Teachers’ professional agency in a centralisation-decentralisation system and a hierarchical cultural context: the case of Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Teachers are frontline actors in actualising educational innovations. In some contexts, teachers’ professional agency is undervalued. This study investigated teachers’ agency and its related workplace affordances in Hong Kong, which features a centralised-decentralisation education governance system, and a hierarchical work culture. The study was based on 21 semi-structured interviews with teachers, and employed a deductive thematic analysis. Agency enactment was categorised into 1) pedagogical agency within classrooms, and 2) relational agency in the professional community. The factors contributing to workplace affordances were grouped as pertaining to 1) the collegial community, 2) school leadership, 3) access to resources, and 4) availability of time, space, and job stability. Agency-supportive leadership and a favourable collegial environment significantly facilitated teachers’ agentic actions. Teachers did not explicitly resist but implemented emotionally meaningless order in a ‘work-to-rule’ manner. The study contributes to professional agency research as applied to a particular political, regional, and socio-cultural context.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher professional agency
• centralised-decentralisation system
• hierarchical work structure
• subject-centred socio-cultural approach
• workplace affordances

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. This insight is based on a search for the terms ‘agent’ and ‘agency’ in the following reports: 1) Progress Report 2015 Committee on Professional Development of Teachers and Principals Hong Kong (https://www.edb.org.hk/irooms/eservices/T-surf/Content/Documents/cotap_progress_report_2015-en.pdf), and 2) Secondary Education Curriculum Guide 2017- Professional Development and School as Learning Organization (https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/renewal/Guides/SECG%20booklet%2011_en_20180831.pdf).

2. For example, The Report on the New Academic Structure Medium Term Review and Beyond in 2015 (https://334.edb.hkedcity.net/new/doc/eng/MTR_Report_e.pdf) does not refer to any aspect of teacher agency.