The role of teacher knowledge and practice in shaping EFL teachers’ glocal identity

Abstract

This study examined the identity development of two Chinese teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in a globalized city in China. Grounded in the conceptual frameworks of ‘identity in belief and practice’ and the images of teacher knowledge, the study critically analysed the factors that influenced the formation of teacher identities. The data were collected through interviews and classroom observations. It was revealed that the participants acquired and internalized their professional knowledge differently, resulting in differences in teacher beliefs and instructional practices. Individuals’ acquisition of teaching knowledge did not necessarily lead to practical identities that matched their initial expectations. The gaps between teacher knowledge and practice and between the participants’ ideals and reality acted as parts of their ‘glocal’ identity formation. The findings illuminated the tensions and limitations within the educational transfer between Western-style and non-Western-style classrooms in Chinese teachers’ teaching.