From Language Teacher to Educational Manager: Professional Identity and Neoliberalism in Japan's English Education Industry

Abstract

This study examines how a long-term foreign educator in Japan narrates his professional transition from classroom teaching to educational management within the English language education industry. Drawing on a critical narrative case study approach, the study explores how professional legitimacy, educational commodification, and foreignness were experienced and interpreted across a thirty-five-year career. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview and analyzed using thematic analysis within a narrative inquiry framework. Findings revealed a broader professional legitimacy narrative characterized by five interconnected themes: Escaping the ALT Identity, Becoming a Professional, Education as Product, The Foreigner as Commodity, and Belonging Without Membership. Viewed through the lenses of neoliberalism, critical pedagogy, and Bourdieu's theory of capital, the findings suggest that educational work in Japan increasingly intersects with market-oriented priorities while professional legitimacy remains shaped by nationality, institutional recognition, and social belonging. The study contributes to discussions of professional identity, teacher agency, and neoliberalism in English language education.