A narrative study of Iranian EFL teachers’ experiences of doing action research
The present narrative study examined the purposes that language teachers pursue in their research studies. The study also explored the opportunities and challenges that teachers experience while doing action research. Data were collected through a survey of narrative frames among 68 teachers, refl...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Urmia University
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.urmia.ac.ir/sites/www.urmia.ac.ir/files/6.pdf |
| _version_ | 1828878254865383424 |
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| author | Mehdi B. Mehrani |
| author_facet | Mehdi B. Mehrani |
| author_sort | Mehdi B. Mehrani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The present narrative study examined the purposes that language teachers pursue in their research
studies. The study also explored the opportunities and challenges that teachers experience while doing
action research. Data were collected through a survey of narrative frames among 68 teachers, reflective
essays written by 9 teachers and individual interviews with 12 other teachers. Analyzing the content of
the data and sorting out the main themes showed that teachers are mainly concerned with practical
aspects of their profession such as developing their teaching skills and improving students’ knowledge
in particular language areas. In addition, teachers believe that action research broadens their
understanding of language education, provides them with a framework for reflecting on their practice,
empowers them to play more important roles in educational systems and heightens their awareness of
students’ needs. The findings also point to teachers’ consensus that their time limitations, their lack of
specialized knowledge of research, administrative restrictions and lack of collaboration are among the
main challenges they experience when undertaking action research. The study concludes with the
discussion of the broader implications of the study for promoting action research in language teaching
profession. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T09:02:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5671e69ee714c9ea4495d11937bd1d9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2322-1291 2322-1291 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T09:02:01Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Urmia University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5671e69ee714c9ea4495d11937bd1d92022-12-21T23:53:08ZengUrmia UniversityIranian Journal of Language Teaching Research2322-12912322-12912017-01-015193112A narrative study of Iranian EFL teachers’ experiences of doing action researchMehdi B. Mehrani0University of NeyshaburThe present narrative study examined the purposes that language teachers pursue in their research studies. The study also explored the opportunities and challenges that teachers experience while doing action research. Data were collected through a survey of narrative frames among 68 teachers, reflective essays written by 9 teachers and individual interviews with 12 other teachers. Analyzing the content of the data and sorting out the main themes showed that teachers are mainly concerned with practical aspects of their profession such as developing their teaching skills and improving students’ knowledge in particular language areas. In addition, teachers believe that action research broadens their understanding of language education, provides them with a framework for reflecting on their practice, empowers them to play more important roles in educational systems and heightens their awareness of students’ needs. The findings also point to teachers’ consensus that their time limitations, their lack of specialized knowledge of research, administrative restrictions and lack of collaboration are among the main challenges they experience when undertaking action research. The study concludes with the discussion of the broader implications of the study for promoting action research in language teaching profession.http://www.urmia.ac.ir/sites/www.urmia.ac.ir/files/6.pdfaction researchchallengeslanguage teachers' perceptionsopportunitiesteacher education |
| spellingShingle | Mehdi B. Mehrani A narrative study of Iranian EFL teachers’ experiences of doing action research Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research action research challenges language teachers' perceptions opportunities teacher education |
| title | A narrative study of Iranian EFL teachers’ experiences of doing action research |
| title_full | A narrative study of Iranian EFL teachers’ experiences of doing action research |
| title_fullStr | A narrative study of Iranian EFL teachers’ experiences of doing action research |
| title_full_unstemmed | A narrative study of Iranian EFL teachers’ experiences of doing action research |
| title_short | A narrative study of Iranian EFL teachers’ experiences of doing action research |
| title_sort | narrative study of iranian efl teachers experiences of doing action research |
| topic | action research challenges language teachers' perceptions opportunities teacher education |
| url | http://www.urmia.ac.ir/sites/www.urmia.ac.ir/files/6.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mehdibmehrani anarrativestudyofiranianeflteachersexperiencesofdoingactionresearch AT mehdibmehrani narrativestudyofiranianeflteachersexperiencesofdoingactionresearch |