An ecological view of L1 teachers’ agency with Edtech: place, spaces and futures

Submitted by: John Gordon
Abstract: Recent international reviews survey research on teacher agency, but do not address it in relation to Edtech (e.g. Cong-Lem, 2021). While the research base on the holistic agency of L1 teachers is growing, the limited attention to their agency with Edtech that is available presents a difficult relationship between L1 teachers and technology, often characterised by frustration or discomfort (Chisholm et al, 2019).
This paper presents findings of place-based teacher agency research in the ecological paradigm, considering L1 teacher agency relative to place (the East of England), context (school/L1 department settings and local technology infrastructures) and – additionally – the L1 disciplinary frame. The research is part of a national programme of projects supported by the UK Economic Social Research Council focussed on pedagogy, technologies, and teacher recruitment and retention.
The study acknowledges limitations in the methods that have been adopted to research teacher agency until now (Deschênes and Parent, 2022). Through mixed methods of surveys, focus group interviews and collaborative tasks, the study generates data which afford insights to the distinctive experience of agency with technology for L1 teachers. Extending and adapting the ecological model, the study analyses data using a framework informed by three categories of space, which are ‘perceived’, ‘conceived’ and ‘lived’ (Lefebvre, 1974/1991).
The analysis helps us to understand intersections between L1 expertise, technology and place. Discussion proposes a model for describing their relationality, and which could inform our thinking about futures of L1 teaching to acknowledge relationships between context and identity.
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Chisholm, J., Alford, J., Halliday, L. and Cox, E. (2019). Teacher agency in English language arts teaching: A scoping review of the literature. English Teaching - Practice and Critique, 18(2), 124-152.
Cong-Lem, N. (2021). Teacher agency: A systematic review of international literature. Issues in Educational Research, 31(3), 718-738.
Deschênes M and Parent S. (2022). Methodology to study teacher agency: A systematic review of the literature. European Journal of Education Research. 11(4), 2459-2476.
Lefebvre, H. (1991/1974). The production of space. Malden, MA: Blackwell.