Teacher Agency in Adapting to Online Teaching during COVID-19: A Case Study on Teachers of Chinese as an Additional Language in Macau

The COVID-19 university closure forced a rapid transition and adaptation to online teaching. This paper reports on a case study that examined teacher agency in response to online teaching from February to September 2020. In the study we collected multiple data from three teachers of Chinese as an additional language, including semi-structured interviews, institutional documents, and field notes, to investigate their exercise of agency in adapting to online teaching. The analysis revealed that the participants displayed strong agency to build digital competence and develop student-centered pedagogy at different stages. At the same time, the shift to online from classroom-based teaching allowed them an opportunity to transform existing practices and seek innovative pedagogy, such as a hybrid model blending asynchronous and synchronous online teaching. This study also suggests the influence of flexible and collaborative institutional culture and teacher professional digital competence in shaping the participants' agency in addressing the diverse challenges of online teaching. These findings offer insights into the value of an agency-oriented approach to professional learning and development in educational change. Educational stakeholders should pay more attention to the dynamic interaction between educational institutional systems and teacher agentic practice.