Chapter 7 Reimagining Women Leadership in TESOL

Advocating for Change, Harnessing Reflexivity, and Humanizing Practices

In: Female Leadership Identity in English Language Teaching
Authors:
Marie Webb
Search for other papers by Marie Webb in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
Quanisha Charles
Search for other papers by Quanisha Charles in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
Sarah Henderson Lee
Search for other papers by Sarah Henderson Lee in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
Shannon Tanghe
Search for other papers by Shannon Tanghe in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
, and
Gloria Park
Search for other papers by Gloria Park in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Type:
Chapter
Pages:
109–131
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004702196_009

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

$40.00
Add to Cart
Redeem Access Token

Abstract

Our understanding of and experiences with leadership intentionally articulate the attributes and characteristics that have emerged from our lived experiences and realities of interacting with our mentors, mentees, colleagues, and others that are pivotal in our daily survival as women in academia. We believe in understanding ourselves as leaders who seek to humanize our female experiences. Our work extends the limited literature on self-reflexivity of teacher educators in TESOL (Peercy et al., 2019, p. 482) towards a greater understanding of female leadership identity construction in TESOL. Building on the work of critical educators (Anya, 2020; Freire, 1970), in this chapter, five female teacher-scholars share our experiences and intersectionalities with female leadership identities to “agentively leverage” our co-constructed beliefs (Peercy et al., 2019) in a way that challenges male dominated discourses in our field. We theorize our critical incident data sources (Farrell, 2008; Tripp, 1994) using the narrative data analytic tools (Creswell & Poth, 2018) as a way to engage in collaborative critical self-reflexivity. Doing so allows us to unpack and reimagine our leadership identities to be intentional collective and embodied leaders.

  • Collapse
  • Expand

Female Leadership Identity in English Language Teaching

Autoethnographies of Global Perspectives

Series:  Critical New Literacies: The Praxis of English Language Teaching and Learning, Volume: 16
Cover Female Leadership Identity in English Language Teaching
E-Book ISBN:
9789004702196
Publisher:
Brill
Print Publication Date:
19 Jul 2024

  • Anderson, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in education: A review of existing literature. International Social Science Review, 93(1), Article 4.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Anya, U. (2020). African Americans in world language study: The forged path and future directions. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 40, 97–112. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190520000070

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Apugo, D. (2020). Black women graduate students on whiteness and barrier breaking in leadership. Urban Review, 53, 424–442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-020-00552-4

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Baecher, L. (2012). Pathways to teacher leadership among English-as-a-second-language teachers: Professional development by and for emerging teacher leaders. Professional Development in Education, 38(2), 317–330. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2012.657877

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Berger, R. (2015). Now I see it, now I don’t: Researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 15(2), 219–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794112468475

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bhattacharya, U., Jiang, L., & Canagarajah, S. (2020). Race, representation, and diversity in the American Association for applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics, 41(6), 999–1004. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amz003

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bolton, G. (2010). Reflective practice: Writing and professional development. Sage.

  • Chang, H., Ngunjiri, F., & Hernandez, K. C. (2013). Collaborative autoethnography. Left Coast Press, Inc.

  • Charles, Q. D. (2019). Black teachers of English in South Korea: Constructing identities as a native English speaker and English language teaching professional. TESOL Journal, 10.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Cooper, A. C., & Bryan, K. C. (2020). Reading, writing, and race: Sharing the narratives of Black TESOL professionals. In B. Yazan & K. Lindahl (Eds.), Language teacher identity in TESOL (pp. 125–142). Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design, choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage.

  • Daft, R. L. (2014). The leadership experience (6th ed.). Verve House.

  • Daft, R. L. (2021). The leadership experience (7th ed.). Verve House.

  • De Costa, P. I., & Norton, B. (2017). Introduction: Identity, transdisciplinarity, and the language teacher. The Modern Language Journal, 101, 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12368

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Doston, K. (2011). Tracking epistemic violence, tracking practices of silencing. Hypatia, 26, 236–257. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2011.01177.x

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Eaton, S. E. (2017). Perceptions of ESL program management in Canadian higher education: A qualitative case study. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 16(9), 13–28. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.16.9.2

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Farrell, T. S. C. (2008). Critical incidents in ELT initial teacher training. ELT Journal, 6(2/1). https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccm072

  • Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum.

  • Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy, and civic courage. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

  • Giladi, P. (2017). Epistemic injustice: A role for recognition? Philosophy and Social Criticism, 44(2), 141–158.

  • Greene, M., & Park, G. (2021). Promoting reflexivity during the COVID-19 Pandemic. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 5(1), 23–29.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hamilton, P. (2019). ‘Now that I know what you’re about’: Black feminist reflections on power in the research relationship. Empowering Fresh Approaches to Pedagogy, 20(5). https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794119891583

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Horsford, S. D., & Tillman, L. C. (Eds.). (2013). Intersectional identities and educational leadership of Black women in the USA. Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • hooks, b. (1981). Ain’t I a woman: Black women and feminism. South End Press.

  • hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress. Routledge.

  • hooks, b. (2000). Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics. Pluto Press.

  • hooks, b. (2010). Teaching critical thinking: Practical wisdom. Routledge.

  • Huynh, P. P. T. (2020). Process of constructing a leader identity for women in information technology (Doctoral Dissertation) ProQuest Dissertation and Thesis. (UMI No 28093310)

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ivanic, R. (1998). Writing and identity: The discoursal construction of identity in academic writing. John Benjamins Publishing Company.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Johnson-Bailey, J., & Alfred, M. V. (2006). Transformational teaching and the practices of black women adult educators. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 109, 49–58. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.207

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kubota, R. (2020). Confronting epistemological racism, decolonizing scholarly knowledge: Race and gender in applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics, 41(5), 712–732, https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amz033

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lee, Y. W. (2020). Exploring identities of second language writing teachers [Doctoral dissertation]. ASU Electronic Thesis and Dissertations.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Madsen, S. R. (Ed.). (2017). Handbook of research on gender and leadership. Edward Elgar Publisher.

  • Mohammed, R. (2016). Critical incident analysis: Reflections of a teacher educator, Research in Teacher Education, 6(1), 25–29.

  • Noddings, N. (1988). An ethic of caring and its implications for instructional arrangements. American Journal of Education, 96(2), 215–230.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Park, G. (2013a). My autobiographical poetic rendition: An inquiry into humanizing our teacher-scholarship. L2 Journal Special Themed Issue: L2 Writing and Personal History, 5(1), 6–18. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2wx585r5

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Park, G. (2013b). “Writing is a way of knowing”: Writing and identity. ELT Journal, 67(3), 336–345.

  • Peercy, M. M., & Sharkey, J. (2018). Self-study of language and literacy teacher education practices: Culturally and linguistically diverse contexts. Emerald.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Peercy, M. M., Sharkey, J., Baecher, L., Motha, S., & Varghese, M. (2019). Exploring TESOL teacher educators as learners and reflective scholars: A shared narrative inquiry. TESOL Journal, 10(4), e482.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Racelis, J. V., & Matsuda, P. K. (2015). Exploring the multiple identities of L2 writing teachers. In Y. L. Cheung, S. B. Said, & K. Park (Eds.), Advances and current trends in language teacher identity research (pp. XII–XIV, Kindle Edition). https://www.amazon.com/Advances-Language-Identity-Routledge-Education/dp/1138025364

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Santamaria, L. J., & Jean-Marie, G. (2014). Cross-cultural dimensions of applied, critical, and transformational leadership: Women principals advancing social justice and educational equity, Cambridge Journal of Education, 44(3), 333–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2014.904276

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Savva, M. (2015). Characteristics of the international educator and the strategic role of critical incidents. Journal of Research in International Education, 14(1), 16–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240915570548

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Shah, S. R. (2017). The significance of teacher leadership in TESOL: A theoretical perspective. Arab World English Journal, 8(4), 240–258. https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol8no4.16

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Stephenson, L. (2012). Leadership perspectives and influences: A conversation with five leaders in TESOL. Arab World English Journal, 3(4), 19–34. https://awej.org/

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Sullivan, S., & Tuana, N. (2007). Race and epistemologies of ignorance. State University of New York Press.

  • Swanson, J., Elliott, K., & Harmon, J. (2011). Teacher leader stories: The power of case methods. Corwin Press.

  • Tannacito, D. J. (2013). English language teachers as program administrators. TESOL Press.

  • TESOL International Association. (2021). The history of TESOL International Association. https://www.tesol.org/about/staff-and-leadership/tesol-committees-and-councils-public/

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Tripp, D. (1994). Teachers’ lives, critical incidents, and professional practice. Qualitative Studies in Education, 7(1), 65–76.

  • Varghese, M., Motha, S., Park, G., Reeves, J., & Trent, J. (2016). Language teacher identity in (multi)lingual educational contexts. Special Themed Issue for TESOL Quarterly. www.tesol.org

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Webb, M. (2020). Negotiating professional identities of English language, rhetoric, composition, and writing studies instructors: Implications for teacher education across disciplines [Doctoral dissertation]. ProQuest Dissertation and Thesis. (UMI No. 27829802)

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Williams, M. G. (2019). Exploring the meaning making process of Black women’s gendered racial identity development [Doctoral dissertation, the University of Tennessee]. TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/5789/

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

Metrics

All Time Past 365 days Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 195 195 10
Full Text Views 5 5 0
PDF Views & Downloads 6 6 0