Scale validation

Foreign language (FL) teacher agency, as a significant part of teachers’ professional development, encompasses self-organized efforts to augment professional growth. This study aimed to develop an ecological FL teacher agency model through a sequential exploratory mixed methods design based on which an assessment scale measuring FL teachers' agency value was developed. In the qualitative phase, developing and validating the FL teacher agency model, firstly, an interview guide was developed and piloted in a group of 10 TEFL teacher educators from Farhangian Teacher Education University in Tehran. Then, 30 in-service EFL teachers were interviewed. The data were analyzed through MAXQDA to find the components of the tentative conceptual model of teacher agency.  Based on the interview analysis, the preliminary draft of the EFL teacher agency scale was developed.  The refined EFL teacher agency questionnaire encompassing the three components of Autonomy, Freedom, and Choice was administered to 354 randomly selected EFL teachers. The scale's reliability was gained through Cronbach's alpha, and its construct validity through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The study findings could be used by foreign language teachers, teacher educators, and TEFL teacher agency researchers. 

Teacher accountability, referring to teachers’ responsibility for instructional effectiveness and student outcomes, is a fundamental concept in education. However, barriers to teacher accountability in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education in Iran have not been previously investigated. This study aimed to identify these barriers by developing and validating a context-specific instrument. A mixed-method approach was adopted, starting with semi-structured interviews with 60 EFL teachers to generate questionnaire items. Following the pilot study, a 27-item questionnaire was administered to 460 EFL teachers in private language institutes. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was run to develop an adjusted model of inhibitors to EFL teachers’ accountability and to assess the psychometric properties of the BTAS. Additionally, descriptive statistics explored teachers' perceptions of the identified barriers. The analysis supported a three-factor model of teacher accountability barriers: Internal obstacles, including motivational factors; external inhibitors, such as systemic constraints and assessment limitations; and environmental inhibitors related to cultural, sociocultural, and political constraints. The findings highlight the complex and interrelated motivational, institutional, and contextual challenges that hinder teacher accountability, and they present practical implications for policymakers and educational authorities to foster supportive environments that enhance teaching quality and learner achievement.