Chinese Teachers in Transformation

Zhao, Wen
Wen Zhao is Preschool Program Director, Half the Sky Foundation of U.S.A. She holds a Ph.D from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Carolyn Pope Edwards is Willa Cather Professor at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She has an EdD degree from Harvard University and studies childhood development and education in cultural perspective.

In China, educators have paid more attention to the curriculum reform than to the teacher preparation and professional development. The conflict between traditional values and the urgency of social changes compounded by the lack of understanding about psychological effects of these changes on Chinese teachers complicates the transformation process for education reform in Chinese society. This study investigated how a group of 20 teachers at a Chinese children welfare institution adapted Western educational concepts to transform their Chinese teaching practice. This study followed these teachers for the 12 months after their training to investigate how they addressed cultural and pedagogical conflicts when applying their training in practice and the changes that had occurred in the first year. This study hopes to benefit the educators in the cross-cultural teacher preparation field regarding the professional well-being of teachers working during times of rapid social changes. It is also useful for early childhood educators and professionals who work with the children at high risk as well as the children in Chinese welfare institutions.