Agency, identity, power: An agentive triad model for teacher action

Sherman, Brandon; Teemant, Annela

doi:10.1080/00131857.2021.1929174

Cited by 20 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…The agency shown by Emily was distinct from other participants in that, having perceived that there were no “good” choices open to her, she expressed a desire to have had other options available ( Damman and Henkens, 2017 ). The label of “constrained agency” in these circumstances recognizes that whereas Sherman and Teemant (2021) include willingness to act in their definition of agency, Emily explicitly described reluctance to act or unenthusiastic inaction. In contrast, George’s decision not to take a job offer was a deliberate response after considering the opportunity offered, his future goals, potential alternatives, and his emotional “gut” response.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…label of "constrained agency" in these circumstances recognizes that whereas Sherman and Teemant (2021) include willingness to act in their definition of agency, Emily explicitly described reluctance to act or unenthusiastic inaction. In contrast, George's decision not to take a job offer was a deliberate response after considering the opportunity offered, his future goals, potential alternatives, and his emotional "gut" response.…”

Section: Adaptabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Teacher agency remains poorly conceptualized and under-theorized, despite growing recognition of its value in education settings ( Emirbayer and Mische, 1998 ; Priestley et al, 2015 ; Aspbury-Miyanishi, 2022 ). The lack of consensus is partly due to recognition that teacher agency is a complex multilevel construct, often considered in conjunction with other constructs such as identity and power ( Impedovo, 2021 ; Sherman and Teemant, 2021 ). Nevertheless, we take as a starting position Sherman and Teemant’s summary of agency as “action taken not accidentally, unknowingly, unwittingly or unwillingly” (2021, p. 5).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Teachers’ emotions in the time of COVID: Thematic analysis of interview data reveals drivers of professional agency

Porter

Miles²,

Donaldson³

2022

Front. Psychol.

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PurposeWe explored two complex phenomena associated with effective education. First, teachers’ professional agency, the volitional actions they take in response to perceived opportunities, was examined to consider individual differences in its enactment. Second, “strong” emotions have been proposed as important in teaching and learning, and we wished to clarify which basic emotions might be involved, besides curiosity, which is a known emotional factor in engagement in teaching. We also explored how agency and basic emotions might be related.ApproachThirteen teachers working in Scottish secondary schools were interviewed at the start of the covid pandemic in 2020 to discuss relevant feelings, thoughts and actions arising from unprecedented changes in their lives and professional practices. Thematic analysis was used to identify aspects of agentic behavior and basic emotions expressed.FindingsTeacher agency was expressed through adaptability, collective agency, constrained agency, and non-action. Four basic emotion percepts were identified, which we label as “CARE”, “CURIOSITY”, “COOPERATION”, and “CHALLENGE”.OriginalityWe extend the definition of agency to include volitional non-action as a response to opportunity. In contrast to prior research emphasizing emotions as an outcome of volitional behavior, we explore emotions preceding agency. We develop four theoretical propositions related to teacher emotions. (1) Four emotion percepts substantially influence teachers’ voluntary motivated behavior. (2) The amount and proportion of emotions experienced varies between individual teachers. (3) The four percepts are experienced concurrently or in rapid succession in engaged teaching contexts. (4) Professional experience and specific situational factors also influence teachers’ behavioral choices. For future consideration, we suggest that awareness of emotion percepts may encourage both teachers’ engagement and their professional agency for the benefit of their pedagogical practice and outcomes for their students.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Adaptabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Teachers’ emotions in the time of COVID: Thematic analysis of interview data reveals drivers of professional agency

Porter

Miles²,

Donaldson³

2022

Front. Psychol.

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“…EFL teacher identities are crucial to their self-understanding (Tsui, 2007;Varghese et al, 2005), and this teacher identity can connect to pedagogy (Hiver & Whitehead, 2018), professional agency (Haneda & Sherman, 2018;Kayi-Aydar, 2019), and arcs of professional development (Sherman & Teemant, 2022a;Varghese et al, 2005). While empirical studies of identity are valuable, it is also useful to develop sophisticated theoretical understandings of these dynamics of teacher identity to inform such empirical inquiry (Sherman & Teemant, 2022b).…”

Section: Why Expatriates?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling the EFL expat: challenging privilege through borderlands and Asia as Method

Sherman

2022

Asia Pacific Educ. Rev.

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Each year, multitudes respond to the demand for native English speakers to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Asian countries, particularly China, Japan, and South Korea. These EFL transnationals are often young, new to living abroad, and inexperienced as educators. When they arrive, they often find a community, and an identity waiting for them: that of the expatriate.In this paper, I draw on research on EFL expatriates to produce a figuration, a way of engaging with and highlighting contradiction and disjuncture in the narrative identity of EFL expat taken up by some transnational EFL teachers. This figuration serves as a nexus to which I bring two bodies of theory with which to think. These are the Borderlands Thought of Gloria Anzaldúa and Chen Kwan-Hsing's articulation of Asia as Method. Separately, I bring these into conversation with the figuration of the EFL expat, then consider what emerges when all three are brought together. In doing so, I highlight how the figuration of the EFL expat is outlined by privileged and constrictive colonial, racial, professional, and linguistic dichotomies. The theories of Anzaldúa and Chen help to unravel these binaries, suggesting ways in which transnational English teachers can move on from such constraints to become something more than in-but-notof their local world. I also consider what it means for Western scholars to work respectfully in theoretical spaces that were not developed by and for them, proposing that such researchers can think of themselves as theoretical expatriates.

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“…This chapter presents teachers' narratives in the context of pedagogic reform in government schools in Delhi. As theoretical lenses with practical implications, the concepts of agency and autonomy have been valuable in attempting to understand the ways teachers think, act and learn, and how they accommodate or resist change in their classrooms and schools (Sherman and Teemant, 2021). This chapter starts by defining teacher agency -a concept that has emerged in recent literature as an alternative means of understanding how teachers might enact practice and engage with policy (Priestley and Biesta, 2013;Priestley et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delhi's Education Revolution

Anand¹,

Lall²

2022

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In 2015, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was elected to govern Delhi promising to improve public services, including education through government schools that would be the equal of private-school provision. Media reports, along with the party’s re-election in 2020, suggest strong public confidence that AAP are delivering on that promise. But is this success reflected by experience in schools? Delhi’s Education Revolution offers a critical evaluation of the AAP’s education reforms by exploring policy and practice through the eyes of one key group: the government-school teachers tasked with making the AAP’s pledge a reality. Drawing on 110 research interviews conducted via Zoom during the Covid pandemic in the summer of 2020, teachers explain how the reforms have changed their profession and practice, and whether education really has improved for children of all backgrounds. Analysis of views about critical issues such as inclusion and the pressure of achievement targets in classrooms that often contain more than 50 students, informs their observations about the reform programme itself. The study paints a more qualified picture of success than suggested elsewhere and makes a valuable contribution to the understanding of education reforms in India, and most especially, in Delhi.

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Agency, identity, power: An agentive triad model for teacher action

Cited by 20 publications

References 71 publications

Teachers’ emotions in the time of COVID: Thematic analysis of interview data reveals drivers of professional agency

Teachers’ emotions in the time of COVID: Thematic analysis of interview data reveals drivers of professional agency

Unraveling the EFL expat: challenging privilege through borderlands and Asia as Method

Delhi's Education Revolution

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