TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2

TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

Primary school English teacher agency enactment in implemen�ng the English curriculum

Major: Philosophy in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2024

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

The Doctoral Dissertation titled “Primary school English teacher agency enactment in

implementing the English curriculum” has been submitted for the degree of Doctor of

Philosophy in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Except for the references cited in this dissertation, I hereby declare that the whole or parts of this dissertation have not been published or used to obtain the degree elsewhere

No other person’s work/ research may be used in this thesis that is not properly cited This thesis had never been submitted for any degree at any other university or training institution

Ho Chi Minh City, …/…/2024

Tran Thi Thao

I am deeply indebted to the Graduate Lecturers at Ho Chi Minh City Open University Their deep knowledge and considerable experience have intensively improved not only my theoretical but also practical knowledge and laid the basic foundation for my research I would like to thank Associate Professor Pham Thi Huong for her critical comments and Mr Le Minh Quang in the post-graduate post office for his continuous help during my research journey I wish to acknowledge the primary school English teachers who volunteered to participate in my study Their life stories and professional stories have contributed to the completion of my thesis The thesis would not have been completed without their enthusiastic support, voluntary help, and active encouragement

Finally, I am immensely grateful to my family, classmates, and friends Their real love, substantial assistance, and absolute belief have always encouraged me during my research journey They have always the strong motivation for me to complete my thesis

ABSTRACT

Teacher agency plays an importance role in teachers’ teaching performance as well as their operation of the curriculum as a consequence Despite its significance in the curriculum reform, it received little attention from researchers in Vietnamese setting Researchers have conducted research into teacher agency under the National Foreign Language Project 2020 while little has been done on new general education curriculum issued by the MOET in 2018, particularly at the primary level which constitutes the largest proportion of the curriculum Therefore, more studies should be carried out and looked into teacher agency at the primary level within the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Grounded on the ecological model proposed by Priestley et al (2015), the study examines teachers’ individual agency, collective agency, and the bilateral interactions between them to give impetus or hindrance to teacher agency enactment as a whole With the case study design, the study collected data from three sources namely documents, semi-structured interviews and observations The findings found out that teachers showed their strong senses of individual agency which were enacted in four main forms: acceptance, resistance, hidden resistance, and adaptation In addition to the three common forms mentioned in the previous studies, this study, however, identified another form of teachers’ individual agency, that is, hidden resistance Most of the teachers demonstrated their hidden resistance to the prescribed lesson planning Certain factors were identified in this study to exert direct influence on the ways teachers enacted their individual agencies namely the professional development program, students’ parents’ expectations, time constraints, insufficient teaching resources, small classroom size, students’ learning outcomes, and students’ English proficiency level The study also pointed out that teachers not only enacted their individual agency but also collective agency in the implementation of the curriculum, however, the role of the collective agency was blurred More specifically, the collective actions did not significantly affect the individual agency of teachers in implementing certain aspects of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum namely teaching methods, assessment methods, teaching materials, mistake correction techniques, feedback giving, and classroom management In addition, forms of teachers’ collective agency could be seen through teacher collaboration with their colleagues through lesson planning in the professional development program, peer observation discussions at the primary schools in the

previous studies This study, however, identified another form of teachers’ collective agency, that is, informal meetings at the foreign language center The study also revealed that two participating teachers had the tendency to adapt their colleagues’ ideas due to their previous professional experience They made adaptation to their colleagues’ views based on their previous professional experience with the goal of suiting their students and helping them achieve their full potential of learning English However, the other teachers showed their resistance to follow their colleagues’ ideas, which was informed by their habits, prior knowledge, time constraints, and isolation with their colleagues The ways teachers made individual contribution to the collective actions could also be seen through the peer observation discussion Teachers could take the role of the leader, supporter, and follower in the peer observation discussion The findings of the study provide pedagogical implications for MOET, textbook authors, and teachers, teacher education program, and primary schools

Contents

List of figures xiv

List of tables xv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.1.1 The curriculum reform 1

1.1.2 The Getting-to-know-English curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 2 2

1.1.3 The issues of teachers in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum 4

1.2 Research rationale 6

1.3 Aims of the study 8

1.4 Research questions 8

1.5 Scope of the study 8

1.6 Significance of the study 9

1.7 The organization of the thesis 10

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 12

2.1 Agency 12

2.1.1 Agency from the sociological approach 13

2.1.2 Agency from the social cognitive approach 14

2.1.3 Agency from the positioning approach 15

2.1.4 Agency from the sociocultural approach 17

2.2 Teacher agency and teacher agency enactment 19

2.2.1 Definition of teacher agency enactment 19

2.2.2 Types of teacher agency enactment 20

2.2.3 Ecological approach to teacher agency 22

2.2.3.1 The iterational dimension 22

2.2.3.2 The practical-evaluative dimension of agency 23

2.2.3.3 The projective dimension of agency 24

2.2.4 Types of agencies 25

2.2.4.1 Individual agency 26

2.2.4.2 Collective agency 26

2.3 The Getting-to-know-English curriculum 27

2.3.1 The design approach of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum 28

2.3.2 The Getting-to-know-English curriculum objectives 28

2.5 Teaching English to young learners 31

2.5.1 Definition of young learners 31

2.5.2 Characteristics of young learners and teaching methodology 31

2.6 Previous studies 32

2.6.1 Teachers’ individual agency enactment 33

2.6.2 Factors affecting individual agency enactment 38

2.6.3 Teachers’ collective agency enactment 39

2.6.4 Factors affecting teachers’ collective agency enactment 42

2.6.5 The interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency 42

3.3.1 Tran Hung Dao primary school 59

3.3.2 Bong Sao primary school 60

3.4 Participants of the study 61

3.5.3.1 Observations of teachers’ individual teaching practices 75

3.5.3.2 Observations of teachers’ collective actions and individual teachers’ contribution to the collective actions 76

3.6 Data collection procedures 77

3.7 Data analysis methodology 81

3.7.1 Thematic analysis 82

3.8 Validity and reliability 84

3.9 The role of the researcher in the study 87

4.1.1 The iterational dimension for Hoa 89

4.1.1.1 Hoa – a trained teacher with a three-year BA by a local college and two professional training programs 89

4.1.1.2 Hoa – an experienced communication teacher 90

4.1.2 The practical-evaluative dimension for Hoa 90

4.1.2.1 A school culture of creativity and performativity 90

4.1.2.2 Good relationship between teachers 91

4.1.2.3 A school with insufficient teaching facilities 91

4.1.3 The projective dimension for Hoa 91

4.1.3.1 Hoa’s expectation of her students’ communication skills 91

4.1.4 Hoa’s compliance with the curriculum mandated teaching methods, assessment methods, and lesson planning 92

4.1.4.1 Hoa’s common teaching methods: TPR and experiential learning 92

4.1.4.2 Hoa’s assessment method: communicative activities 95

4.1.4.3 Hoa’s lesson plan: follow the prescribed lesson plans 96

4.1.5 Hoa’s adaptation to teaching content and her colleagues’ ideas 97

4.1.5.1 Hoa’s agency in teaching content: concentration on vocabulary and communication skills 97

4.1.5.2 Hoa’s colleagues’ ideas impacted her teaching methods, error correction techniques, teaching materials and feedback giving 98

4.1.6 Hoa’s contribution to the collective actions: a leader 100

4.1.7 Hoa’s overall agency enactment 103

4.2 Case Hang 103

4.2.1 The iterational dimension for Hang 103

4.2.1.1 Hang – a trained teacher with a three-year BA by a local college and two professional training programs 103

4.2.1.2 Hang – a communication teacher 104

4.2.2 The practical-evaluative dimension for Hang 105

4.2.2.1 Hang works under a culture of creativity and accountability outcomes 105

4.2.2.2 Good relationship between teachers and students’ parents 105

4.2.2.3 Insufficient teaching materials 105

4.2.3 The projective dimension for Hang 106

4.2.4 Hang’s compliance with the prescribed teaching methods 106

4.2.5 Hang’s resistance to the prescribed lesson planning 108

4.2.6 Hang’s adaptation to teaching content, assessment methods, and her colleagues’ ideas 109

4.2.6.1 Hang’s teaching content: focused on vocabulary and communication skills109 4.2.6.2 Hang’s assessment methods: communication and writing activities 110

4.2.6.3 Hang’s colleagues’ ideas impacted her teaching methods, assessment methods, and mistake correction 112

4.2.7 Hang’s individual contribution to the collective actions: a supporter 114

4.2.8 Hang’s overall agency enactment 116

4.3 Case Huong 117

4.3.1 The iterational dimension for Huong 117

4.3.1.1 Huong – a trained teacher with BA degree from a local college 117

4.3.1.2 Previous professional experience 118

4.3.2 The practical-evaluative dimension for Huong 118

4.3.2.1 Huong – worked under the culture of open-mindedness and collaboration118 4.3.2.2 Good relationship between teachers, teachers and students’ parents 118

4.3.2.3 Insufficient teaching materials 119

4.3.3 The projective dimension for Huong 119

4.3.4 Huong’s irregular teaching methods: TPR and experiential learning 119

4.3.5 Huong’s resistance to the prescribed teaching methods, assessment methods, and lesson planning, her colleagues’ ideas 120

4.3.5.1 Huong’s common teaching methods: grammar-translation and lingual 120 4.3.5.2 Huong’s assessment methods: repetition and translation activities, workbook exercises, and final tests 122

audio-4.3.5.3 Huong’s lesson plan: traditional 124

4.3.5.4 Huong’s colleagues’ ideas on her teaching methods, teaching activities, teaching materials, and classroom management 124

4.3.6 Huong’s adaptation to the textbook content: focusing on vocabulary pronunciation and spelling 126

4.3.7 Huong’s individual contribution to the collective actions: a follower 128

4.3.8 Huong’s overall agency enactment 130

4.4 Case Nhi 130

4.4.1 The iterational dimension for Nhi 130

4.4.1.1 Nhi – a novice teacher 130

4.4.1.2 Nhi – an unexperienced teacher 131

4.4.2 The practical-evaluative dimension for Nhi 132

4.4.2.1 Nhi – working under a culture of sharing and traditionalism 132

4.4.2.2 Supportive structure 132

4.4.2.3 Inadequate but felt satisfied 133

4.4.3 The projective dimension for Nhi 133

4.4.4 Nhi’s compliance with the textbook content 134

4.4.4.1 Nhi’s teaching content: covering the textbook content 134

4.4.5 Nhi’s resistance to the prescribed teaching methods, assessment methods, lesson planning, and her colleagues’ ideas 134

4.4.5.1 Nhi’s common teaching methods: grammar-translation and audio-lingual134 4.4.5.2 Nhi’s assessment methods: repetition and translation activities, workbook exercises and final tests 136

4.4.5.3 Nhi’s lesson plan: traditional 138

4.4.5.4 Nhi’s colleagues’ ideas on her classroom management and teaching materials 138

4.4.6 Nhi’s contribution to the collective actions: a follower 139

4.4.7 Nhi’s overall agency enactment 141

4.5 Summary of cases 142

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION 144

Theme 1: Teachers’ individual agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum 144

5.1 Teachers’ compliance with the prescribed teaching methods 144

5.2 Teacher’ s compliance with the prescribed assessment methods and lesson plan 147 5.3 Teacher’s compliance with the textbook content 149

5.4 Teachers’ resistance to the prescribed teaching methods 150

5.5 Teachers’ resistance to lesson planning 154

5.6 Teachers’ resistance to the prescribed assessment methods 155

5.7 Teachers’ adaptation to the textbook content 158

5.8 Teacher’s adaptation to the prescribed assessment methods 160

5.9 The influence of the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions on teachers’ individual agency 161

5.9.1 The influence of the iterational and practical-evaluative dimension on teachers’ enactment in teaching methods 161

5.9.2 The influence of the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective

dimensions on teachers’ enactment in teaching content 163

5.9.3 The influence of the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions on teachers’ enactment in assessment methods 166

5.9.4 The influence of the iterational and practical-evaluative dimension of agency on teachers’ enactment in lesson planning 168

Theme 2: The influence of collective actions on individual agency 170

5.2.1 Teachers’ adaptation to their colleagues’ ideas 170

5.2.2 The influence of teachers’ iterational dimension on their adaptation to their colleagues’ ideas 173

5.2.3 Teachers’ resistance to their colleagues’ ideas 175

5.2.4 The influence of teachers’ iterational and practical-evaluative dimensions of agency on their resistance to their colleagues’ ideas 177

Theme 3: Individual contribution to the collective actions 180

6.1.1 Findings from the research question 1 185

6.1.1.1 Teachers’ frequent acceptance to the prescribed teaching methods, assessment methods, and lesson plan 186

6.1.1.2 Teacher’s frequent acceptance to the textbook content 187

6.1.1.3 Teachers’ resistance to the prescribed teaching methods and assessment methods 188

6.1.1.4 Teachers’ adaptation to the textbook content 189

6.1.1.5 Teachers’ adaptation to the prescribed assessment methods 190

6.1.1.6 Teachers’ hidden resistance to the prescribed lesson planning 190

6.1.2 Findings from the research question 2 191

6.1.3 Findings from the research question 3 192

6.1.3.1 The influence of collective actions on individual agency 192

6.1.3.2 Individual contribution to the collective actions 194

6.2 Contributions of the study 195

6.3 Implications of the study 196

6.4 Limitations 201

6.5 Recommendations for future research 202

REFERENCES 203

APPENDIX 1: Circular 32 (2018) 218

APPENDIX 2: Directive 681 (2020) 234

APPENDIX 3: Preliminary interviews 239

APPENDIX 4: Pilot interviews 244

APPENDIX 5: Interview 1: demographic information (before conducting observations) 248

APPENDIX 6: Interview 2: (after conducting observation 1) 252

APPENDIX 7: Interview 3: (after conducting observation 2) 257

APPENDIX 8: Interview 4: (after conducting observation 3) 261

APPENDIX 9: Interview 5 (after peer observation discussion 1) 265

APPENDIX 10: Interview 6 (after peer observation discussion 2) 267

APPENDIX 11: Interview 7 (after peer observation discussion 3) 269

APPENDIX 12: Observation: Teachers’ individual agency 271

APPENDIX 13: Observation: Teachers’ collective agency (peer observation discussion) 273

APPENDIX 14: Observation: Individual teachers’ contribution to the collective actions (peer observation discussion) 276

List of abbreviations

The Getting-to-know-English for Grade 1 and Grade 2 The Getting-to-know-English curriculum

List of figures

Figure 2.1 Teacher agency in the ecological model (Priestley et al., 2015)

Figure 2.2 Teacher agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

Figure 3.1 Data collection procedures

List of tables

Table 2.1 Main definitions of agency

Table 2.2 Summary of types of teacher agency enactment Table 3.1 Description of the schools

Table 3.2 Description of participants

Table 3.3 Vietnamese documents relevant to this study Table 3.4 Private documents examined in the study Table 5.1 Teachers’ teaching activities

In Vietnam, during the era after 1954, schools offered instruction in four foreign languages: English, Russian, Chinese, and French English received minimal emphasis during this time Nevertheless, English Language Teaching (ELT) in Vietnam underwent a revival after 1986, in response to a change in the country's political trajectory This modification was implemented to bolster Vietnam's ability to attract international investment The demand for English as a means of communication has risen, especially in major urban areas This phenomenon can be attributed to the escalating influx of non-native individuals and the rising prevalence of English as a means of global interaction In 1996, English was implemented as an optional subject across the entire country starting from Grade 3 Schools were eligible to offer English if they had suitable teaching environments and if there was enough interest from parents The English course consisted of two periods per week In 2010, a mandatory English language program for primary school students was introduced The curriculum consisted of four periods per week, starting from Grade 3

In addition, curriculum reforms such as the new general education curriculum reform (2018) have been launched to respond to the global changes and maintain the sustainable development of the nation The current curriculum reform or the new general education curriculum was issued in 2018 through Circular 32 The goal of the new general education curriculum is to shift the knowledge transfer-based education to a competency-based

development orientation This could help students effectively apply knowledge they acquire in the school into practice and increase their lifelong learning capabilities; enable them to have the appropriate career orientation, and facilitate them in building and improving the societal relationships, developing their dynamic personality and good soul In addition, students are ultimately expected to make substantial contributions to the development of the country and the world (Circular 32) Circular 32 also presented the main objective of the primary education which is “to support students’ physical and mental growth, to educate them on individual, family, and community values, as well as individual habits and social norms” (Moet, 2018, p.6) The curriculum reform requires teachers to go through professional training programs in order to gain deep understanding about the requirements, content, and implementation of the curriculum reform

In 2018, the current curriculum reform known as the new general education curriculum was introduced by the MOET through Circular 32 (Appendix 1), which also promulgated the Getting-to-know-English for Grade 1 and Grade 2- an optional curriculum (hereafter referred to as the Getting-to-know-English curriculum) while English is considered as an obligatory subject in the General Education English Language Curriculum for students from Grade 3 to Grade 12 (hereinafter referred to as the general education English language curriculum) The aim of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum is to help students form and develop their basic communicative English Students explore and experience to form English skills in contexts suitable to their emotional, psychological and mental capabilities, which helps them gain more confidence when they enter Grade 3 and develop their love for English In addition, this subject also enables students to strengthen their general capabilities, to better learn other subjects and to enhance their life-long learning (Moet, 2018)

1.1.2 The Getting-to-know-English curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 2

The expected learning outcomes of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum are listed as follows: students are able to (1) listen and recognize the English alphabets, (2) listen and recognize some basic phonetics in English, (3) listen and understand numbers under 20, (4) listen and comprehend familiar words in contexts, (5) listen and respond to basic and simple conversations, (6) listen and understand basic instructions in the class Furthermore, students are able to (7) answer simple questions relevant to their experiences, (8) give basic

instructions when taking part in simple activities in the class, recognize and read simple phrases, (9) write simple words of familiar topics, and develop their love for English (Moet, 2018)

Circular 32 also suggested the nine considerations in implementing the know-English curriculum as follows First, concerning the teacher resources, there must be enough teachers for Grades 1 and 2 At the same time, teachers must have adequate proficiency competence and suitable teaching methods, possess not only profound knowledge of not only students at the primary level but also of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Second, concerning the English teacher competence, teachers need to achieve B2 level of English according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) or the Vietnamese six level Framework of Reference for Foreign Languages (Circular 1/2014) Third, pertaining to teaching methods, teachers need to combine different teaching methods suitable for their particular students and specific local conditions Through teaching methods such as Project-based learning, Experimental learning, and Task-based learning, teachers help students experience English naturally with the aim of enabling them to explore and love English

Getting-to-Fourth, concerning the materials, teachers need to provide students enough materials to support their speaking process Students listen and take part in communicative activities in contexts, but they are not required to join speaking activities if they are not ready The reading and writing activities are introduced which are suitable to their perceptions and in accordance with the reading-writing period of their mother tongue Fifth, teachers should employ fun activities such as games, songs, chants, stories, pictures, drama, and cartoons to help students get to know the English phonetics, recognize the basic vocabulary in communicative English, be able to join short and simple conversations and create joy and motivation for students In the process of developing students’ communicative competence, listening comprehension should be developed on the basis of good phonetics

Sixth, teachers should also use up-to-date information technology, namely projector, smart television, smart board and computer connected with Internet and plentiful materials in the teaching process to enhance the quality of teaching and learning Seventh, as regards to

teachers’ knowledge of students, teachers need to gain an insight into the psychological features of students at this level (Moet, 2018) Eighth, with reference to knowledge of the program, teachers should undergo comprehensive and extensive training with regards to the requirements of the program, learning materials, and implementation techniques (Moet, 2018) Last but not least, in terms of infrastructure, there must be spacious rooms for students at this level, with relevant equipment served for teaching and learning as proposed by MOET

1.1.3 The issues of teachers in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

The execution of the Getting-to-know-English program, however, has presented numerous difficulties Regarding teachers, there are multiple concerns to be addressed

Firstly, regarding the quantity of teachers, it is hard to recruit the adequate number of teachers to put the Getting-to-know-English curriculum into practice This is because there is no payroll about this job in the occupation project (Nguyen, 2020) There are lots of primary school English teacher recruitment targets on a yearly basis, however, there are not enough applicants for the vacancy (Tran, 2019) Pursuant to Article 72 of the Education Law 2019 on the requirements for teacher at primary level, a primary school English teacher must have a bachelor’s degree in TESOL and obtain B2 certificate in order to be eligible for teaching at primary level (Moet, 2014) This makes recruiting primary school English teachers extremely challenging Another issue that results in the shortage of primary school English teachers is the low salary, while university English-majored graduates, they might have many job opportunities with high salary, flexible working hours, fringe benefits, and excellent promotion possibilities Furthermore, they have more chances to work in international companies which help them to go abroad and experience new things Due to the poor pay, lack of professional development opportunities, high stress level, and large amount of paperwork associated with teaching at the elementary level, it is challenging to recruit enough English teachers (Nguyen, 2020)

Secondly, concerning the quality of teachers, four issues regarding the quality of primary school English teachers have been acknowledged are their low language proficiency, inadequate training, low status and motivation, and unsuitable teaching methods (Moon, 2005) There is a serious shortage of well-qualified teachers due to the fact that English is

considered as the optional subject at primary level Some primary schools only have one or two primary school English teachers, so they only teach the obligatory programme for Grade 3, 4, and 5 The schools mainly rely on contractual teachers, which makes it hard to ensure the quality of these teachers (Nguyen, 2020)

Pertaining to English proficiency, primary school English teachers usually have less English proficiency level of all Normally, teachers with good qualifications, full-time training will be assigned to teach at a higher level Teachers at high schools with lesser levels of knowledge can be transferred to secondary schools, and instructors at secondary schools with inadequate English proficiency can be transferred to primary schools They usually do not have a good command of English since they have difficulties with their pronunciation, word endings and fluency (Moon, 2005) While, according to Cameron (2003) and Halliwell (1992), primary school English teachers need to have a high standard of language proficiency with a wide range of vocabulary and appropriate teaching methods for children

Another issue is their insufficient professional training English is not an obligatory subject for Grade 1 and 2 so most of the teachers are contractual teachers The vast majority of these teachers earned their degrees through in-service or remote learning they may not have majored in TESOL They therefore might have inadequate training which leads to poor knowledge and unsuitable teaching methods Therefore, it is challenging for them to fulfill the teaching responsibilities required by the Getting-to-know-English curriculum's implementation In addition, teachers are hired from other sources, therefore, they might lack commitment to the school, have low status and motivation which hinders their motivation and dedication to teaching students at primary level (Anh, 2020)

The last issue is the unsuitable teaching methods due to a lack of suitable training This is because most of the teachers have been trained to teach at high school or secondary, not primary level Moon (2005) mentioned that the current teaching methodology at primary level is actually adult-oriented which provides few chances for children to practice their communicative activities, focus much on the receptive skills (reading and writing) from the beginning stage, give attention to accuracy rather than fluency, high employment of repetition drills and whole class chorus work to enable children to learn vocabulary easily Cameron

(2003) added that teaching at primary school demands more efforts than teaching at high school and secondary school, due to the fact that children depend much on their oral language

These aforementioned issues regarding the quantity and quality of teachers raise the

questions about the successful implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

(Hoang, 2020) There is no question that the Getting-to-know-English curriculum has the potential to have a significant influence on the education system as a whole in Vietnam; yet, a significant amount of the responsibility for determining whether or not it will be successful lies on teachers Liddicoat and Baldauf (2008) put an emphasis on the key role of teachers in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum and the transformative role of teachers in implementing and responding to changes in the curriculum is undeniable In other ways, the Getting-to-know-English curriculum requires extraordinary changes from teachers, and in order to adapt with the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, teachers need to catch up with the changes that have been made to the Getting-to-know-English curriculum and make their own modifications Therefore, teacher agency or what teachers enact their actions is of great importance in maintaining their daily teaching, and to some extent contributing to the successful implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

1.2 Research rationale

In 2018, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) initiated the implementation of the new general education curriculum reform via Circular 32 (Appendix 1) This circular has also introduced the optional English curriculum known as the Getting-to-know-English curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 2 (referred to as the Getting-to-know-English curriculum) to address the growing need for English language study at the elementary level The role of the teacher is crucial for the implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Empirical research in the field of education policy has shown that teachers have the ability to play transformative roles in implementing curriculum changes Several scholars have argued that the teacher's active participation is essential in carrying out the curriculum in the classroom (Graves, 2008) Menken (2010) argues that teachers hold significant decision-making power in implementing policy mandates They are regarded as key actors in the execution of the curriculum modification According to Fullan (2007), educational changes

are influenced by the actions and thoughts of teachers This highlights the need for further research on teacher agency in implementing the curriculum To implement the curriculum effectively, academics prioritize doing a comprehensive examination of teacher agency within their classroom environments Thus, additional empirical research is required to construct a theoretical framework for teacher agency in the implementation of the curriculum This case study is undertaken in answer to the aforementioned request The objective is to examine teacher agency in classroom contexts in response to the the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

In addition, there has been a recent uptick in study on teacher agency, but most of it has focused on secondary, high school, or university settings; elementary school settings have garnered comparatively little attention In addition, studies examining teachers' agency tended to take place in industrialized nations rather than developing ones, such as Vietnam and other Asian nations (Ngo, 2021) Although Le et al (2020) undertook a study examining teacher agency in Vietnamese context, they focused on the pilot English program under the National Foreign Language Project 2020 Little research has been conducted into teacher agency within the new general education curriculum, particularly the Getting-to-know-English curriculum in the Vietnamese context with the focus on primary school English teachers As the consequence, the way primary school English teachers enact their agency to correspond with the requirements of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum and adapt to it within the local institutional conditions examined in this study

Furthermore, most research on teacher agency during the curriculum enactment attends to individual teacher agency, while very few studies focus on collective agency Research on teacher’s collective agency, which means teachers mobilize knowledge, resources, and skills to achieve a communal goal, is scarce Further research needs to be conducted to examine the ways teachers enact their individual agency, collective agency, and the interactions between individual teacher agency and collective teacher agency to give impetus or constrain their agency enactment within the context of curriculum enactment Therefore, it echoes the need for further exploration of teacher agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum under the new general education curriculum at primary schools

1.3 Aims of the study

The study was an endeavor to examine the enactment of primary school English teacher agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum within the new general education curriculum To be specific, this study strived to explore how primary school English teachers enact their own individual agency and collective agency as well as the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency as the impetus or constrain to their teacher agency enactment as a whole while they implement the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

1.5 Scope of the study

The field of educational research has experienced a significant increase in literature focused on different facets of teacher agency Within the scope of the study, only aspects related to teacher agency enactment are presented based on the ecological model proposed by Priestley et al (2015) However, this study only focused on how teachers enacted their agency in the classroom setting as different types of the manifestations of teacher agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum can be clearly seen through their actions in the classroom In terms of implementation, classroom settings are considered as the locations where the curriculum reform is put into action More specifically, this study focused exclusively on the elements pertaining to teachers’ individual agency, collective agency and

the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency to give impetus or constrain teacher agency enactment as a whole The research was conducted at two primary schools located in the southern region of Vietnam, with a particular emphasis on the sociocultural attributes that distinguish this region from others The scope was limited to those who were teaching primary students of Grades 1 and 2 and had certain previous professional experiences of this age group

1.6 Significance of the study

Obtaining the insights into primary school English teacher agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum within the new general education curriculum at primary schools in Vietnam might be useful for teachers of English for Grades 1 and 2, school administrators, teacher educators and policy makers

For teachers of English for Grades 1 and 2, gaining a thorough grasp of how primary school English teachers exercise their individual and collective agency will provide them a clearer picture of the problems involved in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum and anticipate the obstructions they might encounter in their local school contexts Additionally, such understandings will empower teachers to make the most use of their individual agency and collective agency to make a difference to the Getting-to-know-English curriculum implementation in their school settings Moreover, this study holds significant significance as it enables teachers to acknowledge the pivotal responsibility they possess in executing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum to enhance their linguistic competence and employ suitable pedagogical approaches for young learners, thereby establishing ideal learning settings for them

For school administrators, the insight into the enactment of teachers’ individual agency and collective agency in enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum within the new general education curriculum together with the bilateral interactions between the two above-mentioned forms of agency will help the school administrators to enhance their empathy and support of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum implementation It is crucial for school administrators to establish chances for teachers to engage in reflective practices regarding the challenges they encounter in their respective schools Teachers can discern individuals who possess a congruent perspective on teaching and are capable of providing assistance in

implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum In addition, such insights into the nature of teacher agency in primary schools will help the school administrators’ selections of measures to enhance teachers’ professional development To assist teachers in improving the overall quality of English instruction and learning, particularly the functioning of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, administrators are encouraged to foster their school, a culture of creativity and flexibility

For teacher educators, such comprehensions will increase teacher educators' awareness of English teacher agency implementation in elementary schools Teacher educators will equip teachers with ways of dealing with challenges while enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum in different local school contexts Teachers to be are additionally equipped to engage with the curriculum reform, resist it effectively if they choose, and mediate between the curriculum reform and their sociocultural characteristics Additionally, insights that are valuable into the enactment of teacher agency will inform the training methodologies that teacher educators employ to well equip teachers-to-be in enacting their individual agency and collective agency in the current teaching practice

For policy makers, insights into teacher agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum will enable the policy makers to envisage and enhance curriculum operation models to suit the local institutional contexts, eliminate the lack of clarity concerning the content, requirements, and instructions of implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum In addition, understanding teacher agency enactment will enable them to develop policies to foster teacher engagement and motivation to the Getting-to-know-English curriculum within the new general education curriculum, and to apply teachers’ innovations into the curriculum operation

1.7 The organization of the thesis

The thesis consists of six chapters Chapter 1 gives a general description of the background and the rationale of the study and presents the purpose of the study, the research questions, its scope, significance and organization In Chapter 2, the literature review elaborates the definition of teacher agency under the sociological, social cognitive, positioning, and sociocultural approaches Then the study continues to give a detailed definition of teacher agency, types of teacher agency enactment, and the approach towards

teacher agency The study proceeds with a detailed description of the two concepts namely individual agency and collective agency The Getting-to-know-English curriculum, textbooks for Grades 1 and 2, and teaching English for young learners are then discussed Previous studies related to this issue are clearly mentioned, particularly research in the field of teachers’ individual agency and collective agency in the curriculum enactment, factors influencing teachers’ individual agency and collective agency and the interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency The gap of the study and the conceptual framework of the study are finally constructed The research philosophy, research design, research setting, participants of the study, data collection instruments, data collection procedure, data analysis methodology, validity and reliability, the role of the researcher, ethical considerations, and summary of chapter 3 are included in Chapter 3 Chapter 4 shows data analysis with a focus on description of four case study participants Chapter 5 presents discussion of the study with a focus on three main themes Chapter 6 provides a comprehensive overview of the main findings, points out the contributions of the study, outlines several implications that arise from the study, emphasizes its constraints, and suggests potential areas for further research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Chapter 2 presents the definition of agency, discusses the significance of teacher agency under the ecological approach, then provides definitions of individual agency and collective agency, factors affecting individual agency and collective agency as well as the interactions between individual agency and collective agency This chapter also presents an overview of the new general education curriculum in general and the Getting-to-know-English curriculum in particular Teaching English for young learners with a focus on the definition of young learners, the characteristics of young learners and teaching methodology for young learners are also addressed in the following The study reviews previous studies in terms of teachers’ individual agency and collective agency in the curriculum enactment, and the interactions between teachers’ individual and collective agency, states the gaps found in the previous studies, and suggests a conceptual framework for the study

2.1 Agency

The concept of agency has been approached mainly in sociology, psychology, structuralism, and sociocultural areas (Table 2.1) The first approach conceptualized agency as individuals’ capacities which is driven from the sociology developed by Giddens (1984) Social cognitive was the second approach to human agency which was developed by Bandura (2001) who proposed the definition of agency as intentional action The third approach which was rooted from post-structural theory considered agency as individuals’ authority that was formed with reference to their admission to the subject positions accessible to them (Davies, 2000) Agency was defined as an emergent phenomenon in the final approach which was based on the sociocultural theory (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998; Etelapelto, 2013)

post-Table 2.1 Main definitions of agency

Giddens

Individuals’ capabilities to bring about changes to the existing conditions and led to consequences from the conscious actions

Mische (1998) Sociocultural Individuals’ engagement with the temporal-relational contexts

2.1.1 Agency from the sociological approach

The notion of agency has a long history in sociology, which put an emphasis on the debate between structure and agency as to whether structure or agency is more essential in forming human behavior In other words, individuals’ agentic capacities, external forces or the blending between the two should be viewed as the source of human action (Priestley et al., 2015) Agency was considered as individuals’ capacities in this approach The debate was divided into two views: macro view of agency or external or objectivity and micro view of agency or internal or subjectivity The precedent view of agency focused on the structural conditions and paid little attention to individuals’ capacities in enacting human action The antecedent view of agency, however, emphasized the personal’s capability in motivating human action and structural conditions were neglected in this perspective (Priestley et al., 2015)

This notion of agency was further supported by Archer (1998), who proposed two tendencies of agency namely upwards conflation and downwards conflation The former referred to the individuals’ attempts to take action, while the latter mentioned the contextual conditions forming human agency In order to reframe the structure-agency debate, Giddens (1984) who was considered as the outstanding figure in conceiving the notion of agency as well as the connections between human action and structure suggested a Structuration theory In this theory, agency entailed individuals’ capabilities to bring about changes to the existing

conditions and led to consequences from the conscious actions (Giddens, 1984) More specifically, Giddens’ theory paid attention to individuals’ capacities to make a difference to courses of events Additionally, structure and agency were two different concepts that were interrelated and named as “duality” according to Giddens (1984) Specifically, structure served as a hindrance and facilitator of human behavior and it did not exist independently of human action

Giddens (1984) received fierce criticisms for his structuration theory Firstly, it brought only the individuals’ capacities into central focus (Etelapelto et al., 2013) Secondly, the connection between individuals and social structures was inseparable facing censure because it weakened human presence to exclusively individual action (Archer, 2003) He added further comments concerning this issue that the temporal distinction between the individual and social structures went unnoticed because of the inseparability of the individual and social structures (Archer, 2003) According to Archer (2003), it was of great significance if people would like to provide a contrast between individuals’ course of life and their communal situations Emirbayer and Mische (1998) also blasted the scarcity of temporal element in the conception of agency Apart from the scarcity of temporal element, Giddens (1984)’s notion of agency might not present the abstract tools to direct, namely working environments and discussions, their influences on human action

2.1.2 Agency from the social cognitive approach

The second approach to agency was proposed by Bandura (2001), who considered agency as individuals’ intentional actions That is to say, based on the view of psychology, Bandura (2001) put forward the social cognitive approach, which considered agency as individuals’ intentional actions to exert control over one’s functioning and life situations (Bandura, 2001) He also added that environment, individual factors, and behavioral patterns impact one another to influence human agency as illustrated in the model of interactive triadic causation

Bandura (2001) suggested five essential components of agency including intentionality, fore-thought, self-reactiveness, self-reflectiveness and perceived efficacy Of the five aspects of agency above, perceived efficacy was regarded as the key component of agency which exerted influence on human aims, actions, inspirations, and outcomes The first

element of agency referred to individuals’ intentional course of action which was dependent on their active dedication and self-control The second element of agency was fore-thought which mentioned the ability of an individual to aim for the target, predict the possible outcomes of their behaviors and come up with solutions that might result in the positive results Their choices and course of action were guided by their prediction of future prospects The third aspect of agency, self-reactiveness related to the potential of an individual agent to self-control, direct, and respond to connect their thoughts and actions The fourth component of agency was self-reflectiveness which was relevant to individuals’ ability to reflect their incentives, acts and alternatives The last category of agency, perceived efficacy, influenced the way individuals acted, set targets, expressed real desire, and explored future possibilities

To sum up, drawing on the social cognitive approach, agency was conceptualized as an individual’s intentional actions to produce change to the structural conditions, which included five components: intentionality, fore-thought, self-reactiveness, self-reflectiveness, and perceived agency Individuals had intentions to take actions depending on their commitment, they predicted future prospects to give choices and take actions, they reacted through linking their thoughts and actions, reflected on their choices and actions, and their self-confidence affected their actions

Proposed by Bandura (2001), the social cognitive theory has received certain criticisms as illustrated in Charteris and Smardon (2015) They suggested that agency as individuals’ intentional actions to influence human functioning diminished structural constraints In other words, agency was rooted from individuals’ intentional actions and the role of structural conditions was neglected To broaden this view, Tao and Gao (2016) suggested that agency under the social cognitive theory was unable to devise methods to ascertain agentic actions Van de Putte et al (2017) added that the social cognitive theory risked the possibility of attributing individuals or groups to poor student outcomes and existing policy failures

2.1.3 Agency from the positioning approach

The third approach, based on the positioning theory drawn from the post-structural perspective, viewed agency as discursive phenomenon (Davies, 2000) Positioning pertained to the way individuals position themselves and direct their positions as well as the way other people position them The notion of agency might be understood through positioning

According to Davies (2000), agency was not individuals’ inner property or capacity to act, the positioning theory regarded agency as individuals’ discursive constituted phenomenon revealed in various subject positions

Davies (2000) further explained that the connections between positioning theory and agency were complicated and hard to predict Specifically, individuals might exercise a variety of agentic actions even though they were allocated similar positions Individuals could enact their agency as a result of their positions Particular positions might allow or restrict individuals from exercising agency in particular situations Additionally, particular positions might be allocated to agentic individuals themselves or other individuals

The potential of agency might be developed or hindered thanks to the way individuals conceived the discursive positioning It can be said that agency could be conceptualized as individuals’ authorship to exercise agentic actions when they allocated particular positions themselves or were allocated particular positions by other individuals To conclude, the post-structural approach gave prominence to positioning and authorship

Moral order, rights and duties and position triangles were three main components of positioning theory Moral order related to a set of rules that a social structure established for people’s actions Van Langenhove (2017) believed that actors had the capability to reject or modify the social structure which showed the agency-structure relationships in the positioning theory That is to say, moral orders given by the social structures could hamper people’s actions and as a result, people could take actions to fit the moral orders or go against these orders and generate new orders The second construct of positioning theory was rights and duties Davis and Harré (1999) said that some agents might have more dominant positions than other agents Consequently, acceptance could be recognized in some situations in which agents acquired the rights and duties However, agents could challenge these rights and duties in other circumstances The last category of positioning theory was position triangles Position, actions and story lines were three aspects forming the position triangles (Slocum & Van Langenhove, 2004) Position referred to how people perceived themselves or how other people perceived them And the possibility for action would be opened as an individual took up a position The last component of position triangles was story lines which laid the ground for actions and gave the descriptions of the circumstances that actors got involved in

The notion of agency under the positioning theory proposed by Davies (2000) came under fierce criticism for its theory As suggested by Etelapelto et al (2013), little agency could be recognized in individuals if they were perceived as featured only through discourses To put it simply, limitation could be easily identified in the probability for personal agency as agency was manifested merely through discourses In addition, individuals were assigned specific positions or they positioned specific positions themselves which meant they were not given freedom to do anything they desire

2.1.4 Agency from the sociocultural approach

The fourth approach to human agency was sociocultural and the notion of agency from this approach formulated by Emirbayer and Mische (1998) was regarded as the most prominent one in agency research Agency was achieved through the interplay between individual capabilities and contexts rather than achievement of agency residing in individuals’ capacities as mentioned in the sociological approach One’s agency was not an instinctive feature of an individual, but it was built in temporal contexts (Toom et al., 2015) In this sense, agency was not an instinctive trait, but might be attained in a situation Agency could be achieved through individuals’ engagement with the temporal-relational contexts (Biesta and Tedder, 2007) Emirbayer and Mische (1998) also added that teachers were active contributors in temporal-relational conditions

In other words, agency was viewed as the interplay among three dimensions of agency, that is to say, iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective and the interactions varied based on the contextual conditions With regard to the iterational element, it was related to the prior experiences On the subject of the practical-evaluative element, it was connected with the involvement with the present In terms of the projective element, it was concerned with the intention towards future prospects As suggested by Priestley et al (2015), the conception of agency given by Emirbayer and Mische (1998) proved to be useful due to the fact that agency was built on previous accomplishments, comprehension, and activity patterns

Furthermore, this theory was helpful as it was concerned with the desire to build a future that differed from the existing and former times which was demonstrated in the projective dimension of agency This element of agency was related to the procedure of relying on the previous experience to specify intentions, objectives, aspirations and identify

potential future constraints Therefore, higher levels of agency could be recognized in those who with broader predictions about future prospects than those with confined expectations Agency could be only exercised in the present as illustrated in the practical-evaluative dimension of agency, notwithstanding agency was concerned with the contemporary and prior times (Priestley et al., 2015)

This element of agency pertained to individuals’ capacity to form practical and evaluative judgement among different courses of action in reaction to the current predicaments Practical was judgement of the possibilities and limitations of the structural forces whereas evaluative was judgement of danger in any circumstance It is event that the approach proposed by Emirbayer and Mische (1998) underscored the significance of contextual conditions and structural forces which viewed agency as the temporal engagement with various contextual conditions With an emphasis on time and context, agency should be comprehended in relation to personals’ life span and agency might be impacted by the structural resources and constraints As suggested by Emirbayer and Mische (1998), contexts were regarded as social contexts in which agency might be enacted through actors participate in the communities of practice to produce a course of action Priestley et al (2015) argued that agency could be influenced by the material resources, in which materials were also considered as contexts

To summarize, agency under the sociocultural approach could be seen as an emergent phenomenon, which might be achieved through the interplay among the iterational (past), practical-evaluative (present), and projective (future) within the structural circumstances Compared with the view of agency as capacity or intentional action, agency in this theory was achieved and highlighted the importance of contextual conditions Additionally, it was inferred from this approach that future agency would be influenced by current situations and existing agency was impacted by prior experiences

In sum, agency has been conceptualized from the sociology, psychology, structuralism, and progressively from the sociocultural approach The notion of agency was understood in terms of individuals’ capacities with social consequences (Giddens, 1984), individuals’ intentional actions (Bandura, 2001), to individuals’ authority to exercise agentic actions based on their subject positions (Davies, 2000), and expanded into emergent phenomenon that was achieved through the interplay among the iterational, practical-

post-evaluative, and projective within social structures (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998) The detailed descriptions of approaches to agency demonstrated that among the four, the sociocultural approach took into account the temporal element of agency, while in the other three above-mentioned approaches looked over it This approach contained the temporal dimension linking the past to the future To put it in another way, agency was considered as the interplay between individuals’ life course within the social conditions This approach to teacher agency will be followed as the base for the further discussion of the teacher agency

2.2 Teacher agency and teacher agency enactment 2.2.1 Definition of teacher agency enactment

As agency referred to the dynamic interaction between an individual's life trajectory and the social circumstances they are situated in The notion of enactment demonstrated the ways teachers interpreted the curriculum texts and how teachers transformed their interpretation of the curriculum texts into practice Walford, 2001) It is also in line with the conception of enactment proposed by Ball et al (2012), who stated that enactment referred to how the school teachers interpreted the curriculum texts into contextualized practices The term "interpretation" referred to the act of reading and decoding curriculum texts in order to make sense of them The language of curriculum documents was transformed into the language of practice, with words transformed into actions and abstract concepts transformed into processes The notion of enactment put an emphasis on the teachers’ proactive role Ball et al (2012) suggested that teachers might play various roles in enacting the curriculum such as reliance, criticism, or mediation on the curriculum policy

In general, teacher agency enactment refers to the process by which teachers interpret and comprehend the curriculum mandates in a manner that is practical and meaningful in their everyday teaching They attempt to manage the curriculum mandates based on their existing teaching practices From that standpoint, the curriculum mandates are shaped by the individuals who implement it, leading to a comprehensive comprehension of the curriculum mandates

2.2.2 Types of teacher agency enactment

Walford (2001) identified three patterns of teacher agency enactment namely resistance, acceptance, and accommodation In a study carried out by Lasky (2005), three ways teachers implemented the curriculum change were ignorance, adoption, and adaptation Teachers could accept, resist, or renegotiate their involvement within the policy enactment (Cross, 2010) Teachers in Robinson’s study (2012) demonstrated two types of agencies in response to the policy reform: compliance and negotiation Petrovic and Kuntz (2013) identified three categories of agency exhibited by university lecturers while utilizing English as a medium of instruction: respond to the existing frame, reinterpreting the existing frame, and reframe it Mellegard and Pettersen’s (2016) study revealed that teachers adapted and bargained with the curriculum rather than becoming change agents during policy implementation Teachers in Severance’s study (2016) demonstrated three ways of enacting the curriculum change, that is, resistance, adoption, and adaptation Nguyen and Bui (2016) revealed that teachers resisted to the new language policy implementation due to the fact that their cognition of the English language policy is indifferent to the concerns of the students Teachers in Jenkins’ study (2019) manifested three main types of agencies: proactive, reactive, and passive In a study conducted by Peskova et al (2019), the result illustrated that teachers demonstrated two forms of agency towards the curriculum change: acceptance and resistance The result of the study proposed by Harris and Graham (2019) also illustrated that resistance and acceptance were two types of agencies teachers implemented in enacting the curriculum change Le et al (2020)’s study showed that teachers made adaptations to the policy reform driven by their interpretations, interests, choices, and local teaching contexts

Based on the results of the previous studies, the researcher categorized teacher agency enactment into three types of manifestation: acceptance, resistance, and adaptation (Walford, 2001; Lasky, 2005; Cross, 2010; Robinson, 2012; Pestrovic & Kuntz, 2013; Mellegard & Pettersen, 2016; Severance et al., 2016; Nguyen, 2016; Jenkins, 2019; Harris & Graham, 2019; Peskova et al., 2019; Le et al., 2020) The enactment classifications are summarized in Table 2.2 with the notions developed by the previous researchers Acceptance was relevant to teachers’ capabilities to implement the curricular change Acceptance employed in studies carried out by Walford (2001), Cross (2010), Harris and Graham (2019, Peskova (2019)

means adoption in Lasky (2005), compliance in Robinson (2012), responding to the existing frame in Petrovic and Kuntz (2013), adoption in Severance (2016), and proactive agency by Jenkins (2019)

Resistance was concerned with teachers’ abilities to resist or oppose the change Resistance deployed in previous research conducted by Walford (2001), Cross (2010), Severance (2016), Nguyen and Bui (2016), Harris and Graham (2019), Peskova (2019) means ignorance in Lasky (2005), passive agency in Jenkins (2019), and reframing in Petrovic and Kuntz (2013)

Adaptation was relevant to teachers’ capabilities to made modification to the curriculum change taking into consideration their local teaching and learning conditions Adaptation employed by Lasky (2005), Mellegard and Pettersen (2016), Severance (2016), Le et al (2020) means accommodation in Walford’s study (2001), renegotiation in Cross (2010), negotiation in Robinson (2012), reinterpret the existing frame in Petrovic and Kuntz (2013) In general, three main forms of teacher agency enactment in putting the curriculum texts into practice in their sociocultural settings are acceptance, resistance, and adaptation The afore-mentioned types of teacher agency enactment were served as a guideline to collect data concerning teachers’ manifestations of agencies in putting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum into practice

Table 2.2 Summary of types of teacher agency enactment

Types of teacher

agency enactment Used terms Research

Acceptance Adoption Lasky (2005), Severance et al (2016)

2.2.3 Ecological approach to teacher agency

Based on the conception of agency under the sociocultural approach, the theory of teacher agency which is relevant to teachers’ activities in their institutional setting was further developed (Priestley et al., 2015) Priestley et al (2015) give further description of teacher agency as teachers’ ability to shape their responses to the challenging situations The disparity between the sociocultural approach and ecological approach lied in the fact that the former referred to human agency in general while the latter was based on the components of forming human agency, but paid particular attention to teacher agency which was defined in relation to teachers’ activities in their school settings Teacher agency is defined as the temporal phenomenon which can be attained through the interplay of three dimension of agency namely iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective (Priestley et al., 2015) In other words, teachers’ choice making and action taking was influenced by the three above-mentioned dimensions

2.2.3.1 The iterational dimension

The iterational dimension included teachers’ individual and professional profiles Agency might be drawn from teachers’ previous personal and professional experiences (Priestley et al., 2015) Teachers’ life histories and professional histories shared the past experiences in common Teachers’ life histories were related to teachers’ personal skills and knowledge while teachers’ professional histories were concerned with teachers’ professional experience in their prior education and training More specifically, teachers’ professional histories were pertinent to their experience as student teachers and experienced teachers

In addition to professional education, engagement with other professional activities seemed to be essential in shaping teachers’ professional experience such as exchanges with their colleagues and familiarity with the school culture Teachers who worked in innovative school had the tendency to enact agentic actions towards dilemmas compared to their colleagues in less supported ones Priestley et al (2015) suggested that it was fascinating to consider what kinds of experience might help teachers in enhancing their positive attributes and potentials that were demanded of agents of change

2.2.3.2 The practical-evaluative dimension of agency

The practical-evaluative dimension of agency includes three main components: cultural (ideas, values, beliefs, discourses, and language), materials (resources and physical environment) and structural (relationships, roles, power, and trust) Cultural dimension was connected with the internal and external dialogue, that is to say, dealt with the system of speaking as well as thinking which included ideas, values, beliefs, discourses and language Materials was related to the physic resources that might facilitate or inhibit teacher agency The structural dimension was concerned with the social structures namely relationships, roles, power, and trust that made contribution to the achievement of teacher agency Relationships referred to the connections between teachers and their colleagues, teachers and school leaders, teachers and students Roles meant teachers’ roles in the school contexts, power pertained to the types of school structures in which the teachers worked in, might be the school that teachers had little power and needed to follow the instructions from the school leaders or the schools that teachers had their own right and duties to enact agentic actions to provide students with better learning opportunities Trust could be based on the relationships between teachers and other agents in the school contexts

The practical-evaluative was relevant to teachers’ capabilities to make comprehensive evaluation among possibilities concerning the present situation situated in environmental contexts The practical-evaluative dimension of agency was connected with the daily working settings of teachers Teachers might be forced to make choices that was not in harmony with their aspirations In addition, teachers usually carried out these actions on the ground of inadequate time to give a reflection of their own experience and exchange ideas with their colleagues Therefore, agency was considerably impacted by the practical-evaluative dimension Teachers’ capability of making choices and taking actions was shaped by this dimension In other words, the daily working environments of teachers could facilitate or inhibit their agency For example, in a study conducted by Reeves (2008), the results indicated that teacher agency might be inhibited by their tensions when enacting the new curriculum due to the fact that they had to deal with the inspections and evaluations However, teacher agency might be enhanced thanks to the supportive culture of the schools and the good collegial relationships In these environments, teachers were encouraged to enact agentic actions to carry out the new curriculum (Coburn & Russel, 2008)

2.2.3.3 The projective dimension of agency

The projective dimension contains teachers’ short-term and long-term future orientations Teachers’ future orientations stemmed from their previous experiences (values and beliefs) Lasky (2005) proposed that such constructive orientations were supportive of students’ benefits and development In addition, teachers’ future aspirations were dependable on their motivations to provide students with the best quality of teaching Teachers’ motivations or aspirations might be brought by their previous professional experiences Teachers’ prior experiences would shape their positive or negative forms of future aspirations For example, teachers having negative experience of a school scrutiny might be afraid of taking risks, as a result, their agency might be hindered The school culture of heavy responsibility and maintaining a high level of performance might limit teacher agency Priestley et al (2015) suggested that previous educational administration might exert great influence on the present form of teacher agency

To summarize, the ecological approach proposed by Priestley et al (2015) considered teacher agency as the emergent phenomenon and achieved through the interplay of three dimensions of agency namely iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective and conceptualized teacher agency as actions which means something people do (Biesta et al., 2015) (Figure 2.1) The practical-evaluative aspect of agency underscored the achievement of agency through the daily working environments with three main aspects: cultural, structural, and materials To put it in another way, the present school contexts including the cultural (values, beliefs, ideas, discourses, language), structural (relationships, roles, power, and trust), materials (resources and physical environment) might have great impact on teacher agency The iterational dimension of agency was pertinent to teachers’ personal and professional histories which contributed significantly to shaping teacher agency The projective aspect of agency involved teachers’ short-term and long-term aspirations This model shed light on individual teacher agency in their school environments shaped by three dimensions of agency namely iterational (past), practical-evaluative (present), projective (future) which served as a guideline for the researcher to constitute the conceptual framework for the study to discover not only teachers’ individual agency but also collective agency and the bilateral interactions between them The iterational and projective dimensions of agency could be integrated into

individual factors while the practical-evaluative was considered as contextual factors which had direct impacts on teacher agency (Priestley et al., 2015)

Figure 2.1 Teacher agency in the ecological model (Priestley et al., 2015) 2.2.4 Types of agencies

Agency is divided into three types namely individual, proxy, and collective agency (Bandura, 2001) An individual's ability to make decisions and perform actions on their own was defined as individual agency Collective agency is the act of a group of people or a community exercising their agency Their goal was to build future prospects by sharing information, skills, and resources Proxy agency depends on others to perform on one’s behalf in order to achieve the intended results To examine teachers’ individual agency and collective agency together with the bilateral interactions between them, the current study only focused on individual agency and collective agency Proxy agency was not selected as it was based on others to perform on one’s behalf in order to achieve the intended results

Iterational

 Life histories  Professional

histories

Projective

 Short-term  Long-term

Practical-evaluative

 Cultural: ideas, beliefs, values, discourses, language  Structural: social

structures

(relationships, roles, power, trust)

 Materials (resources, physical environment)

AGENCY