Research On The Professional Identity Of English Teachers In Rural Primary Schools

English teachers in rural primary schools are an important force in the teaching staff,which plays a key role in the quality of English teaching in rural areas.The professional identity of English teachers in rural primary schools is the driving force for their professional development.In this study,qualitative and quantitative methods are used to study the professional identity of rural primary school English teachers.Based on the theory of social identity and self-identification,this paper analyzes the status of professional identification of English teachers in rural primary schools.Based on the social identity theory and self-identity theory,this study uses the method of questionnaire and in-depth interview to investigate 130 English teachers from 48 rural primary schools in Jimo District,Qingdao,and to conduct in-depth interviews with four English teachers to analyze the current situation,reasons and promotion strategies of English teachers' professional identity in rural primary schools in China.Based on the review of relevant research,this study defines the concept of rural primary school,professional identity and English teachers' professional identity.Four dimensions of this study are established: cognition,emotion,professional awareness and behavior,forming the rural primary school English teachers' professional identity questionnaire.This paper investigates the status of English teachers' professional identity in rural primary schools,analyzes its causes,and puts forward the promotion strategies.Through the statistics and analysis of the depth of questionnaire and in-depth interview,it is found that the overall level of professional identity of English teachers in rural primary schools in China is relatively low.In the cognitive dimension,there are significant differences in English teachers of different genders,teaching ages,majors and positions in rural primary schools;in the emotional dimension,there are significant differences in English teachers of different genders,majors and positions in rural primary schools;in the professional consciousness dimension,there are significant differences in English teachers of different majors and positions in rural primary schools;in the behavioral dimension,there are significant differences in English teachers of different genders,teaching ages,majors and positions in rural primary schools.There are significant differences between English teachers of major and position.The researchers analyzed the reasons for this situation: from the perspective of gender,the identity level of male English teachers in rural primary schools is lower than that of female English teachers.Due to the physiological differences,personality differences,memory differences and learning interest differences between men and women in language learning,women are more suitable for English and other language learning.In addition,social roles also lead to gender differences in work,emotional response,social communication and other aspects.Men will bear more economic pressure in social and family life.The low salary level of English teachers in rural primary schools makes men bear great economic pressure.In terms of teaching age,young English teachers have just set foot on the post of English teachers.They are not familiar with the working environment andwork content.Their role has been changed from students to teachers,resulting in identity crisis.They have short teaching age and little working experience,so they need to grow up as soon as possible.Senior teachers with long teaching experience have high professional title,high salary,stable family,rich teaching experience,self-worth has been realized,and they are very satisfied with their life.Therefore,they lose the motivation to continue to pursue,and have low enthusiasm for work.In terms of major,English teachers of English major are interested in English and have high professional knowledge,ability and professional development needs and awareness.The teachers who graduated from non-English major are lack of professional knowledge and ability,and lack of awareness of professional development.Full time English teachers have a stronger sense of belonging to English teaching than part-time English teachers.In view of the reasons,this paper puts forward the strategies to improve the current situation: respect individual gender differences,tap learning potential and relieve social pressure;guide the growth of young English teachers,improve the enthusiasm of Senior English teachers;give full play to the advantages of English professional teachers,improve the level of non professional teachers' knowledge and ability;add full-time English teachers,build a professional community of English teachers,and strengthen part-time English teachers.English teachers' sense of belonging.