Please wait a minute...
Frontiers of Education in China

ISSN 1673-341X

ISSN 1673-3533(Online)

CN 11-5741/G4

Postal Subscription Code 80-979

Front. Educ. China    2015, Vol. 10 Issue (2) : 251-273    https://doi.org/10.3868/s110-004-015-0017-2
research-article
A Qualitative Examination of Teacher-Student Power-Sharing in Chinese Classrooms: A Study in Hong Kong
Mei-Yee WONG()
Department of Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong, China
 Download: PDF(272 KB)  
 Export: BibTeX | EndNote | Reference Manager | ProCite | RefWorks
Abstract

This article explores the dynamics of power-sharing between teacher and students in learning and teaching situations, and describes the theoretical bases, implementation, and results of an empirical study in three elementary schools in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Findings from 58 class observations and interviews with 50 students, 25 teachers, and three school principals suggest that teachers can empower students by acknowledging their right to and responsibility for learning and by sharing power with students. Power-sharing classroom practice requires the dual efforts of teachers and students, and can be facilitated by the teachers’ interactive teaching mode, students’ cooperation and willingness to engage in learning, and school policy and culture, etc. In the power-sharing classrooms, teachers played the role of facilitators and students played as collaborators. In this article, theoretical implications for understanding power-sharing and critical pedagogy are discussed. The empirical evidence from this Hong Kong study contributes to an understanding of teacher-initiated power-sharing in the Chinese context, and the practice of critical pedagogy in classrooms.

Keywords power-sharing      critical pedagogy      elementary schools      Hong Kong education     
Issue Date: 19 June 2015
 Cite this article:   
Mei-Yee WONG. A Qualitative Examination of Teacher-Student Power-Sharing in Chinese Classrooms: A Study in Hong Kong[J]. Front. Educ. China, 2015, 10(2): 251-273.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fed/EN/10.3868/s110-004-015-0017-2
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fed/EN/Y2015/V10/I2/251
[1] Juanjuan ZHAO. Confucius as a Critical Educator:Towards Educational Thoughts of Confucius[J]. Front Educ Chin, 2013, 8(1): 9-27.
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited

  Shared   
  Discussed