Subjective determinants of the development of foreign language teacher expertise

Abstract

The paper presents partial results of a research project dealing with the nature of expertise of foreign language teachers. Whereas the first two phases of the project focused on expert teacher’s performance, knowledge base and insight from a synchronous perspective, the third phase of the research was diachronically oriented and was aimed at identifying both subjective and objective determinants of the development of teacher expertise. In the current paper we present the results concerning subjective determinants of their professional development. The data were collected in narrative interviews with 8 teachers of English or German at Czech lower secondary schools. The following categories were induced through open coding of verbal protocols: the teacher’s self-knowledge, their intrinsic motivation, value system, job satisfaction, openness to change and coping with the demands of the profession. The results contribute to understanding of the processes of developing and maintaining expertise and to understanding of the needs of teachers and the development of the supporting processes of their professional development.

Keywords

• professional development
• foreign language teacher
• narrative interview
• teacher expertise
• subjective determinants