“As the Twig is bent, so is the Tree Inclined” : Research engagement among pre-service EFL teachers

Savasci, Merve and Rets, Irina (2021) “As the Twig is bent, so is the Tree Inclined” : Research engagement among pre-service EFL teachers. The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 11 (2): 8. pp. 114-137.

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Abstract

Teacher research tends to have a low uptake among teachers, which might be due to the fact that they are not generally identified with the role of the teacher as a researcher in initial teacher education programs. Also, as there is little research on the effects of research introduction courses on pre-service teachers, this descriptive study explored pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ attitudes towards research engagement and the benefits and difficulties they experienced throughout this process. To this end, pre-service EFL teachers (N= 32) from a state university in Turkey, who took a course on research engagement, participated in this study. This study adopted a mixed-methods research design: We triangulated quantitative survey data with the qualitative data elicited through an open-ended survey and semi-structured focus-group interviews. The findings described pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards research from self-efficacious, behavioural, cognitive, and affective perspectives, as well as elicited the perceived benefits and challenges from participants’ responses. Overall, we found that participants developed positive views towards research as part of the course and they felt more self-efficacious and overcame their research anxiety. At the same time, our study also showed that while most participants found the research methodology course important, less than one third of them planned to conduct research when they become in-service teachers. The study concludes by discussing the implications for initial teacher education programs.