Language Teacher Agency

✍ Scribed by Jian Tao; Xuesong Gao

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 72
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This Element aims to elucidate the concept of language teacher agency by exploring the 'what' question, offering major conceptualisations of agency and explaining how they shape the way we approach teacher agency. The authors then continue with the 'why' question, and elaborate on the reasons that language teacher agency matters, based on a discussion of the varied purposes of teacher agency at multiple levels. They also acknowledge that teacher agency does not operate alone, and discuss how it intersects with such concepts as teacher identity, emotion, belief and knowledge. Based on this, they identify ways to promote teacher agency through making changes to contexts and/or actors. They then introduce the concept of collective agency and propose a multi-layered model based on an illustrative study. The Element ends with a call for a trans-perspective on understanding language teacher agency so as to facilitate the professional development of language teachers.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Title page
Copyright page
Language Teacher Agency
Contents
1 Introduction
2 What Is Agency?
2.1 Agency As Individuals’ Intentional Acts in Social Cognitive
Theory
2.2 Agency As a Socioculturally Mediated Capacity in Sociocultural
Theory
2.3 Agency As a Temporal and Situated Achievement
in an Ecological Perspective
2.4 Agency As a Discursive Practice in the Post-structuralist View
3 Why Teacher Agency Matters
3.1 The Individual Level: Teacher Agency in (Continuously)
Learning to Teach
3.2 The Institutional/National Level: Teacher Agency in Policy
Implementation
3.3 The Societal Level: Teacher Agency in Advocating Social Justice
3.4 The Chronological Level: Teacher Agency in Ongoing
Professional Development
3.5 Manifestations of Teacher Agency: Two Illustrative Studies
Study 1
Study 2
3.6 Why Language Teacher Agency in Particular?
4 Teacher Agency Intersecting with Other Key Constructs
4.1 Teacher Agency and Identity
4.2 Teacher Agency and Emotion
4.3 Teacher Agency, Beliefs, and Knowledge
4.3.1 Teacher Agency and Beliefs
4.3.2 Teacher Agency and Knowledge
5 What Can Be Done to Enhance Language Teachers’ Sense of Agency?
5.1 Changing the Contextual Conditions
5.2 Promoting the Actors’ Growth
5.3 An Illustrative Case Study
Stage 1: Before collaboration
Stage 2: During collaboration
Stage 3: After collaboration
6 The Significance of Collective Agency
6.1 Background to the Study
6.2 The Multilingual Research Team As a Supportive Community
6.3 Collective Agency in Cross-linguistic Research Collaboration
6.3.1 Language Teacher Agency in Lending and Seeking Intellectual
Support
6.3.2 Emotional Support in Forging Affective Ties
7 Advancing a Trans„-perspective„ in Language Teacher Agency Research
References