Exploring Generational Differences in Teachers’ Beliefs about Action Research

Rahmani Doqaruni, Vahid; Mavaddat Kakhki, Ali; Zahedi Moghaddam, Sajjad; Senobari Shahri, Mehrane

doi:10.22077/ali.2026.10219.1210

Exploring Generational Differences in Teachers’ Beliefs about Action Research

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Vahid Rahmani Doqaruni ¹

Ali Mavaddat Kakhki ²

Sajjad Zahedi Moghaddam ³

Mehrane Senobari Shahri ¹

¹ Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, University of Gonabad, Gonabad, Iran

² Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran

³ Department of English, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

10.22077/ali.2026.10219.1210

Abstract

Despite the importance of action research (AR) in second/foreign language (L2) teacher education, the intersection of generational identity and teachers’ beliefs about AR remains underexplored. Thus, this study aims to investigate whether the generation of the teacher has a significant effect on their beliefs about AR. The present study used the Inventory on Teachers' Beliefs about Action Research (ITBAR) to collect data. 240 Iranian EFL teachers out of 424 completed questionnaires were randomly assigned to three equal teacher generation groups (each group consisted of 80 teachers), namely Generation X (ages 45-60), Generation Y (ages 29-44), and Generation Z (ages 13-28). The findings revealed that teachers from Generation Y had the most positive attitude towards AR followed by Generation Z, with Generation X having the least favorable attitudes. These findings support the generational theory which posits that historical, social, and technological experiences common to a given cohort profoundly influence their worldview.

Keywords

Generational Differences

Teachers’ Beliefs

Action Research

Generational Theory