Empowering voices: Designing and implementing a social justice course in an English language teacher education program

Thesis Type: Doctorate

Institution Of The Thesis: Anadolu University, Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü, Turkey

Thesis Supervisor: Gökhan Öztürk

Approval Date: 2026

Thesis Language: English

Abstract:

This study employed an action research design to develop, implement, and evaluate a social justice-oriented course within an English Language Teacher Education (ELTE) program at a Turkish state university. Addressing the gap between increasingly diverse classroom realities and the predominantly technocratic nature of traditional language teacher preparation, the research sought to equip pre-service EFL teachers with the critical awareness and pedagogical tools necessary to navigate systemic inequities. The research began with a multi-stakeholder needs analysis that highlighted a need for practice-based engagement with structural disadvantage and linguistic discrimination. Informed by these findings, a 15-week course was designed and implemented with 31 pre-service teachers. The intervention was evaluated integrating the quantitative Social Justice Scale (SJS) with qualitative data from reflective portfolios, a focus group interview, and an explanatory follow-up inquiry. Findings revealed an emerging shift in participants' professional identities. While quantitative results indicated no statistically significant changes in self-reported scores, qualitative data documented the initiation of an epistemic recalibration process. Participants began to move away from unexamined confidence and deficit-based perspectives, demonstrating a growing understanding of intersectional disadvantage and linguistic hegemony. The study concludes that social justice education in ELTE requires epistemic repositioning rather than mere attitudinal enhancement, calling for program-wide equity visions to sustain these commitments against institutional constraints.