Exploring research-informed practice in English for academic purposes: A narrative study

Abstract

Despite recent discussions about the involvement of English for academic purposes (EAP) teachers in research practices, very little is known about how they themselves view and experience this matter. Thus, the present study was designed to explore the current state of Iranian EAP teachers' research reading and doing practices as well as the research trajectories they have followed during their EAP teaching careers. Data were gathered through narrative frames given to 97 teachers and in-depth narrative interviews with 6 teachers. Findings indicated different profiles of research engagement and also pointed to several personal and institutional barriers that limit this activity. Among the salient personal obstacles was teachers' conviction that EAP is not a priority research area. Apart from this, little available time to read and/or conduct EAP research as well as issues of access to EAP research were among the institutional barriers. Also revealed in the interviews were the micro-politics of the institutions with regard to EAP research and practice whose interplay with EAP teachers' different disciplinary backgrounds gave rise to distinctive research trajectories in terms of ‘commitment’, ‘compliance’, and ‘disengagement’ responses. Implications for institutional policy making and teacher education programs are presented.