Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics - IEA

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PART 2: HONG KONG SAR 97 Hong Kong SAR Composition of the teacher labor force The number of primary and secondary school teachers in Hong Kong increased steadily during the 1990s (Figure 29). Although the number of secondary school teachers is expected to continue to rise, the decline in the number of children in the population began to affect the size of the kindergarten and primary school labor force in the early 2000s. Nearly all teachers in Hong Kong are university trained. About three-quarters of primary school teachers and 92% of secondary school teachers have a Bachelor’s or higher degree. Of those who teach in government and aided schools, almost all have trained as teachers. About 20% of private primary school teachers have not received pre-service education (Lai, 2006, Table 1). In total, about 70% of primary teachers have a university degree and are trained. The corresponding figure for secondary schools is 88%. The subjects with the highest percentages of degree holders in primary schools are English (79%) and information and communication technology (ICT) (78%). In secondary schools, nearly all the teachers of economics, English, and senior secondary science subjects, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, have degrees. About 55% of teachers in the 1990s were females (Chung & Hung, 2001). Figure 29: Hong Kong SAR, Number of Teachers, by Level of Education, 1994 to 2000 30,000 25,000 Number of Teachers 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 1994–1995 1995–1996 1996–1997 1997–1998 1998–1999 1999–2000 2000–2001 Year Kindergarten Primary Secondary Vocational According to various studies, the quality of new entrants into the teaching profession in Hong Kong is not as high as the quality of entrants into other professions. Lai, Chan, Ko, and So (2005) show that senior secondary school students consider that people who enter the teaching profession do not have high academic standing. This perception is borne out by the fact that the examination grades of new students admitted into teacher education programs are, on average, lower than those of students admitted to other university faculties (Lai, 2006). An important issue in Hong Kong is “out of field” teaching. According to Lai (2006), many teachers in Hong Kong teach outside their subject field, and this is particularly true in subjects for which there is a short supply of qualified teachers.
98 TEACHER PAY AND STUDENT MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT For instance, only 46% and 55.7% of the English language teachers in primary and secondary schools respectively were classified by the Education Department as “subject-trained” in 1996 (see Measure 1 [Lai, 2006, Table 3] below). It was only in the past few years that the government and the community have become concerned with this problem. Such an interest has largely arisen from two policy developments—first, the government’s quest for “highly qualified” language teachers and second, the government’s advocating of specialist teaching in three core primary school subjects, i.e. English language, Chinese language and mathematics. With the more stringent requirements, many language teachers who were previously considered as “qualified” are now categorized as “under-qualified” or “out-of-field.” (Lai, 2006, p. 10) Teacher education Until recently, the minimum qualification an individual needed to teach in primary and secondary schools was a secondary school graduation certificate. Since 2004, new teachers have been required to hold a post-secondary diploma (two years of postsecondary schooling). However, the majority of teachers in Hong Kong, as discussed above, hold either a Bachelor’s or a subsequent degree. In 1994, pre-service teachers in Hong Kong began studying in four government-funded institutions. These include three comprehensive universities, which train mostly senior secondary school teachers, and the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd), which trains mostly primary and junior secondary school teachers. Secondary school teachers all major in an academic subject and take an additional year of professional training in education. All programs include a practice teaching period of 14 to 16 weeks (Lai, 2006). The government has been increasing its focus on standards in the teaching profession. According to Lai (2006, p. 6), “The government has issued numerous reports, policy papers and speeches urging principals and teachers to actively participate in professional development, which is seen as crucial to the success of the education reform. In particular, the government has taken an active role in setting policies to raise the academic and professional standards of language teachers.” The government decided to raise language proficiency requirements in 2000 for English and Mandarin teachers in both primary and secondary schools. However, because of objections from the teachers’ union, the government had to compromise and grant exemptions to teachers who already had a degree major in the relevant language subject; teachers could also meet the requirement through in-service education rather than through testing. For many years, Hong Kong did not have in place a systematic professional development program for its teachers. In 2003, a government consultative committee recommended that all teachers engage in professional development activities for at least 150 hours over a three-year cycle. Although the recommendations were not mandatory, job security concerns occasioned by falling enrollment in primary schools pushed teachers to enroll in professional development courses (Lai, 2005). Teacher recruitment and hiring People who want to teach in Hong Kong have to apply to the Education and Manpower Bureau for registration as a “registered” or a “permitted” teacher. To qualify for registration as a registered teacher, a person has to have obtained “qualified-teacher” status by completing an approved teacher education program offered by a recognized institution. Schools can employ people without a recognized teacher qualification as a permitted teacher.
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