Globalizing teacher education through English as a medium of instruction: a Vygotskian perspective

Extant research on teacher education has established that context plays an important role in shaping teacher learning and practice. However, a challenge to teacher education research remains the theorization of context and how context shapes practice. It is compounded when the contemporary educational context worldwide is penetrated by globalization, as educational contexts extend beyond geographical boundaries, and educational activities are shaped simultaneously in the intertwined global, national, and local contextual spheres. Propelled by the dominance of English as a lingua franca, globalization is manifest in the adoption of English-as-a-medium-of-instruction in education in non-native English-speaking countries at various levels, from primary to higher education. This phenomenon presents additional challenges for research in capturing the complexity of globalized contexts and how globalization shapes teacher practice. Drawing on Vygotskian sociocultural activity theory and globalization theory, this chapter argues for a novel conceptual approach to theorizing globalized contexts within teacher education and understanding globally affected education practices and teachers’ professional development. It then illustrates how this framework enables a systemic analysis of data to examine the effects of globalization on teacher practice, and its implications for teacher education and teacher education research in contemporary times.