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A Tale of Three Excellent Chinese EFL Teachers: Unpacking Teacher Professional Qualities for Their Sustainable Career Trajectories from an Ecological Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Wenxiu Chu

    (School of Foreign Languages, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China)

  • Honggang Liu

    (School of Foreign Languages, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China)

  • Fan Fang

    (College of Liberal Arts, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China)

Abstract

Teachers’ quality has long been researched in the field of general education. However, little attention has been paid to the professional qualities of excellent English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in the context of English curriculum reform, especially from an ecological perspective. To address this gap, this study adopted a qualitative approach to characterise the qualities of excellent senior high school EFL teachers in China and the development of their professional qualities using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model. Four interconnected dimensions of excellent EFL teachers’ professional qualities were confirmed: English language pedagogical content competence, beliefs about the foreign language teaching profession and professional ethics, beliefs about foreign language teaching and learning, and beliefs about language teacher learning and development. Meanwhile, the EFL teachers constructed and developed their professional qualities in their dynamic interaction with the complex ecological systems where they lived. The paper considers these various teacher-related factors in the ecological systems and provides some suggestions for sustaining EFL teachers’ professional development.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenxiu Chu & Honggang Liu & Fan Fang, 2021. "A Tale of Three Excellent Chinese EFL Teachers: Unpacking Teacher Professional Qualities for Their Sustainable Career Trajectories from an Ecological Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:12:p:6721-:d:574567
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Honggang Liu & Lixiang Gao & Fan Fang, 2020. "Exploring and Sustaining Language Teacher Motivation for Being a Visiting Scholar in Higher Education: An Empirical Study in the Chinese Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-16, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Honggang Liu & Wenxiu Chu & Fan Fang & Tariq Elyas, 2021. "Examining the Professional Quality of Experienced EFL Teachers for Their Sustainable Career Trajectories in Rural Areas in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Xing Xu & Helena Sit & Hui Li, 2022. "Between Expert and Novice: Identity Transition from Teacher to Student as Sustainable Agentic Construction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-12, August.
    3. Insuk Han, 2022. "Contextualization of Communicative Language Teaching in Confucian Heritage Culture: Challenging Pedagogic Dichotomization," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    4. Qingru Duan & Yong Jiang & Yifang Wang & Chuchu Zheng & Jing Liu & Xin Liu, 2023. "Development and Validation of Chinese Kindergarten Teachers’ Learning and Development Scale," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-20, January.
    5. Siyu Duan & Wenxiu Chu & Honggang Liu, 2023. "“Seeking Resilience, Sustaining Development”: A Self-Narrative Study of Early Career English Teacher Resilience from an Ecological Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-19, August.
    6. Honggang Liu & Siyu Duan & Wenxiu Chu, 2022. "Unraveling EFL Teacher Buoyancy in Online Teaching: An Ecological Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-16, December.

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