Professional Space and Agency: The Case of In-Service Language Teachers

Abstract

The present small-scale study aimed to investigate teacher agency from the perspective of in-service language teachers in relation to their perceived professional space. It specifically aimed to have an understanding of factors contributing to teacher agency positively and negatively. To this end, eight Turkish EFL teachers working at private and state schools and various education levels were asked to reflect on their own perceived and exploited professional space in semi-structured interviews and storylines. The in-depth analysis of the data revealed three types of trajectories in agency: contested agency, gradual growth of agency and failure in achievement of agency. In these trajectories, it was found out that teachers’ own motivation, material adaptation, cooperation of colleagues and technological equipment promote teacher agency, whereas some factors such as pressure from administration and parents, centralized curriculum and exams, workload and crowded classes serve as obstacles in the process. In line with the results, some implications for the development of teacher agency and also insights for teacher education programs were provided

Keywords

• Teacher agency, professional space, in-service teachers, teacher education

References

1. Beijaard, D., Van Driel, J., & Verloop, N. (1999). Evaluation of story-line methodol- ogy research on teachers’ practical knowledge. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 25, 47-62.
2. Biesta, G. & Tedder, M. (2007). Agency and learning in the lifecourse: Towards an ecological perspective. Studies in the Education of Adults, 39, 132-149.
3. Buchanan, R. (2015). Teacher identity and agency in an era of accountability. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 21(6), 700-719.
4. Emirbayer, M. & Mische, A. (1998). What is agency? American Journal of Sociology, 103, 962-1023.
5. Gür, Y. B. (2014). Deskilling of teachers: The case of Turkey. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 14(3), 887-904.
6. Imants, J., Wubbels, T., & Vermunt, J. D. (2013). Teachers’ enactments of workplace conditions and their beliefs and attitudes toward reform. Vocations and Learning, 6(3), 323-346.
7. Kostogriz, A. & Peeler, E. (2007). Professional identity and pedagogical space: Ne- gotiating difference in teacher workplaces. Teaching Education, 18(2), 107-122.
8. Lincoln, Y. S. & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. CA: Sage Publications.

9. Lipponen, L. & Kumpulainen, K. (2011). Acting as accountable authors: Creating in- teractional spaces for agency work in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27, 812-819.
10. Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Educa- tion. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
11. Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. (2nd. Ed). London: Sage.
12. Oolbekkink-Marchand, H. W., Hadar, L. L., Smith, K., Helleve, I., & Ulvik, M. (2016). Teachers’ perceived professional space and their agency. Teaching and Teaching Education, 62, 37-46.
13. Priestley, M., Biesta, G. J. J., Philippou, S., & Robinson, S. (2015). The teacher and the curriculum: Exploring teacher agency. In D. Wyse, L. Hayward, & J. Pandya (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment (pp.187- 201). London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
14. Priestley, M., Biesta, G. J. J., & Robinson, S. (2012). Understanding teacher agency: The importance of relationships. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, Canada.
15. Soini, T., Pietarinen, J., Toom, A. & Pyhältö, K. (2015). What contributes to first year student teachers’ sense of professional agency in the classroom? Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 21, 641-659.
16. Toom, A., Pyhalto, K., & O’Connell Rust, F. (2015). Teachers’ professional agency in contradictory times. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 21(6), 615- 623.
17. Taneri, O. (2011). The perceived autonomy of teachers in elementary education. Paper presented at The 3rd International Conference on Educational Sciences (ICES’11): Current Trends and Future Directions for Professional Development of Teachers, Gazimağusa, Cyprus.
18. Van der Heijden, H., Geldens, J., Beijaard, D., & Popeijus, H. L. (2015). Characteris- tics of teachers as change agents. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 21(6), 681-699.