A Case Study Of Pre-service English Teachers’ Academic Boredom In The Master Of Education Program

It has been recognized that academic emotion plays a vital role in the educational contexts.Among diverse academic emotions,academic boredom deserves more attention.Existing studies suggest that academic boredom is prevalent among students of different ages,levels and abilities and appears to be commonly and intensely experienced in various educational contexts.As postgraduate students,pre-service English teachers experience academic boredom in the Master of Education program,which exerts non-negligible influence on their learning.However,few studies investigate the formation and influence of pre-service English teachers’ academic boredom.Thus,this study adopts a qualitative research method to explore two research questions:(1)How is academic boredom of four pre-service English teachers in the Master of Education program formed?(2)What is the influence of academic boredom on their learning in the program?The data sources consist of semi-structured interview and case documents.Major findings are concluded as follows:Firstly,there were three patterns of pre-service English teachers’ academic boredom formation in the Master of Education program:(1)person-situation interactive pattern,(2)personal factor dominant pattern,and(3)situational factor dominant pattern.Personal factors and situational factors were influencing factors that aroused control appraisal and value appraisal,collectively or independently.Then the appraisals induced pre-service English teachers’ academic boredom.Personal factors included pre-service English teachers’ expectation for teachers’ sufficient teaching investment,expectation for practical learning content,expectation for proper course assessment methods,lack of learning interest,and negative learning attitude.Situational factors included teachers’ insufficient teaching investment,impractical learning content,improper course assessment methods,and peers’ negative learning performance.As the result of interaction between personal factor and situational factor,the mismatch between the two kinds of factors influenced academic boredom formation the most.Personal factor and situational factor could influence academic boredom formation independently as well.Appraisal was the indispensable part of academic boredom formation.In the Master of Education program,pre-service English teachers’low control appraisal and low value appraisal directly induced their academic boredom together.Secondly,pre-service English teachers’ academic boredom had influence on their learning engagement and learning achievement in the Master of Education program.Concerning learning engagement,academic boredom led to pre-service English teachers’behavioral disengagement,emotional disengagement,and cognitive disengagement.With regard of learning achievement,academic boredom caused pre-service English teachers’decrease in achievement attainment and improvement on reflective learning ability.In the Master of Education program,though academic boredom mainly posed negative influence on pre-service English teachers’ learning,sometimes it could exert positive influence,namely,pre-service English teachers’ improvement on reflective learning ability.Based on major findings,this study puts forward some implications.Teachers of Master of Education program are supposed to put more investment into teaching,such as interacting more with pre-service English teachers during the courses and holding positive teaching attitude.Learning content of courses in the Master of Education program is expected to become more practical.Proper course assessment methods should be utilized.Creating positive learning atmosphere and providing opportunities to express needs for pre-service English teachers are necessary as well.Pre-service English teachers can diminish the aversive influence of academic boredom by fostering an objective attitude toward it,strengthening their learning interest,and enhancing their reflective learning ability.