Teacher Agency in Response to the “Double-Reduction” Policy in China: A Realist Social Theory Perspective

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 3:35 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Agency as a Compass (Table 7)

Abstract

This qualitative case study investigates how teachers exercise their agency in response to the “Double Reduction” policy in China through Archer’s realist social theory. Although the policy aims to reduce academic burdens, the high-stakes exam system persists, influencing teacher performance evaluations and increasing workloads. While accountability pressure may induce emotional strain among teachers, they still uphold their moral commitment to students. Teachers’ responses to the policy are multifaceted, individualized, and dynamic, making it challenging to classify these responses into distinct categories like compliance or resistance. The relationship between their different concerns is intricate and nuanced, transcending Archer’s simplistic approach of prioritizing, and is mainly manifested in three trends: irreconcilable, mutually blended, and coexisting in stages.

Authors

• Yuchen WU, Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Huan Song, Beijing Normal University