A Narrative Inquiry Into Junior English Teachers' Practical Knowledge

Teachers'practical knowledge is closely related to teachers'experience and teaching practice, which reflects teachers'educational belief and teaching ideas as well as guides their daily teaching practice. It is the knowledge base of teacher development, so the research into teachers'practical knowledge is of great significance. Reviewing the researches of teachers'practical knowledge abroad and home, far more theoretical researches which mainly focus on the definition, structure and character are carried out than empirical researches into teachers'real teaching life. However, since teachers'practical knowledge is closely related with teachers' experience and practice, it develops constantly. Therefore, this study tries to go into teachers'daily teaching life to explore teachers'practical knowledge. Fortunately, narrative inquiry which has close connection with human experience and enables researchers to interpret teachers'practical knowledge through narrative stories just provides a proper research method for this study.Through an narrative inquiry into a junior English teacher in Hangzhou DC Middle School, this study tries to answer what Helen's practical knowledge is underlying in her teaching practice and what the major factors that influence the construction and development of her practical knowledge are. The writer collects data through the observation in and out of classroom, interview and practicality collection then presents the data from three perspectives, namely Helen's previous learning experience, teaching experience and stories in her daily teaching practice. Finally, Helen's four kinds of practical knowledge including educational belief, strategic knowledge, interpersonal knowledge as well as critical and reflective knowledge are highlighted, based on which, the major factors influencing the construction and development of her practical knowledge are analyzed and discussed. They are Helen's learning experience, her teaching experience and significant persons who influence her development. The present study reveals the real voice of a junior English teacher through narrative stories, which are also important research achievements in this study for they can help evoke people's care to teachers'daily teaching life, especially teachers' attention to their own practical knowledge. Through digging out the practical knowledge underlying the stories and presenting main factors affecting its construction and development, junior English teachers'practical knowledge can be better understood, which will produce certain implications for developing more beneficial education programs for junior English teachers and be essential to the development of junior English teachers. In addition, as an empirical study, this study proves to some degree that narrative inquiry can play an important role in the researches of junior English teachers'practical knowledge.