In-service English language teacher-researchers’ ideologies, realities, and practices concerning qualitative research

Abstract

This article explores the ideologies, realities, and practices of six English language teacher-researchers concerning research. The participants of this study are all Colombian in-service teachers who currently work at different local schools and universities and had formerly participated as guests in a set of educational podcasts about qualitative research. The data collection instruments comprised individual interviews from the podcast episodes and reflective questionnaires inquiring about the participants’ experiences as researchers. The findings illustrate how the teacher-researchers struggled to understand qualitative research beyond the scientific method at the beginning of their academic lives. However, after experiencing qualitative research, teacher-researchers transformed how they conducted qualitative research and the way they viewed doing qualitative research in ELT and education. Consequently, the teacher-researchers acknowledge qualitative research as a social practice that can lead to comprehending and transforming the communities involved. We conclude that the influence of scientific method-oriented epistemologies on qualitative research in ELT underscores the need for a more critical stance, advocating for research that unveils societal injustices and inequalities. By embracing a broader vision of research, particularly in undergraduate programs, teacher-researchers can cultivate a pragmatic perspective that empowers pre-service and in-service teachers alike to contribute meaningfully to their communities through research. This entails deconstructing traditional ideologies and promoting research practices that enrich classroom teaching and foster social impact, thereby transforming teachers into active agents of change within their contexts.