Examining preparation for teaching writing in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

While recent research has examined cross-national curriculum and teacher preparation for second language writing, little research has investigated the influences of the pandemic and other social changes in preparing teachers to teach writing. The purpose of the study was to understand the preparation of teachers to teach writing, the factors that influenced pedagogical practices, and the changes over a five-year period during political and social changes in Hong Kong. Interviews with university professors indicated that there was limited time devoted to writing both at the university level and in primary and secondary schools. Instructors modelled process and genre approaches with the preservice and practising teacher, noting there was an increased focus on prewriting strategies in schools; however, there was little emphasis on providing feedback or revising texts. Language policies and exam pressure continued to influence writing instruction. However, signs of changing writing practices included teachers taking up process writing and formative assessment; a focus on the 21st century skills including technology use learned through the pandemic; and preservice teachers adopting more critical stances.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher preparation
• writing
• exams
• Hong Kong
• technology

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the participants in the study and the hosts in Hong Kong. The authors are grateful to the sponsors of the Sheila M. Miller Professorship of Education in the College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Disclosure statement

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

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2023.2202165.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sarah McCarthey

Sarah J. McCarthey is the Sheila Miller Professor of Education and Department Head of Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on classroom writing instruction, professional development in writing, and teacher preparation in global contexts. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Literacy Research Association from 2017-2020 and is Co-Director of the University of Illinois Writing Project. McCarthey has been the recipient of research and teaching awards from the College of Education.

Jiadi Zhang

Jiadi Zhang is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Zhang’s research interests include exploring Chinese-English translanguaging, bilingualism, critical biliteracies, teacher education, Asian American children’s literature, and language ideologies. Her work is guided by a sociocultural perspective that acknowledges minoritized communities’ daily literacy and cultural practices conducted with different modes and across named languages as legitimate knowledge.