Research practice and professional development for university teaching of English: A qualitative study

Masoud Rahimi, Nouroddin Yousofi and Shahab Moradkhani
Razi University, Iran

As part of a large-scale study, the present study explored the impact of research practice on professional development for English language teaching (ELT) in higher education. To this end, 10 masters students, 10 doctoral students and 10 university professors in ELT in different high-ranking state universities in Iran participated in the study. A narrative frame was first used to collect data about the participants' research practice in higher education. Subsequently, a semi-structured interview was conducted with the participants individually to triangulate the results of the narratives and yield more profound insights into the participants' research impact in ELT higher education. Grounded theory, used to analyse the data, uncovered a number of themes and categories addressing the impact of research on professional development in higher education for masters and doctoral students and university professors. A number of themes were uncovered for the following generated categories: growth of knowledge and skills in ELT, positive impact on professional teaching practice and qualifications. Implications and recommendations are provided for research practice in higher education.
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Authors: Masoud Rahimi did his PhD in Applied Linguistics at Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran from 22 September 2016 to 13 March 2019. His research focuses on L2 research practice, L2 teacher education and teaching language skills. He has published extensively in international journals, such as Research Papers in Education, Thinking Skills and Creativity, Computer Assisted Language Learning and Issues in Educational Research. He has also presented extensively in both international and national conferences. Email: rahimimasoud87@gmail.com, rahimi.tefl@yahoo.com Web: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0684-2087 Nouroddin Yousofi is an assistant professor in Applied Linguistics at Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. His main research interests include language teaching and translation. He has published research articles in his areas of interest in local and international journals. Email: nyousofi@yahoo.com Shahab Moradkhani is an assistant professor in Applied Linguistics at Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. His main research interests include L2 teacher education and teaching language skills. He has published and presented research articles in his areas of interest in local and international journals. Email: moradkhani.shahab@gmail.com Please cite as: Rahimi, M., Yousofi, N. & Moradkhani, S. (2019). Research practice and professional development for university teaching of English: A qualitative study. Issues in Educational Research, 29(4), 1295-1312. http://www.iier.org.au/iier29/rahimi.pdf