Middle School English Teachers’ Professional Development Under The Perspective Of Educational Ecology

With the development of the society, the professionalization of teachers is getting more significant. English is a special subject and there is special demanding for English teachers. English teachers have to keep pace with the time and tide as the language is always developing. So the professional development of middle school English teachers has become a heated issue. Ganzhou city is a less developed territory in China. Limited by the current education system, middle school English teachers in Ganzhou are burden with pressure of entrance examination and heavy workload, having little time or energy for personal professional development. Middle school English teachers in Ganzhou are lack of teaching research, reflective teaching, and opportunities for training and financial support from schools. The professional development of English teachers relies largely on individuals’ self-consciousness, being short of system guarantee. During the process of professional development, middle school English teachers in Ganzhou are isolated not cooperative. The building of teacher community or peer observation groups still has a long way to go. It is no denying that the professional development for middle school English teachers in Ganzhou is facing many problems.Educational ecology is a science which employs ecological principles and methods to study the educational phenomenon. Its main ideas and theories, such as the concept of ecosystem, ecological niche principle, and eco-balance, can provide new vision and insight to educational issues. Educational ecology can provide theoretical guidance for the professional development of teachers. The combination of educational ecology and teacher education can surely guarantee the sustainable development of teachers, including English teachers in Ganzhou.The study of this thesis includes three research questions: 1, What is the present situation of the professional development of middle school English teachers from the core section of Ganzhou city? 2, What are the main features of middle school English teachers’ professional development according to the ideas of educational ecology? 3, What are proper ways for middle school English teachers’ professional development in Ganzhou from the perspective of educational ecology to maintain sustainable development? Guided by the theory of educational ecology, this thesis takes 93 middle school English teachers in 3 key middle schools in Ganzhou as subjects. It tries to look into the professional development of English teachers in the core section of Ganzhou city. Questionnaires and interviews through telephone, internet, or face-to-face meetings are the main approach applied.A large amount of data was collected and carefully analyzed by using SPSS18.0. The result shows:The professional development for middle school English teachers in Ganzhou is integrated development; the development can’t do without proper circumstance and guarantee system; the ways for development should be diversified, focusing on communication and cooperation. Only those ways for professional development such as development in reflection, development in research, development through study and development in cooperation, which follow the law of educational ecology, are sure to maintain long-term and sustainable professional development for middle school English teachers.