The professional identity of early childhood teachers in Hong Kong: Perceptions of pre-service early childhood teachers

A long-neglected sector in education, early childhood education (ECE) in Hong Kong has generated much attention in recent years following the heavy promotion of the government as it lays the foundation for lifelong learning and all-round development. Since teachers are viewed as the main determinants of quality ECE, early childhood teacher training programs are sprouting up across the region. How do pre-service ECE teachers perceive and describe the professional identity of ECE teachers in Hong Kong against the current policy environment? As a part of a larger project sponsored by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, this study explored the views of 175 pre-service ECE teachers from 7 teacher training institutions in Hong Kong using self-administered, open-ended survey questionnaires. The results revealed that while pre-service ECE teachers generally described the role of early childhood teachers in positive terms, many presented a pessimistic view on the prospect of the profession. In particular, even though most of them perceived early childhood teachers as professionals, they believed the general society thought otherwise. Such a feeling was reported by pre-service teachers across all 7 institutions and different years of study. Implications for policy and teacher training will be discussed.