Teacher Agency Research Articles

Language Teacher Agency and Identity in Internationalized Higher Education: An Ecological Perspective

ABSTRACTSubstantial literature has focused on language teacher agency and identity in relation to learners in classrooms. Relatively little research exists regarding the nature of language teacher identity shaped by contextual factors brought on by the internationalization of education. To address the gap in the literature, this study explored how student teachers in a TESOL program negotiate their language teacher agency and identity in the ecosystems of an internationalized institution of higher education while contributing to different ESL programs. While pursuing an MA degree in TESOL with a teaching opportunity at an Intensive English program for non‐matriculating students or an ESL service program for pathway program students at a US university, seven student teachers participated in semi‐structured interviews, which were triangulated with the student teachers’ portfolios of lesson plans and reflection papers. The analysis demonstrated the student teachers’ agentic beliefs, choices, and practices in relation to contextual factors in the nested ecosystems of internationalized higher education, such as international students’ needs in the microsystem, training opportunities in the mesosystem, institutional policy and practice in the exosystem, and broad cultural norms in relation to language education in the macrosystem.

Crisis times and school education: is teacher agency changing?

ABSTRACT This article explores how educators dealt with an unprecedented educational crisis using remote teaching and delve into the characteristics of teacher agency in crisis situations. Employing a multiple case study design, the study explores diverse school experiences in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile. Data were gathered from three schools, comprising 24 interviews (18 teachers and six administrators) and analysed using grounded theory. Findings suggest that teachers demonstrate the ability to reconstruct the affected dimensions when faced with a lack of pedagogical resources for emergency remote teaching (fracture in the iterative dimension) and uncertainty about the future (fracture in the projective dimension). Moreover, the agentic transition can explain the practical-evaluative dimension in crises. Across three stages, agentic transition outlines a journey for teachers, from grappling with an unprecedented crisis with limited resources to normalising their practices with technical expertise in the context of new remote teaching scenarios. The present article introduces key concepts and models and delves into implications and future projections.

Strengthening Teacher Agency: Supporting the Orchestration of Ethical Dilemmas With EthicApp

Developing ethical reasoning as a competence is gaining relevance in higher education settings influenced by the current demands of society. One approach to achieve this competence is to propose realistic ethical dilemmas to the students. Nevertheless, educators need help in integrating ethics education effectively in higher education due to curricular constraints and a lack of supportive structures. EthicApp is a social platform that aims to support teachers in designing and enacting learning scenarios to foster ethical reasoning. However, the introduction of a new tool such as EthicApp may have undesired consequences for teachers’ agency. The notion of teacher agency is complex and not sufficiently studied in Technology Enhanced Learning contexts. For this reason, we propose to study the implications of the use of EthicApp for teacher agency in the light of the metaphor of orchestration. The metaphor of orchestration in TEL offers a holistic approach to studying how teachers integrate technologies into their practice. This paper presents preliminary findings from a case study in which three higher education teachers orchestrated learning designs supported by EthicApp. Early findings indicate that, although managing the learning scenarios in real-time was perceived as demanding, EthicApp empowered the participant teachers to design innovative learning scenarios, raise awareness, and inform the adaptation of the learning scenarios.

Teaching for Social Justice: How Educators Address Inequalities in STEM Education

Inequalities in STEM education remain a persistent issue, disproportionately affecting underrepresented groups, including women, minorities, and low-income students. This study aims to explore how educators address these inequalities through social justice frameworks in their teaching practices. Grounded in theories of culturally relevant pedagogy and critical pedagogy, the research investigates the role of teachers as key agents in promoting equity in STEM classrooms. A systematic literature review was conducted, drawing from case studies, academic articles, and policy reports, focusing on strategies that educators use to create more inclusive and supportive learning environments. The findings reveal that educators utilize a range of methods, such as differentiated instruction, inclusive curriculum design, and culturally responsive teaching, to address disparities in STEM education. However, significant challenges, including limited resources and inconsistent institutional support, hinder full implementation. This paper highlights the importance of teacher agency and the need for professional development programs that equip educators to better address social justice in STEM education. It contributes to existing literature by providing a comprehensive analysis of best practices while identifying gaps in research on long-term impacts and global applicability.

Rural teachers’ appropriation of national bilingual policies: voices from the Colombian periphery

ABSTRACT This qualitative case study explores how rural teachers in the Colombian periphery perceive and appropriate national bilingual policies. I drew theoretically on coloniality/decoloniality, bilingualism, and teacher agency and collected data through questionnaires and in-depth interviews from four self-contained rural elementary school teachers. Data were analysed through thematic analysis and thematic coding and yielded three research categories: (a) bilingual policies and teaching realities gap, (b) policies’ discourses and teacher identity interconnectedness, and (c) eclectic and collaborative teachers. The main findings suggest that teachers perceive bilingual education merely as English language teaching and that bilingual policies’ powerful discourses have influenced their identity negatively. Likewise, they acknowledge that the educational authorities’ expectations are distant from the rural realities, so theyrecur to various pedagogical strategies and collaborative work to teach English and address bilingual policies’ methodological shortcomings. However, these efforts suggest racialised/colonised perceptions and teaching practices that enforce global agendas and neglect local necessities. Hence, it is paramount that educational actors decolonise/deracialise bilingual policies by localising pedagogies and humanising bilingual education.

Being, non-being and the in-between

What is presence really? What are we talking about when we talk about presence? For a performer, it seems such an obvious thing but the closer you look, the more elusive it becomes, like one of those optical illusions which can only be perceived sideways through the eyes; looking directly makes it immediately disappear. And the whole thing becomes even more sideways when we take presence and put it in the middle of a classroom. Is it possible that we might have been over emphasising presence in the search for the elusive-mysterious? Have we been overly focused on presence in our pursuit of the qualities that make teaching and learning truly transformative? And obviously, what sort of transformative are we talking about in the fractured times that we live in? What is the other side of the story? What can Absence tell us about its polar twin? Does the absent become present by its very absence? And what or who is it that is absent? In my talk which I've framed as a set of field notes, entirely subjective observations gathered over a period of time, I am drawing upon my experience as a performer in search of the elusive-mysterious; my experience as a teaching artist in a teacher education program at Delhi University; and as a researcher investigating teacher agency in the classroom. In interrogating the binary of presence/absence, I seek to throw some light into that liminal space where these two intersect and collide, and begin to reveal the elusive-mysterious so that pedagogical practices can be reimagined and reenacted.

Using hope theory to understand changes from professional learning in inclusive education

AbstractProfessional learning for quality teaching is a lifelong enterprise. Nevertheless, it entails a considerable cost with varying outcomes. Drawing on Snyder's hope theory and Pantic's teacher agency, this paper aims to present a model aimed at deepening our understanding of teachers' intentions and competencies in inclusive education. The model formulates a professional learning cycle tailored to address their unique needs. This study draws on data from a larger qualitative dominant mixed‐methods study exploring 18 teachers' professional learning experience with the inclusionEd online platform. The process involved a pre‐training online survey and interviews and employed multiple strategies for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were used for pre‐training survey data to assess teacher‐participants' attitudes towards inclusion and efficacy levels in this area. Subsequently, using Snyder's hope theory and Pantic's teacher agency, we deductively analysed interview data. The quantitative results showed that teacher‐participants had positive beliefs about inclusive education with high efficacy. However, qualitative data analysis uncovered a misalignment between their stated beliefs and enacted beliefs, revealing diverse pathways to both success and challenges in their implementation of inclusive practices. The qualitative analysis, combined with the preliminary survey findings, unveiled the fluidity of hope and identified the influences on shifting hope and maintaining a positive stance. We offer an illustration of teacher professional learning pathways. Understanding how these pathways might be used to increase the value and outcomes of professional learning programmes is discussed. This study concludes with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research.

Rapid Response to Professional Development: How Online Teacher Professional Learning Networks Supported Teachers in Pandemic Times

During COVID-19, when teachers rapidly shifted to remote teaching and learning, it became evident that there was an educational crisis—teachers were unprepared for teaching using digital pedagogies. A group of teachers and teacher educators in Trinidad and Tobago, ITTPN Global, responded to the call for emergency professional development in ICT tools with a free workshop series via Zoom. The workshop series served to address teachers’ upskilling in key areas of ICT as digital pedagogy became the pandemic pedagogy. Pandemic pedagogy refers to teaching and learning during COVID-19. Teachers built confidence and competence in using ICT tools and designing online lessons. The professional learning model highlighted in this paper utilized authentic and active learning and teacher agency. This reflective essay examines the transformative possibilities of networks in a crisis with implications for professional teacher learning post pandemic.

The Role of Librarian-Faculty Relations in Academic Instruction Librarians' Conceptions and Experiences of Teacher Agency

The Role of Librarian-Faculty Relations in Academic Instruction Librarians' Conceptions and Experiences of Teacher Agency

A classroom practitioner's self‐study on theorizing a practicality ethic framework for adopting digital affordances in language education

AbstractThis article recounts a classroom practitioner's doing and thinking on the adoption of digital affordances in the context of Languages Other Than English education at an Australian school. Through the lens of practicality ethic, this practitioner employs a self‐study methodology to explore the dynamic relationships between private theories of teaching and teacher agency in their daily use of Information and Communications Technology. Using qualitative data and content analysis, this study explains how a teacher's situated knowledge influences their decision‐making when adopting specific affordances. The findings of this self‐study generate a unique type of knowledge, bridging the gap between theoretical usefulness and practical relevance in technology use. It sheds light on the significance of considering teachers' situatedness, their judgment, and their capacity to enhance classroom experiences. Through this self‐study, a practicality framework is developed, providing practitioners with an evidence base to examine their everyday use of technology. This line of self‐study scholarship rethinks and reframes educational research, highlighting the contemporary realities of teaching and learning. It offers an in‐depth understanding of how and why practitioners adopt specific digital affordances based on what they consider important. The article concludes with several critical implications for practitioners, policymakers, and academic researchers. Future research is recommended to explore collaborative self‐studies and studies across different curricula or various educational settings. Alternatively, nonreductive data analysis and other theoretical perspectives can be explored.

개념적 렌즈를 활용한 사회과 수업 연구

The purpose of this study is to explore the possibilities and challenges of how the use of conceptual lenses can change social studies instruction for deeper learning as envisioned by the 2022 revised curriculum. To this end, preservice teachers designed and demonstrated lessons based on the theory of concept-based learning. The results showed that social studies lessons using conceptual lenses were challenging due to problems of alignment of achievement standards and conceptual lenses, difficulties in creating guiding questions and differences between lesson design and lesson implementation. However, the usefulness of conceptual lenses was found by capturing the transfer of learning in lessons and strengthening the agency of teachers and learners. The significance of this study is that it analyzed the use of ‘conceptual lens’ as a concrete way to realize a social studies classroom where synergistic thinking and transferable learning occur. This study recommends further research on '‘concepts’ that can be utilized as conceptual lenses for practical changes in social studies classrooms.

Supporting kindergarten staff’s agency in inclusion through long-term in-service training

ABSTRACT Supporting teachers’ agency is essential for implementing inclusive education, as agentic teachers tend to take more responsibility for making a change and focus more on activities that benefit the children they teach. Lack of teacher agency might be one of the reasons why inclusive education has not been applied successfully in kindergartens. In our study, we focused on supporting teacher agency for inclusive education according to the ecological model of agency. Our approach to inclusive education was drawn from the holistic model of inclusive education. We developed an in-service training program to support the three dimensions of agency across different levels outlined in the model of the implementation of inclusive education. The aim of this study was to explore the improvement in participants’ agency during the in-service training program. We applied pre- and post-questionnaires to explore the agency of kindergarten staff members who attended the in-service training program. The results showed statistically significant changes in kindergarten staff’s agency in the iterational and projective dimensions of agency in implementing inclusion. Therefore, we can conclude that a long-term team-based in-service course is effective in supporting teacher agency related to inclusion.

Examining two different models for developing teachers new to computer science: lessons from a CS4All district

Because of the rapid expansion of computer science (CS) education, educational leaders must consider how to recruit, prepare, and support teachers who typically do not have a background in CS. This study examines two professional development (PD) approaches used to introduce CS education to non-CS teachers. We aim to understand if/how each model promoted teacher agency in CS—conceptualized as the interactions between individual teacher confidence and broader conditions of support and constraints. Drawing on both survey data and qualitative data, we found that teachers who participated in a curriculum-based PD benefited from more practical applications of CS versus focusing on the theoretical principles of CS education. These findings carry important implications for other districts aiming to develop non-CS teachers to deliver CS instruction.

Unlocking Teacher Agency for Professional Learning Through Connection-Building: Evidence from a Professional Development Program on China’s Standards of English Language Ability

This study explores how teachers construct and enact agency in professional learning from an activity theory perspective. Through a qualitative case study of three language teachers’ experiences within a professional development (PD) program focusing on China’s Standards of English Language Ability (CSE), this research identifies agency construction as a triadic connection-building process among teachers (subjects), the CSE learning target (tool) and teachers’ professional development goals (objects). The findings suggest that PD programs can be designed to assist teachers in building these connections by understanding their broader professional needs, guiding them to identify specific learning objectives relevant to their professional practices and supporting their application of the CSE to achieve these objectives. This study contributes to the literature on teacher professional learning by offering a nuanced understanding of teacher agency construction and proposing an agency-oriented approach to PD program design and implementation in facilitating teachers’ engagement with new tools like the CSE to support sustainable professional growth.

Global Perspectives on Teacher Emotions and Agency in Higher Education: A Content and Bibliometric Analyses Over the Past Five Decades

ABSTRACTThis study dives deep into the evolution of research on teacher emotions (TE), teacher agency (TA) and their role within higher education institutions (HEIs) from 1975 to the present. Combining a meticulous bibliometric and content analysis, the paper has painted a detailed picture of how the academic conversation has developed over nearly half a century. The approach did not just count publications but looked at how they connected globally. The study reveals a rich tapestry of international collaborations, with the United States, Australia and China standing out as key players, showcasing the global interest in this field and its interconnected insights. Another fascinating finding is the uncovering of the multifaceted dimensions of research on TE and TA and the significance of regional and global perspectives in shaping the holistic landscape of the field. The emergent themes, such as ‘Language Teacher Emotion’ and the significant impact of ‘COVID‐19’ on educational dynamics, are even more intriguing. These themes strongly indicate the field's evolution and responsiveness to the emerging challenges in the contemporary academic landscape.

Teachers’ experiences with physically inactive children and their strategies to promote physical activity in early childhood education settings

Objective: As an increasing number of children are identified as insufficiently physically active, the school environment has been targeted for efforts to promote physical activity (PA) among inactive children. While research has highlighted teachers’ role in promoting generic school-based daily PA, less is known about the early childhood education teachers’ experiences of physically inactive children and the strategies they use to promote PA. This study’s aim was to explore early childhood education teachers in Sweden’s experiences of physically inactive children and their strategies to promote PA among members of this group in their everyday school settings. Design: Qualitative interview study. Setting: Four small municipalities in Midwest Sweden. Method: Ten teachers working in early childhood education settings participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed with a focus on teacher agency and the social, material and cultural resources teachers used to promote PA. Result: Findings indicated that teachers shoulder the worry and unarticulated responsibility for inactive children. This resulted in their use of strategies that varied and which were largely subjective in character. At the same time, teachers expressed how their agency was limited by insufficient resources. Conclusion: Teachers used social, material and cultural resources to promote PA, but their strategies were not informed by evidence or formal guidelines. None of the resources they used were specifically designed for inactive children. Instead, teachers used general resources which they adapted to inactive children’s interests and needs.

Voicing expertise: Exploring strategic use of vowel variants in the English pronunciation of Chinese language instructors

AbstractAccent often carries social implications and can serve as an identity marker, reflecting how speakers perceive themselves and how they wish to be perceived by others. This study employs a variationist approach to examine the agency of Chinese English language teachers in negotiating their professional identities through accent. Instead of a loose association between identity and accent, detailed sociophonetic analyses reveal that these teachers construct desired self‐representations through the strategic use of linguistic resources. Findings indicated that participants’ perceptions of the relationship between teacher qualifications and native‐like/first‐language‐influenced English accent can predict their pronunciation patterns. Relating to how they perceive nativeness and professional identity, participants’ use of robust DRESS–TRAP nuclei and larger tongue movements in MOUTH and PRICE can be interpreted as strategies to distance themselves from a “non‐native” identity, which is often stigmatized within the language teaching community. The utilization of stylistic resources allows participants to construct a professional teacher persona and signify expertise in language teaching.

Achieving teacher agency for inclusive education: an exploration of general education teachers’ perspective

ABSTRACT This work outlines a practitioner-oriented theorisation of teacher agency concerning inclusive education. Exploring teacher agency is relevant for general and SEN teachers and governmental and educational agencies offering initial training and professional development opportunities for teachers. This qualitative study sheds light on teacher agency, which is seen as a change-making process concerning inclusive practices in school contexts. Participants were 124 Italian general education teachers who responded to an open-ended survey question. Framework analysis allowed for the identification of four interrelated categories: enabling conditions, strategies, outcomes and outcome directions. Indeed, by leveraging specific strategies and enabling conditions, teachers produce educational, relational, and context-related outcomes, impacting different stakeholders. The results provide insights into how teacher agency unfolds in inclusive school settings and offer practitioners a set of core strategies and enabling factors to draw upon to produce positive transformations. Implications for research, policy, and practice are also discussed.

Elementary teacher candidates’ expressions of agency around literacy

ABSTRACT This qualitative study conducted across five US institutions used focus group interviews to explore 19 elementary teacher candidates’ expressions of teacher agency when teaching literacy. Building on an ecological view of agency, we define teacher agency as the intentional and active contributions teachers make to shaping their practice, which are supported or constrained within their teaching contexts. Interviews were analyzed using collaborative coding and thematic analysis to explore aspects of teacher agency including sense of purpose, competence, and autonomy. Findings show that the teacher candidates were demonstrating emerging agency and beginning to navigate constraints of exerting their agency which was facilitated by the professional support they received from supervisors and professors. Considering restrictive, top-down educational policies experienced globally and particularly pervasive with respect to literacy instruction, these findings offer important insights into how educators newest to the field are starting to navigate these tensions and how teacher educators can support them.

A psychosocial reading of teacher agency

ABSTRACT The concept of teacher agency has become increasingly prominent in academic, policy and media debates. In rethinking the concept, we are particularly interested in the tension between discourses presenting teachers as heroic agents of individual emancipation and social transformation, such as those found in recruitment campaigns and Hollywood films, and the erosion of spaces for agency brought about by the dominance of discourses and practices of standards and accountability. In this conceptual paper we explore these tensions, building on previous work advocating ecological perspectives on teacher agency. We draw on the conceptual resources of psychosocial theory, including Lacanian discourse theory and recent work in this field articulating agency as manifesting in multiple modalities. Our psychosocial reading of teacher agency makes a number of contributions. First, it provides a more expansive conceptual vocabulary, allowing us to talk about agency in broader, more nuanced ways. Second, it recognises that teacher agency is not always necessarily in pursuit of social good. Third, and perhaps most importantly, it enables us to see the ways in which some modes of teacher agency, rather than manifesting as scenes of heroic possibility, are in fact subordinated forms of agency illustrating the cruel optimism of contemporary neoliberalised education.