ERIC Number: EJ1466845
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jan
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2158-2440
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Exploring Developmental Trajectories for English Language Teachers: Evidence from Professional Agency, Teacher Commitment, and Professional Learning Communities in Chinese Universities
While an expanding body of evidence emerged recommending that teachers stay engaged with the professional learning communities (PLCs) to enhance career development, scant attention has been given to exploring the relationship between teacher agency and their professional commitment to PLCs. To bridge this gap, the current study aims to uncover teachers' views on community practices and the enabling and restraining factors that influenced their enactment of professional agency in a sample of 10 Chinese university language teachers. Thematic analysis was applied to scrutinize the data collected from semi-structured interviews, community observation, reflective diary, and discussion minutes in PLCs. The results of teachers' reported experience showed the significant effect of PLCs in constructing language teachers' professional developmental trajectories, facilitated by the reciprocal relations between teacher agency and commitment. An inquiry into teacher engagement reported that the participants proactively exercised their agency through the dynamic interplay of teacher identity, professional learning knowledge, teacher trust, and school culture in the community context. In addition, teacher commitment to PLCs was shaped by community identity, learning demands, exercised efforts, and teacher turnover. Some important theoretical and practical implications of this study were discussed.
Descriptors: Language Teachers, College Faculty, Teacher Education, Career Pathways, Teacher Motivation, Communities of Practice, Foreign Countries, Career Development, Ecology, Faculty Development, Professional Identity, Trust (Psychology), School Culture, Labor Turnover
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Shanghai Polytechnic University, China; 2East China Normal University, Shanghai, China