A narrative inquiry of three elementary teachers’ professional development: A teacher-researcher’s investigation of English teacher professional growth

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to report on a teacher-researcher’s investigation of the processes and influencing factors of three expert elementary English teachers’ professional development. Propelled by her own need and desire to be a professionally developed English teacher herself, the teacher-researcher employed the narrative-inquiry technique and requested the three teachers to tell dichronically the stories of the life before and after working as a teacher in relation to becoming an expert teacher. The narratives of the three teachers present the paths they walked on from the point of unskilled teachers to that of expert teachers. Content analyses of their narratives revealed five contributing characteristics: taking pleasure in communicating in English, actualizing knowledge into practice, established views on essentials for students’ learning, actively seeking and participating in opportunities for professional growth, and involvement in teacher communities facilitating teacher development. It was also found that liking English before starting to teach, TEE certification, substantial overseas training and stay experiences were not necessary to growing into an expert teacher and that professional development into an expert teacher was possible within a relatively short period. Implications of the findings are discussed and further research proposed.