, the culture of workplace has significant influence on teaching practice. Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.