ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines curriculum reforms and what they mean for teachers and principals. It presents various case studies of ordinary schools in Shanghai. Each case provides a brief background of the school and then focuses on the strategies principals use to build teacher learning. The chapter analyses the case studies to provide some insights into how principals proactively promote teacher learning in response to curriculum reform. It also discusses some possible breaches in their strategies and explores principals' assumptions and interpretations of the curriculum reform, in addition to their own roles in leading teacher learning. Ongoing curriculum reform in China proposes a shift from teacher- and text-centred approaches to student-centred approaches to learning and teaching where students participate actively, authentically and creatively in their own learning. The major student learning challenge facing Chinese policymakers is the intractability of traditional exam-oriented education and how to promote holistic student development.
