WHERE RESEARCH, PRACTICE AND THE AUTHORITY MEET: A COLLABORATIVE INQUIRY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED CHINESE LANGUAGE CURRICULA

This collaborative inquiry project brought together 14 Chinese Language teachers, 4 researchers and 2 Ministry of Education (MOE) curriculum specialists to co-design the Chinese Language curricula with the integrated use of information and communication technology (ICT). Three qualitative data sources – one-to-one interviews, focus group discussion, and the field notes – were collected and comparatively analyzed. The findings indicate when the participants in the three parties (teachers, researchers and ministry officials) brought their own agendas and interests to the project and this resulted in various tensions initially. The participants experienced gradual changes in knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and practice after coming out of their comfort zones. When they reached a consensus to enhance Chinese learning for primary school students, they actively contributed their respective strengths to the project. The findings indicate that the collaborative inquiry model is one possible way to resolve tensions arising from education reforms and to build-on diverse ideas for contextually viable innovations.