Xianggang zhong xue Zhongguo li shi jiao shi xue ke jiao xue zhi shi ji qi dui ke tang jiao xue ying xiang de ge an yan jiu =: A case study of the relationship between Chinese history teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and classroom teaching in Hong Kong secondary schools

Ed.D.This study, based on the theories of pedagogical content knowledge and disciplined by the empirical research method, aims to secure an in-depth understanding over the professional delivery of teaching Chinese History in Hong Kong secondary schools by answering two pertinent questions: 1) What constitutes the pedagogical content knowledge that Chinese History teachers generally possess? 2) What effects pertinent to the teaching of the subject are produced out of the teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge in the classroom situation?This study adopts case study method via purposeful sampling where four teachers from one band 1 school and band 3 school, two with a degree in History or Chinese History, two without, were chosen as the unit of analysis for investigation. Through interviews and document analysis, it is expected to reach a thorough and holistic understanding on the nature and scope of the knowledge - pedagogical content knowledge - among Chinese History teachers and explore the ways in which such knowledge shapes up the practice of curriculum orientation, curriculum decision making and curriculum organization in the level of classroom teaching.This study finds that the pedagogical content knowledge among Chinese History teachers in Hong Kong is characterized by the following features:1. While convinced that the subject helps establish students' moral affects, sense of belonging and national identity, the teachers are at the same time under the sway of their own views on assessment, particularly public examinations, which in fact profoundly constitutes the core of their education beliefs. These ideological convictions carry weight in forming the parameters of the epistemic construction with respect to the knowledge of the subject matter, its curriculum and pedagogy, the knowledge of the learner and the knowledge of the contexts and its practice.2. It is believed that historical knowledge is to serve as a vehicle to mirror the past and historical reality. Historical skills are meant to fulfill two functions - general and specific - for students. The former function is about developing students' generic skills while the latter is specific acquisitions in getting students equipped with the skills in historiography that discipline historians’ research.3. The dominant subject-orientation of Chinese History curriculum is informed by the intellectually historical viewpoint inherited from the historians who fled to Hong Kong before the Chinese Communist Party took to power in 1949. According to them, what Chinese History does is to celebrate good governance, understand the ebb and flow of the imperial powers in history, and to inherit culture. Thanks to the remaining strength of the tradition of freedom of speech and academic freedom, space opened up by historical pluralism and multidisciplinary approaches can continue to persist, notwithstanding the officially monolithic discourse fused with political propaganda into the curriculum. While the profession approves of having a curriculum which might as well have included political history, cultural history, and Hong Kong history, inadequate subject knowledge among non-specialized teachers, however, still stands in the way towards such a direction. With this disadvantage, the profession cannot help but accept, with raised eyebrows though, to have the curriculum re-organised and integrated, despite the fact that the teachers themselves would rather see happen a curriculum which either prioritises modern history over ancient history or one which attaches equal weight to both.4. While the teachers would use multi-strategy approaches to arouse students' interest in learning the subject, they continue using direct instruction as the main teaching strategy in normal lessons.5. The profession appreciates characteristics of students and adjust teaching methods accordingly. Parents' perception of the subject remains a crucial factor when it comes to making a choice from the elective subjects for high school.This study evidently discovers that in the classroom situation there is a close connection between subject knowledge, historical thinking and teaching efficacy. Specialized teachers, in possession of substantial subject knowledge, accurate understanding of students with the ideas behind the course, can professionally design lessons which can inspire historical thinking and historiography skills. However, the teachers with inadequate subject knowledge would not be able to coincide their teaching with the historiography ability set out to deliver. It is all about the positive relation between subject knowledge and knowledge of the assessment received under the lens of pluralistic historical views: the more subject knowledge is held with assessment in focus, the more likely the textbook historical view - the official historical view - can be otherwise engaged with a view to understanding history itself in depth.Finally, it is confirmed that pedagogical content knowledge influences the ways in which the modern and contemporary history is taught within the political history, which in turn has bearing on the curricular kickoff of cultural history and Hong Kong history in the future. This then gives rise to suspicion about using thematic approaches as a method to integrate those histories.為了深刻地理解中國歷史科的專業實踐，本研究以學科教學知識為理論，藉著實證研究的方法，以回應兩道問題：一、香港中學中國歷史教師有何學科教學知識？二、香港中學中國歷史教師的學科教學知識對其課堂教學有何影響？本研究採取個案研究的方式，以嵌入式多種個案為設計，採取目的性抽樣的方法，選取兩所中學共四位（兩位專任和兩位兼任）教師為研究對象。藉著訪談及文本分析，期望深入並整體地理解香港中學中國歷史教師的學科教學知識，並探究這些學科教學知識如何影響教師在課堂教學上的課程取向、課程決定和課程組織。本研究發現中國歷史科教師的學科教學知識有以下特點：一、除了認為學科有助培養學生品德情意，建立國民身份認同及歸屬感之外，評核（尤其是公開試評核）構成了他們對教育信念重要組成的部份，深深影響著他們的學科知識，課程知識，教學知識，學生知識和情境知識。評核知識的提出是為本研究對學科教學知識理論最重要的研究貢獻。二、教師相信歷史知識是反映歷史過去的載體，是歷史的真實。歷史技能兼具普遍性與特殊性的涵義，既能發展學生共通能力，也能裝備學生理解歷史編纂學中歷史學家在進行歷史研究時的技能。三、南來史家的史觀構成了香港中國歷史課程的內容與取向：重視政治興衰及文化承傳。在香港言論自由與學術自由的傳統下，即使由官方知識主導的課程知識有著一元論述傾向並夾雜政治宣傳，但學科所重視的多元論述仍有發揮的空間。雖然教師認同歷史教學範圍應該包括政治史、文化史和香港史，但礙於兼任教師在學科知識上的欠缺，對推展文化史及香港史的教學實有很大的影響。雖然教師贊成詳近略遠/古今並重的課程組織，但在與其自身學科知識相左的情況下只是帶著疑慮地認同課程統整的做法。四、教師會運用多元教學法以提升學生學習歷史的興趣，以直接直接教學法作為日常課堂主要的教學策略。五、教師重視學生特點以便調節教學，學校重視中國歷史科的發展，家長對歷史的觀感影響著學生是否在高中選修本科。本研究發現教師的學科知識與課堂上歷史思維與史學能力教學有著密切的關係。專任教師能夠在學科知識的支持下，再配合所瞭解的學生知識和課程知識，能夠專業地設計歷史思維及史學能力教學。此外，欠缺學科知識的教師對史學能力教學將會有所偏差，因為學科知識與評核知識在多元史觀教學上有著正向的關係：學科知識深厚，精通評核重點，愈能將異於教科書（官方知識）的史觀告訴學生，深化學生對史事的理解。最後學科教學知識影響了教師對實踐政治史裡近現代史的教學，也影響著文化史、香港史的開展，更引起了教師對以主題為統整方法的疑慮。李文峰."2019年2月".Parallel title from added title page.Thesis Ed.D. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2019.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 313-344).Abstracts in Chinese and English.Title from PDF title page (viewed on January 24, 2022).Li Wenfeng