A social network analysis of collective agency in achieving the teaching-research nexus

Prior works have examined teaching-informed research and research-informed teaching practices, causing unidirectional transfers of knowledge between the two domains. They have also highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts and teacher agency, proving the potential of language teachers to achieve the teaching-research nexus by exercising agency collectively. Taking an ecological perspective, this study focuses on a team of 14 academics teaching and researching different languages at a Chinese university, examining their collective agency in pursuit of the teaching-research nexus. By adopting mixed-method social network analysis design, this study collected questionnaires, interviews, and artefacts to understand the collective agency among the team as a whole as well as between members. The results reveal a well-connected network full of different types of local ties through which the participants exercised collective agency in undertaking teaching-informed research and research-informed teaching, which were closely related to their collective agency in the management of transnational networks. The study goes beyond viewing collective agency as merely people working together; it uncovers the exercise of collective agency in achieving the teaching-research nexus at the collective and local level which were embedded in the network dynamics. The findings have important implications for enhancing the collective agency of holistic L2 professionals in pursuit of the integration of teaching and research.