European Journal of Education· 2026Q1
Resonance and Silence: English Teacher Agency in a Resource‐Constrained Professional Learning Community in China
- 0citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
An 8-month study of an English teacher PLC in Inner Mongolia reveals that teacher agency is shaped by institutional silencing (institutional aphasia) and early-career teachers seeking worth through self-directed practice (efficacy compensation) when collective recognition is lacking.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Teacher agency within a resource-constrained PLC in Inner Mongolia was analyzed over 8 months using Cultural-Historical Activity Theory.
- Teachers employed diverse strategies including resistance, coordination, adjustment, coping, and compliance in response to PLC contradictions.
- The study introduces 'efficacy compensation' for early-career teachers seeking worth from self-directed practice.
- It also defines 'institutional aphasia' as the structural silencing of teacher voice due to material scarcity, age hierarchy, and top-down administration.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
ABSTRACT Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are widely promoted for teacher learning and agency, yet their operation in resource‐constrained settings may reproduce institutional tensions. Using Cultural‐Historical Activity Theory, this 8‐month longitudinal case study of a Senior‐One English PLC in western Inner Mongolia, China, draws on 51 meeting recordings, reflective journals from one early‐career teacher, and interviews with eight PLC members to enable robust analysis of evolving interactions and agency over time. Teacher agency was shaped by multiple contradictions within the PLC, which were experienced differently across career stages. Teachers responded with varied strategies, including covert resistance, active coordination, rational adjustment, passive coping and silent compliance. The study proposes two exploratory constructs: efficacy compensation, where an early‐career teacher sought professional worth from self‐directed practice when collective recognition was unavailable; and institutional aphasia, the structural silencing of teacher voice under material scarcity, age hierarchy and top‐down administration. Practical implications for PLC design are discussed.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. European Journal of Education, 2026 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Human Factors and Ergonomics
Human Factors and ErgonomicsSocial Sciences