Negotiating the impact of international experiences on professional identity development: A case study of Chinese college English teachers
This study traced changes in Chinese college English teachers’ professional identities as a result of participating in international professional development programs and examined how the teachers negotiated their professional identities upon return to China. Five college English teachers with at le...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1007649/full |
| _version_ | 1797997315414294528 |
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| author | Fengjuan Zhang Jing Wang |
| author_facet | Fengjuan Zhang Jing Wang |
| author_sort | Fengjuan Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study traced changes in Chinese college English teachers’ professional identities as a result of participating in international professional development programs and examined how the teachers negotiated their professional identities upon return to China. Five college English teachers with at least 10 months of overseas professional development experience took part in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and relevant documents. It was found that international experiences had a great impact on the teachers’ professional identity construction by empowering them to develop multiple identities as language teaching professionals, university academics, and change agents. The teachers’ reconstruction of professional identities upon return to China was not a linear and smooth process. It was a dynamic process of negotiating with the constraints of the personal and professional contexts to which the teachers returned. The study sheds light on the identity development of internationally trained language teachers and contributes to a deeper understanding of the impact of international experiences on the professional development of second language teachers in similar contexts. It has implications for study abroad programs and for home institutions about how to support the long-term professional development of returnee teachers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:30:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-06acd7826fd14070a79e58af36493069 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:30:58Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-06acd7826fd14070a79e58af364930692022-12-22T04:29:26ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-10-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.10076491007649Negotiating the impact of international experiences on professional identity development: A case study of Chinese college English teachersFengjuan ZhangJing WangThis study traced changes in Chinese college English teachers’ professional identities as a result of participating in international professional development programs and examined how the teachers negotiated their professional identities upon return to China. Five college English teachers with at least 10 months of overseas professional development experience took part in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and relevant documents. It was found that international experiences had a great impact on the teachers’ professional identity construction by empowering them to develop multiple identities as language teaching professionals, university academics, and change agents. The teachers’ reconstruction of professional identities upon return to China was not a linear and smooth process. It was a dynamic process of negotiating with the constraints of the personal and professional contexts to which the teachers returned. The study sheds light on the identity development of internationally trained language teachers and contributes to a deeper understanding of the impact of international experiences on the professional development of second language teachers in similar contexts. It has implications for study abroad programs and for home institutions about how to support the long-term professional development of returnee teachers.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1007649/fullprofessional identitystudy abroadEFL teachersreturnee teachersChina |
| spellingShingle | Fengjuan Zhang Jing Wang Negotiating the impact of international experiences on professional identity development: A case study of Chinese college English teachers Frontiers in Psychology professional identity study abroad EFL teachers returnee teachers China |
| title | Negotiating the impact of international experiences on professional identity development: A case study of Chinese college English teachers |
| title_full | Negotiating the impact of international experiences on professional identity development: A case study of Chinese college English teachers |
| title_fullStr | Negotiating the impact of international experiences on professional identity development: A case study of Chinese college English teachers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Negotiating the impact of international experiences on professional identity development: A case study of Chinese college English teachers |
| title_short | Negotiating the impact of international experiences on professional identity development: A case study of Chinese college English teachers |
| title_sort | negotiating the impact of international experiences on professional identity development a case study of chinese college english teachers |
| topic | professional identity study abroad EFL teachers returnee teachers China |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1007649/full |
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