Legitimising teacher identity: Investment and agency from an ecological perspective

International higher-education systems position teachers in ways that require an ecological perspective to understand the complexities of identity formation. Accordingly, we apply a model of legitimisation that combines Positioning Theory and Bourdieu's analogy of capitals, means/codes, and mar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Teaching and teacher education Vol. 108; p. 103519
Main Authors: Bowen, Neil Evan Jon Anthony, Satienchayakorn, Natakorn, Teedaaksornsakul, Mareeyadar, Thomas, Nathan
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2021
Subjects:
EMI Thailand
Emotion labour
English language teaching
Identity agency
Teaching-as-caring
Emotion labour
EMI Thailand
Identity agency
Teaching-as-caring
English language teaching
ISSN:0742-051X, 1879-2480
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:International higher-education systems position teachers in ways that require an ecological perspective to understand the complexities of identity formation. Accordingly, we apply a model of legitimisation that combines Positioning Theory and Bourdieu's analogy of capitals, means/codes, and marketplaces to investigate the roles, identities, and investments of six university teachers in Thailand. Findings from in-depth interviews show that our participants navigate the complexity and fluidity of their positions through a view of identity that puts holistic learning above content or language-related goals. Moreover, despite positioning themselves as individuals, their discourses reflect a common goal for ethical self-formation driven by emotion labour. •Explores the identities, positions, and investments of six English language teachers in an internationalised department.•Advances a method for exploring identity agency that considers legitimisation from an ecological perspective.•Investigates context-culture-specific emotional discourses in language teachers as they strive for ethical self-formations.•Shows how teachers can legitimise preferred positions through investments that reflect their level of agency.•Illustrates the contrasting approaches of experienced teachers, who perform similar roles through varying means/codes.
ISSN:0742-051X
1879-2480
DOI:10.1016/j.tate.2021.103519