Aug 2026· International Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education· 0 citations
Abstract
This study examines how a long-term foreign educator in Japan narrates his professional transition from classroom teaching to educational management within the English language education industry. Drawing on a critical narrative case study approach, the study explores how professional legitimacy, educational commodification, and foreignness were experienced and interpreted across a thirty-five-year career. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview and analyzed using thematic analysis within a narrative inquiry framework. Findings revealed a broader professional legitimacy narrative characterized by five interconnected themes: Escaping the ALT Identity, Becoming a Professional, Education as Product, The Foreigner as Commodity, and Belonging Without Membership. Viewed through the lenses of neoliberalism, critical pedagogy, and Bourdieu's theory of capital, the findings suggest that educational work in Japan increasingly intersects with market-oriented priorities while professional legitimacy remains shaped by nationality, institutional recognition, and social belonging. The study contributes to discussions of professional identity, teacher agency, and neoliberalism in English language education.
The increasing globalization of education has intensified teacher mobility across national borders, placing educators in diverse cultural contexts where assumptions regarding authority, credibility, and professional identity may be challenged. Despite the growing presence of internationally mobile teachers, limited res...
Noviem Ralynn Taperla, Angelie T. Padilla, Romano Lara et al.· Journal of Interdisciplinary...· 0 citations
This review explores the evolving theoretical and empirical landscape of teacher agency and professional identity within the context of Language Policy and Planning (LPP). As scholarship in LPP undergoes a significant human turn, the focus has shifted from state-led structuralism toward a critical, ecological perspecti...
Wei-Qing Liu, Jeannet Stephen, Hui-Fang Sun· Quantum Journal of Social Sc...· 0 citations
Using a narrative inquiry approach, this study examines the relationship between teacher agency and the formation of professional identity among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Indonesian Islamic Junior High Schools. While research has examined teacher agency and professional identity, limited attention...
Anisah Setyaningrum, S. Sayuti, J. Jamilah et al.· World Journal of English Lan...· 0 citations
This study explores how pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Vietnam construct their professional identities during teaching practicum. Framed within sociocultural theory (SCT), it examines both the factors that mediate their identity development and the processes through which identity is negoti...
The professional identity of English teachers in Islamic educational contexts remains underexplored, particularly in Pesantren-based schools where academic education integrates with religious and moral development. English teachers in these settings face potential tensions between global language education and local cu...
Mohammad Rosi Ilham, Bradhiansyah Tri Suryanto· Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Sain...· 0 citations
While teacher beliefs and professional identity are widely acknowledged as critical drivers of pedagogical choices, the mechanisms through which a teacher’s internal belief system mediates real-time translanguaging practices remain underexplored in Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) education. Addressing this empirica...
Kun-Peng Zhao, Hui-Jing Chen· International Educational Re...· 0 citations
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