Journal Clubs as Innovation Hubs for Enhancing Resilience and Creative Teaching Practices Among In-Service Iranian EFL Teachers

This study examines the impact of structured journal clubs on enhancing resilience and creative ‎teaching practices ‎(CTPs)‎ among ۴۵ Iranian EFL teachers from public schools, private institutes, ‎and universities in Guilan Province, Iran. Addressing a gap in EFL professional development ‎‎(PD) literature, the study investigates how collaborative engagement with pedagogical research ‎through bi-weekly journal club sessions over three months fosters adaptability and innovation ‎within Iran’s centralized educational system. Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-‎methods design, pre-post quantitative data were collected using the Connor-Davidson Resilience ‎Scale (۲۰۰۳) and a researcher-developed CTPs scale, followed by thematic analysis of interviews ‎and reflection logs. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed separately and then ‎integrated via joint displays. Results indicated significant improvements in teachers’ resilience ‎and CTPs, with large effect sizes. Three key mechanisms drove these outcomes: collaborative ‎sense-making of research, emotional support networks mitigating isolation, and context-specific ‎adaptations to institutional constraints. Variations emerged across settings: university instructors ‎integrated action research (research inquiries into classroom techniques‎) into their teaching, public ‎school educators developed guerrilla pedagogy (small-scale, informal strategies for large classes ‎under curricular constraints), and private institute teachers leveraged organizational flexibility ‎‎(rapid policy/schedule adjustments) for innovation. The findings underscore journal clubs’ ‎potential as sustainable, teacher-led PD models in restrictive educational contexts. ‎ ‎

کلیدواژه ها:

Creative Teaching Practices ، In-Service Teachers ، Journal Clubs ، Professional Development‎ ، ‎Resilience ‎