TY - JOUR
T1 - Teaching Chinese in Putonghua in post-colonial Hong Kong
T2 - Problems and challenges for teachers and administrators
AU - Tam, Angela Choi Fung
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a Direct Grant from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The author would like to thank the editor and the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions, which greatly improved this manuscript.
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - After China resumed the sovereignty of Hong Kong, the Curriculum Development Council encouraged schools to experiment with Putonghua as a medium of instruction (PMI) to teach the Chinese language. A review of the literature indicates that there have been problems in implementing the switch to the new medium of instruction (MOI). The aim of this exploratory case study is to investigate in more detail the problems that teachers and administrators of a secondary school face in implementing the new policy. Based on interviews, classroom observation, and documentary analysis, it is shown that conflicts and tensions have arisen from the incongruent beliefs of teachers and administrators regarding the rationale and impact of the PMI policy. Moreover, inadequate knowledge of Putonghua among teachers and students, a shortage of appropriate teaching resources, and the absence of helpful support from the government create further barriers to effective teaching and learning in the new programme. This paper argues that it is problematic for schools to translate any MOI policy into action if policy-makers fail to address the challenges that teachers and administrators encounter in switching to a new MOI.
AB - After China resumed the sovereignty of Hong Kong, the Curriculum Development Council encouraged schools to experiment with Putonghua as a medium of instruction (PMI) to teach the Chinese language. A review of the literature indicates that there have been problems in implementing the switch to the new medium of instruction (MOI). The aim of this exploratory case study is to investigate in more detail the problems that teachers and administrators of a secondary school face in implementing the new policy. Based on interviews, classroom observation, and documentary analysis, it is shown that conflicts and tensions have arisen from the incongruent beliefs of teachers and administrators regarding the rationale and impact of the PMI policy. Moreover, inadequate knowledge of Putonghua among teachers and students, a shortage of appropriate teaching resources, and the absence of helpful support from the government create further barriers to effective teaching and learning in the new programme. This paper argues that it is problematic for schools to translate any MOI policy into action if policy-makers fail to address the challenges that teachers and administrators encounter in switching to a new MOI.
KW - Chinese language
KW - Medium of instruction
KW - Policy implementation
KW - Putonghua
KW - Teachers' beliefs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84868114081&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/07908318.2011.626863
DO - 10.1080/07908318.2011.626863
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84868114081
SN - 0790-8318
VL - 25
SP - 103
EP - 122
JO - Language, Culture and Curriculum
JF - Language, Culture and Curriculum
IS - 2
ER -