Becoming an academic researcher teacher: A narrative inquiry into EFL instructors' multiple role transitions during their PhD journey

Date

2023-4-13

Author

Tanrıverdi Köksal, Fatma

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This narrative inquiry aims at exploring the experience of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors’ becoming academic researchers during their PhD journey in Türkiye. Thus, this dissertation specifically scrutinized five instructors’ practices and beliefs regarding “working the dialectic” and the opportunities and challenges they face in their multiple role transitions and in the process of their becoming academic researcher teachers (ART) during their PhD. With this aim, several data sources were utilized: (a) two rounds of semi-structured interviews with the participants and one with their family members or colleagues, and (b) other sources of information (instant voice messages, social media presence analysis, researcher’s history with the participants) that helped the elaboration of the topic. The data were analyzed adopting narrative inquiry and multiphase content analysis. The findings revealed that there are several challenges that affect the management of multiple roles, and the existence of support mechanisms helps the EFL instructors cope with the challenges they face. It was observed that they utilize some coping mechanisms to function properly in all the roles they were cast in, and they enact agency during their multiple role practices, especially for teaching and research practices through which nomadic identity (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987) practices could be explored. Regarding academic research practices, it was found that there are different professional identity spaces available for or hoped by the participants. This study offers implications for EFL instructors planning to pursue a PhD assuming multiple roles, language schools at universities, PhD programs, and the research community.

Subject Keywords

Academic Researcher Teacher Identity, Teacher as Researcher, Teacher Agency, Doctoral Education, Nomadic Identity

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/102786

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis