Cross-cultural early childhood teaching experiences : impacting Hong Kong teachers’ beliefs about children’ learning

Abstract

Twenty-one in-service early childhood teachers participated in a teaching practicum in Australia as part of the final year of a Bachelor of Arts in Hong Kong. Teachers spent two weeks visiting a university and early childhood settings in Australia. The university based component of the program included workshops and discussions with lecturing staff located in both the Australian and Hong Kong universities. Teachers were asked to complete written statements about "What is children’s learning?" before and after their practicum experience. An inductive analysis of students’ written statements and practicum evaluations revealed an increase in qualitative beliefs about children’s learning over the two-week period. Implications for teacher education programs are discussed