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The Role of Institutional Policy in English Language Teacher Autonomy, Agency, and Identity: A Poststructural Perspective

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Title: The Role of Institutional Policy in English Language Teacher Autonomy, Agency, and Identity: A Poststructural Perspective
Language: English
Authors: Mostafa Nazari (ORCID 0000-0002-1087-126X), Peter I. De Costa, Sedigheh Karimpour (ORCID 0000-0003-0048-3762)
Source: Language Teaching Research. 2026 30(2):885-907.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 23
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Tests/Questionnaires
Descriptors: Professional Autonomy, Language Teachers, English (Second Language), School Policy, Second Language Instruction, Foreign Countries, Professional Identity, Indo European Languages, Native Language, Teacher Attitudes, Power Structure
Geographic Terms: Iran
DOI: 10.1177/13621688221143476
ISSN: 1362-1688
1477-0954
Abstract: Scholarship on language teacher autonomy and agency has demonstrated that both constructs are central components of teacher identity and, hence, teacher performance. However, few studies have examined the role of these constructs in language teacher identity, particularly how power mediates their co-constitutive implications for identity construction. Grounded in a poststructural standpoint, this study reports on how institutional power was a key factor in shaping Iranian English language teachers' autonomy, agency, and identity construction. Drawing on data from narrative frames and semi-structured interviews, we show how institutional power discursively shaped the teachers' professional performance in three major areas: (1) power as a normative impetus; (2) policies as hierarchical forces; and (3) power as weakening the nexus between autonomy and agency. Our findings reveal that in the space between power and practice, the teachers viewed institutional power as discursively constraining their own personalized understandings and performances. However, the teachers considered the overarching discourse that power bore as positive in helping establish systemic organization. The article closes with implications for teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers in establishing context-specific discourses that positively contribute to institutional and teacher growth.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1496720
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: The Role of Institutional Policy in English Language Teacher Autonomy, Agency, and Identity: A Poststructural Perspective
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mostafa+Nazari%22">Mostafa Nazari</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1087-126X">0000-0002-1087-126X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Peter+I%2E+De+Costa%22">Peter I. De Costa</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sedigheh+Karimpour%22">Sedigheh Karimpour</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0048-3762">0000-0003-0048-3762</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Language+Teaching+Research%22"><i>Language Teaching Research</i></searchLink>. 2026 30(2):885-907.
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  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
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  Data: Y
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  Data: 23
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research<br />Tests/Questionnaires
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+Autonomy%22">Professional Autonomy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Teachers%22">Language Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+%28Second+Language%29%22">English (Second Language)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Policy%22">School Policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Second+Language+Instruction%22">Second Language Instruction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+Identity%22">Professional Identity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Indo+European+Languages%22">Indo European Languages</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Native+Language%22">Native Language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Attitudes%22">Teacher Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Power+Structure%22">Power Structure</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Iran%22">Iran</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1177/13621688221143476
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  Data: 1362-1688<br />1477-0954
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Scholarship on language teacher autonomy and agency has demonstrated that both constructs are central components of teacher identity and, hence, teacher performance. However, few studies have examined the role of these constructs in language teacher identity, particularly how power mediates their co-constitutive implications for identity construction. Grounded in a poststructural standpoint, this study reports on how institutional power was a key factor in shaping Iranian English language teachers' autonomy, agency, and identity construction. Drawing on data from narrative frames and semi-structured interviews, we show how institutional power discursively shaped the teachers' professional performance in three major areas: (1) power as a normative impetus; (2) policies as hierarchical forces; and (3) power as weakening the nexus between autonomy and agency. Our findings reveal that in the space between power and practice, the teachers viewed institutional power as discursively constraining their own personalized understandings and performances. However, the teachers considered the overarching discourse that power bore as positive in helping establish systemic organization. The article closes with implications for teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers in establishing context-specific discourses that positively contribute to institutional and teacher growth.
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        Value: 10.1177/13621688221143476
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      – SubjectFull: Language Teachers
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      – SubjectFull: English (Second Language)
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      – SubjectFull: Professional Identity
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      – SubjectFull: Indo European Languages
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      – SubjectFull: Native Language
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      – SubjectFull: Teacher Attitudes
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      – SubjectFull: Power Structure
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      – SubjectFull: Iran
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