“I need to continually study and broaden my horizons”: a narrative inquiry of a novice teacher's induction experience in China
Journal of Professional Capital and Community
ISSN: 2056-9548
Article publication date: 28 July 2023
Issue publication date: 29 August 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Although the importance of teacher induction is widely acknowledged, how teachers experience inductions, particularly those conducted in under-resourced areas, remains underexplored.
Design/methodology/approach
This study narrates a novice teacher's induction experience in a Chinese high school, from the perspectives of professional capital and community, social realist theory, practice architecture and teacher agency. The participant, Ming, reflected on a broad array of formal and informal induction activities and participated during the induction period.
Findings
Through the three-dimensional narrative space, namely broadening, burrowing and storying and re-storying, five themes emerged from Ming's induction experience: (1) heightened awareness of the meaning of teaching, (2) interacting with various professional communities, (3) professional identity tension and development, (4) the discursive influence of various aspects of culture and (5) the influence on future professional development. Overall, this narrative study shows that teacher expertise and identity development play central roles in teacher induction, and context acts as an important mediating factor in teacher induction. These findings echo the importance of teachers' agency in inductions. The implications for facilitating novice teacher induction are also discussed.
Originality/value
This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of a novice teacher's induction experience in China from the perspectives of practice architectures, professional capital and professional community. The conclusion highlights the importance of professional capital and agency during Ming's induction period. This paper unpacks the complexity of teacher induction by revealing new ways of thinking about induction.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research has been jointly funded by the National Key Project of the 13th Five-year Plan of Educational Science “Research on the policy system of improving the status of teachers in the new era” (AFA2000007) and National Social Science Fund project (22VSZ041).
Citation
Zhu, G., Shen, L., Jiang, L.G., Yang, B., Shi, K. and Mena, J. (2023), "“I need to continually study and broaden my horizons”: a narrative inquiry of a novice teacher's induction experience in China", Journal of Professional Capital and Community, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 184-201. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-10-2022-0056
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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