Early career language teachers' motivation in the making: An ecological perspective on their motivational resources

IF 4.9 1区文学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

System Pub Date : 2025-04-17 DOI:10.1016/j.system.2025.103685

Minoo Alemi , Neda Khanlarzadeh , Zia Tajeddin

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Despite its significance in second language teacher education, teacher motivation has been neglected for a long time. Lack of teacher motivation is a critical issue that can impact the quality of teachers' practice and students' achievements. The present study sets out to explore motivating influences among six Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers by analyzing the data collected from interview sessions and teachers' journals through a multi-system ecological lens including microsystem (teachers' individual and interpersonal factors), mesosystem (interaction between different microsystems), exosystem (institutional policies), and macrosystem (sociocultural and educational norms). The content analysis of the data illustrated that several resources in ecosystems contribute to teachers' career motivation. While teachers' affective resources and attitudes, as well as their relationship with their families and students, play a salient part in microsystem, the importance of collegial and teacher-parent relationship was observed in mesosystem. In exosystem, resources such as salary, promotion opportunities, and institutional support were found to be critical. Finally, at the outermost level, macrosystem, teachers' social status in society and higher-level teaching policies were found to be influential. The findings offer a myriad of implications for teacher educators and administrators regarding the improvement of teacher motivation in relation to nested ecosystems and consequently EFL learners’ outcomes.

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早期职业语言教师动机的形成：动机资源的生态学视角

尽管教师动机在第二语言教师教育中具有重要意义，但长期以来，教师动机一直被忽视。教师动机缺乏是影响教师实践质量和学生成绩的关键问题。本研究通过多系统生态视角，包括微系统（教师个人和人际因素）、中系统（不同微系统之间的相互作用）、外系统（制度政策）和宏观系统（社会文化和教育规范），分析访谈和教师期刊收集的数据，探讨六位伊朗英语作为外语教师的激励影响。数据的内容分析表明，生态系统中的多种资源对教师职业动机有促进作用。教师的情感资源和态度，以及他们与家庭和学生的关系，在微系统中起着显著的作用，而在中系统中则观察到学院和师生关系的重要性。在外部系统中，工资、晋升机会和制度支持等资源至关重要。最后，在最外层，宏观系统、教师在社会中的社会地位和更高层次的教学政策是有影响的。这一发现为教师教育工作者和管理者提供了无数关于改善教师动机与嵌套生态系统的关系，从而提高英语学习者的成绩的启示。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

System Multiple-

CiteScore

8.80

自引率

8.30%

发文量

202

审稿时长

64 days

期刊介绍： This international journal is devoted to the applications of educational technology and applied linguistics to problems of foreign language teaching and learning. Attention is paid to all languages and to problems associated with the study and teaching of English as a second or foreign language. The journal serves as a vehicle of expression for colleagues in developing countries. System prefers its contributors to provide articles which have a sound theoretical base with a visible practical application which can be generalized. The review section may take up works of a more theoretical nature to broaden the background.