Page 76 - ALR2018 Handbook

Dr Chen Junjun
The Education University of Hong Kong
E. jjchen@eduhk.hk

Joining the Department of Education Policy and Leadership at the Institute seems
very much like a joyful home-coming after having been away for so long. Having
taught at middle school and university level in Mainland China, Dr Chen left to
study for a masters degree in Education at the University of Groningen and then
for my PhD at the University of Auckland. During her recent time as a postdoctoral
research fellow at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, where the numbers
of researchers in education are small and therefore people are strongly
tempted to diversify, she was amazed at what she has got herself into. Adding a
range of qualitative techniques such as interviews, classroom observations, focus
group discussions to her quantitative base skills, she has found myself happily
struggling to understand Kiwi children’s interesting versions of the English
language. Subject-wise, she has been drawn from her work in educational beliefs
and teacher effectiveness into other fields, such as science teaching, student
engagement, and assessment. She is willing to apply some of these skills and
enlarge her research interest to advance the work of the EdUHK cooperating with
colleagues in the coming years. This opportunity to work at EdUHK makes her feel
very privileged indeed.

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