An Empirical Study on the Relationship Between Chinese Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Identity and Teacher Autonomy
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Lina Qian
Lina QIAN is an associate professor at School of Foreign Languages, Hubei University of Technology. She received her PhD degree from Macquarie University, Australia. Her research interests include teacher autonomy, TESOL pedagogy, teacher professional development, and teacher identity.
and
Haiquan Huang
Haiquan HUANG is a professor at School of Foreign Languages, Hubei University of Technology. He received his PhD degree from Macquarie University, Australia. His research interests include child language acquisition and TESOL pedagogy.
Abstract
Teacher identity formation provides a direction for the development of autonomy (Huang & Benson, 2013). However, the process of identity formation is complex and how this process influences teacher autonomy has not been sufficiently studied. To contribute to knowledge in this field, the present study investigated the relationship between teachers’ attitudes toward teacher identity and teacher autonomy. We first observed 14 Chinese College English teachers’ classroom teaching. Following that, we conducted stimulated recall interviews with all the teachers to pinpoint their autonomous practices. Finally, we conducted semi-structured interviews to investigate these teachers’ attitudes toward their identities. One of the main findings was that the teachers who held a positive attitude toward their professional identity were more autonomous in their teaching practices than those with a negative attitude. The findings invite us to conclude that teachers’ attitudes toward their professional identity are positively associated with teacher autonomy.
About the authors
Lina QIAN is an associate professor at School of Foreign Languages, Hubei University of Technology. She received her PhD degree from Macquarie University, Australia. Her research interests include teacher autonomy, TESOL pedagogy, teacher professional development, and teacher identity.
Haiquan HUANG is a professor at School of Foreign Languages, Hubei University of Technology. He received his PhD degree from Macquarie University, Australia. His research interests include child language acquisition and TESOL pedagogy.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by a joint scholarship between China Scholarship Council (CSC) and Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. We are also grateful to Professor Phil Benson for his editing of an earlier draft of this paper. Finally, we would like to thank the 14 teachers for their participation of this study.
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© 2019 FLTRP, Walter de Gruyter, Cultural and Education Section British Embassy
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Teacher Identity and Teacher Autonomy in Foreign Language Education
- Autonomy in English Language Teaching: A Case Study of Novice Secondary School Teachers in Hong Kong
- Identity Transformation and Autonomy Development of Female Student English Teachers From Rural China
- An Exploratory Study of Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers’ Professional Identity Construction in a Globalizing China
- An Empirical Study on the Relationship Between Chinese Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Identity and Teacher Autonomy
- Second Language Acquisition
- The Relationship Among Non-English Majors’ Autonomous Learning Ability, Learning Burnout and English Grades: A Structural Equation Modeling Study
- Review Article
- Factors Related to EFL/ESL Learners’ Reading Strategy Use: A Literature Review
- English as a Lingua Franca
- English as a Lingua Franca: A New Approach for English Language Teaching in China?
- 中文提要
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Teacher Identity and Teacher Autonomy in Foreign Language Education
- Autonomy in English Language Teaching: A Case Study of Novice Secondary School Teachers in Hong Kong
- Identity Transformation and Autonomy Development of Female Student English Teachers From Rural China
- An Exploratory Study of Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers’ Professional Identity Construction in a Globalizing China
- An Empirical Study on the Relationship Between Chinese Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Identity and Teacher Autonomy
- Second Language Acquisition
- The Relationship Among Non-English Majors’ Autonomous Learning Ability, Learning Burnout and English Grades: A Structural Equation Modeling Study
- Review Article
- Factors Related to EFL/ESL Learners’ Reading Strategy Use: A Literature Review
- English as a Lingua Franca
- English as a Lingua Franca: A New Approach for English Language Teaching in China?
- 中文提要
