Teachers and Teaching in Sinic Education

In Confucian culture, teaching has been regarded as a highly respectable profession. Confucius himself, the Virtuous Teacher Kong, was considered the greatest teacher in Asian history; he constructed a profound cultural system that took education as its base. Though Confucianism still served as a paramount and respected reference for the social behaviors of teachers and for their expectations of how their roles should be played out in education (Hue 2007), the status of teachers and teaching in modern Sinic education has changed drastically as Sinic societies continue to prioritize economic development, modernization and globalization. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss current issues and challenges surrounding teaching and teachers in Sinic countries and regions, namely China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Vietnam. Issues concerning teacher training, demographics, teachers’ social status, and major challenges that teachers face in teaching are discussed for each country or region in the pages that follow.