A Narrative Inquiry Into The Personal Practical Knowledge Of A Senior High School English Teacher

Teacher knowledge research is part of a revolution in how educators think about classroom practice (Clandinin et al.,1997). I took teacher's personal practical knowledge, mainly characterized by "experiential" and "practical" knowledge, as my research concern. A case study, spanning for more than half a year, was conducted to investigate an experienced English teacher named Lily at a key senior high school in Beijing. The research methods adopted in the study were narrative inquiry and case study. Data mainly came from the interview records of Lily, besides, informal conversations with her and the interview records of her colleagues and her students were also interwove to discribe the data. Drawing on the theories of personal practical knowledge (Clandinin&Connelly,1988) and teacher identity (Palmer,1998), the thesis aims to explore:1)What is Lily's personal practical knowledge? 2) What are the major factors shaping the formation of her personal practical knowledge?Employing biographical inquiry into Lily's life and teaching experience enables the researcher to probe into her knowledge manifested in everyday teaching practice, namely, knowledge of students, knowledge of teaching content, knowledge of curriculum, knowledge of self and knowledge of community. And the researcher analyzes the factors contributing to her knowledge and professional development, namely, personality and talent, family educational way, schooling experience, significant or important people and school community culture. This case study helps teachers recognize the importance of their personal knowledge, which is essential to their professional development. Meanwhile, this case study also presents implications for high school education and EFL teacher development in the new curriculum reform.