Teaching Profession

Abstract Out-of-field (OOF) teaching is a pervasive reality in education, especially for mathematics instruction. Research has documented OOF teachers’ pedagogical challenges and knowledge gaps. However, a singular focus on remediating these deficits may overlook OOF teachers’ prior knowledge. Grounded in the Landscapes of Practice (LoP) framework, this study takes an asset-oriented approach to teachers’ diverse disciplinary backgrounds. It provides an alternative lens to explore the latent educational value of teachers’ diverse disciplinary backgrounds. We aim to understand how OOF mathematics teachers negotiate their prior knowledge within entrenched educational systems. To explore this dynamic, we conducted a two-phase ethnographic study in three schools in Northwest China. The findings reveal divergent patterns of mutual shaping between OOF mathematics teachers and school mathematics communities. These teachers used knowledgeability to translate prior disciplinary expertise into mathematics Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK); also, knowledgeability and social skill supported the teaching group’s adoption of a translated practice. Ultimately, we advocate for an asset-oriented professional development programme that helps teachers translate prior disciplinary knowledge into mathematics PCK and possibly fosters organisational renewal. ...

Abstract Discipline and order hold high value in China, with teachers prioritizing classroom management strictly. Drawing on a longitudinal ethnographic study conducted in an elementary school in China, this article examines the social construction of the “troublemaker” identity. Grounded in Becker’s labeling theory, we track the trajectory of students from their initial entry into school to the eventual solidification of their deviant roles. The findings reveal a cumulative “making” process. Initially, organizational climate and teacher judgements generate situational labels for minor non-conformity. Over time, students internalize these labels, manifesting secondary deviance through either active resistance or passive self-abandonment. Finally, mechanisms of retrospective validation, social quarantine, and institutional calcification trigger a feedback loop that permanently cements their deviant status. We argue that the “troublemaker” is not an inherent trait but an institutional product. This research highlights the critical power of teacher authority in shaping students’ identity. ...

Abstract Institutional analysis typically assumes professional newcomers use strategic isomorphism to craft a legitimation project. A qualitative study of 31 tutors and their respective clients and managers in Beijing indicates how this project is continually in flux, predicating the life stages of its practitioners. Using the dyad theory of legitimacy, we find that tutors’ professional legitimacy is anchored to their ability to meet the immediate expectations of clients when they regard performance boosting as a single-dimensional priority. The tutor–parent relationship is purely market-based and reputation-driven. A tutor’s professional knowledge plays a minor role in winning parents’ approval as it has been routinized by and embedded in the techno-managerial tutoring agencies. Faced with uncertainty in teaching, tutors are increasingly resorting to ancillary services to retain clients. From this perspective, tutors are being reduced to replaceable service workers. The legitimation project is transient and beyond the grasp of individual tutors. ...