As stated before, in 26 studies, English teachers considered themselves immersed in complex structural factors mediating between their identities and the contexts in which they asserted agency. Indeed, English teachers participating in those studies recognized that agency was formed through a constant interplay between individuals and structural factors such as external evaluations from parents and high-stakes test scores (Mesa Villa, 2017; Namgung et al., 2020). In relation to structural factors, Kayi-Aydar (2015) found that English teachers’ relations with their mentors and learners contributed to the participants’ agency as providers of guidance and support. Additionally, teachers’ agency was not activated by beliefs alone; other influential factors such as school culture, teachers’ interactions with students, and colleagues’ cooperation also influenced the teachers’ perceptions as agents of change (Wang, 2022). In fact, Jiang et al. (2022) state that “agency is not isolated but is still the element that varies with social conditions” (p. 3).

Regarding some conclusions of the studies and how English teachers perceive their role as agents of change, it is noticeable that participants exercise their agency despite diverse classroom contexts, relational and structural factors, and conflicting positional identities. Indeed, agency is perceived by the teachers not as a singular activity but as a shared, relational, participative decision-making and contextual activity instead (van der Heijden, Beijaard, et al., 2018; Vandeyar, 2017; Wallen & Tormey, 2019). In a qualitative study conducted in public schools in Mississippi, Burnett (2011) claims that “for teacher educators, it seems critical to better understand both the local and social realities of language classrooms so that teachers may more broadly serve the communities in which they live and teach” (p. 4). Two studies (Kong et al., 2022; Mesa Villa, 2017) conclude that, despite the structural factors, English teachers actively implement their points of view and make decisions by themselves, which proves their role as agents of change.

In 18 studies, English teachers’ perceptions were associated with positive attitudes and emotions toward their role as agents of change. For instance, Limbada and Kajee (2020) and van der Heijden, Geldens, et al. (2015) assert that English teachers played a critical role in their learners’ personal and academic growth and were focused on having a high impact on them.

In an interview-based case study of a language teacher agency from social justice, the interviewee demonstrated agency through favorable conditions at the institution as well as a good relationship with her students by changing her image from merely an instructor to an educator who taught life skills and respect to others (Leal & Crookes, 2018). Regarding some of those positive attitudes, Balyer and Özcan (2020) declared that “through their responsible and caring social behavior, teachers helped many students socially” (p. 7).

Concerning the main conclusions, English teachers recognize themselves as facilitators of social change in their communities despite the challenges, and they show positive improvements in transforming education by exercising agency (Fogle & Moser, 2017; Pillay, 2017). They also attempt to exercise their professional agency in the complexity of contexts and perceive it as part of their role in helping students adapt to changes. Furthermore, they focus mainly on the students’ needs and well-being (Barahona & Toledo-Sandoval, 2022; Pantić, 2017).

Despite increasing difficulties, such as students’ social realities and vulnerable conditions for developing agency, English teachers seek ways to construct affective bonds through confidence and empathy, encouraging them to actively support their students (Foley et al., 2022; Satyro, 2022). Emotional factors and positive attitudes toward learners are important for English teachers when they configure their identity as agents of change. Therefore, English teachers’ agency develops through positive emotions such as enthusiasm, happiness, caring, and job satisfaction (Bakadorova & Raufelder, 2018; Miller & Gkonou, 2018; Wu, 2022).

In five studies, English teachers highlighted perceptions of their agency associated with learners. Teachers can better exercise their agency when focused on their students (Leontjev & deBoer, 2022). It was fundamental “for teachers to assist and help learners convey their ideas in the target language, allowing them to feel more confident to participate in class discussion” (Gómez Jiménez & Gutiérrez, 2019, p. 97). When promoting social competence through the exercise of agency, it is suitable for teachers to be more concerned about disadvantaged students (Cheung & Lee, 2009). Finally, Tumelius and Kuure (2022) found that when English teachers focus primarily on students to exert their agency, they can strengthen their professional vision and agency.

In five studies, English teachers perceived their agency through certain resistance to the rules established by institutional power. For instance, in a study conducted at a university in New York, Benesch (2018) asserts that the respondents’ lack of obedience to educational policy changes in language teaching was an indicator of the educators’ agency. A qualitative analysis of how teachers in some bilingual schools distributed their agency revealed that English teachers followed routines not aligned with the models chosen by the institutions. Furthermore, teachers constantly made decisions that shaped the character of their classes (Hurdus, 2023); that is, some resistance to the established rules seems necessary for teacher agency. Miranda and Valencia Giraldo (2019) suggest “a perspective on language education policies that approaches equity differently, acknowledging language diversity and not simply the quantity of outcomes, and envisions teachers as policymakers through their agency” (p. 283).

In a few studies (4), the participating English teachers doubted the idea of having the skills to develop their agency. For example, Ahmad and Shah (2022) reported that most participants felt unable to play an active role in pursuing their professional development goals and pathways. In a life history approach with a critical event focus in Iran, Mirzaee and Aliakbari (2018) indicated that English teachers’ agency was socially constructed and constrained, with no room for personal agency due to tensions with students, colleagues, and the institutions they worked for. In a phenomenological study aimed at exploring in-service English language teachers’ agencies using technology, Yılmaz and Söğüt (2022) concluded that limited access to technology, the geographical location of the students, and unclear educational policies were hindrances to developing agency.

As said above, 22 articles reported that English teachers’ practices toward their role as social agents were related to interactions with their communities, students, and colleagues. With regard to the main findings of the studies, Balyer and Özcan (2020), referring to their participants, affirmed that “when they noticed that certain students were regularly absent, they informed their principal and sometimes they visited the families to learn the reasons for the student being absent.” (p. 6). Similarly, English teachers constructed their role mainly as social agents and educators by interacting with students, families, colleagues, and other professionals (Fogle & Moser, 2017; Rodrigues & Duboc, 2022).

Regarding some of the major conclusions, some authors recognize that social practices such as interacting with communities, communicating teachers’ necessities, and taking action to solve problems facilitate the development of teachers’ agency and contribute to rethinking teachers’ role as transformative members of their institutions. Furthermore, colleagues play a central role in helping the teacher work toward educational change (Hernández Varona & Gutiérrez-Álvarez, 2020; Mesa Villa, 2017; Rostami & Yousefi, 2020; Sierra-Piedrahita, 2018).

Undoubtedly, harmonious interactions with students, strong relations with coworkers, practices promoting collaborative work, teachers’ attempts to create opportunities for students to help each other, and knowledge on meeting the needs of the communities really produce a positive sense of agency (Gómez-Vásquez & Guerrero Nieto, 2018; Robayo Acuña & Cárdenas, 2017; Wang, 2022).

In 20 studies, English teachers exhibited humanistic approaches to develop agency. In a study in South Africa, Pillay (2017) found that the English teachers served as agents of change in the classrooms by respecting learners’ identities and creating a democratic environment. In that way, teachers faced the difficulties and made a difference in the students’ lives. In an interview-based case study by Leal and Crookes (2018), the language teacher exercised agency and involved the students in favorable conditions by encouraging them to discuss social constructs and voice their opinions. Similarly, “new teachers can and will advocate for diverse youth in classrooms and in ways that extend beyond the classroom into other school forums and to families and community” (Athanases & De Oliveira, 2008, p. 98).

In a South African study with the objective of exploring the best practices of an English teacher for meaningful education change, Vandeyar (2017) found that teaching involves supporting students, seeing the class as an act of human compassion, and viewing diversity as a great possibility for social change. Finally, agency was constructed by using humanistic and personal commitments that engaged students in an environment charged with affectivity, connection to the common well-being, and attention to students’ diversity (Foley et al., 2022; Satyro, 2022; Sierra Piedrahita & Echeverri Sucerquia, 2020).

Considering some of the conclusions stated by the authors of the studies, English teachers might offer their students more inclusive and engaging content in class and support them in practicing values. Besides, teaching with the purpose of guiding learners for life is a great way of exhibiting agency (Cross, 2010; Kong et al., 2022).

As mentioned before, in six studies, English teachers performed literacy practices to encourage agency. For instance, in a study aimed at applying a literacy activity as a social practice, Kepe and Linake (2019) found that through the use of extensive reading and the discursive construction of culture, students not only learned English but also obtained good knowledge of the cultures of those they interacted with. In line with this issue, when students were engaged in literacy practices, their English teachers were mindful of teaching as a social act and learned to work from a critical approach (Gómez Jiménez & Gutiérrez, 2019). According to Watson et al. (2022), “experiences of agency matter not just for teachers’ professional identities and satisfaction, but also have a direct impact on how students experience literature” (p. 352). Finally, students would benefit more from agentive activities conducted by their teachers based on literacy activities around character education and literacy tasks that include reading and writing activities (Cheung & Lee, 2009; Ruan et al., 2020).

In five studies, English teachers were found to encourage agency through practices based on their own initiatives. Only in three of those studies did the participants confirm not having the skills to develop agency. Teachers’ academic freedom to implement teaching methods and techniques revealed that they were unable to play an active role as agents of change due to the lack of professional development (Ahmad & Shah, 2022; Gao et al., 2022; Mirzaee & Aliakbari, 2018). On the other hand, two studies revealed that English teachers’ freedom to implement practices could certainly foster the exercise of agency. Teachers intentionally managed their agency and practices through their own initiatives in a way that let them constantly make decisions to shape the character of their classes (Hurdus, 2023; van der Heijden, Beijaard et al., 2018).

Four studies found that the participating English teachers struggled to develop a strong understanding of bilingualism and actively applied a framework of translingual pedagogy in daily teaching; in this way, teachers became active agents (Fu & Weng, 2023). Regarding multilingual classrooms, Song et al. (2022) highlight that “teachers’ translanguaging practices in the classroom not only allow, but also encourage students’ dynamic use of multiple languages in various formats” (p. 1). Additionally, Ishihara et al. (2018) declare that the use of translanguaging practices became a great tool for participants because it facilitated agency and allowed them to respond to change.

In 19 studies, teachers’ challenges were related to collective agency. Similarly, English teachers needed to consider how to construct a positive collaborative learning community, authentic collegial relationships, and strong support to obtain the effects of strong professional agency (Jiang et al., 2022). In a qualitative study conducted in South Korea to understand the professional agency of secondary English teachers, Namgung et al. (2020) highlighted that the “legitimacy of professional agency is particularly significant concerning the individual self, collegial relationship and the wider sociocultural environment” (p. 8).

In a case study carried out in Scotland that remarked collective agency as a challenge for English teachers, Pantić (2017) declares that teachers’ participation in decision-making and working with other agents—including families, school colleagues, and other professionals—might be a real challenge for teachers to fulfill agency. Building connections with communities outside of the school and teachers working together in designing joint community service projects for the students are paramount challenges for English teachers’ agency (Cruz-Arcila, 2020). Finally, there is a clear necessity for encouraging English teachers to advocate and promote work with communities in a way that they might also overcome the isolation of their work, increase opportunities to plan together and make decisions collectively when exercising agency (Leontjev & deBoer, 2022; Rodrigues & Duboc, 2022; Sierra-Piedrahita, 2018).

Eighteen studies linked English teachers’ challenges to reflections on practices. All teachers could reflect on their teaching practices in order to change; at the same time, teacher-educators and all persons involved in the process of agency might be encouraged to see themselves as agents of change (Pillay, 2017). In line with those challenges, Nguyen and Ngo (2023) and Gao and Cui (2022) claim that English teachers must be involved in reflective actions to address their sense of agency. Teachers with different pedagogical cognitions could also conduct peer reflections to empower their understanding of teachers’ practices and agentic actions.

In addition, English teachers’ agentive and reflective actions were essential to provide their students with more informative, inclusive, and engaging content, as well as to help them develop skills for the future; when teachers reflected on their practices, they made students’ needs the priority and struggled to solve existing problems (Choi, 2022; Kong et al., 2022; Ruan et al., 2020). The challenges English teachers faced could be seen as reflections among the participants that allowed them to analyze social problems and recognize their own ability to act as agents of change (Hernández Varona & Gutiérrez Álvarez, 2020; Wallen & Tormey, 2019). Finally, “teacher training initiatives are encouraged to provide opportunities for teachers to reflect on how their social goals correspond with not only their experiences with students but also their own psychological well-being” (Chang et al., 2022, conclusion section).

Ten studies revealed that English teachers’ challenges were associated with understanding the students’ needs and realities. For instance, in a study conducted at a university in California, Athanases and De Oliveira (2008) pointed out that the “teachers’ acts of advocacy shared four crosscutting themes: a goal of equitable access to resources and support, convictions about equity, interceding on behalf of students in need, and engaging coadvocates” (p. 65). Similarly, teachers should understand the students’ linguistic backgrounds and experiences and exercise agency actively (Kirsch, 2018). Taking the time to get to know and understand each individual in the class, creating an environment that allowed both teachers and learners to express their emotions and personal viewpoints with confidence, and learning to listen mindfully to each other were challenges that English teachers faced during their practices as agents of change (Olivero, 2023; Vandeyar, 2017).

Ten studies showed that English teachers’ challenges corresponded to language policies. For example, a study aimed to analyze two teachers’ stories about their agency in a university in Colombia reported that their challenges were basically related to policies that regarded them as simple instructors of English; thus, agency encompassed not only the teaching of a language but also a way for teachers to gain the power of teaching as a possibility for social change (Quintero-Polo et al., 2022). To overcome the constraints of policies, teachers made profound agentic changes by adapting the curriculum to create a space for reflection and foster autonomy in their classes (Wang, 2022). English teachers strived against the barriers posed by language policies: “Acting based on leading principles entails putting into practice the elimination of barriers—those which emerge from linguistic and educative policies as well as those which emerge from the inequality in social conditions” (Robayo Acuña & Cárdenas, 2017, p. 134). In a study centered on investigating teachers’ agency development in a university in Saudi Arabia, whose results indicated that the participating English teachers were unable to develop their agency, Ahmad and Shah (2022) concluded that institutional goals and language policies should be more transparent and more aligned to students’ real life because the existed curriculum was irrelevant and demotivating for students.