Vahid Bahrami

Abstract
Despite the recent theoretical and empirical interest in understanding teachers’ motivation to conduct research, there is an absence of an appropriate quantitative instrument to measure it. Thus, drawing on an argument-based approach to validation, Deemer, Martens, and Buboltz’s (2010) Research Motivation Scale (RMS) was adapted and a network of empirical evidence was established in 2 separate studies with 202 and 201 Iranian school English teachers (SETs) to construct such an… Show more

Abstract
Despite the recent theoretical and empirical interest in understanding teachers’ motivation to conduct research, there is an absence of an appropriate quantitative instrument to measure it. Thus, drawing on an argument-based approach to validation, Deemer, Martens, and Buboltz’s (2010) Research Motivation Scale (RMS) was adapted and a network of empirical evidence was established in 2 separate studies with 202 and 201 Iranian school English teachers (SETs) to construct such an instrument. We interpreted our findings across 4 inferences (i.e., target domain, scoring, generalization, and extrapolation), judging if the evidence supported our proposed interpretation of the scores. The overall process resulted in the 22-item Teacher Research Motivation Scale (TRMS) with 3 dimensions, namely Intrinsic Research Motivation (IRM), Extrinsic Research Motivation (ERM), and Research Failure Avoidance (RFA), offering preliminary support for the interpretation of the TRMS scores as a measure of Iranian SETs’ motivation to conduct research. Potential implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. Show less

Abstract
Despite recent discussions about the involvement of English for academic purposes (EAP) teachers in research practices, very little is known about how they themselves view and experience this matter. Thus, the present study was designed to explore the current state of Iranian EAP teachers' research reading and doing practices as well as the research trajectories they have followed during their EAP teaching careers. Data were gathered through narrative frames given to 97 teachers and… Show more

Abstract
Despite recent discussions about the involvement of English for academic purposes (EAP) teachers in research practices, very little is known about how they themselves view and experience this matter. Thus, the present study was designed to explore the current state of Iranian EAP teachers' research reading and doing practices as well as the research trajectories they have followed during their EAP teaching careers. Data were gathered through narrative frames given to 97 teachers and in-depth narrative interviews with 6 teachers. Findings indicated different profiles of research engagement and also pointed to several personal and institutional barriers that limit this activity. Among the salient personal obstacles was teachers' conviction that EAP is not a priority research area. Apart from this, little available time to read and/or conduct EAP research as well as issues of access to EAP research were among the institutional barriers. Also revealed in the interviews were the micro-politics of the institutions with regard to EAP research and practice whose interplay with EAP teachers' different disciplinary backgrounds gave rise to distinctive research trajectories in terms of ‘commitment’, ‘compliance’, and ‘disengagement’ responses. Implications for institutional policy making and teacher education programs are presented. Show less