This article examines the sociocultural shaping of "teacher agency" by focusing on how various conditions "mediate" teachers' perceived professional space. Agency is understood from a "sociocultural" perspective as the mediated capacity to act, which is achieved and exercised "in" a professional space, and,…

Early career teachers are increasingly required to be 'classroom ready' upon graduation and to demonstrate capabilities that match their more experienced colleagues. They are also joining a profession that is characterised by increased scrutiny and accountability driven by standards that seek to identify the hallmarks of good teaching. This…

This article explores the influence of personal and professional experiences on the development of teacher identity. The holistic perspective in this article refers to the language teachers' exploration of their personal and professional experiences with the use of both conscious/rational and intuitive/tacit thought processes. Three language…

Around the world, 4.3 million students are engaged in international education each year. However, there is a paucity in theory and empirical research on teachers' professionalism in international education. This paper aims to fill out this gap and contribute to our understanding of teachers' changing roles and identity due to the impact of…

This article explores how one specially prepared, accomplished teacher managed dilemmas that arose as she worked to enact responsive language arts instruction with English Learners in a policy context that privileged high-stakes accountability and standardization. Drawing on sociocultural learning theory, the article illustrates how the teacher's…

Drawing on previous research that focused upon the formation and mediation of teacher professional identity, this paper develops a model for conceptualising teacher professional identity. Increasingly, technical-rational understandings of teachers' work and "role" are privileged in policy and public discourse over more nuanced and holistic…

This article discusses the results of a qualitative study that aimed to explore how one group of preservice English language teachers in Hong Kong constructed their identities as teachers. Using in-depth interviews to gain a rich understanding of participants' teacher identity formation in practice and discourse, the paper examines the…