Document Type
Article
Version Deposited
Accepted for publication (PostPrint)
Publication Date
1-2024
Publication Title
portal: Libraries and the Academy
Abstract
This article reports on findings of an online survey on academic instruction librarians’ conceptions and experiences of teacher agency in the context of their instruction work and, more specifically, on their affective orientations (positive, ambivalent, or negative emotions and feelings) toward teacher agency. Two key dimensions of participants’ conceptions of teacher agency are evident throughout this analysis: 1) views of teacher agency as an individual experience of autonomy (individual agency) and/or views of it as more relational and interactive (and thus potentially collective), and 2) beliefs about the feasibility of librarians’ teacher agency, given librarians’ roles and positions as educators. Participants generally expressed positive affect when they felt they were independently in control of their teaching (individual agency), or when they described reciprocal and collaborative relationships with faculty (potentially collective agency). Participants expressed negative affect about experiences of lacking teacher agency. Almost all participants expressed 1) a desire to experience meaning and purpose in teaching and 2) a sensitivity to the highly relational nature of librarians’ instructional work. Finally, the author discusses potential implications for academic instruction librarians’ teaching practices, professional development, and work environments.
Recommended Citation
Baer, A. (2024). Academic Instruction Librarians’ Conceptions of Teacher Agency and Affective Orientations toward the Concept. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 24(1), 105-135.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
