Effects of a professional development programme on teacher receptivity and curriculum change in Hong Kong physical education

Earlier studies stress that teachers are at the center of the educational change process. Based on Fullan’s (1982) multidimensional framework for educational change, 40 schoolteachers were selected and randomly distributed (Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007) according to four conditions of professional support, specifically, the control group (CO), Teaching Materials and Teacher Development (TMTD); Teaching Materials and Student Assessment (TMSA), and Teaching Materials, Teacher Development, and Student Assessment (TMTDSA). Subsequently, pre- and post-stage studies to the 10-month intervention were conducted to compare the various effects of educational change on teacher receptivity (Ha, Lee, Chan, & Sum, 2004; Waugh & Godfrey, 1993). Both quantitative and qualitative methods were likewise used to identify the teachers’ views on education reform. Results show that teachers of TMTD and TMTDSA obtained a significantly higher post-test score (p < .05) on “Behavioral Intentions toward Promoting Physical Education as a Key Learning Area (PE-KLA)” and “Other Perceived Support for Teaching PE-KLA,” respectively. Meanwhile, the control group obtained a significantly higher post-test score (p < .05) in “Issues of Concern Associated with Implementing PE-KLA,” indicating that teachers who do not receive support from schools or outside agencies showed more concern on the implementation of the initiative compared to the other groups.