Imagined Identities and Imagined Communities: Colombian English Teachers’ Investment in Their Professional Development

English teachers’ professional development responds to individual needs and societal discourses about teaching, learning, and language use. This paper reports the findings of a case study that explored the factors that increased or limited the active and committed participation of nine Colombian tea...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marcela Ovalle Quiroz, Adriana González
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia 2023-01-01
Series:Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/profile/article/view/99248
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849472082981683200
author Marcela Ovalle Quiroz
Adriana González
author_facet Marcela Ovalle Quiroz
Adriana González
author_sort Marcela Ovalle Quiroz
collection DOAJ
description English teachers’ professional development responds to individual needs and societal discourses about teaching, learning, and language use. This paper reports the findings of a case study that explored the factors that increased or limited the active and committed participation of nine Colombian teachers of English in professional development programs. Findings suggest that English teachers are invested in their professional development if they may develop three imagined identities—as proficient English speakers, ELT experts, and ICT competent users—and their affiliation to an imagined community of “bilinguals.” The teachers’ journey to the imagined identities and the imagined community is full of conflicting emotions amidst the socio-political context of their work and the country’s language education policies.
format Article
id doaj-art-e99dd4eaec2941f9aa5c271a1bbde6d3
institution Kabale University
issn 1657-0790
language English
publishDate 2023-01-01
publisher Universidad Nacional de Colombia
record_format Article
series Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development
spelling doaj-art-e99dd4eaec2941f9aa5c271a1bbde6d32025-08-20T03:24:37ZengUniversidad Nacional de ColombiaProfile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development1657-07902023-01-0125121322810.15446/profile.v25n1.99248Imagined Identities and Imagined Communities: Colombian English Teachers’ Investment in Their Professional DevelopmentMarcela Ovalle Quiroz0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6653-5663Adriana González1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4522-0424Universidad de AntioquiaUniversidad de AntioquiaEnglish teachers’ professional development responds to individual needs and societal discourses about teaching, learning, and language use. This paper reports the findings of a case study that explored the factors that increased or limited the active and committed participation of nine Colombian teachers of English in professional development programs. Findings suggest that English teachers are invested in their professional development if they may develop three imagined identities—as proficient English speakers, ELT experts, and ICT competent users—and their affiliation to an imagined community of “bilinguals.” The teachers’ journey to the imagined identities and the imagined community is full of conflicting emotions amidst the socio-political context of their work and the country’s language education policies.https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/profile/article/view/99248english teachingimagined communityimagined identityinvestmentteacher professional development
spellingShingle Marcela Ovalle Quiroz
Adriana González
Imagined Identities and Imagined Communities: Colombian English Teachers’ Investment in Their Professional Development
Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development
english teaching
imagined community
imagined identity
investment
teacher professional development
title Imagined Identities and Imagined Communities: Colombian English Teachers’ Investment in Their Professional Development
title_full Imagined Identities and Imagined Communities: Colombian English Teachers’ Investment in Their Professional Development
title_fullStr Imagined Identities and Imagined Communities: Colombian English Teachers’ Investment in Their Professional Development
title_full_unstemmed Imagined Identities and Imagined Communities: Colombian English Teachers’ Investment in Their Professional Development
title_short Imagined Identities and Imagined Communities: Colombian English Teachers’ Investment in Their Professional Development
title_sort imagined identities and imagined communities colombian english teachers investment in their professional development
topic english teaching
imagined community
imagined identity
investment
teacher professional development
url https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/profile/article/view/99248
work_keys_str_mv AT marcelaovallequiroz imaginedidentitiesandimaginedcommunitiescolombianenglishteachersinvestmentintheirprofessionaldevelopment
AT adrianagonzalez imaginedidentitiesandimaginedcommunitiescolombianenglishteachersinvestmentintheirprofessionaldevelopment