Research Overview

I am concerned about inequity issues, broadly defined, in the practice of schooling. I believe teachers should and are able to play a pivotal role in making schooling a more inclusive, positive, and productive experience for all students. Thus, my work, including my scholarships, teaching, and public services, have centered on two big questions: 1. How to define, design, and use high-leveraging practices within teacher education programs to nurture equity-minded teachers? Equity-minded teachers are those who possess a repertoire of beliefs, knowledge, and skills to promote educational equity in and through their classroom teaching. 

2. In what ways can different kinds of policy interventions equalize the distribution of high-quality teachers? Being “equity-minded” is considered a core feature of high-quality teachers across different institutional and socio-cultural contexts.

Education

2012.08 - 2018.05   Michigan State University, Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education (dual major: Educational Policy)

2008.09 - 2011.06   Beijing Normal University, M.A. in Teacher Education  

2004.08 - 2008.06   Beijing Normal University, B.A. in Management Science

Work Experiences

2018.08 - Now       Beijing Normal University, Faculty of Education, Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor)

2017.08 - 2018.05  Michigan State University, Chinese Teacher Certification Program (CTCP), Program Director 

2012.08 - 2017.05  Michigan State University, Department of Teacher Education, Graduate Instructor

2011.07 - 2012.06  Beijing Normal University, Center for Teacher Education Research, Research Assistant

Courses Taught

Doctoral level:

Teacher Professional Development: Theory and Practice

Doctoral Course Seminar (the module of Conceptual Framework, Methodologies, and Methods for Qualitative Research)

Proseminars on Teacher Education (the module of Equity-Oriented Teacher Education)

Master’s level:

Principles of Teacher Education

Foundations of Education: Education and Society

Social-Emotional Development of School-Aged Youth

Lab and Field Experiences in Curriculum, Teaching, and Schooling

Teaching Practicum (on-site guidance to intern teachers)

Narrative Research

Dissertation and Thesis Writing and Its Norms

Undergraduate level:

Thinking Like a Teacher: Teachers’ Thinking Qualities and Their Improvement

Human Diversity, Power, and Opportunity in Social Institutions

Introduction to Educational and Psychological Theories

Teacher Education Theory and Practice (Summer Camp)

Selected Publications (*=SSCI indexed)

Peer Reviewed English Journal Articles

1. *Yuan, R., Liao, W., Wang, Z., Kong, J., & Zhang, Y. (2022). How do English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers perceive and engage with critical thinking: A systematic review from 2010 to 2020. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 101002. [corresponding author]     

2. *Liao, W., Wang, X., & Qin, K. (2021). Learning to be culturally responsive teacher educators in an internationalized doctoral course: A video-cued interpretive study. Teaching and Teacher Education. (in press)

3. *Liao, W. (2020). Using collaborative video-cued narratives to study professional learning: A reflective analysis. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1-13.

4. Opoku, E., Sang, G., & Liao, W. (2020). Examining teacher preparation and on-the-job experience: The gap of theory and practice. International Journal of Research, 9(4), 75-85.

5. *Liao, W., Liu, Y., Zhao, P., & Li, Q. (2019). Understand how to implement teacher rotation policy in a Chinese context: A sense-making perspective. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 25(7), 855-873.

6. *Liu, Y., & Liao, W. (2019). Professional development and its impact on teacher efficacy: Evidence from 32 countries using TALIS 2013. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 30(4), 487-509. [Wei Liao is the corresponding author]

7. Liao, W. & Maddamsetti, J. (2019). Transnationality and teacher educator identity development: A collaborative auto-ethnographic study. Action in Teacher Education, 41(4), 287-306.

8. *Liao, W. (2019). “Weekday rural teachers, weekend urban spouses and parents”: A Chinese case of how alternative hiring policy influences teachers’ career decisions. International Journal of Educational Development, 67, 53-63.

9. *Zhang, H., Yuan, R., & Liao, W. (2019). EFL teacher development facilitated by lesson study: A Chinese perspective. TESOL Quarterly, 53(2), 542-552.   

10. *Liao, W., Yuan, R., & Zhang, H. (2017). Chinese language teachers’ challenges in teaching in U.S. public schools: A dynamic portrayal. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 26(6), 369-381

11. *Liao, W., & Hu, S. (2017). Chinese teachers’ perceptions of academically oriented teacher preparation. Journal of Education for Teaching, 43(5), 628-633.

12 *Liao, W., & Yuan, R. (2017). Understand an emerging “failure” of an equality-oriented teacher policy in China: A job search perspective. International Journal of Educational Research, 81, 71-82.

13. Tatto, M. T., Savage, C., Liao, W., Marshall, S., Goldblatt, P., & Medel, L. (2016). The emergence of high-stakes accountability policies in teacher preparation: An examination of the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed regulations. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24 (21), 1-54.

Editorials, Book Reviews, and Book Chapters in English

1. Liao, W., & Wei, Y. (2022). Advancing teacher professionalism in rural China. In I. Menter (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Teacher Education Research. Palgrave Macmillan. (in press)

2. Liao, W. (2021). Equity-oriented teacher education: Introduction to the special issue. Beijing International Review of Education, 3(3), 323-325.

3. Liao, W., & Zhou, Y. (2020). Teacher education reform and national development in China (1978-2017): Four metaphors. In L., Lefty, & J. W., Fraser (Eds.). Teaching the world’s teachers: A history, 1970-2017 (pp. 111-131). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

4. Liao, W. (2020). Preservice teacher education and induction in Southwest China: A narrative inquiry through cross-cultural teacher development (by Ju Huang). Frontiers of Education in China, 15(3), 532-535.

Note: I have also published a number of Chinese journal articles, book chapters, and policy reports about teacher professional development, teacher educators, and teacher policy.

Professional Services

1. Editorship

·       Associate Editor, Beijing International Review of Education (BIRE), since 2019.09.

·     Guest Editor, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 2021.03 - 2023.03 (expected). (Editing a special issue on “Critical Thinking in Teacher Education” with Dr. Eric Rui Yuan from The University of Macau).

·     Guest Editor, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2022.02 – 2024.02 (expected), (Editing a special issue on “Critical thinking and Curriculum: A Critical Perspective” with Dr. Eric Rui Yuan from The University of Macau).

2. Peer Reviews (*=SSCI indexed)

·        *Scientific Reports; *Teaching and Teacher Education; *Thinking Skills and Creativity; *Asia Pacific Journal of Education; *Research Papers in Education; *International Journal of Educational Research; *International Journal of Educational Development; *SAGE Open; *The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher; Multicultural Education Review; Issues in Teacher Education; Frontiers of Education in China; ECNU Review of Education; Taylor & Francis Group – Books Department

3. Social/Governmental Service

·        Staff Member (part-time), Department of Teacher Affairs, Ministry of Education, 2022.01-2023.01 (expected)

·       Deputy Director, Lushui Bureau of Education, Yunnan Province, 2020.10 – 2021.07

Awards

2021              The Best Teachers of the Year (2021), Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University

2018              Students’ Favorite Teacher Award, The 16th Young Teachers’ Teaching Competition (BNU)

2017              Dissertation Completion Fellowship (MSU)

2016, 2017    Underrepresented Ethnic, Racial and Ability Groups (UREAG) Travel Grant (CIES)

2015              Gaylin Green Miller Scholarship (MSU)

2015              Fellowship to Enhance Global Understanding (MSU)

2008-2011     Graduate Student Scholarship (Beijing Normal Uni.)

2005, 2007    Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award (BNU)