Transformative Agency in Times of Global Crisis

Abstract

This research explored teachers’ readiness for teaching in times of uncertainty and in global crisis situations through the perspective of teacher agency. Understanding the mechanisms by which teachers exercise their transformative agency was the main research aim. Teacher agency is conceptualized as a phenomenon that emerges ecologically from the interactions of individuals’ capacities with the contexts and conditions in which they act. Thus, teachers are key figures upon which the possibility for transformation rests. The current research yielded three major mechanisms: (1) personal beliefs, emotions, values and attributes; (2) technical infrastructure, digital skills and teaching resources; (3) organizational infrastructure. This study highlights the importance of understanding the significance of teachers’ transformative agency in times of crisis, as it applies to crisis situations in which means of transcending contradictory and conflicting impasses to transformative growth are sought.