| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT This piece of research investigated how Chilean teachers of English exert agency to construct identities in relation to prescribed textbooks in vulnerable municipal schools. The study addressed four questions: (1) How does teachers’ experience as learners influence their identity construction as textbook users? (2) How does professional development influence teachers’ identity construction as textbook users? (3) How do prescribed textbooks influence teachers’ identity constructions as textbook users? (4) How do teachers exert agency to construct their identities as textbook users in vulnerable municipal schools? The research was situated within an interpretive paradigm and used a narrative inquiry methodology. The participants were three male teachers of English with an average of four years of experience in vulnerable municipal schools. As a research method, the study relied on semi-structured online interviews. Data analysis was carried out at two levels. At the first level, a narrative analysis was done to understand how teachers construct identities from experience over time. At the second level, thematic analysis was done to identify emerging themes. By examining the main aspects involved in the construction of teachers’ identity as textbook users, this study put under detailed scrutiny central concerns in the area of TESOL, language teacher identity, and materials development. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of how teachers of English move from adopted identities to the ones they construct on their own as they get more teaching experience. Previous studies scarcely explore explicitly the relationship between teachers’ identity, agency, and textbook use. By exploring the concepts of identity construction and teacher agency, this study shows that both concepts are interdependent and influence each other. It is suggested that in vulnerable contexts, teachers exert agency in different ways to construct identities as textbook users. Three types of identities have been identified that include transformative, developer, and authoritarian teachers. Transformative teachers are highly oriented to students and exert agency through textbooks to promote social justice. These teachers use textbooks with maximum flexibility and make adaptations to improve them in such a way that they can be suitable for the students at the emotional and cognitive level. Developer teachers are the ones who use textbooks to develop the formal curriculum. From their perspective, the curriculum is well designed and promotes social justice. These teachers may use textbooks with flexibility and make adaptations to appeal to the students’ cognition. If the textbooks fail to meet the demands of the curriculum, they may discard them and design their own material. Regarding the authoritarian teachers, they teach the textbook but may skip all the contents which they think are irrelevant. These teachers hardly ever adapt textbooks and if they do, it is to omit contents. They tend to think that teaching English through traditional methods can improve the students’ possibilities of pursuing higher education. The thesis offers recommendations for language teachers, language teacher education, school heads, publishers and the ministry of education. The thesis closes with a call for further research on teachers’ identity construction as textbook users in contexts where teachers of English are measured by the students’ results in national standardised tests. It also recommends doing longitudinal research involving teachers of different genders and years of experience. | en_GB |
