Published

2018-07-01

Foreign Language Faculty Research-Related Beliefs, Perceptions, and Research Motivation at Three Mexican Universities

Motivación, creencias y percepciones hacia la investigación de profesores de lenguas extranjeras en tres universidades mexicanas

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v20n2.66008

Keywords:

Foreign language faculty, research conditions, research motivation, research self-efficacy (en)
condiciones para la investigación, creencias de autoeficacia para la investigación, motivación para investigar, profesores de lenguas extranjeras (es)

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Authors

  • María del Rosario Reyes-Cruz
  • Griselda Murrieta-Loyo
  • Moisés Damián Perales-Escudero

This paper examines the research self-efficacy beliefs, research motivation, and perceptions of research importance and research obstacles of 100 professors and lecturers of foreign languages at three Mexican universities. Survey results show that faculty hold moderate to high research self-efficacy beliefs, are highly motivated to conduct research, think research in the area is very important, and perceive that lack of time is the main obstacle to conducting research. The lack of fit between most participants’ relatively high self-efficacy and limited research engagement suggests the possibility that faculty overestimate their research abilities. The implications of these findings are also discussed.

Este artículo examina las creencias de autoeficacia para la investigación, la motivación, las percepciones sobre la importancia de esta actividad y los obstáculos que enfrentan 100 profesores de lenguas extranjeras de tres universidades mexicanas para realizarla. Los resultados de una encuesta mostraron que los profesores albergan creencias sobre su eficacia en investigación que van de moderadas a altas. Igualmente, éstos se dicen muy motivados para realizar investigación y la consideran una actividad importante para el área. El obstáculo más recurrentemente mencionado fue la falta de tiempo. La poca consistencia entre el sentido alto de autoeficacia de la mayoría de los participantes y su limitado compromiso para la investigación sugieren la posibilidad de que los profesores hayan sobrevalorado sus habilidades investigativas. Finalmente, se discuten las implicaciones de estos hallazgos.

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Foreign Language Faculty Research-Related Beliefs, Perceptions, and Research Motivation at Three Mexican Universities. (2018). Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 20(2), 35-49. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v20n2.66008

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