| Author: | Zhang, Xueshan |
| Title: | An investigation of English language teachers’ motivation from an ecological perspective : a case study from mainland China |
| Advisors: | Friginal, Eric (ENGL) Consoli, Sal (ENGL) Ahrens, Kathleen (ENGL) |
| Degree: | DALS |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Subject: | English teachers -- Attitudes English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- China Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Faculty of Humanities |
| Pages: | xii, 202 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Although several researchers have advocated that more studies should pay attention to language teachers’ motivation, it is still an under-researched area (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2021; Liu, 2020). Specifically, more studies are needed to investigate the complex and dynamic nature of their motivation. This study aims to address the research gap by combining the possible selves theory (Markus & Nurius, 1986) with an ecological perspective (Larsen-Freeman, 2018; Van Lier, 2006) to explore the entry motivation of high school English teachers and their motivation development in China. Data were collected over six months through semi-structured interviews, teacher reflective journals, the researcher’s journal, and various documents (i.e., online information provided by the official website of the local high school and its official WeChat account). Despite participants’ different ages and personal experiences, the data indicated certain commonalities in their entry motivation and teacher motivation development. Their entry motivation was influenced by an array of complex factors, such as government policies (i.e., the status of the English in China, the reform of teacher education program, and the stability of being a teacher in public schools) and their personal experiences (i.e., English learning experiences, the performance of the university entrance exam, family background and influence of significant others). Moreover, participants tended to internalize the ought-to self highly and possess concrete and feasible ideal selves. Most of their ideal images were in alignment with the ought-to self. Therefore, this agreement between ideal selves and the ought-to self and the feasibility of ideal selves increased the motivational power. In addition, most participants possessed ideal images of being a general educator, contributing to students’ social, emotional, and psychological development. Moreover, while some participants continued to update or enhance their understanding of ideal selves, other participants tried to maintain comparatively stable ideal images with ebbs and flows. Finally, participants formed personalized and interconnected possible selves (i.e., ideal selves, actual selves, feared selves, and the ought-to self), which worked simultaneously and were susceptible to the influence of various external factors. The findings of this study suggest that although participants were within the same local context, they possessed distinctive possible selves and were interested in distinctive aspects of teaching. Therefore, teacher educators should raise their awareness of teachers’ individual needs rather than design one size for all education programs. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7187.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 3.54 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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