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Understanding Teacher Autonomy, Teacher Agency, and Teacher Identity: Voices from Four EFL Student Teachers

教師自主、教師能動、教師身份:傾聽四位英文實習老師的聲音

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Abstract

Scarce studies have been conducted to understand teacher autonomy, teacher agency, and teacher identity exhibited by English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers. This study was conducted to fill this gap by exploring how four student teachers take control of their teaching, conduct agentic behavior, and negotiate identities in the Chinese EFL context. Data included interviews, school documents, participants’ practicum reports, and lesson plans. Findings revealed that EFL student teachers encountered constraints related to the school curriculum, evaluation mechanisms, and social settings. Constraints affected their capacity to negotiate the gap between reality and ideals and fostered changes and innovations in teaching. These forces, influenced by the social, institutional, and physical settings, also affected the formation of their identities. The different development trajectories during the teaching practicums were found to be related to teacher autonomy, teacher agency, and teacher identity. While concluding with implications for teaching pre-service teachers and running teaching practicums, the present study also argues for considering the three interrelated constructs as essential parts of researching pre-service EFL teacher education.

摘要

在職前教師教育研究中,教師自主、教師能動及教師身份之間的相互關係並未受到足夠關注。本研究旨在探索職前教師實習過程中可能存在的制約,並分析他們的能動行為及了解他們身份變化,以提升對這一方面的理解。調查結果顯示:實習教師對學校「課程規劃」及評估機制較消極,認為會帶來制約,這影響了他們應對構建專業身份時出現的各種挑戰,同時也對他們在創建自我能動空間帶來了影響。然而,通過以往教學經驗和教師培訓形成的強大的職業認同,能部分幫助實習教師理解工作環境,為教學自主創造條件。本研究認為將三個相互關聯的因素視為職前教師教育不可或缺的部分。

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

    (Mark) Feng Teng

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  1. (Mark) Feng Teng
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Correspondence to (Mark) Feng Teng.

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Appendices

Appendix 1. Sample questions for the interviews in the three phases

Sample questions for interviews in the first phase

  1. 1.

    Did you have any experiences in teaching? If yes, can you share some opinions with me?

  2. 2.

    How do you think of your school life and studies so far?

  3. 3.

    How did you learn English?

  4. 4.

    Can you share some critical incidents during the process of learning English?

Sample questions for interviews in the second phase

  1. (1)

    How did you think of your students during the teaching practicum?

  2. (2)

    How did you get along with your colleagues in the school?

  3. (3)

    What are the requirements that were set by the school? How did you plan to finish the requirement? How did you feel about it?

  4. (4)

    How did you manage classroom teaching? How did you feel about your teaching performance?

  5. (5)

    What do you think a pre-service teacher should do in order to teach well? Is it different from what the school wants?

  6. (6)

    Did you encounter any differences from your imagination when you enter this school? Any incidents? How did you adapt to it?

  7. (7)

    How do you perceive yourself as a student teacher? Why?

  8. (8)

    How do you think of your autonomy in taking control of the teaching? Any incidents to share with me?

  9. (9)

    How do you cope with the constrains in your teaching as a student teacher? Why? Any incidents to share with me?

Sample questions for interviews in the third phase

  1. (1)

    Please mention some of the essential qualities of a good teacher, based on your experiences in the teaching practicum.

  2. (2)

    How was your relationship with your mentor/students/other school teachers in this teaching practicum?

  3. (3)

    Can you share some critical incidents in which you experienced strong emotions during your classroom teaching? How did you cope with your emotions?

  4. (4)

    Did you develop any occupational stress after the teaching practicum? If yes, please suggest the way in which you are coping with stress.

  5. (5)

    After the teaching practicum, will you still want to be a teacher in the future? Why?

  6. (6)

    How do you think of your future development as an EFL teacher? Why?

  7. (7)

    Will you take initiatives to cope with the constraints in your future teaching? Why?

Appendix 2

Table 2 Factors perceived to detract student teachers’ professional agency in the teaching practicum
Full size table

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Teng, (.F. Understanding Teacher Autonomy, Teacher Agency, and Teacher Identity: Voices from Four EFL Student Teachers. English Teaching & Learning 43, 189–212 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-019-00024-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-019-00024-3

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