Navigating identity tensions in changing higher education: a narrative inquiry of an EFL academic

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ABSTRACT Despite a surge of studies on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ professional identities over the past decades, insufficient attention has been paid to their continuous professional development amid identity tensions in changing higher education. Informed by possible selves theory, this narrative inquiry study explored how an EFL academic navigated identity tensions and pursued continuous professional development in a Chinese university. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews, field notes, institutional documents, the participant’s academic profile, and informal communication, the study adopted a qualitative, inductive approach for thematic analysis. The findings reveal that the participant underwent dynamic identity trajectories and constantly updated and refined her multiple identities (i.e. actual, ought, ideal, and feared) to adapt to her situated context. The participant constructed and reconstructed her identities, including “an accidental EFL teacher”, “a growing teacher-researcher”, and “an adaptable leader in crisis”, through the educational reforms and changes characterized by performativity culture and accountability system in higher education. The process of identity construction and negotiation helped her navigate identity tensions and achieve sustainable professional development. The study offers some implications for EFL teachers and university management regarding EFL academics’ professional development in complex and changing higher education settings.