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Strategic Conformity as Learning: The Socialisation of First-Year Novice EFL Teachers in China

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Title: Strategic Conformity as Learning: The Socialisation of First-Year Novice EFL Teachers in China
Language: English
Authors: Rui Chen, Hao Xu (ORCID 0000-0002-6507-4436)
Source: European Journal of Education. 2026 61(2).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Beginning Teachers, Social Behavior, Socialization, English (Second Language), Language Teachers, Second Language Instruction, Foreign Countries, Teacher Behavior, Teacher Attitudes, Behavior Standards, Faculty Development, Educational Environment
Geographic Terms: China
DOI: 10.1111/ejed.70593
ISSN: 0141-8211
1465-3435
Abstract: Teacher socialisation becomes a critical site of professional learning in China's educational contexts, marked by rigid accountability and rooted institutional norms. This study explores how first-year EFL teachers in China navigate the tensions between personal perspectives and institutional norms, drawing on the concept of "strategic conformity." A qualitative study design was adopted, with three first-year EFL teachers in China involved as participants. Data were collected through individual interviews and triangulated with participants' social media posts and personal logs. Findings reveal that participants manifested strategic conformity as learning during first-year socialisation. Rather than complying uniformly, they selectively integrated school norms to ease tensions, while agentically resisting practices incompatible with their pedagogical values. This dialectical process highlights socialisation not as passive assimilation, but as dynamic negotiation, where strategic conformity serves as an agentic means for novice teachers to navigate conflicting and challenging landscapes and mediate their professional growth.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1507032
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Strategic Conformity as Learning: The Socialisation of First-Year Novice EFL Teachers in China
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rui+Chen%22">Rui Chen</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hao+Xu%22">Hao Xu</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6507-4436">0000-0002-6507-4436</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22European+Journal+of+Education%22"><i>European Journal of Education</i></searchLink>. 2026 61(2).
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Beginning+Teachers%22">Beginning Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Behavior%22">Social Behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Socialization%22">Socialization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+%28Second+Language%29%22">English (Second Language)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Teachers%22">Language Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Second+Language+Instruction%22">Second Language Instruction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Behavior%22">Teacher Behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Attitudes%22">Teacher Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Behavior+Standards%22">Behavior Standards</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Faculty+Development%22">Faculty Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Environment%22">Educational Environment</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22China%22">China</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1111/ejed.70593
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Teacher socialisation becomes a critical site of professional learning in China's educational contexts, marked by rigid accountability and rooted institutional norms. This study explores how first-year EFL teachers in China navigate the tensions between personal perspectives and institutional norms, drawing on the concept of "strategic conformity." A qualitative study design was adopted, with three first-year EFL teachers in China involved as participants. Data were collected through individual interviews and triangulated with participants' social media posts and personal logs. Findings reveal that participants manifested strategic conformity as learning during first-year socialisation. Rather than complying uniformly, they selectively integrated school norms to ease tensions, while agentically resisting practices incompatible with their pedagogical values. This dialectical process highlights socialisation not as passive assimilation, but as dynamic negotiation, where strategic conformity serves as an agentic means for novice teachers to navigate conflicting and challenging landscapes and mediate their professional growth.
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      – SubjectFull: Social Behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Teacher Behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Behavior Standards
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