A Longitudinal Study of EFL Teacher Agency and Sustainable Identity Development: A Positioning Theory Perspective

Abstract

This study reports on a longitudinal narrative case study of Lin, a tertiary level EFL teacher in China, exploring how she exercised her agency and achieved sustainable professional identity development in different phases of her career. Based on narrative data primarily from three rounds of semi-structured interviews and other sources of data, and drawing on the positioning theory, this research was designed to uncover the complex relationships between agency and professional identity transformation in an English teacher’s sustainable professional development trajectory. The analysis of Lin’s narratives was organised into three stages: the initial stage of negotiating exploited and marginalised teacher identities, then becoming a student again, and, finally, reconstructing professional teacher and researcher identities. The findings suggest the significant role of consistent individual agency in an EFL teacher’s negotiation and reconstruction of professional identities. The results also support the existing literature in revealing that identity is not a static or fixed notion, but rather a dynamic and ongoing process that is affected by a range of internal and external factors. The research also shows the vital role of teachers’ emotions and emotion regulation in the agency enactment and identity development. This study has important implications for language teacher agency and identity research. In particular, it may shed light on language teachers’ sustainable professional development, which is crucial in ensuring the pursuit of sustainable development in education and many other sustainable development goals.