Teachers?Perceptions, Experience and Learning

Teachers’ Perceptions, Experience and Learning offers insightful views on the understanding of the role of teachers and the impact of their thinking and practice. The articles presented in this book illustrate the influence of teachers on student learning, school culture and their own professional identity and growth as well as highlighting challenges and constraints in preand in-service teacher education programmes that can impact teachers’ own learning. The first article examined teacher experiences in the use of “design thinking” by Retna. Next, Hong’s and Youngs’ article looks into contradictory effects of the new national curriculum in South Korea. Lu, Wang, Ma, Clarke and Collins explored Chinese teachers’ commitment to being a cooperating teacher for rural practicum placements. Kainzbauer and Hunt investigate foreign university teachers’ experiences and perceptions in teaching graduate schools in Thailand. On inclusive education in Singapore, Yeo, Chong, Neihart and Huan examined teachers’ first-hand experiences with inclusion; while Poon, Ng, Wong and Kaur study teachers’ perceptions of factors associated with inclusive education. The book ends with two articles on teacher preparation by Hardman, Stoff, Aung and Elliott who examined the pedagogical practices of mathematics teaching in primary schools in Myanmar, and Zein who focuses on teacher learning by examining the adequacy of preservice education in Indonesia for preparing primary school English teachers.

The contributing authors’ rich perspectives in different educational, geographical and socio-cultural contexts would serve as a valuable resource for policy makers, educational leaders, individual researchers and practitioners who are involved in teacher education research and policy.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Education.

Woon Chia Liu, PhD is Associate Professor with the Psychological Studies Academic Group at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, and a founding member of NIE’s Motivation in Educational Research Laboratory. She holds a concurrent appointment as Dean of Teacher Education and is involved in Singapore’s preservice teacher preparation programmes. She is currently the co-editor of the Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Pedagogies: An International Journal.

Christine C. M. Goh, PhD, is Professor of Linguistics and Language Education at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. She is a qualified secondary school English teacher, a teacher educator, and a researcher with a strong interest in the interface between linguistic theories and language education. She holds a concurrent appointment as Dean of Graduate Studies and Professional Learning and she is involved in the strategic initiatives for teacher continuing education in Singapore. She was an elected member of the NTU Senate and is currently a member of the NTU Advisory Board. She is currently the co-editor of the Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Pedagogies: An International Journal.