Teachers’ changed perceptions of pupils’ motivation for learning through professional development: the moderating role of classroom ethnic composition

ABSTRACT

This study assessed the effect of a teacher professional development (PD) programme that incorporated culturally responsive teaching on Chinese kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of learning motivation of ethnic minority (EM) vs. Chinese pupils in Hong Kong. The moderating role of classroom ethnic composition was examined. Forty-five teachers in the intervention group attended 20 sessions of PD courses over 10 months, whereas 40 teachers who did not attend the current programme formed a control group. Pre- and post-tests were conducted to assess teacher perceptions of learning motivation and engagement of Chinese and EM pupils. Hierarchical structure of data was accounted for with multilevel modelling. Results showed that the intervention resulted in positive changes in teacher perceptions of learning motivation of EM (vs. Chinese) pupils among teachers working in classrooms with low proportions of EM pupils when compared to teachers in the control group. The findings highlighted that teachers’ cultural diversity training programmes should be evaluated in relation to classroom ethnic composition and other contextual factors that influence the quality and frequency of interethnic contact.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher perceptions
• learning motivation
• culturally responsive teaching
• teacher professional development
• multicultural education

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge Dr. Wenyu Chai, Mr. Alvis Chiu and other research assistants for their contributions on the data collection.

C-for-Chinese@JC project: The Integrative Model of Teacher Professional Development Programme is part of the PLEM (Social Service Professionals, School Leaders, Educators, and Multicultural Teaching Assistants) that was financially supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust