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Teachers' lives and struggles in a context of education reforms. / CUHK electronic theses & dissertations collection

Hong Kong educational system has faced drastic changes. In the past few years, there are various reform policies being implemented in view of the changes and needs in the new global economy. Grounded in the perspective of symbolic interactionism, the present life histories research studies the transformation of secondary school teachers' lives in the local context of education reforms, from 1997 to 2005. The results reveal how teachers narrate the teaching profession as pilgrimage, which explains the formation of the moral identity and the frame of reference of the practitioners. Teachers treasure humanistic values, believe in development of young people through "life-to-life" long-term interaction, and trust in emancipation through education that delivers knowledge, fosters civic development and personal growth. However, in the context of education reforms dominated by the neoliberal, managerial and performativity discourse, the pilgrimage and its heritage have been threatened. The meso context, including the leadership style of principals and the organizational relationship among teachers, has impact on teachers comparable to that of the macro context of education reforms. It is through the meso context that education reforms are mediated, or distorted, in school level. Ontological narratives of teachers have become fragmented, as their character is being corroded in a context of education reforms and school culture that revitalize and redefine professional identity under the hegemonic discourse. Teachers engage in a reflexive project, which is a dynamic interaction of the self and the social context, with a role to be played by self-conscious emotions. Discussions would be made on the need for rebuilding the narrative identity of the teaching profession, together with the implications on implementation of education reforms in the local context. / Ho Yuk Fan. / "May 2005." / Adviser: Tsang Wing Kwong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: A, page: 2526. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 381-394). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:cuhk.edu.hk/oai:cuhk-dr:cuhk_343647
Date January 2005
ContributorsHo, Yuk Fan., Chinese University of Hong Kong Graduate School. Division of Education.
Source SetsThe Chinese University of Hong Kong
LanguageEnglish, Chinese
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, theses
Formatelectronic resource, microform, microfiche, 1 online resource (vii, 394 p. : ill.)
CoverageChina, Hong Kong, China, Hong Kong, China, Hong Kong
RightsUse of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons “Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International” License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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