Tracy Zou, EdD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Administration and Policy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
I aspire to contribute to the development of professional capacity among educators so as to elevate educational quality in tertiary settings. I focus my research programme on bridging the gap between policy and curricular or pedagogical designs through collaborative, co-constructed approaches. I view collaboration as the most promising way to make a sustainable impact on both individual and collective capacity development, which will ultimately benefit the whole education community.
Research Interests and Projects
To develop professional capacity of educators, my research projects are organised around the themes of collaborative professional development, teaching-research nexus, and internationalisation of the curriculum. In each project, there is at least one strong collaborative element, for example, collaborations among teachers, between teachers and students, or between teachers and academic developers.
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Representative research projects:
1. GRF (2025-27): Examining and redesigning assessment tasks challenged by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to uphold academic integrity and support learning (HK$591,790) funded by Research Grants Council - Principal investigator
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2. Internationalising teaching and learning in Hong Kong higher education through building professional capacity funded by University Grants Committee (HK$3.6m) - Principal investigator
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3. GRF (2021-23): Professional development at a meso-level: Conceptual development and impact analysis funded by Research Grants Council - Principal investigator
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4. GRF (2019-21): Investigating and enhancing undergraduate research experiences in the curriculum through teacher-student collaborative inquiries funded by Research Grants Council - Principal investigator
Publications
Edited book
East and Southeast Asian Perspectives on the Internationalisation of Higher Education Policies, Practices and Prospects
Edited By Ly Thi Tran, Tracy X.P. Zou, Hiroshi Ota
Representative journal publications:
Zou, T.X.P., Hounsell, D., Parker, Q.A., & Chan, B.Y.B. (2024). Evaluating the impact of cross-institutional teaching enhancement collaborations using a professional capital framework. Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 9(1), 68-82. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-03-2023-0021 (IF=3.1, Q1 in Education & Educational Research)
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Zou, T.X.P., Lee, J.C.Y., Yu, K.S., Chow, K.L., Barry, T.J., Leung, L.Y.Y., & Brew, A. (2023). Faculty members’ perceptions and students’ experiences of research-based curricula: A multiple case-study of four undergraduate programmes. Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01166-x (IF=5.2, Q1 in Education & Educational Research)
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Zou, T.X.P., Kochhar-Lindgren, G., Hoang, A. P., Lam, K., Barry, T. J., & Leung, L. Y. Y. (2023). Facilitating students as partners: Co-researching with undergraduates in Asian university contexts. Educational Review, https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2023.2246674 (IF=3.7, Q2 in Education & Educational Research)
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Zou, T.X.P., Chow, K.L., Barry, T.J., Lee, J.C.Y. & Yu, K.S. (2023). ‘As I would do in my own research’: A multiple-case study of faculty members’ undergraduate research designs in research-intensive universities. Studies in Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2204352 (IF=4.5, Q1 in Education & Educational Research)
Zou, T.X.P., Harfitt, G.J., Carless, D., & Chiu, C.S.T. (2022). Conceptions of excellent teaching: A phenomenographic study of winners of awards for teaching excellence. Higher Education Research & Development, 41(2), 577-592. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2020.1842337 (IF=2.849, Q2 in Education & Educational Research)
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Zou, T.X.P., Law, L. Y. N., & Chu, B.C.B. (2023). Are some disciplines ‘hard to engage’? A cross-disciplinary analysis of university teachers’ approaches to internationalisation of the curriculum. Higher Education Research & Development, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2217092 (IF=3.8, Q2 in Education & Educational Research)
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Zou, T.X.P., Parker, Q.A., & Hounsell, D. (2022). Cross-institutional teaching enhancement and distributed leadership: An empirical study informed by activity theory. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 44(3), 276-292. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2021.2002791 (IF=2.553, Q2 in Education & Educational Research)
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Zou, T.X.P., Law, L., Chu, B., Lin, V., Ko, T., & Lai, N. (2022). Developing academics’ capacity for internationalising the curriculum: A collaborative autoethnography of a cross-institutional project. Journal of Studies in International Education. 26(2), 334-351. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315320976040 (IF=2.726, Q2 in Education & Educational Research)
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Zou, T.X.P., & Yu, J. (2021). Intercultural interactions in Chinese classrooms: A multiple-case study. Studies in Higher Education, 46(3), 649–662. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1647415 (IF=4.017, Q1 in Education & Educational Research)
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Zou, T.X.P., Chu, B., Law, L., Lin, V., Ko, T., Yu, M., & Mok, P. (2020). University teachers’ conceptions of internationalisation of the curriculum: A phenomenographic study. Higher Education, 80, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00461-w (IF=3.947, Q1 in Education & Educational Research)
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Zou, T.X.P., & Geertsema, J. (2020). Do academic developers’ conceptions support an integrated academic practice? A comparative case study from Hong Kong and Singapore. Higher Education Research & Development, 39(3), 606–620. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1685948
(IF=2.849, Q2 in Education & Educational Research)
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Sim, K.N., Timmermans, J.A., & Zou, T.X.P. (2020). Diversity matters: Academic development in times of uncertainty and beyond (Editorial). International Journal for Academic Development, 25(3), 201–204. (IF=2.453; Q3 in Education & Educational Research)
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Zou, T.X.P. (2019). Community-based professional development for academics: A phenomenographic study. Studies in Higher Education, 44(11), 1975–1989. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1477129 (IF=4.017, Q1 in Education & Educational Research)