This study explores how two language teachers constructed and reconstructed their professional identities through their action research (AR) facilitated by university researchers in China. Informed by the theory of 'community of practice', the findings of the study show that AR exerted a transformative impact on the teachers' identity development.…

This mixed methods study adds to a growing international literature on the nature of language teachers' engagement with and in research by examining such engagement in the context of college English teaching in China. Questionnaire responses from 725 college English teachers and interviews with 20 of these teachers indicate that, although they…

This article reports on a narrative study of university EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers' research practices and their identity construction as researchers in China. Drawing upon data from narrative frames among 104 teachers and in-depth interviews with four teachers, the study reveals that teachers' increased research engagement, as…

Workplace influences on Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) academics' development as researchers were examined in two Chinese higher education institutions in this qualitative collective case study. Data sources included research documentation and interviews with 12 Chinese TEFL academics. Both institutions were keen on research…

Research engagement is an important means for teachers to develop their professional competence. This paper reports on an enquiry into the research engagement of a group of primary school English language teachers in Guangdong province on the Chinese mainland. Drawing on questionnaire data and teachers' interview narratives, the paper examines how…

Teacher professional learning communities provide environments in which teachers engage in regular research and collaboration. They have been found effective as a means for connecting professional learning to the day-to-day realities faced by teachers in the classroom. In this article, the authors draw on survey data collected in primary schools…