Professional agency of Hong Kong kindergarten teachers working with socioeconomically disadvantaged children: A phenomenographic study

Project Investigator: Dr. Keung Pui Chi Chrysa

There is a growing demand for attention given to the complexity of teacher work within the early childhood context. Teacher work hinges on making ethical decisions in their professional practices to address children’s diverse needs and concerns, such as those of socioeconomically disadvantaged children. This project uses a phenomenographic approach to investigate kindergarten teachers’ conceptions and experiences of professional agency in their daily work. Data will be collected through interviews with kindergarten teachers from Hong Kong districts with high poverty ratios to identify different ways of interpreting and experiencing professional agency when working with socioeconomically disadvantaged children. Classroom observations and participation in teacher collaborative meetings will be conducted to enrich the data set.

The specific objectives of this project are:

(1) To construct an in-depth contextualised account of how professional agency is conceptualised and experienced by kindergarten teachers working with socioeconomically disadvantaged children.

(2) To identify kindergarten teachers’ challenges and opportunities in exercising and negotiating professional agency to work with socioeconomically disadvantaged children within different socio-cultural and institutional contexts.

(3) To expand existing knowledge of professional agency in early childhood education and add insights to teacher development.

(4) To provide recommendations on teacher education and education policy related to teacher work and in support of socioeconomically disadvantaged children.

This project will yield an in-depth contextualised account of professional agency manifested within the constraints in different socio-cultural and institutional contexts. It will advance the knowledge of professional agency for reconstructing the meaning of teacher professionalism. The findings of this project will inform practical ways to help kindergarten teachers in the face of challenges and search for opportunities for exercising professional agency in a complex work environment. The project will also generate recommendations for policymakers and academics to review early childhood teacher education and professional development in support of kindergarten teachers working with socioeconomically disadvantaged children.

For more information about this project, please contact Dr. Chrysa Keung at: cpckeung@eduhk.hk