Understanding professional vulnerability in an era of performativity: experiences of EFL academics in mainland China

Developing sustainable career paths as teacher-researchers in a changing academic landscape: A tale of two EFL teachers in China

“…Susan, on the other hand, initially prioritized researcher identity over teacher identity and later attempted to incorporate her research expertise into teaching. Susan’s early embrace of research and complete dedication to developing a researcher identity, as unusual as it was, was most likely related to the research-oriented institutional culture when she joined the university [ 7 , 8 , 11 ]. Academics tend to exhibit a range of emotional responses to research policies and emotion-related identities [ 12 ].…”

“…Scholars have investigated numerous topics, such as the formation of EFL teacher identities [ 1 , 2 ], challenges in EFL researcher identity construction [ 5 ], and EFL teachers’ identity transitions in educational settings with reforms and managerial practices [ 6 ]. Previous studies have shown that exploring EFL teachers’ professional identities can lead to a better understanding of their professional practices and offer implications for facilitating their career advancement and personal and professional well-being [ 3 , 6 , 7 ].…”

“…Therefore, while EFL teachers continue to serve as English language teachers with pedagogical practices [ 14 ], they also need to develop a researcher identity since their promotion, contrast renewal, and career advancement are all heavily reliant on their ability to meet research demands in the current higher education context [ 7 , 11 ]. However, such a research-oriented reconstruction of professional identity may cause identity disorientation and tensions in traditionally teaching-focused EFL teachers [ 15 ].…”

“…Despite a growing body of studies on the professional identities of EFL teachers, limited attention has been paid to their sustainable professional development through the integration of teacher and researcher identities in the changing higher education context. As research has become a central dimension of EFL teachers’ professional work [ 7 ], it is meaningful to explore how EFL teachers integrate researcher identity with their teacher identity to facilitate their sustainable development in socio-institutional settings. Against such a backdrop, the present study, adopting “identity” as an analytical lens [ 28 ], examines how two EFL teachers developed their sustainable career paths as teacher-researchers in light of their storied experiences in the higher education context in China.…”

Chinese EFL Academics’ Experiences of Aligning Researcher Identity (Re)-Construction with University Policy Practices of a National Research Policy

“…In the era of performativity, institutional managerial practices are the various measures with quantitative performance requirements that universities take as means of incentives and punishments to drive academics to invest in their work and pursue performance excellence (Gao & Yuan, 2021). The growing managerial practices in global higher education (Deem & Brehony, 2005), which prioritize efficiency and effectiveness with market-based values in university governance and management (Deem et al, 2007), have led to accountability measures such as implementing contract-based employment and adopting appraisals of faculty's performance and productivity with quantitative indicators (Sutton, 2017;Vidovich et al, 2007).…”