Important but Challenging: Chinese In-Service EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Teachers’ Research Attitudes in a Graduate Program

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: From Curriculum Textbooks to Morning Circles: Research on English Language Teaching Across the Globe (Table 41)

Abstract

In recent decades, the practice of involving teachers in research in degree programs is becoming popular. Yet, little is known about the impact of research experiences on teachers’ behavior: whether research experiences change their teaching practices and lead to further research efforts in future careers, especially in the unique social, cultural, and educational culture of China. Thus, this study examines Chinese IETs’ (in-service EFL teachers’) research attitudes in a graduate program with a reasoned action approach. We used an embedded mixed methods research design to investigate a cohort of 197 IETs who completed the Research Attitudes in Vocational Education Questionnaire (RAVE-Q). This study questioned the previous assumptions that positive research attitudes lead to corresponding research behaviors.

Author

• Lei Chen, Shaanxi Normal University