Abstract:There is a wide body of research that shows how vitally important teachers are to successful learning processes. What they do, think, feel and believe are central to what happens in their classrooms, and, essentially, what happens to their learners. It is perhaps, therefore, surprising that the field of language learning psychology has focused so predominantly on the psychology of learners with so little attention devoted to teachers in comparison. In this talk, I argue it is time that we take a much closer lo… Show more
“…Mercer () writes: (…) humans exercise their agency to differing degrees in how they subjectively make meaning out of their experiences and their contexts, while in turn influencing and being influenced by them. This implies a need to move away from thinking of contexts and cultures as being monolithic external objective variables affecting an internal inner world.…”
Section: Do Nonhuman Systems Have Agency?mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In the place of a hierarchy, then, we might think in terms of a heterarchy, where due to homologous dynamics, influence extends in both/many directions among the components of a complex system, rather than top‐down or bottom‐up and is always changing over time. This decentralized and multidimensional view of causality means that change is not caused by a single component, directly and linearly affecting another component, but can emerge from changes in relations within the system (Mercer, ).…”
Section: Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and Agencymentioning
Agency has attracted considerable attention, especially of late. Nevertheless, perceptions of language learners as nonagentive persist. In this article the Douglas Fir Group's call for a transdisciplinary perspective is heeded in a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory's (CDST) conceptualization of agency. It is suggested that CDST maintains the structure–agency complementarity while bringing to the fore the relational and emergent nature of agency. Coordination dynamics is identified as a possible mechanism for the phylogenetic and ontogenetic emergence of agency. CDST further characterizes agency as spatially–temporally situated. It can be achieved and changed through iteration and co‐adaptation. It is also multidimensional and heterarchical. In this era of posthumanism, an issue that is also taken up is whether it is only humans who have agency. The article then discusses educational practices that could support learner agency. Finally, the article closes with a discussion of agency and ethical action.
“…Mercer () writes: (…) humans exercise their agency to differing degrees in how they subjectively make meaning out of their experiences and their contexts, while in turn influencing and being influenced by them. This implies a need to move away from thinking of contexts and cultures as being monolithic external objective variables affecting an internal inner world.…”
Section: Do Nonhuman Systems Have Agency?mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In the place of a hierarchy, then, we might think in terms of a heterarchy, where due to homologous dynamics, influence extends in both/many directions among the components of a complex system, rather than top‐down or bottom‐up and is always changing over time. This decentralized and multidimensional view of causality means that change is not caused by a single component, directly and linearly affecting another component, but can emerge from changes in relations within the system (Mercer, ).…”
Section: Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and Agencymentioning
Agency has attracted considerable attention, especially of late. Nevertheless, perceptions of language learners as nonagentive persist. In this article the Douglas Fir Group's call for a transdisciplinary perspective is heeded in a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory's (CDST) conceptualization of agency. It is suggested that CDST maintains the structure–agency complementarity while bringing to the fore the relational and emergent nature of agency. Coordination dynamics is identified as a possible mechanism for the phylogenetic and ontogenetic emergence of agency. CDST further characterizes agency as spatially–temporally situated. It can be achieved and changed through iteration and co‐adaptation. It is also multidimensional and heterarchical. In this era of posthumanism, an issue that is also taken up is whether it is only humans who have agency. The article then discusses educational practices that could support learner agency. Finally, the article closes with a discussion of agency and ethical action.
“…Pre-service language teacher education, specifically the practicum period, was another aspect to underpin in some of the reviewed studies. Language teaching is exceptional as it requires teachers not only to know but also to perform in the language they teach so that there are particular challenges language teachers face (Mercer, 2018). In the pre-service language teacher education context in Turkey, several challenges have been reported such as lack of reflective practice and teacher reflexivity (Akcan, 2010;Tülüce and Çeçen, 2015), lack of experience to observe peers and/or to be observed by mentors/supervisors (Coskun, 2013), and lack of collaboration with peers and mentors (Merç, 2010;Eröz-Tuğa, 2013;Ceylan, Uştuk and Çomoğlu, 2017).…”
Section: Initial Language Teacher Education Can Be Revisited With Lesmentioning
Even though various professional development practices are provided for language teachers worldwide, these practices are still considered ineffective in addressing teachers' needs in their classrooms. The effectiveness of these practices is stalled when teachers do not actively engage in their professional development processes. When language teachers are not involved as active decision makers regarding their own professional development practices, the outcomes may not be as desirable as policymakers plan. Considering the deficiencies of the current language teacher professional development practices in Turkey, this paper provides a systematic review of lesson study as a professional development model for language teachers which promotes agency and reflective practice. Comparing the current practice of lesson study in Turkey to the international practices reported in the literature, this review suggests that lesson study has potential to support teacher professional development in the country in alignment with the educational visions of decision makers. Given the empowering dimension of lesson study model both in terms of content and form, it can be adopted as a model for effective and sustainable language teacher professional development.
“…According to Mercer (2018), teacher psychology is essential to understanding the cognitive and social processes that take place in the classroom. She further notes that classrooms are a complex milieu wherein successful language teaching/learning hinges on teachers' psychology and psychological status.…”
The present mixed methods study examined the relationships among Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' turnover intentions, occupational stress, psychological well-being, and grit in light of their teaching experience. The participants of the study were a total of 325 EFL teachers (138 novice and 187 experienced). To collect the data, four instruments of occupational stress, turnover intentions, grit, and well-being were administered to the participants, followed by semi-structured interviews with 20 teachers. Data analyses indicated that the novice and experienced teachers' occupational stress/turnover intentions and grit/ psychological well-being were significantly correlated. The results also revealed that the strength of relationship between occupational stress/turnover intentions and grit/psychological well-being is significantly higher for novice teachers than the experienced teachers. The analysis of the interviews indicated that while occupational stress collectively influences the teachers' identity, emotions, and retaining in the profession, their well-being was largely defined in light of various institutional and socioeconomic factors. The results of the study are discussed and implications for teacher education are provided.
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