Novice ESL Academic Writing Teachers’ Personal Practical Knowledge: A Multiple Case Study from a Narrative Perspective

Abstract

Educational research studies with a focus on L2 teachers’ practical knowledge have been given increasing attention since the 1980s regarding questions like “What do teachers know?”, “How do they know what they know?”, and “What do they do with what they know?” With inspiration from such questions, the present research study was conducted, in the form of a multiple case study, with the purpose of exploring a further and comprehensive understanding of novice ESL academic writing teachers’ personal practical knowledge. In order to gain abundant information regarding teachers’ personal experiences, a narrative approach was adopted to methodologically underpin the study. Three novice teachers were recruited to participate in the study and data were collected via narrative interviews and the collection of their teaching reflective journals and teaching materials. Through a thematic narrative analysis, the findings provide a rather holistic picture of each participant’s personal practical knowledge in terms of their understanding of themselves, their various contexts, their students, the subject they are teaching, as well as their own instructional principles and beliefs. In addition, although coming from distinct socio-cultural and socio-education educational backgrounds, it is found that all three participants tend to personalise their personal practical knowledge and continuously construct their personal practical knowledge with close reference to who they are, what they know, what they are teaching, and what they have been learning from teaching. The findings have pedagogical implications for relevant fields in (L2) teacher education, including pre-service and (novice) in-service teaching education, as well as L2, especially L2 writing education.