The Collective Agency of Language Teachers under the Scheme of Research Excellence: Using a social network approach

• Autores: Jian Tao, Ke Zhao, Xiuwen Chen
• Localización: Círculo de lingüística aplicada a la comunicación, ISSN-e 1576-4737, Nº. 84, 2020 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Monográfico: Multilingüismo en las universidades chinas), págs. 13-25
• Idioma: inglés
• Títulos paralelos:
  • 卓越学术政策下语言教师的集体能动性: 社会网络方法的应用
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• Resumen
  • English

    This study adopted social network analysis (SNA) as a theoretical framework and methodological approach to understand the collective agency of a multilingual team of eight language teachers during their research practice in a Chinese university. As being guided by SNA that focuses on identifying social relationships and their impact, we used questionnaires and qualitative interviews to collect data and examine the emergence of collective agency. The data analysis revealed that the participants broke linguistic boundaries and engaged in cross-linguistic interactions. The findings further suggest that they offered complementary resources and emotional support for each other at individual, subgroup and group level. Based on the findings, this paper proposes a multi-layered understanding of collective agency to advance our knowledge of how to sustain collective agency. The findings point to the importance of addressing social interactions and relations in the emergence and enhancement of collective agency, so as to facilitate the professional development of language teachers.

  • 中文

    本研究采用社会网络分析法为理论框架与研究方法，探究了某中国高校中一支由八名语言教师组成的多语团队在研究实践中所表现的集体能动性。以社会网络分析法为指导，研究采用了问卷与质性采访等数据采集方法，通过聚焦社会关系及其影响来考察了集体能动性的产生过程。其中，数据分析反映了参与者能够打破语言壁垒，融入跨语种交流。研究结果进一步指出,他们能在多个层面为团队成员提供资源互补支持与情感支持。基于研究发现，本文通过对集体能动性展开多维度的理解拓展了可持续发展社会网络中集体能动性的知识体系。研究表明人际交往与关系对促成与强化集体能动性尤为重要，后者可为语言教师的职业发展注入动力。