Between multilingual ideals and exam realities: Spanish teachers’ belief profiles in Chinese secondary education

This study analyzes how secondary school teachers of Spanish as a language other than English (LOTE) in China conceptualize multilingualism, and how their beliefs are shaped by institutional and assessment contexts. Using Q methodology and think-aloud data, three distinct belief profiles were identified: Support-Seeking Strategists, Exam-Oriented Pragmatists, and Cognitive-Asset Integrators. These profiles reflect differing views on multilingualism, particularly regarding perceived resource dependence, the role of LOTEs within exam-oriented systems, and the value of cross-linguistic transfer. Findings indicate that multilingual beliefs are closely linked to meso-level contextual factors, including curriculum goals, resource distribution, and high-stakes assessment pressures. Tensions between teachers’ ideal selves and ought-to selves were evident, especially under exam-driven constraints. The study contributes to research on multilingual teacher education by illustrating how belief formation is shaped by institutional ecologies. Implications are discussed for LOTE policy, assessment reform, and bottom-up approaches to multilingual teacher development in exam-dominated educational systems.