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Teacher identity negotiation in AI-enhanced higher education and its implications for professional development

delete2026-05-23
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PRE
AI
L
Li, Jie
Z
Zhang, Qianyu *
DOI:10.1016/j.tate.2026.105499delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Although artificial intelligence (AI) has profoundly transformed educational contexts, its influence on educators' professional identity negotiation remains underexplored. This study investigates how university English teachers in China negotiate their language teacher identity (LTI) in the age of AI. Drawing on a tri-level ecosystem model informed by Communities of Practice (CoP), this narrative inquiry with 11 university language teachers reveals a dynamic identity negotiation process shaped by a distinctive affective arc. At the micro level, teachers experience a shift from an initial crisis of authority to a reconstructed identity as AI collaborators. This process is mediated at the meso level through the reconfiguration of professional communities, enhancing peer collaboration while reshaping student-teacher relationships. At the macro level, national policies exert top-down pressures that teachers respond to with bottom-up agency. The study proposes an integrated framework linking policy, community mediation, and identity transformation, offering implications for teacher education and professional development.
Keywords:
Language teacher identity (LTI)
Community of practice (CoP)
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Affective
Professional development

Journal

Teaching and Teacher Education cover
Teaching and Teacher Education
IF:
3.9
Papers:
5.0K
Citations:
1.8W

Organization

C
City University of Macau
Scholars:
402
Papers: 281
Citations: 2.5K
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