Sociocultural Environment and Agency in Identity Construction of English Language Teachers

Authors

Bharat Prasad Neupane , PhD, Kathmandu University School of Education, NepalFollow

Abstract

Identity is an emerging field in educational research focusing on how teacher education programs, training, reflective practices, and short-term interventions impact the identity negotiation of teachers (Gautam, 2018). However, this study reports how different levels of sociocultural environments influence teachers and what initiatives they take for professional development and identity construction. Drawing on Wenger’s (1998) notion of communities of practice and Norton’s (2013) investing, this study sought to uncover the interchange of the development of learning communities and teachers by investigating the life history of four secondary-level English language teachers derived through informal conversations and in-depth interviews. Teachers’ life stories revealed that the environment's micro, meso, and macro levels influenced their professional development and identity construction. Teachers also influenced these contexts, with the most negligible macro-level influence. Despite the massive positive and negative impact of contexts, teachers have also taken initiatives for their professional development, quality enhancement of education, and students’ learning outcomes. Although agency influences the different learning contexts, a minor intervention at the macro level is apparent, implying the need for acknowledging teachers’ opinions in policy formulation.

Keywords

English teachers, professional identity, Nepal, communities of practice, narrative inquiry, agency

Author Bio(s)

Bharat Prasad Neupane, Ph.D. works at the Department of Language Education, School of Education, Kathmandu University, Nepal, as an assistant professor. Dr. Neupane presents at national and international conferences and seminars and actively engages in teacher development activities. His areas of interest include teacher professional development, teacher identity, language ideology, language policy, research methodology, and teacher training among others. Please direct correspondence to nyaupane.bharat@gmail.com

Acknowledgements

This research article draws concepts and ideas from one of the sections of my unpublished PhD thesis. As I was provided funding for my PhD, I acknowledge the contribution of Kathmandu University. I also thank my PhD supervisors Prof. Jai Raj Awasthi and Prof. Laxman Gnawali for their kind support during PhD. Likewise, I extend my sincere gratitude to the reviewers and editors – Katie Atkins, Daniel Turner, and Ronald Chenail – of TQR for their meticulous comments and insightful suggestions during the review process of the article. I’m humbled and express sincere gratitude to you all for your contribution.

Publication Date

7-28-2024

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6756

Recommended APA Citation

Neupane, B. P. (2024). Sociocultural Environment and Agency in Identity Construction of English Language Teachers. The Qualitative Report, 29(7), 1948-1968. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6756

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5327-1742

ResearcherID

KIA-2465-2024