Making it possible': the complex dynamics of university foreign language teacher agency for research in funding applications

The study addresses how university foreign language teachers in China exercise agency for research when applying for external funding, specifically the National Social Science Fund of China (NSSFC). Against pressures of performance-based evaluation and a strong emphasis on research productivity and quality, foreign language teachers often face heavy teaching loads and limited research training. The research problem is the limited understanding of how these teachers enact agency in funding applications. The purpose is to uncover the constituents and dynamics of teacher agency for research during funding applications through a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) lens. The study is important because success in NSSFC funding is pivotal for academic advancement in Chinese higher education and because teacher research engagement supports professional development, identity formation, and disciplinary growth. Two research questions guide the study: (1) What are the key constituents of university foreign language teacher agency for research in funding applications? (2) How do these teachers exercise their agency dynamically in funding applications?

The paper situates NSSFC within China’s strategic higher education agenda (e.g., Double First Class) and notes relatively strong state investment in humanities and social sciences. Prior work on NSSFC in linguistics and literature shows concentration of awards in elite institutions, topic trends aligned with national strategies, and disparities between foreign and Chinese language/literature projects. Research on language teacher agency has explored teaching practices, identity construction, and professional development, but little is known about agency in funding applications. Theoretical framing draws on agency conceptualizations (e.g., Bandura; Priestley et al.; Goller & Harteis) emphasizing capacities, actions, and contextual mediation. CDST is adopted to account for agency’s complexity, dynamism, situatedness (past–present–future), and relational nature (interaction of internal and external factors). This framing motivates examining subsystems of agency and their nonlinear interactions in funding contexts.

Design: Qualitative case study. Context: H University (HU) in East China, a comprehensive university under First-Class Discipline construction and part of Project 211. Participants: 12 in-service foreign language faculty who had received at least one NSSFC award (16 approved projects total across the sample). Disciplines include foreign literature, linguistics, Chinese literature, and archaeology; project types included general, youth, and projects involving the foreign translation of a Chinese academic work. Average participant age ~49 at study; average age at award ~42. At award time: 56% associate professors, 25% lecturers, 19% professors; at study time: half professors, half associate professors. Sampling: Purposeful, focusing on NSSFC awardees as information-rich cases. Three participants (Teachers Zhao, Cheng, Ye; pseudonyms) were selected for in-depth interviews due to variation in titles, areas, and funding categories. Data collection (Aug–Dec 2021): - Narrative frames covering beliefs/attitudes toward NSSFC, application process, intentional efforts, resources/constraints, and emotions before/after application (all 12 teachers). - Semi-structured interviews with three focal participants in two rounds (intervals 2–4 weeks). Each interview 1–1.5 hours; total interview time ~8 hours. Interview guides targeted manifestations and dynamics of agency in applications. - Document analysis of participants’ NSSFC application files (e.g., multiple proposal drafts; tracked revisions); researcher kept a reflexive research diary. Data analysis: Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Steps: verbatim transcription; immersion and initial open coding in ATLAS.ti 9; generation of broader themes; manual recoding to triangulate insights; integration of overlapping themes. Produced 92 open codes organized under five themes: agency beliefs, agency practice, agency emotions, situated (temporal) nature, and relational nature of agency. Trustworthiness: Two coders; pilot coding to calibrate scheme; weighted kappa=0.873; disagreements resolved with a third coder; member checking with participants. Ethics: Informed consent, confidentiality, pseudonyms; insider researcher reflexivity mitigated by diary and team discussion; institutional ethical approval obtained.

- Constituents (RQ1): Teacher agency for research in NSSFC applications comprises three interrelated subsystems: (1) Agency beliefs—NSSFC perceived as authoritative, fair, and conferring honor; these beliefs serve as preconditions for sustained engagement. (2) Agency practice—motivations (promotion, supervisor qualification, performance metrics, academic ambition), preparation (long-term accumulation; extensive literature reading across disciplines; careful reading of annual application guides and approval data; balancing research interests with national priorities/hotspots), acting (crafting proposals with clear research questions, methods, value; strong logic and concise argumentation; attention to language, formatting, and reader-friendliness), reflecting (iterative revisions; learning from peers/successful cases; early start to allow multiple drafts). (3) Agency emotions—before applications: anxiety, strain, agony, desperation, confusion; after success: confidence, joy, pride, hope; teachers reported using planning and concreteness to transform negative emotions into productive action. - Dynamics (RQ2): Agency is situated temporally (past–present–future) and relational. • Past: Prior research experiences, publications, previous applications, visits abroad, translation competence, and publisher contacts contribute to readiness. • Present: Judicious topic selection; building a knowledge network via literature; appropriate methods; theoretical altitude and clear frameworks; assembling diverse research teams; budgeting; complying with word limits and documentation norms. • Future: Alignment with national policies/strategic needs; anticipating trends; personal academic planning; criteria emphasized when acting as peer reviewers (originality, argument adequacy, methodological appropriateness). • Relational: Personal factors (self-control, time management, use of vacations/weekends, creating undisturbed work spaces, managing administrative loads) interact with environmental factors (mentors, colleagues, supervisors, expert feedback organized by faculty/university, academic conferences, research atmosphere). Structural constraints include heavy teaching loads, limited research communities, weakened disciplinary status of foreign languages, and fewer suggested topics, which shape choices to act or refrain. Evidence of extensive iteration (e.g., 19 tracked proposal drafts by a participant) underscores nonlinear, emergent development. - Conceptual output: A framework linking beliefs, practice, and emotions with temporal and relational dimensions; and a data-driven pathway recommending recognition-building, sustained practice (planning, methods, reading, critical thinking), and relational competencies (listening, expressing, collaborating) for successful applications.

Findings address the research questions by identifying three core subsystems of agency (beliefs, practice, emotions) and demonstrating their dynamic, nonlinear interplay within temporal (past–present–future) and relational (person–environment) dimensions. Viewing agency through CDST elucidates how stability and change emerge from iterative interactions among these subsystems and contextual affordances/constraints. The results extend prior work on teacher agency and identity by shifting focus from teaching and publishing to funding applications, showing how beliefs (authority/fairness/honor) catalyze engagement, how practice (motivation, preparation, action, reflection) operationalizes agency, and how emotions mediate movement from intention to action. The ecological-relational lens clarifies that success is co-constructed via personal regulation and institutional/social supports but is also bounded by structural constraints in foreign language disciplines. Practically, the framework and pathway offer actionable guidance for applicants and institutions to scaffold agency for research (e.g., structured feedback mechanisms, communities of practice, time/resource supports).

The study contributes a CDST-informed framework of teacher agency for research in funding applications, specifying three interacting subsystems (beliefs, practice, emotions) and their situated, relational dynamics. Empirically, it illuminates how university foreign language teachers accumulate experience, strategically prepare, iteratively craft proposals, and regulate emotions to navigate NSSFC applications. Practically, it offers a working pathway: bolster positive recognition and confidence; prioritize literature engagement, judicious topic selection, rigorous and reader-friendly proposal writing, and persistence; and cultivate collaborative networks and institutional feedback mechanisms. Future research should examine the framework’s applicability across institutions and contexts and employ longitudinal designs to capture developmental trajectories and contextual variation.

Findings derive from a small, single-institution sample (12 teachers at one Chinese university) and an exploratory design within limited time/resources, which may constrain transferability. The insider-researcher context poses potential bias despite mitigation strategies. Future studies should test and refine the framework across diverse institutions/disciplines and adopt longitudinal approaches to better capture temporal dynamics of agency and impacts of structural conditions.