A Study On Practicum Experience And The Development Of Professional Identity In Hong Kong Pre-service Kindergarten Teachers

The foundation of one's lifelong knowledge stems from childhood education;thus,teachers of childhood education play the role of being core builders of the child's soul and wellbeing.Hence in order to achieve high-quality childhood education,a team of dedicated professionals,well-equipped to nurture individuals into blossom,cannot be omitted from the equation;the utmost priority for childhood education institutes should be to train up a team of teachers with a loyal sense of belonging towards their professional identity.In order to stay aligned with societal developments,the duration of the Hong Kong secondary school curriculum has recently been changed from seven years down to six years.Subsequently,the duration of pre-service childhood education teaching programs has been changed from three to two years under the new curriculum.In addition,the Hong Kong government launched a report on "Free Kindergarten Education",which emphasized the need to sustain the professional development of childhood education teachers.All of the above changes have led to alterations in the training content in pre-service teaching institutes.Attending placement is one of the most effective means to enhance the professional identity of pre-service kindergarten teachers,out of a multitude of training programs.In face of the evolving challenges mentioned above,there is an urgent need for pre-service teacher training institutes to re-evaluate on whether they provide sufficient training on professional identity during placement.It may be deemed necessary to implement increased learning elements on professional identity within the two training years.The objective of this piece of study is to construct a well-equipped placement curriculum within a childhood education institute,with the aim to enhance the professional identity of pre-service childhood education teachers.Nine pre-service teacher candidates participated in this study-they are selected from a group of pre-service teacher candidates who are undergoing or have completed a 2-year Higher Diploma in Child Care and Education in an early childhood education institute in Hong Kong.The sources of data included interviews,case record artifacts and work samples.Through in-depth analysis of the data,the following four questions are addressed:1.How is the professional identity of students formed during their placement?2.In what ways does placement affect students' professional identity?3.What adverse factors weaken students' professional identity during placement?4.In what areas of placement are further improvements necessary in order to strengthen the professional identity of students?This thesis is divided into two parts:the introduction and the main body.The introduction-the first chapter-describes the history and current situation of Hong Kong's early education system and mentions challenges faced by the kindergarten education sector in Hong Kong.It then points out the significance and objectives of this study.The second chapter constructs the main theoretical framework of this study,through retrospective accounts of similar pieces of literature.It then lays its ground on the core concepts,illustrates the relevant theoretical foundations,and elicits the importance and uniqueness of the study.The third chapter explicitly describes the methodology and process of execution of the study,and evaluates its applicability,reliability,validity and limitations.The results of the study are displayed in the next three chapters of the thesis.In chapters 4 and 5,detailed changes of the professional identity of nine pre-service teacher candidates were depicted.Through a detailed interpretation of the interviews conducted with the nine pre-service teacher candidates based on the Grounded Theory,35 factors were identified to have an influence on their professional identity;a model was created which demonstrates how three different themes:"individual","professionalism" and "placement" intertwine to affect their professional identity.The results are described in chapter six.The results of this study show that:firstly,out of the multiple factors which influence professional identity,placement experience is the most important contributor.This result has not been mentioned in any existing literature.Secondly,involvement in and experiences from placement enable pre-service teacher candidates to strengthen their professional identities noticeably.Thirdly,different adverse factors in placement affecting students' professional identity are identified.Last but not least,although students have demonstrated an obvious improvement in their overall foundation skillset through undertaking placement,there are still two big gaps in the placement curriculum,which are namely:the lack of content on the strengthening of professional identity,and the lack of optimum quality of placement tutors,leaving potential considerations for improvement.In the seventh chapter,in order to achieve the objectives of the study,the researchers proposed some specific measures that can be executed in the teaching practicum,aiming to improve the outcome of placement training and to build up students' professional identity.The techniques include:strengthening students' moral standard,improving their ability on self-directed learning,promoting self-reflection and awareness on their occupation,improving their skills on observation and assessment of classes,creating a mutual learning community and increasing their understanding of continued professional development.This is the first research project of its kind done in Hong Kong.It justifies how this study stands out from previous related literature.The conclusion of this thesis not only adds colour to what our pre-descendants inquired;it also helps to fill in the gaps of deficit amongst studies of pre-service teacher candidates' professional identity.Last but not least,the researcher hopes to be able to promote the ideologies of this study within the industry.Hopefully with a collaborative effort between professional pre-service teacher candidates and childhood education training institutes,through the sharing of professional knowledge and the underpinning of international perspectives,we would be able to catalyse the development of kindergarten education in Hong Kong to its highest standard.