Are ‘Textbooks’ a Barrier for Teacher Autonomy? A Case Study from a Hong Kong Primary School

This case study provides insights into the ways in which ‘textbooks’ can be used during the building of professional development on a sliding scale. The evidence suggests that the use of ‘textbooks’ is driven by a number of factors in a reskilling process designed to support teachers in a collaborative arrangement. We argue that where a commercially produced ‘textbook’ is used as a supporting reference point in association with a strong ‘sharing leadership’ that promotes collaborative and ‘a critical friend’ relationships across a whole school, it is possible for ‘textbooks’ to be an important factor in facilitating increased teacher autonomy to plan curriculum.