Expanding the boundaries of social justice language teacher education: A cross-cultural study of English language teachers

Citation

Yilmaz A, Ortactepe Hart D, Brown S, Celik S, Rana S, Karaca B, Ullah S & Ajmal Gulzar M (2025) Expanding the boundaries of social justice language teacher education: A cross-cultural study of English language teachers. BAAL Conference 2025, University of Glasgow, UK, 04.09.2025-06.09.2025. https://baal2025.wordpress.com/

Abstract
Recent developments in English language teacher education have seen a growing emphasis on social justice, with scholars advocating for the inclusion of critical perspectives on race (Flores & Rosa, 2019), socioeconomic disparities (Block, 2018), and gender and sexual identity (Paiz, 2020) in pedagogical practices. This movement aims to empower educators with the awareness and tools needed to confront structural inequalities within and outside educational settings (Hawkins, 2011; Authors). Aligning with this scholarly trend, the present study explores social justice language education (SJLE) - an approach that leverages language teaching to critically analyse and resist systemic inequities in both educational and broader societal contexts (Hawkins, 2011; Author). While SJLE has gained traction in the last decade, existing research predominantly centres on Western educational landscapes, such as those in the US and UK (Glynn, Wesely & Wassell, 2014; Hastings & Jacob, 2016), leaving Muslim-majority settings like Pakistan and Türkiye underexplored. This study bridges this gap by investigating pre-service teachers’ perceptions of SJLE across three underrepresented regions: Scotland, Türkiye, and Pakistan. The study engages 25 English language teachers from each of the three regions, involving tailored in-person and online training programmes. These interventions included workshops on foundational concepts, pedagogical applications, and collaborative material design. Data were gathered through pre- and post-intervention surveys, semi-structured interviews, and an analysis of participant-generated teaching materials. Employing a mixed-methods design, the study integrates quantitative approaches (e.g., descriptive statistics) with qualitative analyses (e.g., thematic coding) to examine emerging trends. The findings offer insights into pre-service teachers’ perceptions, potential barriers, and underlying beliefs that shape their engagement with SJLE. Additionally, the study showcases teaching resources developed during the interventions to embed social justice principles into English language teaching. By foregrounding underexplored educational contexts, this research contributes to the discourse on SJLE, offering insights into its global applicability and localized adaptations.