Teachers' conceptions of excellent teaching in Chinese middle schools
While there have been many western studies about what excellence means to teachers, there are far fewer eastern studies. This research explores how Chinese teachers perceive excellent teaching in middle schools. Three linked studies have aimed to identify teachers' major conceptions, and how they related to their conceptions of teaching practice. Study One investigated how 169 Chinese teachers, students, parents, and school leaders understood excellent teaching in middle schools in Liaoning Province, China. Their conceptions of excellent teaching were analysed using narrative inquiry. The study identified 47 characteristics of excellent teaching and 45 characteristics of teaching practice, which resulted in the development of two survey instruments. Study Two aimed to condense the items of the two survey instruments to a more succinct set of items that could be meaningfully utilised in Study Three. This was achieved using a group of Chinese judges and 291 Chinese middle school teachers. As a result of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, two eight-factor measurement models for excellent teaching and teaching practice with reasonable goodness of fit indices were identified. Based on a sample of 951 Chinese middle school teachers, the final study confirmed two measurement models and one structural model pertaining to the relationships between teachers' conceptions of excellent teaching and teaching practice. A hierarchical model of conceptions of excellence was supported with two second-order dimensions. The examination-oriented dimension related to teachers seeing themselves as preparing students for examinations. The teacher-student dimension involved four first-order conceptions: Teacher As Developing Lifelong Learners, Teacher As Student Focused, Teacher As Responsible For Engaging Students In Learning, and Teacher As Professional Learner. A hierarchical model of teachers' conceptions of teaching practice involved one second-order conception which was Strict Teacher-Oriented and five first-order conceptions which were Teacher Is in Charge, Examination Practice, Novel Variety Methods, Beyond Classroom Connections, and Encouraging Student Involvement. The structural model showed that most teachers' conceptions of excellent teaching were related to their conceptions of teaching practice. Therefore it is possible that teachers' teaching practices may be changed or improved if teachers' conceptions of excellent teaching could be changed. Implications for teacher professional development programs, teacher evaluation, and Chinese teaching standards are proposed.
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