Cogent Education

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/oaed20

Teacher agency and professional development: A

study on Cambridge English teacher program in
the Arabian Gulf

Hussain Ahmad & Sayyed Rashid Shah |

To cite this article: Hussain Ahmad & Sayyed Rashid Shah | (2022) Teacher agency and
professional development: A study on Cambridge English teacher program in the Arabian Gulf,
Cogent Education, 9:1, 2080352, DOI: 10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

© 2022 The Author(s). This open access

article is distributed under a Creative
Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

Published online: 26 May 2022.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 826

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oaed20
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

TEACHER EDUCATION & DEVELOPMENT | RESEARCH ARTICLE

Received: 17 January 2022
Accepted: 01 May 2022
*Corresponding author: Sayyed
Rashid Shah, College of Education
and Arts, Lusail University, Doha,
Qatar
E-mail: sshah@lu.edu.qa
Reviewing editor:
Lawrence Jun Zhang, Curriculum
and Pedagogy, University of
Auckland Faculty of Education and
Social Work, New Zealand
Additional information is available at
the end of the article
Teacher agency and professional development:
A study on Cambridge English teacher program in
the Arabian Gulf
Hussain Ahmad1 and Sayyed Rashid Shah2*
Abstract: Teacher agency has a powerful influence on teachers’ classroom prac­
tices, student learning outcomes, and other professional undertakings. Although
teacher agency shaping is a core subject of professional development (PD), most in-
service PD initiatives focus on developing teaching knowledge and skills while
enhancing teacher agency. The current study investigates the influence of
Cambridge English Teacher (CET) professional development on EFL teachers’ agency
development in an English Language Institute at a Saudi Arabian public university.
Utilizing retrospective pretest post-test design, a quantitative questionnaire pro­
vides data to understand EFL teachers’ agency development as they participate in
the CET development program. Based on the theoretical framework of the current
study, EFL teacher agency change is characterized by three attributes: teachers’ say
in curriculum and syllabus designing, teachers’ freedom to implement teaching
methods and techniques, and teachers’ autonomy in using supplementary materi­
als. In analysing the PRE and POST data, descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed

ABOUT THE AUTHOR PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

To develop a strong professional identity in the
Arabian Gulf is a challenging phenomenon for
non-native English-speaking language teachers.
Despite having a strong academic background
with western qualifications, EFL teachers often
struggle to shape a strong professional identity
while teaching English language in the Arab
world. Since the authors of the article have been
involved in training EFL teachers in Saudi Arabia,
they investigate various crucial issues related to
teacher professional learning and development
in the EFL context. The findings reported in this
article illustrate the significance of teacher
agency that is integral to teaching and learning
outcomes. They further indicate how
a Cambridge Teacher Development Program
contributes to EFL teachers’ agency. The article
is based on the continued research interest of
the authors who have published several studies
on language teacher identity, teacher leader­
ship, and teacher professional development.
Their current research activities include investi­
gating reflective practices and identity develop­
ment of EFL teacher leaders in the Arabian
Gulf.
These days for many educators, teachers’ pro­
fessional development or professional learning is
a panacea for poor teacher classroom perfor­
mance and low student achievements. On the
one hand, educational leaders rely on teachers’
professional learning to ensure enhancing student
learning outcomes. On the other hand, something
seems to impede teachers’ professional learning
and hamper their ability to use their learning in
achieving the stated goals of improving students’
performance. The heart of the matter is that the
professional learning programs rarely focus on
developing teacher agency. Teacher agency is
defined as teachers’ freedom and capacity to act
purposefully to direct their own professional
growth and contribute actively to the learning of
their students. It is from this background that the
researchers tried to investigate how
a professional learning program developed tea­
cher agency. The findings of this article show that
the program developed some aspects of teacher
agency. Some recommendations for educators
have been given at the end of the paper.

© 2022 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons
Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

Page 1 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

Rank test were employed. The findings show that all three teacher agency attributes
are significantly influenced as a result of the CET development program. However,
regarding the extent to which teacher agency attribute has enhanced, the results
exhibit different degrees of change. The findings suggest that institutionally
imposed professional development is useful for the development of teachers’
agency, provided PD initiatives are cognizant of teachers’ needs and institutional
requirements. The findings of the current study have implications for EFL teachers,
teacher trainers or professional development specialists, and language institutes’
administration.

Subjects: Higher Education; Teaching & Learning; Continuing Professional Development

Keywords: Agency; CET program; EFL teachers; teacher professional development

1. Introduction
In recent times, rapid changes in language teaching practices have led to the transformation of
teacher development processes. Traditionally, language teacher development is characterized by
acquiring externally defined teaching techniques and methodologies (Freeman, 2001), whereas
teachers’ cognition and beliefs are ignored in the process (Freeman, 1989; Imig & Imig, 2006).
While this trend still prevails, more awareness of teacher development and the complex nature of
teacher education have resulted in a shift toward a more critical view of teacher learning
(Abedinia, 2012). This new development considers teachers not mere passive technicians who
consume others’ theories but also theorize from practice and follow their own theories
(Kumaravadivelu, 2003). With this in mind, teacher professional identity over the past decades
has emerged as among the most important factors in relation to teacher learning, which involves
teachers’ cognition, beliefs, philosophies, and methods (Danielewicz, 2001), and has become
a separate research area in teacher education in western countries (Abedinia, 2012; Beijaard
et al., 2004; Varghese, 2001). From the socio-cultural perspective, teacher learning is a process of
professional identity development rather than mere knowledge and skills acquisition (Nguyen,
2008). Teacher identity is often expressed in terms of teacher agency. Against this backdrop,
teacher agency is the focus of teacher learning (Vähäsantanen, 2015) that contributes to teacher
effectiveness. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence that teacher learning programs in EFL
contexts promote the notion of teacher agency. In the Saudi EFL context, it is seen as a neglected
phenomenon, hence, PD programs should consider developing teachers’ pedagogical practices
and improving their agency (Almohammadi, 2015; Alsalahi, 2015).

Owing to the shortcomings of the traditional PD programs, three public universities in Saudi
Arabia have initiated a Cambridge English Teacher (CET) PD program to address the context-
specific professional learning needs of their EFL teachers teaching on a foundation year pro­
gram. The CET professional development program is distinguished from the traditional
approaches of teacher professional development in a sense that this is neither like training
nor a traditional professional development, which is generally equated to attending one-shot
workshops, seminars, conferences, and short-term courses (Richards & Farrell, 2005). Rather, it
is a customized PD program catering to institutional requirements as well as individual needs of
the EFL teachers. The current study may offer a solution to the issue of professional develop­
ment in Saudi EFL context and may pioneer some other research in this area. Considering that
Saudi Arabia has EFL teachers from different nationalities, the current study is beneficial for
other EFL contexts in the Arab world where teachers are from diverse socio-cultural and
linguistic backgrounds. Since teacher agency is a key concept of the current study, the CET
may provide a model for transformative EFL teacher professional development. Hence, the
findings of the current study serve as a point of departure for conducting interventions into

Page 2 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

how EFL teachers’ agency improve after participating in an institutionally sanctioned PD pro­
gram. This study aims to answer the following research question.

RQ. To what extent has the Cambridge English Teacher (CET) professional development program
improved the Saudi in-service EFL teacher agency?

1.1. Teacher agency

Before articulating teacher agency, it is important to make a distinction between teacher agency
and teacher autonomy. As the boundary between the agency and autonomy is blurry when
defined, they are generally used interchangeably by researchers (Tao & Gao, 2021). While estab­
lishing that agentive actions are socially and contextually situated, teachers as agents of change
exercise their agency in broader educational setups. Teachers’ agency, according to Vahasantanen
(2015) refers to teachers’ power and freedom in relation to their profession, including different
aspects of teaching and learning. Although teachers exercise agency for several purposes, such as
pedagogical, moral, and change (Molla & Nolan, 2020), the scope of the current study behoves to
consider teacher agency from three points of view: a) the curriculum reform (Datnow et al., 2002),
b) the teaching process (Yang, 2015) the professional development (Noonan, 2016).

Teacher agency in curriculum reform initiates teaching process from within the educational
system rather than from outside. A teacher role in curriculum design and implementation makes
sure that the changes are based on student needs and grounded in real classroom issues. Also, the
process of transforming teachers into curriculum developers helps in bridging gaps between theory
and practice.

Teaching process is the prime manifestation of teacher agency; that is teacher’s teaching
methodology and preferences for classroom management should be guided by their teaching
philosophy and contextual requirements rather than external factors, such as administrative
control and pacing restrictions. Finally, teachers’ agentive role in choosing the modes and types
of their professional development is based on the contextual requirements and challenges that
they face in classroom.

Teacher agency is manifested in several educational undertakings. Noonan (2016) asserts that
various kinds of professional development pathways and activities can make teachers more
agentive. He categorized teacher agency in relation to professional development in three types:
agency over, agency during, and agency emerging from. The dimension of agency over is the
teachers’ say in choosing and designing the professional development content and process. The
factor of agency during is the teachers’ freedom to steer the discussion and conversation accord­
ing to challenges they face. And agency emerging from is allowing teachers to select and imple­
ment what they learnt during PD activities (Noonan, 2016).

2. Theoretical framework
The current study uses three socio-cultural theories as a theoretical framework since a multiple-
theory approach provides a useful lens for investigating teacher agency in relation to learning
experiences. The theoretical outlook that has underpinned the current research is based on: a)
Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory, b) Lave and Wenger’s (1998) communities of practice
(CoPs), and c) DuFour’s (2002) professional learning communities (PLCs). Although these three
theories complement each other and elucidate teachers’ improvement of agency via professional
development, Wenger’s communities of practice theory (1991; 1998) serves as a foundation for
the theoretical framework of this study. According to Varghese et al. (2005), “each theory limits
one’s perspective on language teacher identity, its formation, and its contexts” (p. 38), hence,
a combination of multiple theoretical frameworks provides a more conceptualized picture of
teacher agency.

Page 3 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

In learning, exercising personal agency is a pre-requisite for transforming and communicating

knowledge of cultural practices (Giddens, 1984). Agency also represents teachers’ power and
influence in all aspects of their profession because it is among the most crucial components of
professional identity (Moore, 2007). At the foundation of Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory is the
belief that teachers assert their agency during professional learning (Schluntz, 2018). In CoPs,
identity development in social context is through negotiation of meaning by members, as identity
is “a way of talking about learning changes who we are and creates personal histories of becoming
in the context of our communities” (Wenger, 1998, p. 5).

While positioning agency and its development in CoPs, Wenger (1998) compares CoPs with
theories of traditional existing social structures. Long-established historic social theories while
lending legitimacy to institutions and social norms, view individual actions as mere realization of
the rigid social structures and oftentimes “deny agency or knowledgeability to individual actors”
(Wenger, 1998, p. 12). On the contrary, in CoPs the concept of power, identification, or agency is
different. On the one hand, agency is a center of social self and social power, while on the other
hand it is “rooted in our identities” which derives power from belonging and “exercising control
over what we belong to” (Wenger, 1998, p. 207). However, in CoPs agency is negotiated rather
than exercised unhindered. Moreover, in CoPs the exercise of agency by individuals legitimizes their
participation and contributes to the competence of their organization (Wenger, 1998). That is,
individuals’ power, control, and agency are negotiated that contribute to the functioning and
competence of an organization. Thus, in CoPs individual agency is neither an uncontrollable
power vested in individuals nor a complete lack of it, but a harmonious blend of both.

For Wenger (1998), agency is manifested in the process of reification, identification, and dis­
identification. Although his initial theory is less vocal regarding the elements of individual identity
since the focus is on learning in a community, in his later writing, Wenger (2010) included a new
term knowledgeability which describes agency in the process of meaning-making through social
interactions. Learning in communities of practice builds teachers’ confidence that provides agency
and structure for developing teacher professional identities (Wenger, 1998). Nonetheless, in an
institutional setup where professional learning occurs in a structured environment, teacher agency
is more explicit in PLCs as they provide teachers the authority and necessitate central leadership to
bring changes in teaching practices (Vescio et al., 2008).

2.1. Studies on teacher agency in professional learning

Several studies have attempted to understand teacher agency development through professional
learning experiences. These studies have mainly sought to know how the following four aspects of
agency have been influenced as a result of teacher learning: a) teacher say in curriculum and
syllabus design (Biesta et al., 2015; Lopes & Dambrosio, 2016), b) teacher freedom to implement
methods and philosophies (Abedinia, 2012; Dierking & Fox, 2013), c) teacher autonomy in using
supplementary materials (Lopes & Dambrosio, 2016), and d) teacher freedom to pursue their
continuing professional development goals (Dierking & Fox, 2013; Lopes & Dambrosio, 2016;
Mora et al., 2014). Some of these studies have explored more than one teacher agency aspect
(e.g., Dierking & Fox, 2013; Lopes & Dambrosio, 2016).

Research shows the influence of professional learning on teacher say in the process of curricu­
lum and syllabus design. For example, using narratives Lopes and Dambrosio (2016) investigated
the contribution of a 360-h professional development course to four math teachers’ identity and
their agency for different educational acts in the Brazilian context. The findings revealed that
teachers after gaining knowledge about implementing alternative teaching methods were more
confident and agentive in multiple classroom dimensions and their acts of insubordination. The PD
experiences afforded the participants’ opportunities to deviate from the institutional curriculum
and approach topics that could connect learners to the real world, as the current curriculum was
irrelevant and demotivating. Mindful of the fact that knowledge is not captured by the prevalent
tests, the participants developed their own alternative ways of assessment. Contrary to the norms

Page 4 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

of the school, the participants drew their focus toward planning instructions and adapting effective
questioning techniques based on what they learnt in the PD course. Moreover, upon acquiring
different techniques in the course, they supplemented their teaching with their own instructional
material that would enhance students’ interest in tasks and collaborative engagement. Moreover,
the PD course empowered them to work in collaboration and share methods and materials that
suit their learning situations, thus the courses paved way for further professional development. The
teachers’ renewed professional knowledge allowed them to reconstitute their professional agency
by acts of insubordination. It appears that teachers felt empowered to incorporate the practices
they gained during the PD course; hence, decision-making and creative thinking became integral
elements of their professional identity. While the study employed narrative inquiry method to
explore teacher agency of four participants, the current study utilizes a quantitative approach to
investigate teacher agency of a large number of language teachers.

In a similar vein, in the Scottish context, Biesta et al. (2015) studied the role of beliefs in teacher
agency while using ethnographic research methodology. The results suggest that though beliefs
matter in teachers’ work but a mismatch between beliefs and wider institutional discourse hamper
teacher agency. The findings also show that teachers during learning experiences and real
practices are highly efficient and exhibit large repertoire of skills to render their classroom
performance successful despite inevitable social, cultural, and material constraints. They were
highly committed to achieving short-term goals, such as introducing innovative forms of pedagogy
that were deemed effective for getting their job done. However, due to an apparent mishmash of
teachers’ beliefs and the absence of clear institutional sense-making towards education, make the
teachers’ long-term goals vague. Therefore, due to unclear educational policies teachers’ agency in
curriculum-related matters is hardly seen to work. A structured organized professional develop­
ment and robust institutional goals are suggested as these are ecological spaces where enhanced
teacher agency can be achieved.

Moreover, studies that have explored the influence of professional learning on teacher agency in
implementing methods and philosophies teachers learn during PD activities. For example, Abedinia
(2012) studied the impact of an EFL teacher education course on Iranian in-service and pre-service
teachers’ professional identity. Critical pedagogy served as a theoretical framework for this study
and the data was collected through pre- and post-course interviews with seven EFL teachers. This
PD course was designed by the author for the sole purpose of reconstructing teachers’ professional
identity. Since EFL teacher education in Iran is transmission oriented which does not consider
teachers’ voices and beliefs, teacher learning fails to contribute to teacher professional identity
development. The data shows that teachers’ self-efficacy believes were transformed after taking
part in the course by redefining their teacher self and reprioritizing their professional responsibil­
ities. Towards the end of the course, teachers seemed to have included their voices in teaching
affairs instead of conforming to the status quo. Consequently, their awareness raising transformed
their agency. Although, the study explored the development of teacher agency as part of teachers’
professional identity as a result of participating in a course, there is no mention of how these
changes were translated into their teaching practices and, in turn, into student learning. In a more
recent study, Edwards (2019) found that during and after participating in an action research
program, ESL teachers enacted their agency mediated by their would-be self and social and
institutional political environments.

Likewise, Dierking and Fox (2013) studied the impact of a 2-year long writing professional
development course on middle school writing teachers in the US. The authors examined the effect
of a week-long professional development course on teachers’ perceptions of teaching, collegiality,
and their sense of empowerment. The findings indicate that because of revived interest in learning
through professional development, teachers gained confidence in applying theories and practices
that make classes more productive and communicative. Due to an attitudinal change, teachers
were able to take their own decisions about their teaching and were assured of the outcomes of

Page 5 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

their strategies. In addition to being empowered in their teaching, teachers also gained confidence
in furthering their professional development in communities of experts.

Literature also indicates that professional learning enhances teacher agency in furthering
teachers’ continuous professional goals. For example, Van Dusen et al. (2012) investigated the
professional development of teachers in Streamline to Mastery project, a five-year professional
development program. The project was a partnership between teachers and university researchers
wherein the participants designed professional development programs for themselves and other
teachers. The study employed Wenger’s (1998) CoP as a theoretical framework to inquire into the
participants’ teaching practices, challenges, and the growth that occurred through developing
leadership skills. The participants’ reflections on lessons, surveys, and videotaped PD events,
email threads and interviews of the teachers were analyzed. The findings suggest that during
the project the participants’ understanding of their teaching appeared to evolve, and their views
about the academic leadership changed as they experienced a shift from a hierarchical community
in which the researchers were deemed as a source and the teachers as mere recipients of knowl­
edge to an egalitarian role where both benefit from each other’s shared knowledge. The study
recommends that CoPs should be established where change might happen. This change should be
relevant to the teachers’ context and teaching particularities. Secondly, it is stressed that the
meaningful expertise for professional development should be initiated by teachers themselves
rather than outside experts. In this study, the courses investigated came into being through
professional collaboration network, while in the current study professional development program
was designed and implemented by Cambridge University trainers. In addition, Mora et al. (2014)
demonstrated a close relationship between professional development and teacher identity. In this
study, the certificates awarded at the conclusion of the PD not only served as a credential but also
a more pro-active approach to further PD in more agentive way. After participating in the PD, the
teachers became more aware of their PD needs and therefore their decisions about furthering and
sustaining PD were more informed.

3. The CET Professional development program

In the backdrop of the current socio-political changes in Saudi Arabia, at least three public
Universities have initiated CET professional development program to enhance EFL instructors’
pedagogical knowledge and improve their instructional practices. The CET course comprised five
phases: 1) online courses were completed by the entire faculty; 2) end-of-module assignment
projects were submitted by the participants; 3) face-to-face training sessions were conducted; 4)
selected CET participants were given the train-the-trainer (T-t-T) course to replace Cambridge
trainers at the end of the training cycle; and 5) faculty training roles and responsibilities were
shifted from Cambridge trainers to institutional trainers in a cascade manner. The focus of this
study is on the first three phases of the CET that involves the professional development of
language teachers in the Saudi EFL context.

The CET program involved various forms of professional learning experiences, such as expert
training, teacher collaboration, classroom teaching, peer-observations, group discussions, self-
reflection, and reading professional literature. The areas covered in the course were differentiated
instruction, classroom management, classroom interaction, giving instructions, teaching language
skills, teaching vocabulary, using language learning games in the classroom, learning strategies,
student autonomy, students culture sensitivities, classroom observation, lesson planning, design­
ing courses, adapting textbook materials, teacher collaboration, teachers’ autonomy and agency,
and outlining future professional development goals.

4. Methodology

4.1. Retrospective pre-test/post-test method

In the current study, quantitative data was collected via a survey questionnaire using retrospective
pre-test/post-test method, which is a commonly used method to evaluate learning, such as

Page 6 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

Figure 1. Retrospective Pre-test

and Post-test Adapted from:
Bennett (1984)

professional development and training programs. In this one-shot study, data was collected from the
respondents on their attitudes, beliefs and learning before and after the intervention (Russ-Eft &
Preskill, 2009). This method is applied when two ratings, pre and post are required following the
intervention stage, as shown in Figure 1. In the same tool, first rating refers to the self-report before
the initiative whereas the second rating is about the perceptions and experiences after the initiative.
This method was first discussed by Campbell and Stanely (1963) wherein the participants’ knowledge
and behavior were studied before and after an intervention program.

The retrospective pre-test/post-test method is considered superior to the standard pre-test/post-

test method for many reasons. Educational programs are evaluated by the traditional pre-test and
post-test method through which the data is collected before and after the programs. However, to
overcome several deficiencies of this traditional method, retrospective pre-test/post-test tool was
introduced and administered at the end of a program in which the responses were contempora­
neous. In contrast, the standard pre-test/post-test tools were implemented twice: before the
program and after the program (Posavac & Carey, 1997). However, the researchers identified
a problem of response shift bias with the standard pre-test/post-test design (e.g., Pratt et al.,
2000). Response shift bias occurs when the participants believe that they know when they actually
do not. One of the reasons postulated for the introduction of retrospective pre-test/post-test
method was to eliminate the response shift bias. Several studies have confirmed this claim of
retrospective pre-test/post-test counteracting the bias effect (e.g., Lam & Bango, 2003; ; Pratt
et al., 2000; Rohs, 2002). In addition, studies have reported a higher validity measure for retro­
spective pre-test/post-test as compared to the standard pre-test/post-test (Hoogstraten, 1982;
Moore & Tananis, 2009). In a most recent study by Borg et al. (2018), it was observed that after
taking part in professional development teachers’ confidence in using English was lower at the exit
survey (post-test) than the baseline survey (pre-test). As traditional pretest/posttest measures
were used, Borg et al. (2018) concluded that “at baseline teachers’ ratings were unrealistically high
and at end-project they had a better understanding of how much they did not know” (p. 204). This
reemphasizes the importance and validity of retrospective pretest/posttest method over the
traditional one. Finally, between the two methods, retrospective pre-test/post-test is more cost-
effective as the participants respond only once (Neilson, 2011). This methodology is given pre­
ference over the traditional pretest and posttest to reduce the limitations of the later (Campbell &
Stanely, 1963;).

4.2. Sampling
The participants in the current study are EFL teachers from three different universities who teach
English as a foreign language to foundation year students. The foundation year has four instruc­
tional modules, correlated with Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR),
and each module consists of 7–8 weeks. The foundation year is designed to help learners achieve
an intermediate level of English language proficiency. Qualified EFL instructors deliver English
language components to the preparatory year program across Saudi Arabia. EFL instructors are
expected to demonstrate a high level of pedagogical competence in ELT and TESOL as well as to
exhibit effective classroom management skills. For these purposes, faculty members are provided
intensive PD opportunities around the academic year. CET program is one such endeavor wherein

Page 7 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

Table 1. Sampling characteristics of quantitative questionnaire participants

Sampling
Characteristics Categories % N
Age 25–34 10.8% 13
35–44 43.3% 52
45–54 38.3% 46
55–64 7.5% 9 120
Highest Academic BA 20.8% 25
Credentials
MA 63.3% 76
PhD 15.8% 19 120
EFL Qualification CELTA/DELTA 32.5% 39
MA/BA TESOL 49.2% 59
MA English 18.3% 22 120
EFL Experience 3–4 years 0.8% 1
5–9 years 15.8% 19
10–15 years 40.8% 49
16–25 years 32.5% 39
> 25 years 10.0% 12 120
Length of stay in 1–2 years 10.0% 12
KSA
3–4 years 13.3% 16
5–9 years 50.0% 60
10–15 years 25.0% 30
> 15 years 1.7% 2 120
Linguistic NS 20.8% 25
Background
NNAS 35.0% 42
NNNAS 44.2% 53 120

participation for the EFL instructors is mandatory in all three universities. The participants of the
study were 120 EFL teachers who participated in the CET. A convenience sampling criterion was
chosen, as all the male EFL teachers who participated in the CET program in three universities were
selected (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Mertens, 2010). Access to female participants was not possible
due to a segregated educational system in Saudi Arabia.

4.3. Demographic data of the participants

Table 1 contains sampling characteristics of 120 EFL teachers, including age, academic credentials,
language teaching qualification, EFL experience, length of stay in Saudi Arabia and their linguistic
background.

The respondents who participated in the CET course, ranged in age from 25 to 64 with a median
age range of 35–44. 98% of them were in 35–54 age range. Of 120 participants, 24 (21.3%) had BA,
77 (63.1%) had MA, and 19 (15.6%) had PhD, the highest educational credentials. Of the 120
participants who participated in this study, 39 (32.5%) had CELTA or DELTA or both, 59 (49.2%) had
MA TESOL/Applied Linguistics, BA TESOL/Applied Linguistics, or both as ELT qualification. The
remaining participants 22 (18.3%) had MA English Language or MA English Language and
Literature.

Of 120 participants, 12 (10%) had more than 25 years, 39 (32.5%) had 16–25 years, 49 (40.8%)
had 10–15 years, 19 (15.8%) had 5–9 years, and only 1 (8.0%) had 3–4 years of EFL teaching

Page 8 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

experience. Their median experience range is 10–15 years with the vast majority (n = 88) having
10–25 years of teaching English as a foreign language experience.

Of 120 participants, 2 (1.7%) had more than 15 years, 30 (25%) had 10–15 years, 60 (50%) had 5–
9 years, 16 (13.3%) had 3–4 years, and 12 (10%) had 1–2 years teaching experience at the ELI. The
data indicates that half of the participants had the Saudi experience in the range of 5–9 years. Of 120
participants, 25 (20.8%) were native speakers, 42 (35%) were non-native Arabic speakers, and 53
(44.2%) were non-native non-Arabic speakers. More than 50% are non-native non-Arabic speakers.

4.4. TAQ questionnaire

The current study explored the impact of an in-service professional development program on EFL
teacher agency. As part of the pre-experimental design (Cohen et al., 2018), a retrospective
Teacher Agency Questionnaire (TAQ) was designed keeping in view the literature on EFL teachers’
agency constructs. Quantitative questionnaire, being one of the most widely accepted quantitative
method, was used to study simple issues, such as demographic information as well as complex
phenomena, such as attitudes and beliefs (Alreck & Settle, 2004).

4.5. Quantitative questionnaire development

Survey research owes its significance in social sciences to its ability in measuring as simple
concepts as demographic features to as complex phenomena as beliefs, attitudes, and intentions
(Alreck & Settle, 2004). The questionnaire, which is called Teacher Agency Questionnaire (TAQ)
used for this study comprised two sections. Section A has six questions asking the participants
about their demographic features: their age, academic credentials, ELT qualification, EFL experi­
ence, length of stay in Saudi Arabia, and their being native or non-native speakers of English.
Section B, the main section of the questionnaire, consists of five items requesting the participants
to measure their agency as EFL teachers before and after doing the CET course.

4.6. Validity of the TAQ questionnaire

Validity of a research tool refers to the degree to which it measures what it purports to
measure. The validity of the questionnaire used in this study was established through passing
a rigorous process outlined in the literature. In the first phase, the preliminary form of the
questionnaire was sent to a panel of experts for reviewing it to identify the question problems
and other potential errors in the questionnaire (Olsen, 2011). When a panel of experts review
and approve a questionnaire item, this is referred to face validity. In addition, expert review of
a questionnaire is a pretesting method (Esposito & Rothgeb, 1997) and identifies structural
linguistic errors in questions (Schnell & Frauke, 2005). Thus, in the current study, the researchers
consulted a panel of six experts (Olsen, 2011) who had extensive research and teaching
experience in the domains of teacher professional development and teacher identity develop­
ment. All six experts were assistant or associate professors employed in leading universities in
Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and England. The experts were requested to judge the questionnaire
items against the research objectives and research questions. As all the reviewers were based in
different institutions, their opinions were taken independently. Some areas of concern were
identified unanimously by the reviewers, such as ambiguous and double-barrel statements and
the format of the quantitative questionnaire; however, all six reviewers highlighted different
aspects of the questionnaire to be reconsidered.

In the second phase, the content validity of the questionnaire was established, which pertains to
the degree to which the elements or attributes of an instrument are representative of the
construct of interest (Haynes et al., 1995). Content validity is evidence to establish the degree to
which a tool adequately measures and samples the area of interest (Wynd et al., 2003). Therefore,
the current questionnaire was designed to adequately sample the EFL teachers’ agency with
regard to the in-service professional development activities.

Page 9 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

Table 2. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s α)

Variable No: of items α Before α After
Agency 5 0.816 0.846

Table 3. Descriptive statistics of the five agency items: PRE and POST
Attributes PRE POST

N Mean Std. Deviation Mean Std. Deviation

Teacher agency 120 3.3750 0.84319 3.5750 0.97138

4.7. Reliability of TAQ questionnaire

For reliability and consistency, research tools are measured. To assess a questionnaire’s reliability,
Cronbach’s Alpha is employed which determines statistical measure of the instrument (Kadwa,
2012). A reliability score of 0.77 is considered fairly strong for an instrument’s reliability measure.
To demonstrate a questionnaire’s reliability in the current study, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated
for the constructs of agency. Cronbach α denotes an estimate of the internal consistency of
questionnaire which was 0.954 for the questionnaire used in the current study. This result suggests
that the overall scale has a high internal consistency (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2000). It also shows
a very strong reliability of the agency construct, as shown in Table 2.

4.8. Conducting quantitative questionnaire

The questionnaire link was sent via email to 120 male participants who had completed the CET course.
Only 50 responses were received in the first week. To facilitate a better response rate, a follow-up email
was sent to the participants, which resulted in 40 more responses. Finally, 30 more responses were
received when in a third attempt, the non-respondents were sent the questionnaire link through
a WhatsApp message. Thus, disseminating the questionnaire through multiple channels helped in
obtaining maximum responses (N = 120). The retrospective pre-test and post-test (RPP) responses
were pulled from the online questionnaire system and entered into SPSS for analysis.

5. Results

5.1. Teacher Agency Questionnaire (TAQ) analysis

The following statistical analysis techniques were employed to analyze TAQ data: basic descriptive
statistics, normality test, and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test.

5.1.1. TAQ analysis

The TAQ questionnaire was conducted to measure the EFL teachers’ perceptions before and after
the CET course. Table 3 describes results of descriptive statistics of the before and after data to
measure changes in the teachers’ agency after completing the CET course.

Table 4. K-S Test for the PRE and POST Measures

N PRE POST
Constructs K-S Z Sig. (2-tailed) K-S Z Sig. (2-tailed)
Teacher agency 120 1.426 .034 1.396 .041

Page 10 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

As can be seen in Table 3, the after mean scores are greater than the before mean scores with
regard to the teacher agency, which indicates that EFL teachers’ agency enhanced after the CET
program. Percentages and inferential statistics are given in the sections that follow.

5.2. Normality tests for the pre and post data

The K-S test was used to determine whether the data was normally distributed.

As can be seen in Table 4, the K-S test’s results indicated that the data violated the normality
assumptions. Since the p-values for all five attributes are less than 0.05 and there is not enough
evidence to accept that no change occurred between the pre and post scores; therefore, to
compare the differences between the pre and post score the use of a non-parametric test was
justified.

Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test is used for dependent samples and is the parametric equivalent for
the dependent sample t-test. In the case of dependent samples, as in before and after using the
same subject and sample, it is recommended to use the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test instead of the
t-test (Bluman, 1997), provided the normality assumption is not considered. As in the current
study, the data was collected retrospectively from the same group for two points, before the
course and after the course, the samples are not independent. Hence, the use of the Wilcoxon
Signed-Rank Test is the most viable option.

5.3. Teacher agency

In this section, the before and after data were compared to find the difference between the two
scores on teacher agency. The TAQ questionnaire presents EFL teacher agency in four categories:
Item 1: teachers’ say in curriculum and syllabus designing; Item 2: teacher agency in their
supplementary materials; Item 3 and 4: teachers’ voice in pursuing their professional development
goals and pathways; and Item 5: teachers’ autonomy implementing teaching methods and
techniques learnt in PD

Table 5 shows descriptive statistics of before and after data on teacher agency. The data
revealed that the after percentages of agree and strongly agree are higher than the before
percentages of agree and strongly agree on teacher agency.

As shown in Table 6, the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test results indicated that post-test ranks were
statistically and significantly higher than pre-test ranks (Z = −3.061, p < .000). Hence, the findings
show that EFL teacher agency was significantly improved as a result of the CET course. Since the
results indicated a marked increase in scores from the before test to the after test, it means that
the EFL teachers’ agency was enhanced after their participation in the CET program.

5.4. Effect size of the five EFL Teacher agency attributes

A significant change was seen between the pre and post scores; however, to know how much
identity change is attributed to the professional development intervention, R2 is measured. R2
determines the percentage of change affected by independent variable. Cohen’s (1988) conven­
tions for the effect size are given in Table 7. In the current study, independent variable is the CET
professional development. Furthermore, to identify the relative importance of the five attributes,
beta coefficients are measured. Beta coefficients measure show how strongly each attribute
influences the overall dependent variable. Thus, the higher the beta value, the stronger the impact
of a variable is on the target variable.

As can be seen in Table 8, in the current study R2 for POST measure is .85, which indicates that
85% of the change is caused by the CET to five teacher agency attributes. Moreover, the standar­
dized Beta coefficient of each attribute suggests that, relative to each other, “TAQ Item-1” exerted
large influence; whereas each the rest of the four attributes exerted medium influence on teacher
agency.

Page 11 of 19
 Table 5. Frequencies of individual items on teacher agency
TEACHER AGENCY

PRE POST

No TAQ Item SD% D% N% A% SA% SD% D% N% A% SA%

My institution 15.0 10.0 34.2 28.3 12.5 15.8 8.3 25.8 29.2 20.8
seeks my input
in curriculum
and syllabus
designing.
I am free to 8.3 15.0 24.2 37.5 15.0 10.0 12.5 21.7 32.5 23.3
use my own
supplementary
materials to
enhance
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

student
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352

learning.
My institution 12.5 15.0 37.5 27.5 7.5 22.3 18.0 20.3 26.2 13.2
seeks my
opinion
regarding the
contents and
modes of my
professional
development.
I am free to 5.8 8.3 30.0 39.2 16.7 8.3 6.7 22.5 35.8 26.7
choose my
professional
learning
pathways.
I can 3.3 6.7 20.0 43.3 26.7 4.2 4.2 14.2 24.2 53.3
implement the
techniques and
methods learnt
during
professional
development
sessions.

Page 12 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

Table 6. Results of Wilcoxon signed rank test on teacher agency

TEACHER AGENCY
Ranks Mean Ranks Sum of Ranks Z Sig. (2-tailed)
Negative 9 24.78 223.00 −3.061 .002
Positive 33 20.61 680.00
Ties 78
Total 120
Negative = POST<PRE, Positive = POST>PRE, Ties = POST = PRE- b. Based on negative ranks

Table 7. Conventions for effect size (Cohen, 1988)

Effect Size Coefficient Convention
0.01–0.08 Small
0.09–0.24 Medium
> 0.25 Large

Table 8. Effect size of five teacher agency attributes—POST

a
Coefficients
Standardized
Unstandardized Coefficients Coefficients

Constructs B Std. Error Beta t Sig.

(Constant) −.324 .196 −1.668 .098
TPIQ Item-1 POST .278 .084 .244 3.381 .001
TPIQ Item-2 POST .178 .061 .193 2.885 .005
TPIQ Item-3 POST .253 .085 .221 2.917 .004
TPIQ Item-4 POST .257 .073 .235 3.351 .001
TPIQ Item-5 POST .152 .052 .163 2.962 .004
R Squared
POST = .85
a. Dependent Variable: Overall POST

6. Discussion
The results of the study suggest that the CET had some positive effects on teacher agency. The
data has revealed that the POST mean score (M = 3.57, SD = .97) is higher than the PRE mean score
(M = 3.37, SD = 0.84). A similar pattern was obtained by Lopes and Dambrosio (2016) who found
that the renewed professional knowledge of teachers allowed them to reconstitute their profes­
sional agency by acts of insubordination. Overall, these findings are in accordance with findings
reported by Mora et al. (2014) who concluded that institutional professional learning was a conduit
for the participants’ continuing professional development that they deemed appropriate in their
teaching context. Likewise, Abram (2019) found that student teachers became self-aware of their
teaching and PD goals after participating in teacher education program. However, when comparing
the findings of the current study with those of the aforementioned studies, it is worth mentioning
that all of them were conducted in non-Arab EFL contexts.

In relation to the impact of CET on teacher agency, the current study represents the EFL teacher
agency in four constructs: a) teachers’ say in curriculum and syllabus, b) implementing teaching
methods and techniques learnt in PD, c) using teacher designed supplementary materials, and d)

Page 13 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

teachers’ voice in pursuing their professional development goals and pathways (Noonan, 2016). As
shown in the data, teacher agency was affected by the CET course but not to a great extent.

6.1. Teachers’ say in curriculum and syllabus designing

In response to the TAQ item 1: The ELI seeks my input in curriculum and syllabus designing, 9.2%
increase in agreeing and strongly agreeing responses on five-point Likert scale (pre 40.8%, post
50%) was resulted. The effect sizes indicate that the TAQ item 1 contributed the most to teachers’
agency enactment. This finding contradicts the results of Lopes and Dambrosio (2016) who found
that the PD experiences afforded the participants opportunities to deviate from the institutional
curriculum and approach topics that could connect learners to the real world, as the curriculum
was irrelevant and demotivating for students. Nevertheless, the participants of the current study
do not seem to completely reject the current syllabus, but they yearned for their say in curriculum
design and syllabus selection. In contrast, the finding is in accordance with conclusion arrived by
Biesta et al. (2015) who elaborated that due to the lack of clear institutional policy towards
students’ learning, teachers despite possessing a large repertoire of teaching strategies, are unable
to exercise their agency in curriculum and syllabus. In line with the findings of Vähäsantanen
(2015), the findings of the current study revealed that teachers’ boundary crossing and increased
intentionality (Wenger, 1998) in curriculum is vital for developing the practices of education and
teacher identity. It is recommended that institutional goals should be made clear and then
professional development initiatives should be aligned with broader institutional goals without
hindering teachers’ agency and empowerment.

6.1.1. Teachers’ agency in their supplementary materials

The current study also examined teachers’ agency change in using their supplementary materials
to cover the deficiency of textbooks or provide tailored activities and tasks to cater to students’
different learning styles and needs. The findings indicate that there was a minor change, between
pre and post results. In response to the TAQ questionnaire item 2: I am free to use my own
supplementary materials to enhance student learning, a mere 3.3% increase in agreeing and
strongly agreeing responses on five-points Likert scale (pre 52.5%, post 55.8%) was resulted.
This is the lowest change among all 22 items of TAQ questionnaire.

In the researchers’ view, teachers’ resentment toward institutional check on unhindered use of
supplementary materials may stem from their pre-CET beliefs and practices. While observing
classes, some teachers would go adrift and would bring activities to their lesson that would not
only run counter to the main teaching goals of that particular lesson but would also affect the
validity of existing textbook tasks and activities outlined for that specific day. Therefore, more
research is needed to investigate the role of professional development courses regarding the use
of supplementary material in the presence of a set curriculum and syllabus in place.

6.2. Teachers’ voice in pursuing their professional development goals and pathways
As indicated in the literature review, professional development is not only an agent of change in
teachers’ current roles and responsibilities but also a tool to equip and empower them to reframe
their professional future self by pursuing their continuing professional development. The current
study shows that teacher agency in following their professional development pathways was also
seen to have changed, though to a lesser degree, after their participation in the CET. In response to
the TAQ questionnaire item 3: The ELI seeks my opinion regarding the contents and modes of my
professional development, 4.4% increase in agreeing and strongly agreeing responses on five-point
Likert scale (pre 35%, post 39.4%) was resulted. Similarly, in response to the TAQ questionnaire
item 4: I am free to choose my professional learning pathways, 6.6% increase in agreeing and
strongly agreeing responses on five-points Likert scale (pre 55.9%, post 62.5%) was resulted.

Insignificant change in the participants’ agency in following their own professional development
as shown in the current study contradicts the findings of the existing literature (Dierking & Fox,
2013; Dusen et al., 2012; Lopes & Dambrosio, 2016; Mora et al., 2014). Dierking and Fox (2013)

Page 14 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

found that after the PD courses teachers were empowered to engage in their own professional
learning by forming communities of practice wherein learning goals and procedures were devised
by teachers rather than the administration or any external body. The only hindering factor was
time constraint and not administrative control. Similarly, Dusen et al. (2012) explored the impact of
a professional development course, which was designed by the university researchers and faculty
members on teachers’ agency. It was found that the participants’ understanding about inquiry into
their teaching appeared to evolve after the course and subsequently their reliance on researchers
was diminished. The participants’ control over their PD initiatives indicates that meaningful exper­
tise for professional development should reside within the teachers.

As reviewed in literature, the current PD regime in the Saudi EFL context is institutionally driven
and highly structured encompassing institutional vision and requirements. Similarly, in line with
the current study’s findings, Alsalahi (2015) acknowledges the fact that for identity legitimacy in
professional development teachers should not be considered empty jars to be filled with profes­
sional learning; however, PD in the Saudi EFL context instead of merely relying on individuals’
needs should take on board institutions’ requirements as well.

Based on the findings of the current study, it can be stated that when teaching is based on
following a specific curriculum and a tight institutional pacing guide, individual professional
development needs should be reconciled with institutional requirements (Myers & Clark, 2002).
In the current study, the participants’ displeasure over their lack of agency in their continuing PD is
indicative of the fact that the Saudi universities intend to streamline teacher learning pathways
and align them to the broader institutional framework. The proposition that knowledge is co-
constructed and co-shared in communities of practice is challenged when teachers feel restricted
to implement what they believe useful for their practice; however, the findings are in line with the
notion of negotiability of identification (agency) in Wenger’s (1998) Communities of practice. The
findings show that EFL teacher agency in the Saudi context is a harmonious blend of teachers’
freedom and institutional structure. Furthermore, identity development does not necessarily count
on what we can do but also on what we cannot do, as Wenger (1998) states “we not only produce
our identities through the practices we engage in, but we also define ourselves through the
practices we do not engage in. Our identities are constituted not only by what we are but also
by what we are not” (p. 164).

6.3. Teachers’ autonomy implementing teaching methods and techniques learnt in PD

The quantitative data indicate that teachers’ agency in implementing teaching methods and
techniques that they learn during various PD channels and deem appropriate in their teaching
context have changed. In response to the TAQ questionnaire item 5: I can implement the techni­
ques and methods learnt during professional development sessions, only 7.5% increase in agreeing
and strongly agreeing responses on five-points Likert scale (pre 70%, post 77.5%) was resulted.

The findings related to teacher agency in implementing methods and techniques learned in
professional development corroborates the results of Dierking and Fox (2013) whose findings
indicate that after the PD, the teachers’ teaching of writing skills became more communicative
which was the prime aim of the PD course, and after behavioral changes teachers’ actions were
more agentive in choosing methods that would render students learning more communicative.
Also, this finding is in line with the findings of Lopes and Dambrosio (2016) who found out that as
a result of gaining new knowledge and self-confidence, the course participants felt a sense of
renewed freedom to use methods and techniques that they considered more appropriate in
a given teaching situation. Moreover, Lopes and Dambrosio (2016) findings revealed that teachers
realized that the existing testing regime failed to capture students’ knowledge; therefore, they
devised innovative ways to test students’ competencies in various ways. This finding is also in line
with those of Edwards (2019). Edwards (2019) investigated that an action research professional
development program equipped ESL teachers with tools for the enactment of their teacher agency.
The findings of the current study, however, do not indicate teachers’ displeasure towards prevalent

Page 15 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

testing system nor do they explicitly mention of weaknesses in assessment. The researchers
speculate that this might be due to the presence of a robust testing and assessment units in
Saudi universities, which are almost “teacher proof”.

This finding is in contradiction with those of Biesta et al. (2015) who found that teachers were
unable to incorporate their learning from professional development in their actual practice due to
ambiguous institutional goals. No such claims regarding institutional vague goals towards student
learning outcomes were made by the participants in the current study. From this standpoint, it
could be speculated that the CET was launched after a thorough needs analysis from the admin­
istration point of view. The researchers believe that teachers’ willingness to embrace techniques
offered in CET may stem from the notion that institutional goals, curriculum demands, teachers’
teaching aims, and students’ learning goals seem to work in concert.

7. Conclusions, limitations, and future research

The current study has investigated the influence of the CET program on EFL teacher agency in various
educational matters: designing curriculum and syllabus, implementing teaching methods learnt in PD,
using teacher designed supplementary material, and pursuing their PD goals and pathways. Concerning
teachers’ say in curriculum and syllabus, the data showed that the participants gained knowledge in
these areas and to a certain degree the institutes sought their opinions in designing and selecting specific
syllabi. However, a vast majority of the participants reported that they are unable to play an active role in
the above-mentioned domains due to the administration’s lack of confidence in them. Teachers believed
that their involvement in curriculum and syllabus design is crucial as they play a leading role in teaching.

However, the participants mentioned complete freedom to implement methods and techniques they
learnt during the CET. The administration seemed more confident of teachers’ competence in using
advanced teaching tools. This manifests that teachers’ newly acquired methods and techniques are in
line with institutions’ goals and policies. In contrast, teachers were constrained to use supplementary
materials to cover the deficiencies of existing textbooks, even though the CET expanded their skills in
creating their own activities to augment students’ engagement and learning. The findings revealed that
earlier teachers’ use of supplementary materials were detrimental to achieving teaching goals. The
current study suggested a more cautious approach to using supplementary materials.

Besides the above-mentioned teacher agency factors, teacher agency in pursuing their own
professional development goals as a result of taking part in the CET was also studied. The
participants revealed that they became aware of their professional development needs, but the
institutes still seem reluctant to involve them in needs analysis process and instead go for imposed
PD. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that teachers being demotivated are unable to identify their
PD goals; therefore, PD is designed based on the administrations’ needs analysis.

To investigate EFL teacher enactment as they participated in a professional development program, the
researchers believe the current study was conducted in the best possible manner; however, several
limitations must be acknowledged. Firstly, the scope of the research findings could have been enlarged by
involving the female colleagues; however, due to gender segregation policy implemented in the KAU and
other educational institutes the researcher was unable to approach our female colleagues who had
undertaken the same course at the same time. This is to be admitted that a couple of studies conducted
in this context have engaged both genders, but this largely depends on researchers’ social position and
social relations. Secondly, this limitation deals with social desirability bias since the researchers are
academic coordinators at the ELI and respondents could have answered the questions in a manner,
which may be viewed favourable by the administration. Had the questionnaire been conducted by an
instructor, the results might have been different. The final limitation in the current study is reliance on
teachers’ self-report data. Although self-report generates rich information and captures participants’
experiences, ideas, beliefs, and feelings in the best possible manner (Pualhus & Vazire, 2007), sometimes
concerns about truthfulness and completeness of data are raised. However, the researchers made all
possible efforts to cultivate trust and rapport with the participants. Also, they were experienced EFL

Page 16 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352
teachers who were motivated to express their thoughts and feelings about their professional learning
experiences.
The findings of the current study have deepened understandings of the nature of teacher agency
and its relation to professional learning experiences. The evidence obtained have offered valuable
insights into EFL teachers’ teacher agency. The findings of this study warrant that more research is
needed in the realm of EFL teacher agency in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, as it is unfortunate
that teacher identity is ignored in one of the largest EFL contexts.
Funding
The authors received no direct funding for this research.
Author details
Hussain Ahmad1
E-mail: hgul@kau.edu.sa
Sayyed Rashid Shah2
E-mail: sshah@lu.edu.qa
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3928-5923
1
English Language Institute, King Abdul-Aziz University,
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
2
College of Education and Arts, Lusail University, Doha,
Qatar.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Citation information
Cite this article as: Teacher agency and professional
development: A study on Cambridge English teacher pro­
gram in the Arabian Gulf, Hussain Ahmad & Sayyed Rashid
Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352.
References
Abedinia, A. (2012). Teachers’ professional identity:
Contributions of a critical EFL teacher education course
in Iran. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(5), 706 717.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.02.005
Abram, T. (2019). Graduation is not the finish line:
Building professional teacher identity in preservice
teachers. (doctoral dissertation), Arizona State
University. https://keep.lib.asu.edu/items/157074
Almohammadi, A. H. (2015). English language instructors’
perceptions of their professional development and
teaching at King Abdulaziz University. (Doctoral dis­
sertation). Florida State University.
Alreck, P. L., & Settle, R. B. (2004). The survey research
handbook (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Alsalahi, S. M. (2015). Stages of teacher’s professionalism:
How are English language teachers engaged? Theory
and Practice in Language Studies, 5(4), 671–678.
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0504.01
Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004).
Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional
identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(2),
107–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2003.07.001
Bennett, D. B. (1984). Evaluating environmental education
in schools: A practical guide for teachers. Washington
D.C.: ERIC.
Biesta, G., Priestley, M., & Robinson, S. (2015). The role of
beliefs in teacher agency. Teachers and Teaching:
Theory and Practice, 21(6), 624–640. https://doi.org/
10.1080/13540602.2015.1044325
Biesta, G. et al., (2015). The role of beliefs in teacher
agency. Teachers and teaching: theory and practice,
21(6), 624–640.
Bluman, A. G. (1997). Elementary statistics: A step by step
approach. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Borg, S., Clifford, I., & Htut, K. P. (2018). Having an EfECT:
Professional development for teacher educators in
Myanmar. Teaching and Teacher Education, 72 (1) ,
75–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.02.010
Campbell, D. T., & Stanely, J. C. (1963). Experimental and
quasi-experimental designs for research. Houghton
Mifflin Company.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis Jbr the beha­
vioral. Sciences. Hillsdale (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates, 18–74.
Cohen, L., et al., (2018). Research methods in education (5
ed). New York: Routledge.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design:
Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods
approaches. SAGE.
Danielewicz, J. (2001). Teaching selves. State University of
New York Press.
Datnow, A., Hubbard, L., & Mehan, H. (2002). Extending
educational reform: From one school to many.
Routledge.
Dierking, R. C., & Fox, R. F. (2013). Changing the way
I teach: Building teacher knowledge, confidence and
autonomy. Journal of Teacher Education, 64(2), 129
144. https://doi.org/10.1177/002248711462893
DuFour, R. (2002). The learning-centered principal.
Educational Leadership, 59(8), 12–15 https://cursa.
ihmc.us/rid=1207228827748_522757120_7838/
DuFour-%20Learning%20Centered%20Principal.pdf.
Edwards, E. (2019). English language teachers’ agency and
identity mediation through action research:
A Vygotskian sociocultural analysis. In H. Kayi-Aydar,
X. Gao, & E. R. Miller (Eds.), Theorizing and analyzing
language teacher agency. (UK: Multilingual Matters)
(pp.141–159) .
Esposito, J. L., & Rothgeb, J. M. (1997). Evaluating survey
data: Making the transition from pretesting to quality
assessment. In L. Lyberg, P. Biemer, M. Collins,
E. Leeuw, C. Dippo, N. Schwarz, & D. Trewin (Eds.),
Survey measurement and process quality (pp.
541–571). Wiley.
Freeman, D. (1989). Teacher training, development, and
decision making: A model of teaching and related
strategies for language teacher education. TESOL
Quarterly, 23(1), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.2307/
3587506
Freeman, D. (2001). Second language teacher education.
In R. Carter & D. Nunan (Eds.), The Cambridge guide
to teaching English to speakers of other languages
(pp. 72–79). Cambridge University Press.
Giddens, A. (1984). The Constitution of Society. Polity Press.
Haynes, S. N., Richard, D. C., & Kubany, E. S. (1995).
Content validity in psychological assessment:
A functional approach to concepts and methods.
Psychological Assessment, 7(3), 238–247. https://doi.
org/10.1037//1040-3590.7.3.238
Hoogstraten, J. (1982). The retrospective pretest in an
educational training context. Psychologisch labora­
torium Universiteit van Amsterdam.
Imig, D. G., & Imig, S. R. (2006). What do beginning
teachers need to know? An essay. Journal of Teacher
Education, 57(3), 286–291. https://doi.org/10.1177/
0022487105285964
Page 17 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352
Kadwa, M. S. (2012). Attitudes of Saudi Arabian Learners
to Online Communication in EFL. (Master’s thesis).
University of South Africa.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2003). Beyond methods: Macro-
strategies for language teaching. Yale University
Press.
Lam, T. C. M., & Bango, P. (2003). A comparison of three
retrospective self-reporting methods of measuring
change in instructional practice. American Journal of
Evaluation, 24(1), 65–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/
109821400302400106
Lopes, C. E., & Dambrosio, B. S. (2016). Professional
development shaping teacher agency and creative
insubordination. Ciência and Educação (Bauru), 22(4),
1085 1095. https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-
731320160040015
Mertens, D. M. (2010). Research and evaluation in educa­
tion and psychology: Integrating diversity with quan­
titative, qualitative, and mixed methods. SAGE.
Molla, T., & Nolan, A. (2020). Teacher agency and profes­
sional practice. Teachers and Teaching, 26(1), 67–87.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2020.1740196
Moore, F. M. (2007). Agency, identity, and social justice
education: Preservice teachers’ thoughts on becoming
agents of change in urban elementary science class­
rooms. Research in Science Education, 38(5), 589–610.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-007-9065-6
Moore, D., & Tananis, C. A. (2009). Measuring change in a
short-term educational program using
a retrospective pretest design. American Journal of
Evaluation, 30(2), 189–202. https://doi.org/10.1177/
1098214009334506
Mora, A., Trejo, P., & Roux, R. (2014). English language
teachers’ professional development and identities.
PROFILE Issues in Teachers Professional Development,
16(1), 49–62 https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v16n1.
38153.
Myers, M., & Clark, S. (2002). CPD, lifelong learning and
going meta In J. Edge (Ed.), Continuing professional
development: some of our perspectives (pp. 50–62).
Great Britain: Information Press.
Nguyen, H. T. (2008). Conceptions of teaching by five
Vietnamese American preservice teachers. Journal of
Language, Identity and Education, 7(2), 113–136.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15348450801970654
Nielsen, R. B. (2011). A retrospective pretest-posttest
evaluation of a one-time personal finance training.
Journal of Extension, 49(1), 1–8. https://archives.joe.
org/joe/2011february/pdf/JOE_v49_1a4.pdf
Noonan, J. (2016). Teachers learning: Engagement, iden­
tity, and agency in powerful professional develop­
ment. (Doctoral dissertation). Harvard University.
Olsen, B. (2011, October). Teacher identity and the complex­
ities of teaching, teacher learning, and teacher prepara­
tion in current educational reform contexts. Paper
presented at Oxford University Education Symposium,
Oxford England (Oxford University Press).
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Bailey, P., & Daley, C. E. (2000). The vali­
dation of three scales measuring anxiety at different
stages of the foreign language learning process: The
input anxiety scale, the processing anxiety scale, and the
output anxiety scale. Language Learning, 50(1), 87–117.
https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00112
Posavac, E. J., & Carey, R. G. (1997). Program evaluation
methods and case studies. Prentice Hall, Inc.
Pratt, C. C., McGuigan, W. M., & Katzev, A. R. (2000).
Measuring program outcomes: Using retrospective
pretest methodology. American Journal of
Evaluation, 21(3), 341–349. https://doi.org/10.1177/
109821400002100305
Pualhus, D. L., & Vazire, S. (2007). The self-report method.
In R. W. Robins, R. C. Fraley, & R. F. Krueger (Eds.),
Handbook of research methods in personality psy­
chology (pp. 224–239). New York: Guilford.
Richards, J. C., & Farrell, T. S. C. (2005). Professional
development for language teacher. Cambridge
University Press.
Rohs, F. R. (2002). Improving the evaluation of leadership
programs: Control response shift. Journal of
Leadership Education, 1(2), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.
12806/V1/I2/RF3
Russ-Eft, D. F., & Preskill, H. S. (2009). Evaluation in orga­
nizations: A systematic approach to enhancing learn­
ing, performance, and change. Basic Books.
Schluntz, M. (2018). Developing collective teacher efficacy
through job-embedded professional development in
elementary teachers (Doctoral dissertation). Northern
Illinois University.
Schnell, R., & Frauke, K. (2005). Separating interviewer
and sampling point effects. Journal of Official
Statistics, 21(3), 389–410 https://nbn-resolving.org/
urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-131806.
Tao, J., & Gao, X. (2021). Language Teacher Agency
(Elements in Language Teaching). Cambridge
University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/
9781108916943
Vähäsantanen, K. (2015). Professional agency in the
stream of change: Understanding educational
change and teachers’ professional identities.
Teaching and Teacher Education, 47(1), 1–12. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.11.006
Van Dusen, B. et al. (2012). Changing identities and evol­
ving conceptions of inquiry through teacher-driven
professional development. Proc. 2012 National
Association of Research on Science Teaching
Conference. Retrieved from http://arxiv.org/abs/1209.
1372
Varghese, M. (2001). Professional development as a site
for the conceptualisation and negotiation of bilingual
teacher identities. In B. Johnston & S. Irujo Eds.,
Research and Practice in Language Teacher
Education: Voices from the field Centre for Advanced
Research in Second Language Acquisition. (pp.
213–232). University of Minnesota.
Varghese, M. et al. (2005). Theorising language teacher
identity: Three perspectives and beyond. Journal of
Language, Identity and Education, 4(1), 21–44.
Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of
research on the impact of professional learning
communities on teaching practice and student
learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1),
80–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of
higher mental process. Harvard University Press.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice. Cambridge
University Press.
Wenger, E. (2010). Communities of practice and social
learning systems: The career of a concept. In
C. Blackmore (Ed.), Communities of Practice and
Social Learning Systems (pp. 179–198). Springer.
Wynd, C. A., et al., (2003). Two quantitative approaches
for estimating content validity. Western Journal of
Nursing Research,25(5), 508–518. doi:10.1177/
0193945903252998
Yang, H. (2015). Teacher mediated agency in educational
reform in china. London: Springer.
Page 18 of 19
Ahmad & Shah, Cogent Education (2022), 9: 2080352
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2080352

© 2022 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
You are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions
You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Cogent Education (ISSN: 2331-186X) is published by Cogent OA, part of Taylor & Francis Group.
Publishing with Cogent OA ensures:
• Immediate, universal access to your article on publication
• High visibility and discoverability via the Cogent OA website as well as Taylor & Francis Online
• Download and citation statistics for your article
• Rapid online publication
• Input from, and dialog with, expert editors and editorial boards
• Retention of full copyright of your article
• Guaranteed legacy preservation of your article
• Discounts and waivers for authors in developing regions
Submit your manuscript to a Cogent OA journal at www.CogentOA.com

Page 19 of 19