Critical Factors in English Teachers’ Professional Development in China - A Case Study

Kathy O’Sullivan
Additional contact information
Kathy O’Sullivan: United Business Institutes (Belgium, China, Luxembourg)

European Journal of Language and Literature Studies Articles, 2018, vol. 4

Abstract: This case study is set in the context of globalisation, framing its analysis of issues relating to professional development of teachers of English language in China against the global background of English language teaching reform. In Asia generally, and particularly in China, where the focus of education in recent years has shifted from access to quality of teaching and learning, an existing plethora of underqualified teaching staff, mainly because of rapid higher education expansion, constitutes a major barrier to regular participation in professional development programs. Barriers identiï¬ ed as impacting on the provision of good quality teaching arose, largely, from the pressures due to the demands of curriculum reform and the often-changing expectations of university leadership, which highlighted tensions between a traditional reliance on the primacy of exam results and a newer demand for holistic development and lifelong learning. Following a review of the literature on aspects of teacher professional development, and a discussion of the current policy context in China, a range of ï¬ ndings will be used to illustrate common stakeholder expectations, as well as teacher beliefs and practice. The analysis of the narratives uncovers issues of identity and power, in the shaping of the participants’ practice and professional trajectories. The analysis provides illustration of how limitation in professional participation can result in limitation of innovative practice. Concerns regarding barriers to further development are also highlighted. The study offers recommendations to promote innovative practice which can support more effective teaching and learning.

Keywords: Professional development; higher education; China; English (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://brucol.be/index.php/ejls/article/view/8537 (text/html)
https://brucol.be/files/articles/ejls_v4_i2_18/Kathy.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eur:ejlsjr:154

DOI: 10.26417/ejls.v4i3.p6-16

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in European Journal of Language and Literature Studies Articles from Revistia Research and Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Revistia Research and Publishing ().