Abstract
The aim of the study was to identify how English teachers from public elementary schools in northern Mexico exercise their agency, and the factors that seem to explain such agency from their perspective. Based on the model from Priestley et al., a theoretical model to explain the development and exercise of agency was created to guide the research. A collective case study involving 13 English language teachers was conducted. Participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis were employed as data collection methods. The study found that teachers exercise their agency when adapting the curricular objectives according to their contextual situation. It was also found that teachers' agency is influenced by personal, institutional, and context-related factors. It was concluded that understanding what promotes and hinders teachers' agency could benefit the improvement of current theory of education in general, and of the professional improvement of English teachers in particular.
TopTeacher Agency: A Brief Review Of Recent Studies
Teacher agency has been researched from different perspectives, namely the ecological approach of agency (Biesta & Tedder, 2017), teachers as changemakers (Chau & Shunmugam, 2021), teachers’ professional agency (Molla & Nolan, 2020), agency in times of crisis (Damsa et al., 2021), and teachers’ emotions and agency (Sari, 2021), to mention a few. These varied perspectives have contributed to a deeper understanding of the concept of teacher agency.
Key Terms in this Chapter
State English Program: The organization that regulates the way in whch English is taught in public basic education in a particular state from Mexico
Public Education: Education that is provided to students free of charge.
Basic Education: It refers to the education offered at preschool, elementary school and junior highschool levels, that is, to students between four to 15 years old.
Elementary School: A school that delivers education to children between six and twelve years old.
Teacher Agency: It is the competence teachers have to make choices related to their profession.
English Teacher: The professional who teaches English as a second language.
Teaching English as a Foreign Language: It refers to the teaching of the English language in a context where English is not used as a primary language.
National English Program: The organization that regulates the way in which English is taught in public basic education in Mexico.