Promoting a Balanced Development of High Quality Teacher Resources with Network Technology: A Theoretical and Empirical Study

Abstract

In China, the availability of high quality teacher resources varies from region to region and differs even among different schools in the same region. Two approaches were taken to solve this resource problem (i.e., traditional educational support and traditional instructional research). The former approach was attempted to relieve the shortages of high quality teacher resources in resources-poor schools by sending excellent teachers to assist in instruction and school management. The latter approach was intended to improve teachers’ teaching skills within resources-poor schools by conducting instructional research on the spot. However, both had little effect. What can be done to increase the availability of high quality teacher resources? What is the most effective way to improve the teachers’ teaching skills? How does one find new ways to solve the problem of imbalanced allocation of high quality teacher resources? These questions have puzzled the educational professional for a long time. This chapter introduces two innovated approaches to develop high quality teacher resources by using network technology. Network-based educational research approaches allow the teachers in resource-rich schools to teach the students of resource-poor schools through network video conference systems without leaving his or her own school. The network-based instructional research approach enables the teachers of both resource-rich and resource-poor schools to build alliances according to disciplines and to collaborate on instruction by network videoconference systems.