A Research on the Identity of Hong Kong Senior Secondary Chinese Language Teachers in the Curriculum Reform

The curriculum of Chinese Language for the senior secondary education in Hong Kong had remained stable over a long period of time in the past. However, since 2000, there have been tremendous and successive education reforms, with no exception for the curriculum of Chinese Language. In 2001, The Curriculum Development Council of Hong Kong formulated the Curriculum Guide for Secondary Chinese Language, which was formally carried out among the junior secondary levels in September 2002, then extended to the senior secondary levels in September 2005. In 2009, the New Senior Secondary Curriculum was officially implemented. Under the new "334 System", the former senior secondary curriculum (Form Four and Form Five) and matriculation curriculum (Form Six and Form Seven) have been integrated. The subject Senior Secondary Chinese Language has also undergone relevant changes. These two reforms no longer concern with small-scale revision of the curriculum content. Senior Secondary Chinese Language teachers have thus been facing unprecedented changes.;Probing into the changes of the work of the teachers after the curriculum reforms, this research investigates the identity of Senior Secondary Chinese Language teachers under the reforms. Adopting a qualitative research approach and through purposive sampling of cases, a sample of six teachers has been chosen for the study. These six teachers are from six different schools of different bandings.;The results of the research indicate that the identity of Senior Secondary Chinese Language teachers is a complex construct. It comprises the sub-identity representing the tradition of the subject, as well the sub-identity representing the tradition of examination. The construction of these sub-identities is influenced by multiple factors from different aspects, such as the education policy, the school, and the individual self. The sub-identity representing the tradition of examination is advantageous within the formal curriculum. Therefore, the teachers attempt to construct such identity through following the mode of the new public examination after the curriculum reforms. On the other hand, the resources of the formal curriculum are limited. Beyond the formal curriculum, the teachers must put in additional individual resources in order to construct the sub-identity representing the tradition of the subject.;This research reveals that there are conflicts between the sub-identities representing the tradition of the subject and the tradition of examination respectively. However, in view of the requirement of examination in the New Senior Secondary Curriculum, the sub-identity representing the tradition of examination is in general advantageous within the formal curriculum. Nevertheless, owing to the abstract content and teaching requirements of new curriculum of the Senior Secondary Chinese Language, as well the continuous changes of the mode of public examination, the teachers generally encounter problems when helping the students prepare for the examination. This impacts the identity construction of the teachers.