ERIC Number: EJ1234382
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2369-4211
EISSN: N/A
Factors Contributing to TESOL Employment: A Graduate Perspective
Wu, Ziwei Vera
BC TEAL Journal, v4 n1 p13-32 2019
The profession of teaching English to speakers of other language (TESOL) has experienced significant changes in the past decades, and career development in the contemporary era is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. This study aimed at finding the patterns and attractors that contribute to successful careers in TESOL from the perspectives of graduates. Data were collected through a comprehensive survey of international and Canadian TESOL certificate graduates at a mid-size university in British Columbia and through interviews with several of the graduates. The results were analysed through the lens of the forms of capital (Bourdieu, 1986) and chaos (Bright & Pryor, 2005) theories. The results indicated a significant diversity of TESOL employment and the varied effectiveness of factors in career development amongst participants. Graduates experienced challenges in terms of their TESOL skills and their job search skills, with both being impacted by the forms of capital they held in the TESOL profession. While TESOL students and early career TESOL professionals need to be more prepared for the complexity and unpredictability of TESOL careers by continuously improving their forms of capital, TESOL teacher educators, TESOL program administrators, and TESOL professional organizations should take the diverse needs of students with different backgrounds into consideration and provide long-term career support to build a robust TESOL community.
Descriptors: English (Second Language), English Teachers, Teacher Attitudes, Career Development, Teacher Certification, Graduates, Foreign Countries, Job Search Methods, Education Work Relationship, Labor Market, Career Readiness, Cultural Capital, Personality Traits, Skill Development, Career Planning, Employment, Teaching Experience
Association of BC Teachers of English as an Additional Language. #206 - 640 West Broadway, Vancouver BC, V5Z 1G4, Canada. Tel: 604-736-6330; Fax: 604-736-6303; e-mail: admin@bcteal.org; Web site: https://ojs-o.library.ubc.ca/index.php/BCTJ
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A