Teacher-Researcher Autonomy of Chinese EFL Academics: An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

This study aims to deductively-inductively derive the conceptual and measurement models of teacher-researcher autonomy among Chinese university teachers teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) using an exploratory sequential mixed methods design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight Chinese EFL teachers at university level, and the data was subjected to qualitative content analysis. Based on the extracted themes and categories, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 302 Chinese EFL teachers at university level, and confirmatory factor analysis and a Pearson correlation test were applied to the data. The results suggest that the models, with good validity and reliability, fully captured the three interrelated dimensions of teacher-researcher autonomy, i.e., willingness, capacity, and freedom to take control of one’s research independently and/or collaboratively. In addition, the findings portray Chinese EFL academics as not being satisfied with their capacity and freedom to take control of their research, despite their relatively high willingness to conduct research independently and lead collaborative research. The implications of the findings for universities, teachers, research training programs, journals, and government and funders are presented.