System 47 (2014) 88e101

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English language teaching and educational reform in WesternChina: A knowledge management perspective

Daguo Li*, Viv EdwardsUniversity of Reading, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 7 September 2012Received in revised form 1 September 2014Accepted 15 September 2014Available online

Keywords:English language educationChinese teachersContinuing Professional Development (CPD)Knowledge management (KM)Knowledge creation

* Corresponding author. National Centre for Lang3782703; fax: þ44 (0) 118 3782759.

E-mail address: d.li@reading.ac.uk (D. Li).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2014.09.0190346-251X/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

a b s t r a c t

This study examines the impact of a large-scale UK-based teacher development pro-gramme on innovation and change in English language education in Western China withina knowledge management (KM) framework. Questionnaire data were collected from 229returnee teachers in 15 cohorts. Follow-up interviews and focus groups were conductedwith former participants, middle and senior managers, and teachers who had notparticipated in the UK programme. The results showed evidence of knowledge creationand amplification at individual, group and inter-organizational levels. However, the pre-sent study also identified knowledge creation potential through the more effective orga-nization of follow-up at the national level, particularly for the returnee teachers. It isargued that the KM framework might offer a promising alternative to existing models andmetaphors of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in education inter-nationally and teachers' professional development is seen as crucial to educational reform and sustainable global develop-ment (Day & Sachs, 2004; Kennedy, 2014; Swaffield, 2014; Villegas-Reimers, 2003). Traditional approaches to CPD ineducation, often known as in-service training or INSET, have been criticized for their static nature (e.g. as one-off events)(Smith, 2014) and narrow focus on the transmission of knowledge and skills. Some models of CPD, for example, the TrainingModel and the Cascade Model, as described in Kennedy (2014), reflect the focus on knowledge transmission from the “ex-perts” to teachers or from the centre to the periphery. Current models of CPD, however, tend to emphasize teachers' pro-fessional development as a long-term process in which teachers actively participate in the collaborative construction ofunderstanding to promote transformative practice and autonomy (Kennedy, 2014; Smith, 2014; Villegas-Reimers, 2003).However, as observed by Rose and Reynolds (cited in Smith, 2014), the long term impact of CPD is rarely assessed. The presentpaper aims to fill this gap by evaluating the impact of a UK-based CPD programme for Chinese teachers of English within aninnovative analytical framework e knowledge management (KM). The study is part of a larger joint evaluation project be-tween a British University and the China Scholarship Council, with research funding from the British Council, looking at theimpact of overseas training on Chinese teachers' return to China (Edwards & Li, 2011; Li & Edwards, 2013; NCLL, 2010).

uage and Literacy, University of Reading, 4 Redlands Road, Reading RG1 5EX, UK. Tel.: þ44 (0) 118

D. Li, V. Edwards / System 47 (2014) 88e101 89

2. Context of the present study

2.1. China's policy of reform and opening up

The priority of the Chinese national policy of reform and opening up since the late 1970s has been the acquisition ofadvanced science and technology from developed (predominantly Western) countries. Two approaches stand out. One is“bringing in” (qing jin lai) and the other “going out” (zou chu qu) (Xu & Xie, 2011). “Bringing in” is typified by joint or soleforeign ventures in China and the parachuting in of what are called foreign experts to the country. “Going out” is characterizedby the sponsored study trips of large numbers of key personnel or talent in the areas of science and technology, themain bodyof the million strong overseas study population in this 30-year period (1978e2007) (Cheng, 2009).

English language education has followed a similar trend. For example, hundreds of ELT (English Language Teaching)specialists fromWestern English speaking countries have been invited to teach at universities and schools across the country(Ouyang, 2003). Of considerable influence are the joint teacher training programmes in China involving western organiza-tions such as the British Council and China's Ministry of Education (e.g. Gu, 2005; Ouyang, 2003; Yan, 2008). Equallyimportant is the significant number of English language teachers whose foreign language advantage has enabled them to jointhe exodus of the million strong Chinese students and scholars to study aboard. The Western Programme, to be discussedbelow, is a major Chinese national programme designed specially to redress the balance between theWestern Region and therest of China.

2.2. The Western Programme

The Special Programme for the Cultivation of Talent in the Western Region (or The Western Programme for short) waslaunched in September 2002 (Sohu, 2002). It was a national education development policy embedded in the great WesternRegion Development Strategy (WRDS) (Grewal & Ahmed, 2011) designed to reduce regional disparities and promote long-term social and economic development of the Western Region. The Western Programme aims to promote internationalexchange and collaboration by learning from the experiences of developed countries in the West (Sohu, 2002). The rationalefor the Western Programme was as follows: Central Government funding for the overseas study of teaching, research andadministrative personnel has been increased, particularly since the establishment of the China Scholarship Council (CSC) in1996, making a significant contribution to China's modernization drive. However, the existing scheme, with its nationaluniform selection criteria, including English language requirements, had placed the Western Region at a disadvantagecompared with the Middle and Eastern Regions. Consequently, there has been a low level of participation and lack ofenthusiasm, reducing the impact of the scheme in the Western Region (Sohu, 2002).

With the targeted support of the Western Programme over the past 10 years or so, however, large numbers of teaching,research and administrative personnel from the region have studied inWestern countries for periods of between three and 12months. The vast majority are drawn from higher education and research institutes in the region and are normally sentoverseas as Academic Visitors. However, in 2003, a sub-programmewithin theWestern Programmewas launched by the CSC.It offered secondary teachers of English in the region the opportunity to study in the UK so that they could be exposed to“advancedmethods” in foreign language teaching. The launch of the programme came at a timewhen education in Chinawasundergoing a period of innovation and change, themain feature of whichwas the emphasis on students' overall development,or quality-oriented education, in order to combat the weaknesses of the traditional, more narrowly focused knowledgetransmission and exam-oriented model of education. Wang (2007, p. 93) captured the mood thus:

It was generally felt by the government, the national educational authorities, as well as teachers and parents that therewas something wrong with the current educational practices. That is, our students were being spoon-fed a lot ofknowledge and spending a tremendous amount of time memorizing facts for examinations. They lacked the ability tothink independently, to cope with things in real life, to care for others, and to learn by themselves. For many childrenand young adults, learning is not a happy experience but a miserable ordeal.

English (as a foreign language), one of the key subjects in the school curriculum in China (alongside Chinese and Math-ematics), is no exception. Teachers tend to emphasize the delivery of knowledge about the language (e.g. vocabulary andgrammatical structures) at the expense of developing students' ability to communicate in the language. A largely teacher-centred pedagogy does little to develop students' motivation or individuality (Wang, 2007).

2.3. The English language teacher programme

The sub-programme for English language teachers, delivered for the CSC as three-month courses in the UK, addressesthese concerns. The courses target six provinces (Gansu, Guizhou, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan), five autonomousregions (Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet, and Xinjiang), and one municipality (Chongqing), which comes directlyunder Central Government control.

The main aims and objectives of the courses are to enhance the participants' knowledge and understanding of currenttheory and practice in English Language Education (ELE), to improve their linguistic skills, and to deepen their cultural un-derstanding. The ultimate objective is to help build the capacity of teachers to lead reform in ELE in the Western Region. To

D. Li, V. Edwards / System 47 (2014) 88e10190

achieve these objectives, the course programme consists of five components: second language teaching methodology, lan-guage development, a cultural programme, placement in local British schools, and regular group tutorials. Second languageteaching methodology, a major component of the programme, uses training materials specifically designed for this audience,regularly updated to respond to feedback from participants and to reflect the latest developments and good practice. Theapproach to training, like many other teacher education and professional development programmes in the English-speakingworld, is based largely on constructivist principles: it is student-centred, interactive, and inquiry-oriented. Theories areembedded as much as possible in practical tasks and activities relevant to the audience. The programme features experientiallearning (e.g. Kohonen, Jaatinen, Kaikknen,& Lehtovaara, 2001) or loop input (Woodward, 2003). Loop input is ‘a specific typeof experiential teacher training process that involves an alignment of the process and content of learning’ (Woodward, 2003,p. 301). In other words, participants temporarily suspend their role as trainee teachers and experience tasks and activities aslanguage students and then discuss and reflect on both content and process.

The language development sessions and cultural programme, complemented by accommodation in local British hostfamilies, help to immerse the participants in real life situations. The placement in local mainstream British schools allowsparticipants to both observe and experience teaching and learning in a different educational system, offering an insight intowhat could be called ‘principles in practice’ e the contextualization of the theories and principles explicated on the course.

The programme thus aims to provide an enriching CPD experience for the Chinese teachers, enabling them to develop notonly a rich repertoire of practical pedagogical skills, techniques and activities but also a deeper understanding of the rationalebehind such practices, and making the link between theory and practice. Such an understanding is often strengthened bytheir social and cultural experience outside the classroom.

To summarize, the UK-based comprehensive teacher development programme was developed in response to policy ini-tiatives concerning the quality of ELE, particularly in the less developed Western Region of China. The returnee teachers'contribution to innovation and change in ELE will be examined within the KM framework discussed below.

3. KM and CPD e a brief review of the literature

KM refers to the leveraging of knowledge to achieve innovation in an organization (Dalkir, 2005; Nonaka, 2002; Nonaka&Takeuchi, 1995; Scarbrough, Swan, & Preston, 1999). KM started to gain momentum in the mid-1990s and has continued toattract the attention of academics in the field of organization and management (Dalkir, 2005; Nonaka & von Krogh, 2009).

Among the most important concepts within KM are tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge isknowledge that can be clearly stated (Polanyi, 1967) or codified. It ‘involves know-how that is transmittable in formal, sys-tematic language and does not require direct experience of the knowledge that is being acquired’ (Howells, 2002, p. 872). Tacitknowledge, by contrast, is ‘the unarticulated elements of human knowledge’ (Miller, 2008, p. 937) or ‘the knowledgeembedded in people's mind’ (Garavelli, Gorgoglione, & Scozzi, 2002, p. 270). It captures the fact that ‘we can knowmore thanwe can tell’ (Polanyi, 1967, p. 4). Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) describe it as:

highly personal and hard to formalize, making it difficult to communicate or to share with others. Subjective insights,intuitions, and hunches fall into this category of knowledge… tacit knowledge is deeply rooted in an individual's actionand experience, as well as in the ideals, values, or emotions he or she embraces. (p. 8)

Polanyi (1967) argues that tacit knowledge is pervasive; it ‘forms an indispensable part of all knowledge’ (p. 20). It mayshed light on the interpretation of explicit knowledge (Howells, 2002).

The model of KM that elegantly explains the interaction between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge in knowledgecreation was developed by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). It proposes that tacit knowledge is acquired through socializationand internalization of explicit knowledge, while explicit knowledge is created through a combination of explicit knowledgeand externalization of tacit knowledge. The two forms of knowledge represent two extremes of a knowledge continuum inconstant interaction with each other (See Fig. 1).

Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) see organizational knowledge creation as a dynamic process in the form of a “knowledgespiral” (p. 72) (see Fig. 2). This spiral is positioned along two dimensions of organizational knowledge creation: epistemo-logical and ontological. Along the epistemological dimension is the continuum of tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge and

Tacit knowledge

Tacit

Socialization

Explicit Knowledge

Explicit knowledge

CombinationInternalization Externalization

knowledge

Fig. 1. Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) model of knowledge conversion and knowledge continuum (adapted).

Fig. 2. Spiral of organizational knowledge creation (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995, p. 72).

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a continuous dialogue between the two. The ontological dimension sees knowledge as being created at different levels, e.g.the individual, group, organization, and inter-organization, through social interaction and expanding ‘communities ofinteraction’ where knowledge can be shared and developed (see also Nonaka, 2002).

As argued by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), an organization cannot, strictly speaking, create knowledge; knowledge cre-ation starts with the tacit knowledge of the individuals within an organization. This individual knowledge is ‘organizationally’amplified and ‘crystallized’ as a part of the knowledge network of the organization in a process involving four modes ofknowledge conversion (socialization, externalization, combination and internalization). This dynamic interaction along thetwo dimensions of the knowledge spiral accelerates the expansion and creation of knowledge and drives innovationwithin anorganization and beyond.

Nonaka and Takeuchi's (1995) Spiral of organizational knowledge creation explains “the dynamic process of organizationalknowledge creation”, with reference to two important premises, i.e. “tacit and explicit knowledge can be conceptuallydistinguished along a continuum, and knowledge conversion explains the interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge”(Nonaka & von Krogh, 2009, p. 636). It recognizes the significance of tacit knowledge and the transformation of tacitknowledge to explicit knowledge in order to promote knowledge creation and management (e.g. knowledge sharing orleverage) within an organization.

KM has recently started to attract the attention of educationalists (e.g. Cranfield & Taylor, 2008; Petrides & Nodine, 2003;Sallis & Jones, 2002), although the area is under-researched (see Cranfield & Taylor, 2008). A more recent study by Tammets,Pata, and Laanpere (2012) uses a LKB model (elaborated learning and knowledge building model), derived from the Nonakaand Takeuchi's (1995) KM model, to investigate cross-organizational learning and knowledge building in a technologicalenvironment in teachers' professional development. Among the factors identified as affecting the implementation of the LKBmodel were organizational barriers (e.g. lack of support for individual LKB activities).

It is important to acknowledge that the extensive language teacher cognition literature (e.g. Borg, 2006, 2009, 2011;Woods, 1996; Woods & Çakir, 2011) also focuses on knowledge. Although there seem occasional overlaps between cate-gories of knowledge in studies of teacher cognition and those that feature in the KM literature, they represent distinctivefields of inquiry. Studies of teacher cognition are mainly concerned with the change or growth of the content of pedagogicalknowledge and beliefs in the individual (e.g. change in beliefs as a result of teacher training or practice). In contrast, theknowledgemanagement perspective, as represented by the Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) model, emphasizes the social natureof knowledge creation and amplification in an organization where the aim is to achieve innovation.

Research on the follow up impact of CPD is lacking both within and beyond ELE (Fullan, 2001; Hayes, 2000; Smith, 2014).Waters' (2006), whose study of the Philippines English Language Teaching Project is a rare exception, is able to identify onlytwo other studies which address follow up, one of which (Tomlinson, 1988) he considers under-theorized and the other(Roberts, 1998) sketchy. There is then an apparent need for research on the issue of follow up impact of CPD with clearlyarticulated conceptual or analytical frameworks.

In the present study, we look specifically at how the KM framework and, in particular, the Spiral of OrganizationalKnowledge Creation by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), illuminates our understanding of the impact of the UK programme oninnovation and change in ELE in Western China. We limit our discussion to those aspects pertinent to the above knowledgecreation model. Specifically, we aim to answer the following questions:

D. Li, V. Edwards / System 47 (2014) 88e10192

1. How is knowledge managed within the course participants' own schools (within an organization)?2. How is knowledge managed beyond their own schools (inter-organization)?

4. Method

4.1. Participants and methods of data collection

The population of the study was the 505 returnee teachers who had participated in the past 15 courses at the BritishUniversity. The lengths of time they had been back at their posts in China at the time of data collection varied from one and ahalf months to nearly seven years. Convenience or purposive samples were used for different phases of the study withdifferentmethods of data collection. In Phase One, an online questionnaire survey via SurveyMonkey was conducted to assessthe overall impact of the CPD programme on the participants' return. A convenience sample was used, consisting of all thepast participants except the 103 returnees from Xinjiang who were not able to access the internet at the time of the surveydue to a social unrest in the region. Of those who were sent the invitation, 224 (56%) responded. Out of these, 25 responseswere incomplete so were removed from the final analysis.

The online questionnaire comprised items that address the following: demographic information, theory andmethodology,language development, cultural experience, school visits/placement, and other aspects of impact (e.g. attitudinal change,cascading of training). Five-point rating scales were used for most items, ranging from 1 (‘very useful/helpful’) to 5 (‘not at alluseful/helpful’); ‘yes’, ‘no’ or specific categories were used for other items. Respondents were also given the opportunity tooffer additional comments on selected items and the qualitative data thus obtained offered further insights. Sample items ofthe questionnaire include:

� How useful are the following activities, techniques or strategies for you?

[e.g.] Using stories in teaching EnglishVery useful useful not sure a little useful not useful

� Has the course changed your conception of English language teaching?

Yes/NoIf your answer is “Yes”, please briefly explain in what ways:

� How responsive are your colleagues to your [new] ideas?

Very responsiveResponsiveNot responsive

In Phase Two, fieldwork was undertaken with the operational support of the CSC in four cities in Southwest China(Guiyang, Zunyi, Chongqing and Chengdu) located in two provinces and one municipality under direct central governmentcontrol. Participants were located through amixture of purposive and opportunity sampling. The researchers set out themainparameters: we identified schools so as to ensure a good geographical spread (e.g. a balance of metropolis and smaller cities),and specified that we wanted to involve both participant and non-participant teachers as well as headteachers and EnglishTeaching Research Group (TRG) leaders (equivalent to Heads of Departments in British schools). The short time available forfieldwork e ten days in total e placed constraints on what we could achieve. For this reason, operational details weredetermined by the CSC in consultation with local education authorities and individual schools.

We conducted semi-structured interviews with ten former participants and ten headteachers and English TRG leaders inschools in Zunyi, Chongqing and Chengdu. Interviews with former participants and English TRG leaders typically lasted about30 min, whereas those with the headteachers lasted between 10 and 15 min. Issues explored with former participantsincluded direct or practical methodological aspects of impact; conceptual or attitudinal change; change in capacity (e.g.linguistic competence and cultural awareness); leadership in CPD; support for change, and evidence of (indirect) impact onstudents. Issues discussed with the English TRG leaders and headteachers covered expectations by the English TRG (or theschool) of the returnee teachers; contribution by the returnee teachers to CPD in the English TRG or the school; the level ofsupport provided to the returnees by the English TRG or school; attitudes towards the returnee teachers; the management ofchange; and the impact of the overseas training.

We conducted focus group discussions with two different groups: 9 colleagues who had not taken part in the programmefrom the English TRGs in the Zunyi and Chongqing schools (non-participants); 48 former participants from across the regionwho had responded to an invitation from CSC to join us in Guiyang, Zunyi, Chongqing, and Chengdu. Issues explored with thenon-participant groups included their observation of innovation and change in the practice of their overseas returnee col-leagues and their own CPD needs and aspirations. With the former participants, focus group discussions explored issuessimilar to those covered in individual interviews.

Finally, we observed the classes of five former participants and two non-participants in the Zunyi and Chongqing schools,focussing on classroom methodology (e.g. classroom interaction, activities and techniques). One lesson of each of theseteachers was observed, lasting between 45 and 50 min.

D. Li, V. Edwards / System 47 (2014) 88e101 93

Our aim, then, was to strengthen the trustworthiness of our findings by triangulating both the methods used (ques-tionnaire, interview, focus group and observation) and the sources of information (participant and non-participant teachersand members of the senior management team).

4.2. Data analysis

Quantitative data collected through questionnaire were subject to simple statistical analysis to gauge the overall patterns.For example, medians were calculated for the ordinal data from rating scales, also taking into consideration the skeweddistribution of the data, and percentages were calculated for the categorical data. Qualitative data from the open-endedquestions in the questionnaire and notes from the classroom observations were collated; those from the interviews andfocus groups were transcribed. The data were then systematically coded and analysed for patterns and themes, aided byNVivo 8 e a sophisticated qualitative data analysis software particularly suited to the type of analysis deemed necessary forthe present study (e.g. hierarchical organization of the different categories). Since the data were collected in the participants'mother tongue Chinese, a random selection of the categories and translations of the extracts of data by one of the co-authorswas scrutinized and cross-checked by two independent researchers e a PhD student and a Visiting Professor from China.There was a high level agreement among the three researchers with regards to both the coding and the accuracy of theEnglish translations of the data. We present the findings below.

5. Findings

The findings are presented in relation to the research questions and along the ontological dimension of knowledge cre-ation. We first discuss knowledge creation within an organization (i.e. the participants' school) and then move on to a dis-cussion of knowledge creation beyond the school.

5.1. Knowledge creation within the participants' school

Knowledge creation within the participants' school is discussed at two levels: the individual and the group.

5.1.1. Knowledge creation at the individual level within the schoolAt the individual level, there is substantial evidence that the participants were engaged in knowledge creation in their

classroom practice. Knowledge creation in the classroom mainly took the form of experimenting with or integrating peda-gogical ideas from their course in the UK. These include a number of pedagogical activities, techniques or strategies designedeither to teach specific aspects of the English language (e.g. vocabulary and grammar) and skills (i.e. listening, speaking,reading and writing) or to enhance the process of students' learning. The latter includes, for example, creating an Englishlanguage environment, motivating students, encouraging the use of language learning strategies, and promoting learnerautonomy, all current topics in reform on English language education in China (Ministry of Education, 2011;Wang, 2007). Thequestionnaire results (see Tables 1e7 below) show that typically the respondents found the wide variety of pedagogicalknowledge included in the course ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’ in their own practice (as indicated by the median values of ‘2’ or ‘1’for the questionnaire items on pedagogical knowledge).

In addition, a similar pattern of responses emerged with regard to the knowledge of theories from the course, such asconstructivist learning and language acquisition (see Table 8).

Taken together, these patterns of responses seem to suggest that the participants' pedagogical innovations had a theo-retical basis.

Knowledge creation at the individual level in the classroom also involves exploiting the content knowledge acquired byparticipants during their stay in the UK. Content knowledge includes both linguistic and sociocultural knowledge (Graves,2009). The participants reported that they were able to exploit the linguistic knowledge, as indicated by the median valueof ‘1’ (very useful). They also felt the knowledge they built up through their various sociocultural experiences in the UK was‘very useful’ (see Table 9).

The qualitative data generated from open-ended questions in the survey and interviews and focus groups shed furtherlight on individual knowledge creation. The following example from the response to an open-ended survey question, forinstance, provides evidence of how a participant's writing pedagogy had been ‘enriched’ by integrating a new approach theyhad learned in the UK into their existing practice. The new approach, Process Writing, emphasizes the developmental natureof student writing and how peer feedback and teacher feedback and guidance can scaffold its development (Tsui, 2003;White

Table 1Pedagogical knowledge e techniques and activities.

Warmers/Fillers/Coolers Gapped dictation SOAR-ing Project Songs Stories Mixed abilities CLT large classes

N Valid 196 194 193 190 195 192 190 188Missing 3 5 6 9 4 7 9 11

Median 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.0 1.00 2.00 2.00 2.00

Table 2Pedagogical knowledge e teaching listening.

Listening activities Intensive listening Extensive listening

N Valid 194 192 191Missing 5 7 8

Median 1.00 2.00 2.00

Table 3Pedagogical knowledge e teaching and feedback on speaking.

Speaking activities Speaking problems Feedback on speaking

N Valid 191 186 190Missing 8 13 9

Median 1.00 2.00 1.00

Table 4Pedagogical knowledge e teaching reading.

Reading skills Reading activities Jigsaw reading

N Valid 192 191 189Missing 7 8 10

Median 1.00 1.00 2.00

Table 5Pedagogical knowledge e teaching and feedback on writing.

Process writing Genre writing Correction code Support writing Writing tasks

N Valid 196 196 196 188 189Missing 3 3 3 11 10

Median 2.00 2.00 2.00 1.00 1.00

Table 6Pedagogical knowledge e teaching language.

Vocabulary Guided approach grammar Grammar problems

N Valid 192 196 193Missing 7 3 6

Median 1.00 1.00 2.00

Table 7Pedagogical knowledge e learning processes.

English environment Motivation Strategies Autonomy

N Valid 188 194 190 193Missing 11 5 9 6

Median 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00

Table 8Theoretical knowledge.

Behaviourism Cognitiveconstructivism

Socialconstructivism

Multipleintelligences

First languageacquisition

Second languageacquisition

N Valid 197 191 191 190 192 196Missing 2 8 8 9 7 3

Median 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00

Table 9Content knowledge: Linguistic and sociocultural knowledge.

Language development classes Host family Cultural visits Cultural activities Cultural talks

N Valid 186 186 182 186 184Missing 13 13 17 13 15

Median 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00

D. Li, V. Edwards / System 47 (2014) 88e10194

D. Li, V. Edwards / System 47 (2014) 88e101 95

& Arndt,1991). In contrast, this participant's previous practice focused on the finished product and formal aspects of languageand texts.

The Process Writing approach… enabled me to guide students every step of the way in the whole process of writing. Itallowed me to find out difficulties my students may have encountered in their writing, whether it's about thinking andplanning, structuring, or choice of words, and to intervene at the right moment, offering suggestions and guidance. Istrongly recommended it to my colleagues and it helped to enrich our pedagogical ideas.

Another commented on how they introduced new ways of teaching listening: ‘… I have learned how to design pre-listening, while-listening, and post-listening tasks and it has helped students better understand the passage.’

Interview, focus group and classroom observation data also show that many participants used more innovative ways ofteaching based on their experiences in the UK. Some adapted teaching materials to make themmore appropriate to their ownsituation, an unusual step in China where textbooks are often regarded as the major authoritative source of knowledge (Hu,2002). Others introduced a variety of ideas (e.g. using activities, stories, songs) to encourage student participation and tomove away from the more traditional teacher dominated teaching. On the UK course, the participants were introduced totheories of motivation and strategies for motivating students to learn. One of the strategies, also imbedded in the design of theUK course, was to use a variety of activities and techniques to foster intrinsic motivation in students. For instance, in a lessonobserved by the researchers, Fan Daoming, a teacher fromZunyi in Guizhou province, used activities and songs tomotivate hisSenior Three students (18e19-year-olds). In the follow up interview, he confirmed that these activities were part of amotivational strategy in an otherwise boring review lesson on writing in preparation for the Gaokao or national college/university matriculation exams. He further commented that, although the use of songs in his teaching was not new, the UKcourse had made him feel more confident about their theoretical basis and practical relevance, even with examinationstudents. Similarly, another returnee teacher, Han Ding, was observed to use interactive activities, such as the board games hewas exposed to in the UK, to make English language learningmore enjoyable for the students. He commented in the follow upinterview that his students had asked for more time to be spent on games of this kind during lessons and he wished he couldhave learned more about games whilst in the UK.

The data we have collected suggest both tacit and explicit dimensions of knowledge creation. For example, when par-ticipants reported that their pedagogical or sociocultural knowledge was ‘useful’ of ‘very useful’ in their teaching, it isreasonable to assume that they were not always able to articulate whether, for example, their knowledge was acquiredthrough explicit discussion in the teacher development sessions or, tacitly, through observation and experience in schoolplacements or in everyday life in the UK. The two examples provided below indeed point to the importance of tacitknowledge:

Students are very interested in hearing their teacher's overseas experiences. … In Junior Middle School, one languagepoint I needed to explain is ‘keep doing’. I told them every day onmy way to the university [when I was in the UK], thatthemost frequent words I heard from parents were ‘Keep going’when theywere sending their children to school in themorning. Although it's very simple, with just one example, they [my students] were very interested. (Zeng Ming,interview)

UK is not the declining nobles others told us about nor is London the smoggy city as described in the textbook. … Thefree museums, the centuries-old buildings you could see wherever you went, and the friendly morning greetings fromstrangers all warmed my heart e a Chinese who only stayed there for three months.

While these examples relate to tacit knowledge, they also underline the importance of immersion in the cultural contextand the importance of experiential learning as in contrast to traditional textbook learning. Such data show the value ofknowledge management intrinsic in the “going out” (zou chu qu) approach adopted by China.

Innovative practice represents knowledge creation at the individual level and reflects individual “autonomy” and“commitment”, important conditions in the knowledge creation process (Nonaka, 2002; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). Tacitknowledge is likely to be expanded or strengthened in this process, mainly through internalization, for example, exper-imenting with explicit knowledge in practice. The knowledge management framework predicts that such tacit knowledgewill be helpful for subsequent knowledge amplification beyond individual participants, and it is to this aspect which we nowturn.

5.1.2. Knowledge creation at the group level within the schoolKnowledge creation at the group level within the school includes sharing of the knowledge acquired in the UK to help

accelerate innovation in ELE. The survey data shows that nearly all the respondents (99.4 percent) reported they were able toshare ideas with their colleagues (both within their own school and beyond) and that 95.4 percent felt their colleagues wereeither ‘responsive’ or ‘very responsive’ to their ideas (See Tables 10 and 11).

Qualitative data from interviews and focus groups offer deeper insights. Waters (2009) considers organizational culture asa main variable in his discussion of innovation contexts. One important aspect of the organizational culture in the Chineseschool system is the Teaching Research Group (TRG) for a particular subject and age range, for example, English TRG for JuniorMiddle School or Mathematics TRG for Senior Middle School. TRGs provide the structure and platform for collaborationamong members of the group and for professional development opportunities, for example, discussion and reflection on

Table 10Sharing ideas with colleagues.

Frequency Percent Valid percent Cumulative percent

Valid Yes 173 86.9 99.4 99.4No 1 .5 .6 100.0Total 174 87.4 100.0

Missing System 25 12.6Total 199 100.0

Table 11Effectiveness of knowledge sharing with colleagues.

Frequency Percent Valid percent Cumulative percent

Valid Very responsive 63 31.7 36.4 36.4Responsive 102 51.3 59.0 95.4Not responsive 8 4.0 4.6 100.0Total 173 86.9 100.0

Missing System 26 13.1Total 199 100.0

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aspects of teaching, joint preparation of lessons, and mentoring of new/younger teachers. It is at the TRG level, then, thatknowledge sharing and creation can be usefully analysed. Interview data from the English TRG leaders in the case studyschools in Zunyi, Chongqing and Chengdu suggest that knowledge creation involving the participants and their colleaguescentre on the showcasing and sharing of knowledge and the mentoring of young teachers and apprenticeship.

Participants were normally expected to showcase their UK experience through oral/written reports or presentations at theEnglish TRG or school level, usually shortly after their return. Here they had to articulatewhat they had learned or achieved ina process likely to enhance explicit knowledge. As time went by, participants were often asked by their English TRG or schoolto conduct open or demonstration lessons, to act as commentators for other colleagues' open lessons, or to act as judges forteaching competitions. These involved both younger and more experienced colleagues, including other participants on thesame programme if the school had already sent more than one participant. These activities were embedded in practicalexperience and were likely to promote tacit knowledge using ‘case method’ or ‘case knowledge’ to illuminate theory inpractice (Shulman, 1986).

Explicit knowledge could also result from post-session reflection, discussion and commentary between the participantsand their colleagues relating to both the rationale and procedure e or theory and practice e in such public displays. On suchoccasions, the returnee teachers were often able to impress their colleagues and leaders by demonstrating their under-standing not only ‘that something is so’ butmore importantly ‘why it is so’ (Shulman,1986, p. 9). Many participants weremoreconfident that they had an edge in this respect compared with other colleagues who had not been able to benefit from the UKexperience. These seemed the most common forms of knowledge sharing and creation at the group level within the par-ticipants' schools; they were also widely expected and supported by the English TRG leaders and headteachers in the schoolswe studied, even though they were not formalized in every school and engaged participants to varying extents.

Knowledge sharing was also achieved through mentoring and apprenticeship. It seems increasingly common practice inChinese schools for senior teachers to take on the role of mentors and offer guidance and apprenticeship for new and youngerteachers. This practice is dubbed ‘Qinglan Project’, meaning ‘young-senior teacher pairing project’, with the implication that,with the mentoring by senior teachers, younger teachers can one day surpass them (CQ net, 2012). Many participants, assenior teachers or TRG leaders, took on such roles. As part of this mentorship arrangement, participants and younger teachershave opportunities to observe each other's teaching, discuss and reflect together, often with guidance offered to the youngerteachers both in the lesson preparation stage and in post-teaching. Many participants had a story to tell of mentoring theiryounger colleagues:

One of the teachers I mentored delivered a lesson to a Senior One class [last term]. … All the high-achieving teacherswent to observe this lesson, about 200 of them, including those from both the best schools and the more remoteschools.… It's a simple reading lesson, quite basic, but she made it interactive, as I had shown her, so that the studentshad a lot of opportunities to participate in activities and they were very happy. … The observing teachers commentedthat they were ‘amazed’ … that an English lesson could be organized that way. That was only a young teacher Imentored. She was only about 28. (Liang Min, participant interview, a school in Chongqing)

I have a lot of opportunities to interact with younger teachers, as I mentor them and offer guidance to them in theirteaching. My guidance has a stronger [theoretical] basis now. … These younger teachers … are more creative in theirteaching, even though they lack experience. In fact, we learn from each other. I share with themwhat I learned [in theUK] … and then I also get something out of their teaching. (Ms Lin Shuting, participant of first Cohort in 2003, TRGLeader Junior Middle School English, case study school in Chongqing)

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Focus group discussions with younger teachers from the same school (non-participants) confirmed this mentoringarrangement. The non-participants also stated that the new pedagogical knowledge they had gained from their mentors (e.g.through observation) needed to be borne out in their own practice, before being integrated into their own knowledge system.

Participants were also often called upon as lead mentors for their younger colleagues for local or national teachingcompetitions. Suchmentoring requires participants to design lessons together with the younger teachers and to articulate therationale for the design. It is therefore likely that the conversion of knowledge from tacit to explicit is implicated in thissocialization process.

Mentoring also extends to involving younger teachers in school-based research projects, with the returnee teachersproviding leadership. The mentoring of younger teachers on research projects was reported in the main by participants whowere English TRG leaders or very senior teachers. It seems that these “Middle Managers” often play a central role inknowledge creation at the group level within a school, a situation with obvious parallels with other organizational contexts(Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). However, in terms of knowledge creation and management, its impact often goes beyond theschool, as will be discussed later.

It is clear, however, that mentoring is not a unidirectional activity with the mentor transmitting knowledge and expertiseto younger teachers. Rather it is an interactive process of knowledge sharing and creation, where the sum total is larger thanthe constituent parts. As such, both parties (the mentor and the mentee or prot�eg�e) are likely to be able to benefit personallyand professionally from the arrangement. As also evidenced in the focus group discussions, an interesting by product of thisprocess was a desire in the non-participants to seek similar opportunities for continuing professional development in the UK.Data from the present study is consistent with the literature on the benefits of mentoring both in education and otherprofessions (e.g. business and medicine) (Ehrich, Hansford, & Tennent, 2004; Szumlas, 2014).

5.1.3. Conditions for knowledge creation within the participants' schoolAs already stated, professional development activities in the Chinese school system are mainly organized around TRGs.

Such activities take various forms including informal exchanges, TRGmeetings, joint lesson preparations, lesson observations,and teaching competitions. Most knowledge sharing and creation beyond the individual participant was achieved in thiscontext. TRG leaders e both returnees and non-participants e were supportive of the idea of knowledge sharing; head-teachers were also positive about group level activities that promoted sharing of this kind.

Individual level knowledge creation (i.e. innovative practice) was also largely encouraged by the school management, asconfirmed by the vast majority of the participants and the headteachers. However, it emerged that this support was availableto individual returnees only when their innovative practice was in line with the school's overall goals. On the one hand,schools were implementing national education reform and innovation and there was a need for individual teachers to beamong the first to ‘crack the crabs’ (a Chinese saying, meaning “being courageous enough to take the risk”). On the other hand,they were under huge pressure from their school to produce exam results that gave their school a competitive edge. All fourheadteachers we studied believed that English should be taught in more innovative ways, as demonstrated by the returneeteachers, so that students could really enjoy learning. However, they seemed divided as to how to address obvious tensionsassociated with innovation in the framework of an examination-driven curriculum. Two of the headteachers had a relaxedapproach to the ways in which their returnee teachers should approach classroom innovation, as was further confirmed bythe interviews with their returnee teachers. The other two, however, expressed slight reservations, worrying that somereturnee teachers might be ‘cracking the crabs’ and being out of kilter with the current exam-oriented education system. MrHou, the headteacher of a school in Chengdu, represented the more relaxed approach:

I don't feel the two [innovation and producing exam results] contradict each other. From both the Chinese and Britishperspectives … what we really want our teachers to do is to change the ways of classroom teaching, that is, methodsand techniques. What those returnee teachers have learned in the UK exactly fills the gap in Chinese education, whichis an issue of current national debate. Therefore, whether in terms of school expectations or [national] education re-form or what they have been trying to do, these fit very well with one another.

Mr Dai, the Zunyi headteacher, in contrast, took a more conservative stance:

In China, because of the pressure of Gaokao [national college/university matriculation exams], our teachers can quietlyapply in their own classroom what they have learned on their course overseas. But if they make radical changes, theymay have their concerns and, even if they ask for permission from me [to radically change current practice], I will beworried as well.

Comments from several participants in the wider questionnaire survey provided further support for this latter view. Forinstance, one commented on the impatience of their headteacher in relation to their experimentation with new ideas sincethe evaluation of the performance of both the students and their teachers was solely based on exam results. Anotherexpressed dismay and frustration at the headteacher's blunt message: only teach what is tested [on national exams]. Therewas also widespread awareness among the respondents in the present study of the pressure from parents on both the schooland classroom teachers to deliver exam results. In extreme cases, parental pressure has been known to force the school toremove a teacher from a particular class for failing to meet parental expectations. This utilitarian view of education emergedas a distinctive theme in the qualitative data from the interviews, focus groups, and open-ended questions in thequestionnaire.

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Since headteachers or principals and the community (as represented by the parents) are considered key local factorsaffecting the implementation of change (Fullan, 2001), the potential impact of their attitudes on the teachers' enthusiasm andefforts to innovate cannot be under-estimated.

Other local structural factors, such as large class sizes (with some exceeding 70) as well as students' varied levels ofproficiency in English and their lack of cooperation, emerged from the qualitative data in the questionnaire survey asadditional barriers to change and knowledge creation. Some participants also mentioned as barriers to knowledge creationand innovation their own perceived lack of full understanding of the new ideas and methods (discussed on the UK trainingcourse) that they wish to implement and their lack of confidence.

These constraints reflect the contextual, structural and personal factors discussed in the literature on the implementationof change or innovation in education in general (e.g. Fullan, 2001; Tammets et al., 2012) and in ELE in particular in large partsof the world (Waters, 2009). These concerns have been specifically highlighted in discussions of pedagogical innovations inChina and other Asian countries, against the backdrop of their distinctive social, cultural and education traditions (e.g. Butler,2011; Zhang, 2006).

So far the discussion has focussed on knowledge creation and innovation within the participants' school (i.e. within theorganization). However, the Spiral of Knowledge Creation extends beyond the school, as will be discussed below.

5.2. Knowledge sharing and creation beyond the participants' own school

An important element of the UK programme is the anticipated support for the development of Western China throughWRDS (Western Region Development Strategy). From a programme perspective, the knowledge amplification which takesplace beyond the participants' own schools is as important as, if not more important than, what happens in the participants'own school.

Questionnaire, interview and focus group data provided evidence of knowledge sharing and creation beyond the school inthree areas: networking, training or mentoring, and publishing.

5.2.1. NetworkingThe UK programme has provided a platform for participants to create social and professional networks after their return.

These networks extended well beyond the school. In the survey, the majority reported that they had maintained contact withother participants from the same cohort and other cohorts, and with other relevant parties (e.g. tutors, host families andfriends in the UK) (see Table 12).

High proportions of respondents (over 90%) reported maintaining contact with their fellow participants on the samecourse, whether in the same or different cities or regions. Interestingly, more participants had contacts in a different city orregion from their own, made possible by popular social media in China such as QQ. More than two thirds also reached out toparticipants in the other cohorts. It is particularly interesting to note that over three quarters of the respondents hadmaintained contact with their tutors, suggesting some form of follow up. A similar proportion had maintained contact withtheir host family and themajority with the friends theymade in the UK (this latter might include host familymembers). Thesecontacts form part of the social and professional networks of the participants, helping to keep alive their memory of the UKe

considered a significant experience by many of the participants in both their professional and personal lives. In addition, theresulting networks constitute ‘communities of practice’ (Lave & Wenger, 1998) or a ‘communities of interaction’ (Nonaka &Takeuchi, 1995), likely to contribute to knowledge creation through discussion, reflection, and the exchange of ideas andresources for the common goal of change and innovation in ELE in Western China.

This was indeed the case. For example, one participant Shen Na, from the far Southwestern Province of Guizhou, reportedthat she had regular contact via QQ to discuss ideas and exchange resources with a fellow participant thousands of miles awayin the far northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. This kind of contact apparently led to combination (i.e. the trans-mission and accumulation of explicit knowledge). Moreover, it also has the potential to facilitate socialization (i.e. trans-mission of tacit knowledge to tacit knowledge), when innovative pedagogical ideas are shared through metaphors oranalogies, and externalization (i.e. transformation of knowledge from tacit to explicit), when innovative practices arecommunicated more explicitly through language. These kinds of social and professional networks were self-initiated andusually loosely structured. It was likely that the boundary between social and professional dimensions of these networkswere blurred.

Table 12Participants' social and professional networks.

Contact Yes (%) No (%)

Fellow participants in the same city/region 91.2 8.8Fellow participants in a different city/region 94.3 5.7Participants on a different CSC course 67.7 32.3Tutors in the UK 76.6 23.4Host family in the UK 76.9 23.1Other British friends 63.2 36.8

D. Li, V. Edwards / System 47 (2014) 88e101 99

5.2.2. Training or mentoringAs discussed earlier, mentoring relationships play a significant role in professional development. It is also worth noting

that 42% of the respondents were invited to give talks or presentations at the provincial or national level, important platformsfor sharing or creating knowledge on a large scale.

Qualitative data from the interviews and focus groups with the participants, English TRG leaders and headteachers offereda more nuanced understanding of what was taking place. The “talks or presentations” encompassed a range of activities,including delivery of sessions on training events. For example, Shen Na, a returnee teacher in Guiyang, was invited to deliver asession in Guilin for Junior Middle School teachers of English from different parts of China. She used many ideas for activitiesfrom the UK programme as a basis for her lesson design, including, for example, gapped dictation (Kidd, 1992), which isparticularly suitable for teaching aspects of language for mixed ability groups. Lei Chunyan, a teacher from a school inChengdu, was invited to contribute a demonstration lesson as part of the training programme for high achieving teachersfrom all over Sichuan Province. Ding Zhancun, a teacher trainer and education researcher from Guizhou province, explainedhow he created a provincial teacher training programme modelled on the UK programme. During fieldwork, we also heardfrequent mention of participants involved in local municipal or district level teacher training workshops or courses for localhigh achieving teachers.

It also emerged from the interview and focus group data that some participants in the Southwest regionwere involved inwhat was called ‘delivering lessons to rural areas’ in a partnership arrangement where ‘better off’ urban schools supportnearby rural schools. In some cases, they were involved in delivering demonstration lessons in disaster struck areas followinga major earthquake. This type of knowledge sharing provides opportunities for the professional development of ruralteachers.

Another form of knowledge sharing was the appointment of several participants as part-time supervisors for Mastersstudents in education at universities. Such school teacher appointments, unheard of until recently in China, acknowledge theimportant contribution of those able to combine theory and practice. As supervisors, these participants were able to achieveknowledge amplification at provincial or even national levels.

5.2.3. PublishingThe questionnaire survey indicates that over 80 percent of the respondents had published articles on language teaching

upon return. The qualitative data clarify that some have appeared in national influential academic journals, such as Researchon Foreign Language Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools. The publications have a practical focus, presenting innovativeideas from their UK experience (e.g. how to adapt teaching materials). These publishing activities help to promote bothexternalization, i.e. the transformation of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge, and combination of explicit knowledge.

6. Discussion and conclusions

The present study uses knowledgemanagement, and particularly the organizational knowledge creationmodel developedby Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), as a theoretical framework to examine the impact of a large-scale UK-based teacherdevelopment programme for innovation and change in ELE in Western China. There is evidence in both the quantitative andqualitative data of knowledge creation and amplification at individual, group and inter-organizational levels.

At the individual level, there is evidence of participants' attempts to innovate in their own classroom practice, imple-menting and experimenting with both explicit and tacit knowledge of pedagogy and language, thus creating new knowledge.At the group level, knowledge creation and amplification have been largely achieved through the social processes of sharingand joint construction around English TRGs. Returnee teachers, who have gained both explicit and tacit knowledge as a resultof their overseas experience, have often played leadership roles in this process. This is particularly the casewith thosewho areEnglish TRG leaders or senior teachers, and who have mentorship roles with young or inexperienced teachers. There is ev-idence of overall support from English TRG leaders and headteachers for the various activities of knowledge sharing andcreation within the school, although some contextual, structural and personal factors pose challenges in the innovationprocess.

Beyond the school, i.e. at the inter-organizational level, knowledge sharing and creation take place on a larger platform.Networking e both physical and virtual e is facilitated by information and communications technology, training and men-toring at national, provincial and municipal or district levels, and publishing practitioner-based research. It is worth notingthat, while some of these activities are organized (such as training and mentoring), others are largely informal, looselystructured activities. There would seem, however, to be an absence of nationally organized professional networks and eventsand activities aimed specifically at knowledge sharing and amplification among returnee teachers, whether from the UKprogramme or elsewhere. Given the scale of the UK-based teacher development programme e a long-term substantialteacher development initiative with a significant commitment of human and financial resources e such follow up initiativescould, from a knowledge management perspective, achieve better outcomes and may be worth considering by programmesponsors and policy makers.

We are aware of the inherent limitations of some of the current models or metaphors in continuing professional devel-opment (CPD) programmes. For example, the metaphor of “cascade training” (Hayes, 2000), a dominant model for many CPDprogrammes, implies the “trickling down” effect in which something is lost in transmission from the top to the bottom orfrom the centre to the periphery. In contrast, the metaphor for the knowledge creation model is a “knowledge spiral”, which

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accumulates force as it goes, powering innovation. It not only accounts for the important role of the individual within anorganization in knowledge creation and innovation but also emphasizes the dynamic social process of knowledge creationthrough the interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge (e.g. at the TRG level and through mentoring arrangements). Assuch, the knowledge management (KM) framework has the potential of offering an alternative perspective on the impact ofan overseas CPD programme on innovation and change in ELE in China.

Nonaka and Takeuchi's (1995) organizational knowledge creation model has been described as one of the most robustmodels in KM, with its conceptual simplicity, empirical grounding and applicability in a variety of settings (Dalkir, 2005;Nonaka & von Krogh, 2009). However, it also has potential weaknesses. For example, the model may be inadequate tofully explain all the stages of knowledge creation and management and to address larger issues such as decision making inrelation to both forms of knowledge (Dalkir, 2005). There have also been debates surrounding the conceptual robustness oftacit and explicit knowledge and their value in organizational knowledge creation andmanagement, although these conceptshave largely been upheld both on theoretical and empirical grounds (Nonaka & von Krogh, 2009).

In the present context, the model allows us to examine the extent of knowledge sharing and creation both between theparticipants and their colleagues (non-participants of the UK programme) and between the participants themselves withinand beyond an organization, i.e. their own school; it also helps to identify knowledge creation potential through moreeffective organization of follow up at the national level, particularly for the participants. Given the scale of the CPD pro-gramme and its strategic importance to the development of the Western Region in China, the KM framework offers apromising avenue to explore the extent of the impact on innovation and change in ELE in Western China.

We are also mindful of the danger of drawing firm conclusions with the limitations of the current research design andmethodology (e.g. a snapshot view of the impact). Future research would benefit from a longitudinal design and a more in-depth analysis of how new knowledge is adapted and integrated into existing knowledge in given social, cultural andeducational settings, using a critical approach along the lines suggested by authors such as Holliday (1994, 2005) and Carless(2012).

Acknowledgements

Wewish to acknowledge support from the British Council and the China Scholarship Council for this research project. Wewould also like to thank the four anonymous reviewers and the Editors for their helpful comments to improve earlier drafts ofthis article.

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