Qualitative research
Shahla Roshani Ghaleh Sheikhi; Ali Mohammad Mohammadi; Hooshang Yazdani
Abstract
Meaningful work, a personally significant, purpose-driven construct, plays a pivotal role in education, where faculty dedication directly influences student success. This qualitative study employed grounded theory to explore the experiences of EFL faculty and develop a paradigm model of meaningful work. ...
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Meaningful work, a personally significant, purpose-driven construct, plays a pivotal role in education, where faculty dedication directly influences student success. This qualitative study employed grounded theory to explore the experiences of EFL faculty and develop a paradigm model of meaningful work. The study utilized semi-structured interviews to collect data from 19 participants, selected through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis, and theoretical saturation was achieved, ensuring the comprehensiveness of the analysis. This indicated that no new themes or insights surfaced, confirming the depth and rigor of the findings. The analysis revealed that meaningful work emerged as the central phenomenon, shaped by a dynamic interplay of factors. These included causal conditions (e.g., personal attributes, professional identity), contextual factors (e.g., organizational culture, workplace climate, resource availability), and intervening factors (e.g., job demands, personal issues, bureaucratic issues, and student issues). The faculty employed job-crafting strategies to enhance the meaningfulness of their work, which led to positive outcomes for students, teachers, and the organization. The resulting paradigm model presents a multifaceted framework, emphasizing the essential role of supportive environments that align closely with faculty values and principles. The study underscores the necessity of addressing causal, contextual, and intervening factors to cultivate meaningful work effectively. These findings have significant implications for faculty development programs, highlighting the importance of creating environments that reflect faculty values. By fostering meaningful work, institutions can better support faculty in their roles, ultimately benefiting both educators and students.
Saeede Esmaeeli; Hooshang Yazdani
Abstract
Developing Techniques to Improve L2 Learning Motivation and Willingness to Communicate through Utilizing Johari Window Model in Foreign Language ContextsAbstractThis study deciphered whether increasing learners’ L2 self-awareness using ‘Johari Window Model’ (JWM) as a self-regulatory ...
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Developing Techniques to Improve L2 Learning Motivation and Willingness to Communicate through Utilizing Johari Window Model in Foreign Language ContextsAbstractThis study deciphered whether increasing learners’ L2 self-awareness using ‘Johari Window Model’ (JWM) as a self-regulatory model ended in higher levels of motivation and WTC. It also argued that learners’ L2 Possible Selves, through guided imagery and vision-building treatments, promote their L2 motivation and Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in the Iranian English language learning environment. Fifty-eight L2 learners, homogenized at the intermediate level, from both genders and with an average age of 22, were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. They were Persian-speaking university students majoring in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and Translation Studies (TS). Researchers initially established different arenas of JWM for each L2 learner based on their answers to the pretest, L2 Possible selves, and WTC questionnaires and using their narrative writings on pre-planned scenarios. In 12 weeks-intervention and via semi-scripted interviews, researchers utilized guided visualization to train learners to use their L2 self-awareness via JWM protocols to increase their L2MSS and WTC. Two questionnaires were re-administered after the intervention as a post-test to see the significant effects of treatment. Findings of descriptive statistics revealed that the treatment had significant positive impacts on L2 learners’ ideal self, learning experience, self-awareness, and WTC, but not on ought-to self. The implications show avenues for studies on L2 learners’ self-awareness and motivation and suggest the uses of JWM as a guideline in teacher training courses.Keywords: Johari Window Model, L2 motivational Self-system, L2 self-awareness, vision, Willingness to Communicate
sima poulaki; Hamid Reza Dowlatabadi; Moussa Ahmadian; Houshang Yazdani
Abstract
This study aimed to illuminate the diagnostic potential of the interactionist dynamic assessment (DA) to identify the candidates’ academic reading difficulties on the IELTS Reading test. Furthermore, DA and its interactive environment seem to provide an opportunity to diagnose the possible linguistic ...
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This study aimed to illuminate the diagnostic potential of the interactionist dynamic assessment (DA) to identify the candidates’ academic reading difficulties on the IELTS Reading test. Furthermore, DA and its interactive environment seem to provide an opportunity to diagnose the possible linguistic and cognitive roots of the academic second language (SL) reading difficulties that the modest user IELTS candidates faced. In so doing, three participants whose scores in the academic IELTS reading sub-score were 5/5on a scale of 1-9 were recruited to participate in this study. The data were collected through observation and interaction based on DA principals through 36 individualized sessions (12 sessions for each participant). In each session, they were assigned to answer 13-14 academic reading comprehension questions independently and then the mediator and the learners collaboratively reviewed the questions answered in the first stage. The feedback types offered deliberately ranged from very implicit to very explicit. The interactions were video recorded, transcribed word-by-word, and investigated. The findings indicated participants' difficulties in locating specific information, interpretation of words or phrases in the text, understanding the key ideas in a paragraph level, inference making, and interpretation of the writer's intention and viewpoint. From diagnostic standpoint, it is recommended that the interactionist DA be used as an independent or complementary diagnostic tool in order to diagnose academic reading difficulties and their linguistic and cognitive roots.
