행위이론 관점에서 본 초등 영어교사의 교수 동기 양상 및 변화

Abstract

This study aims to explore the changes of teacher motivation from an Activity Theory (AT) perspective. Beginning with a brief review of teacher motivation, the authors discuss the applicability and relevance of using an AT framework for the purpose of unraveling the complexity of teacher motivation over the lifetime process of professional development. The data were collected mainly from semi-structured interviews from three master-level primary English teachers. They were first asked to complete a graph of trajectories to visualize their motivational fluctuations over time. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed in order to identify the factors affecting the participants’ (de)motivation and motivational changes. The findings indicate that teacher motivation was influenced by complex dynamics of individual and sociocultural factors. Three teachers’ levels of motivation progressed differently depending on how they recognize and articulate object, choose mediational tools coherently, and implement the mediational tools to achieve their object. Teacher motivation was significantly affected by the nature of their goal setting and resetting. This study implies that the key for systematic explanation of L2 teacher motivation lies in how an individual teacher constructively recognizes and utilizes the mediational tool for professional development.