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| High-Quality Professional Development of Novice Rural Teachers： Dilemmas and Enhancement Paths for Agency |
| Dai Weifen Zeng Xinyi |
| (College of Education， Institute of Teacher Education Development， Central China Normal University， Wuhan 430079) |
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Abstract Novice rural teachers are with low stability. Apart from the impact of remuneration， the limited professional development is an important factor. Teachers' agency plays a significant role in their professional development and the reform of schools. This study finds that there are developmental dilemmas in the professional development agency of novice rural teachers. Under the influence of socio-cultural values and organizational systems， they have low value recognition of their work in rural education as well as professional development， and lack a sense of professional development agency. Constrained by personal goals and external environment， they lack enthusiasm and internal motivation for professional development. Constrained by professional resources and the pressures of the rural teachers' role， they have little energy and limited space to engage in dynamic behaviors. As a result of the organizational structure and the solidification of teachers' past work experience， their right to exert their agency in professional development is relinquished. Accordingly， by virtue of the theory of complex dynamic systems， this study proposes some pathways to enhance the agency for the novice rural teachers： first， utilizing the positive effects of perturbation to motivate novice rural teachers； second， supporting the emergence of agency through multiple resources and creating a space for teachers to exert their right to agency for professional development through information technology； third， recognizing the self-organizing attributes of novice rural teachers and establishing an evaluation system that encourages the emergence of agency， leading to a sustainable and stable improvement in the quality of rural teachers.
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Received: 24 July 2023
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2023, Vol. 62 
