Article Preview
Top1. Introduction
Against the backdrop of curriculum paradigm transformation, teacher education research has focused on the development of teachers themselves (Day, 1999). Educators and researchers have recognized that the core of teachers’ professional development is achieved through teachers themselves, largely determined by professional agency and identity (Vähäsantanen, 2015; Wenger, 1998; Moate & Ruohotie-Lyhty, 2014). Essentially, teachers’ professional development is intertwined with changes in teachers’ behavior (Opfer, Pedder, & Lavicza, 2011). Therefore, teachers’ professional development inevitably requires the establishment of the paradigm of “teachers are researchers” and “reflective practitioners” (Schön, 1987; Killen, 2009; Smith, Geng, & Black, 2017). Meanwhile, with the development of information technology, teachers’ professional development has expanded its breadth and scope as a result of the use of technology in fostering developmental practices.
There has been a growing recognition of the advantages and benefits of technology-facilitated teachers’ professional development practices which include: 1) reducing teacher isolation and establishing professional identity (Clarke, 2009; Hramiak, 2010; Trent & Shroff, 2013), 2) nurturing mutual support and promote peer collaboration (McLoughlin & Lee, 2010; Paulus & Sherff, 2008), 3) increasing teachers’ reflective practice and self-efficacy (Stiler & Philleo, 2003; Vavasseur & MacGreor, 2008), and 4) triggering teachers’ participation and knowledge (Tang & Lam, 2014). This seems particularly true in China where technology use as a teaching and learning tool has been widely acclaimed as a catalyst for educational transformation by policy makers and teachers (Yang, 2012). In recent years, however, while there has been an increasingly large body of research into technology-supported teacher professional development, published research on the actual utilization of technological resources in teacher development in the context of a developing country such as China has been sparse. In this paper, we explored how 26 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in China perceived their technology-based professional development practices, examining their perceptions, beliefs, practices, and the concerns and challenges that they experienced. The central research questions that this paper aims to answer are:
- 1.
How do English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university teachers in China perceive technology-based professional development practices?
- 2.
How do these teachers perceive online learning communities for professional development?