A Qualitative Exploration of Changes in English Language Teachers’Perceptions of Their Agency Through Engaging in Action Research

Oct 15, 2026

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A qualitative study examines how action research engagement programs shape English language teachers’ perceptions of their agency. Ten teachers participated in an action research engagement program, with data gathered through semi-structured interviews and reflective journals. Results show that participation alters teachers’ perceived agency and enables higher levels of agency in classroom practice. Institutional support is identified as crucial for sustaining engagement and developing a stronger sense of agency, with implications for educational managers, teacher educators, and supervisors.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Literature Review

Action Research and Language Teacher Engagement

A Qualitative Exploration of Changes in English Language Teachers’Perceptions of Their Agency Through Engaging in Action Research Khadijeh Aqajani Delavar Mohammad R. Hashemi Mohammad Nabi Karimi Kharazmi University, Iran Abstract: While research on language teachers’ engagement in action research (AR) has received a surge of attention, the influence ofAR programs on English language teacher agency remains under examined. This qualitative study explored how ten English language teachers’perceptions oftheir agency changed as they participated inan action research engagement program (AREP). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and reflective journals. The findings revealed that participation in the AR program changed the teachers’ perceptions oftheir agency and empowered them to enact higher levels of agency in their classroom practice. The study also highlights the important role of institutional support in encouraging teachers to engage in the AREP and develop their sense of agency. It also proposes implications for educational managers, teacher educators, and supervisors to help teachers develop higher levels ofteacher researcher agency by providing opportunities to foster engagement in theAREP. Introduction Since the early use of the term in the 1940s by Kert Lewin, action research (henceforth, AR) has been situated in various contexts to address social, organizational, and educational problems through “democratic, participative, and reflective” processes (Cordeiro, et al., 2016, p. 396), placing a particular focus on the dynamic engagement of participants to generate knowledge and bring about change (Somekh, 2006) . In language education contexts, AR addresses classroom problems as well as teachers’ and students’ beliefs, reflections, practices, and collaborative efforts. Research has shown that AR can, for example, foster educational change, help teachers develop positive attitudes, and contribute to teacher agency (Ahmad & Shah, 2022; Kayaoglu, 2015; Vu, 2020), thus contributing to the personal and professional development of teachers (e.g., Cabaroglu, 2014; Dikilitaş & Yayli, 2018; Edwards, 2019, 2021; Edwards & Burns, 2016; Nazari, 2021; Sato & Chen, 2021; Yuan & Burns, 2017) . In this regard, AR empowers teachers to achieve agency and enables them to make evidence-based choices about their instruction (Edwards & Burns, 2016). Accordingly, the concept of teachers as agents of change (Bourn, 2016) within educational and social contexts is key to AR, emphasizing teacher agency as a significant aspect of language teachers’ professional growth. Such a conceptualization ofAR aligns with the principles of agency, broadly acknowledged as a language teacher’s capacity to act, embedded within their social contexts (Edwards, 2019; Feryok, 2012) . Considering the significance of agency and AR in language teachers’ professional development, their interconnection can provide deep insights into understanding language teachers’ transformative growth (Dikilitaş & Yaylı, 2018; Edwards, 2019; Nazari, 2021) . AR asan inquiry-based approach is seen as a driving force for language teachers to exercise democratic instructional changes (Banegas & de Castro, 2019; Edwards, 2019) . In this sense, Dikilitaş and Griffiths (2017) posit that AR can equip language teachers “with a sense of agency and ownership to deal with their problems, critical questions, points to improve …, thereby promoting teacher autonomy”(p. 2) . However, the scholarship on how engagement in the AR program can contribute to language teacher agency is limited. The problems that have not yet been fully addressed in the literature on language teacher AR are how active participation in AR programs changes language teachers’ agency and their perceptions of such changes and how it affects their professionalism. Bridging these strands of inquiry can provide helpful insights into how language teachers’ perceptions of a

FAQs

What was the main aim of the study?

The study explored how English language teachers’ perceptions of their agency changed as they engaged in an action research engagement program (AREP).

How did the researchers collect the data?

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and reflective journals from ten English language teachers.

What did the findings reveal about teacher agency?

Participation in the action research program changed teachers’ perceptions of their agency and empowered them to enact higher levels of agency in classroom practice.

Oct 15, 2026

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