"Textbooks" for liberal studies in Hong Kong : teachers' and students' use and perceptions of their roles in learning and teaching

Abstract

Textbook plays an important role in teaching and learning. Unlike most subjects, none Liberal Studies “textbooks” had been reviewed by the Education Bureau (EDB) officially. LS teachers are encouraged to teach flexibly with alternative resources and not to rely solely on LS “textbooks” in its conventional sense. Limited research had been carried out to investigate the effectiveness and user’s perception on LS “textbooks”.

This research implements a narrative inquiry approach in the reference of autoethnography, exploring the usage and perception of LS “textbooks’ of three parties – in-service teachers, students and student-teacher.

The findings of the research indicate that although LS “textbooks” are seen as auxiliaries by teachers, they still have significance in teaching and learning. Students in general are dissatisfied with LS “textbooks”, and such discontent affects their performance in class thus learning capacity. The findings of the study also bring out difficulties faced by LS teachers such as the acquisition of pedagogical content knowledge and heavy workload from lesson preparation.