A Comparative Study On Junior School English Teachers' PCK

Since the 1980 s,more and more scholars have started to study Pedagogical Content Knowledge(PCK),which is regarded as the most important part of teachers' professional development.Based on her internship experience in S School in Shanghai and W School in Henan,the author found that the English teachers' PCK in S School is different from that of W School.Considering that the teaching beliefs and the teaching methods of two schools are relatively typical in Shanghai and Henan Province respectively,the author hopes to find their differences of PCK in order to know the current situation and problems of English teachers' PCK in these two areas and hopefully to improve their teaching performance after the new curriculum reform.This thesis aims to explore the following research questions: 1.Are there any differences of English teachers' PCK between S School and W School? And if yes,in which aspects are they displayed? 2.What causes the differences of English teachers' PCK between the two schools? 3.How can English teachers in both areas develop their PCK?Through an investigation combining questionnaire survey,class observation,and semi-structured interviews,the author found differences of English teachers' PCK between S School and W School in the following aspects: firstly,in terms of the knowledge of English Subject,English teachers from W School perform poorly in oral English.Besides,English teachers from both two schools set teaching aims from diverse perspectives;secondly,in the aspect of English Teaching knowledge,novice English teachers from W School have trouble in how to design teaching content and apply teaching strategies;thirdly,as for the knowledge of students,English teachers from W School do not show a mastery of the theory of these strategies;fourth,with respect of knowledge of teaching situation,novice English teachers from W School still need to learn how to keep class in order and motivate the students;last but not the least,concerning the knowledge of education development,English teachers from S School show a better mastery.Generally speaking,expert teachers from S School and W school show little differences in English teachers' PCK,but novice teachers from W School show a poorer mastery in English teachers' PCK and need to improve their PCK.The author analyzes the reasons behind these differences from three levels: the allocation of national educational resources,schools and English teachers,and provides some suggestions on how to promote English teachers' PCK.