Daniela Bacova

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unexpected challenges to the lives and professional practice of teachers regardless of their institutional context. Our understanding of how teachers viewed their impact on their perceived sense of professional identity is largely unexplored, especially concerning teachers working in the post-compulsory sector. This article discusses the findings from a small-scale qualitative research project that aimed to investigate, `what teachers’ reflective stories tell us about their perceptions of their professional identities in times of unexpected social change.’ To explore how teachers perceived their professional roles in these challenging times we used a reflective narrative approach in the format of McAdams’s life-story interview (1993). Seven volunteer participants who formed a purposive sample of professionals from a variety of post-compulsory education institutions in the UK were asked to describe key episodes to capture their experiences covering the period from March 2020 to the end of May 2021. The findings focused on how unexpected social changes impacted on teachers’ perceived sense of professional identity, specifically through their sense of vulnerability. Three main themes were identified: vulnerability resulting from questioning professional credibility; vulnerability in the changing dynamics of relationship development; and vulnerability in the pastoral role

This article explores the relationship between the self-determination theory of motivation (SDT), teacher agency and identity in the context of Slovak EFL teachers' engagement with an English language theatre festival for schools. It contributes to the understanding of the complex nature of language teacher agency (LTA) and how it is formed and exercised in a particular context. Kayi-Ayder's (2019) conceptual model, which views LTA as both individual and collective, was adapted to draw links between motivation and identity and the contextual factors influencing LTA. The study was conducted during an EFL theatre festival for schools in Nitra, Slovakia, in 2019. The data were collected from teacher questionnaires (N=20), semi-structured interviews (N=8) and a focus group of event organisers who were not directly involved with the students (N=6). The preliminary findings indicate a complex relationship between individual and collective LTA, self-regulatory forms of motivation, and the perceived sense of professional identity. The role of teacher emotions is also explored as a factor influencing LTA. Furthermore, individual LTA is influenced by the need to engage in intrinsically motivating activities that bring joy, creativity and autonomy to teachers' professional practice. LTA is supported by the bi-directional nature of the relationship between teacher and student motivation. Teacher values and beliefs are intertwined with relational and collective aspects of teacher agency. Finally, the particular nature of the theatre festival provides a context supportive of teachers' individual and collective agency. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Teacher motivation is a key component for increasing teachers' commitment to their professionalism and the quality of their teaching. This paper provides insight into L2 teacher motivation in the context of their sustained engagement with a theatre festival for schools. Drawing on self-determination theory, it investigates how this extracurricular activity enables the teachers to fulfil their individual and professional needs. The findings from eight semi-structured interviews of Slovak ELT teachers suggest the festival offers them a space for satisfaction of their needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the long term. The festival enables them to pursue their own intrinsic appreciation of arts and theatre that is then shared with their pupils. Teachers appreciate the co-creative process during the rehearsals, which enhances learners' intrinsic and instrumental value of learning English. They believe the festival fosters their learners' language development in a holistic way, enhancing their emotional and social skills.

This paper reports on a small-scale practitioner-led initiative that responds to some of the problems that have been linked to the task of microteaching and the use of video in university-led Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes at a university in the north west of England.
Though there have been many studies about the use of video for teacher development, few have been conducted in the context of ITE for vocational, further education sector (14+) in the UK. This study addresses this gap.
The focus of the study is on the viewing of a specifically designed in-house developed video of microteaching, as a resource to support trainee teachers for their micro-teach task in the initial stages of the course. It investigates how and to what extent the video supports trainees in their understanding of the task as a whole. It also examines reasons for trainees' reluctance to have their micro-teach filmed and to use the footage to analyse and reflect on it. It also explores trainees’ attitudes and beliefs about the use of video analysis of their teaching in practice.
A mixed methods research design is adopted, consisting of an online questionnaire for trainee teachers (n=82); an online questionnaire for teacher educators (n=8); and three focus groups of trainees.
The data indicates that viewing a specifically edited video resource enhanced trainees’ levels of confidence in their preparedness for microteaching and many trainees would appreciate the incorporation of video analysis into their course. Some trainees, however, expressed strong reservations against being videoed.

This study investigates how anecdotal stories were used as a pedagogic tool in the teaching practice of trainee ESOL and literacy teachers. It analyses how trainees utilised anecdotal storytelling to enhance a 'participatory' approach to ESOL/literacy teaching. The data was collected in the form of short reflective posts written by the trainee teachers and uploaded on a Virtual Learning platform. The analysis focuses on the posts describing the features, uses and purposes of anecdotes used in the ESOL/literacy classroom. It provides a theoretical framework capturing the form, content, and primary and secondary functions of anecdotal storytelling.

This article analyses the reflections of trainee teachers’ experiences of using storytelling as part of their teaching practice in the English as a Second Language (ESOL) classroom in the further education and skills sector. It focuses on the evaluations and perceptions of the trainee teachers on the effectiveness of storytelling as a pedagogic tool to enhance the language and literacy skills development of their ESOL learners. Moreover, it also explores the impact of storytelling on trainee teachers’ professional development, using the theoretical framework of Linda Evans (2011; 2014). The findings indicate that trainees were able to implement storytelling in a wide range of contexts with various groups of learners from Entry 1 to Level 2. Storytelling as a pedagogical tool was used in various forms from not planned impromptu uses when demonstrating a grammatical or lexical point through to various more or less pre-planned anecdotal and routine classroom uses with innovative approaches and materials designed by the trainees themselves. The reflective accounts demonstrated a mostly positive impact of the implementation of storytelling on trainees' professional development that has been reflected mainly in the components of attitudinal and intellectual change with some evidence of behavioural change too.