‘Nowadays, teachers are relatively obedient’: Understanding primary school English teachers’ conceptions of and drives for research in China

Abstract

Research engagement has been widely considered crucial in transforming teachers into ‘expert knowers about their students and classrooms’ (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999, p. 16). This article reports on a mixed-method study of the research engagement of a group of primary school teachers in China’s Guangdong province, focusing particularly on their conceptions of teacher research and the contextual factors driving them to do research. The study revealed that the majority of these teachers opted for the type of research involving experimental use of particular teaching methods or approaches in their classrooms with the intention of improving their teaching and their students’ learning. While sharing research findings through publication is an integral part of academic research, these teachers did not place much emphasis on writing for publication, although they reported alternative forms of research dissemination. The study also revealed that research has been promoted through a top-down performance review process for schools and teachers, which has research activity and outcomes structured into it. This mechanism may be effective in promoting research activity among schools and teachers, but it is far less effective in actually supporting teachers’ research efforts. We conclude that further research on primary school English teachers’ research experiences is needed in order to provide relevant and useful knowledge to teacher educators and policymakers on the Chinese mainland, making research a sustainable path to professional excellence for teachers.

Research engagement and educational decentralisation: problematising primary school English teachers’ research experiences in China

“…As a result, schools and teachers are increasingly obliged to produce evidence to demonstrate their educational quality and professional excellence. To these ends, teachers have been encouraged to reflect on their professional practices, often through action research in their professional (Barkhuizen 2009;Gao, Barkhuizen, and Chow 2011;Gu and Wang 2006;Wang, Zhou, and Gu 2005;Zhan 2008). …”

“…In particular, lack of teachers' participation in disseminating their knowledge through publication may cause a wealth of context-specific experiences and knowledge to go wasted without benefiting other teachers. It must be noted that the participants also reported other difficulties, such as heavy teaching and non-teaching duties as well as inadequate research-writing skills (Barkhuizen 2009;Borg 2009;Gao, Barkhuizen, and Chow 2011). Moreover, the competition associated with the research promotion mechanism pushed schools and teachers to share their research products but discouraged them from sharing the process in an open and transparent manner with other teachers, which may undermine the intended impact on teachers' professional development in the wider community.…”

Classroom-oriented Research

“…There are also studies in which only one of several data collection tools looks for both quantitative and qualitative data (e.g. Mazdayasna and Tahririan 2008;Ranalli 2008;Gao et al 2010). This last case, where both types of data come from one data collection tool, may be especially problematic, considering the view of some methodologists, who do not treat it as an example of true method integration (Bryman 2006, p. 103).…”

“…As many as 10 studies made use of a survey. In four cases, the method contained both quantitative and qualitative components, as in the surveys in the studies of Chiang (2008), Ranalli (2008), and Gao et al (2010), and in the ratings accompanied by qualitative comments in Kim's (2009) study. The qualitative data collection involved interviews (12 studies), both individual and focus group.…”

How does writing for publication help professional development of teachers? A case study in China

“…As Ma (1992) stated, even though the research community in China is far from comprehensive, teachers' writing has more chance to be published than in the United States and elsewhere. Further, excellent teachers are generally keen to have a publication record (Sargent and Hannum 2009;Gao et al 2010Gao et al , 2011. As a result, teachers in China are likely to have a more central role to play in educational research than is the case in their counterpart countries.…”