Abstract
Developing research performance has become an important theme in Iranian higher educational institutions as other national and international academic institutions across the world. However, the research performance of Iranian Teaching English as a Foreign Language postgraduate candidates has been argued to be limited. In order to increase their research productivity and develop their capacity in this regard, the first critical step is to understand the influences which are associated with their academic research performance. This qualitative study focuses on a group of TEFL postgraduate candidates from five major Iranian universities with the purpose of investigating the motivational influences in conducting research, their perception of research value, and their understanding of research environment which is required for research productivity. Interviews were conducted with 20 candidates from the sample universities. It was revealed that the research related activities and efforts of the participants were driven by both external and internal needs and motivations. A multi-dimensional value was accorded to research; however, the academic research environment and requirements were the subject of various concerns. The results of this study offer several future implications for departmental and institutional research administrators to further support TEFL postgraduate candidates’ research development.
Highlights
BackgroundResearch is generally accepted as one of the most prominent sources of generation of knowledge, which enjoys an important status in increasing national and international success in the present era which is mainly based on knowledge (Abbott & Doucouliagos, 2004) and it is one of the core principles of innovative fields such as TEFL
This qualitative study focuses on a group of TEFL postgraduate candidates from five major Iranian universities with the purpose of investigating the motivational influences in conducting research, their perception of research value, and their understanding of research environment which is required for research productivity
To sum up the instructional research environment, the findings indicate that TEFL postgraduate candidates felt that they were considerably on their own to go through the whole process in composing research papers and were dealing with a great amount of pressure on their research performance
Summary
BackgroundResearch is generally accepted as one of the most prominent sources of generation of knowledge, which enjoys an important status in increasing national and international success in the present era which is mainly based on knowledge (Abbott & Doucouliagos, 2004) and it is one of the core principles of innovative fields such as TEFL. There are few empirical studies which have examined the perceptions of professionals of TEFL related to research, and the extent to which they are engaged in research in practice (Borg, 2009). In contrast with Western countries, a few studies have investigated TEFL instructors’ and academics’ perceptions and research engagement in the Eastern countries and Asia. Reviewing the literature, Hiep (2006) examined research culture of TEFL academics in Vietnam’s institutions through a qualitative methodology. He found out that Vietnamese TEFL academics held a positive view toward research as part of their academic their academic courses and a means of reflection of the classroom practices
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