An Integrative Literature Review on English Teachers as Agents of ChangeUna revisión integral de la literatura sobre los docentes de inglés como agentes de cambio

Abstract

In this article, we attempt to understand English teachers’ perceptions, practices, and challenges concerning social agency through an integrative literature review to build and draw an interpretative framework and generate new knowledge. To achieve this, 58 empirical studies published in a period of seventeen years—2006 to 2023—were selected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Results showed that English language teachers’ perceptions of agency were closely related to structural factors. Practices such as interactions with communities and humanistic approaches can make agency meaningful. Challenges in agency were more related to collective agency and reflections. In conclusion, English teachers’ agentic actions are not dampened by structural factors; on the contrary, this review confirms the potential of English educators to transform education.

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ht tp s: //doi .o rg /10 .15446/pro l e.v27n1.113 09 2
An Integrative Literature Review on English Teachers as Agents of
Change
Una revisión integral de la literatura sobre los docentes de inglés como agentes
de cambio
Lina Betancurt1
Liliana del Pilar Gallego
Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia
In this article, we attempt to understand English teachers’ perceptions, practices, and challenges concerning
social agency through an integrative literature review to build and draw an interpretative framework
and generate new knowledge. To achieve this, 58 empirical studies published in a period of seventeen
years—2006 to 2023—were selected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Results showed that
English language teachers’ perceptions of agency were closely related to structural factors. Practices such
as interactions with communities and humanistic approaches can make agency meaningful. Challenges
in agency were more related to collective agency and reections. In conclusion, English teachers’ agentic
actions are not dampened by structural factors; on the contrary, this review conrms the potential of
English educators to transform education.
Keywords: English language teachers, social change, social competence, teacher agency
En este artículo, se pretende profundizar en las percepciones, prácticas y retos relacionados con la agencia
social de los docentes de inglés mediante una revisión bibliográca integral para elaborar un marco
interpretativo y generar conocimiento. Se revisaron 58 estudios en Scopus y Web of Science, publicados
entre 2006 y 2023. Los resultados indicaron que las percepciones de los docentes sobre la agencia están
inuenciadas por factores estructurales. Las prácticas como la interacción con las comunidades y la
adopción de enfoques humanísticos coneren sentido a la agencia. Los retos identicados se relacionaron
con la agencia colectiva y las reexiones. Finalmente, se destaca que, aunque la agencia docente puede
estar condicionada por factores estructurales, no está determinada por ellos. Antes bien, se conrma
el potencial de los docentes para transformar la educación.
Palabras clave: agencia docente, cambio social, competencia social, docentes de inglés
Lina Betancurt  https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3264-3081 • Email: lina.betancurt28163@ucaldas.edu.co
Liliana del Pilar Gallego  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5300-0213 • Email: liliana.gallego@ucaldas.edu.co
How to cite this article (APA, 7th ed.): Betancurt, L., & Gallego, L. (2025). An integrative literature review on English teachers as agents
of change. Prole: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 27(1), 191–205. https://doi.org/10.15446/prole.v27n1.113092
is article was received on February 21, 2024 and accepted on October 15, 2024.
is is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons license Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
4.0 International License. Consultation is possible at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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Introduction
Teaching English from a critical pedagogical per-
spective has recently been a signicant topic worldwide.
In this regard, English language teachers play a crucial
role in implementing successful educational transforma-
tions as real agents of change (van der Heijden, Geldens
et al., 2015). Teachers as agents of change could be
dened as “skilled teachers who have an inner lead to
learn and transform education, both individually and
with their colleagues” (van der Heijden, Beijaard, et al.,
2018, p. 348). According to Pantić (2017), teachers dene
agency as a part of their role when helping students
adapt to the institutional structures and relationships
with the community in general, as well as participation
in decision-making. In essence, teachers’ agency is a
central component of language, planning, and policy,
understood as the teachers’ ability to act concerning
power structures (Liu et al., 2020).
Despite the growing interest in teacher agency in
recent years (Balyer & Özcan, 2020; Fu & Weng, 2023;
Miller & Gkonou, 2018), few studies have concentrated
on English teachers’ enactment of pedagogical decisions
and the challenges they face when exercising agentic
actions. e existing literature has mainly focused on
language policies and educational reforms instead;
however, more research is needed to empower English
teachers as agents of change (Weng et al., 2019; Wu,
2022). English teachers need to be informed about the
contributions other language teachers have made despite
their structural limitations, holding the language as a
possibility for constructing engagement with students
of diverse contexts and being situated as powerful social
agents (Palmer & Martínez, 2013). Besides, English
language teachers’ reections and meaningful practices
to exercise agency may motivate other teachers to think,
plan, and practice agentic actions in diverse classroom
environments (Varghese & Snyder, 2018).
Despite increasing language policies that regard the
teaching of English as a means to economic develop-
ment, English teachers endeavor to understand their
role as agents of change, look for ways to strengthen
their professional responsibility, and acknowledge their
potential to create equitable learning environments
for social justice (Barahona & Toledo-Sandoval, 2022;
Limbada & Kajee, 2020).
However, the role of language teachers as dynamic
agents in decision-making policies has not been taken
seriously, so few studies have examined how teachers
perceive and adapt policies to their practices to act
agentively, even when elements such as structural
issues, testing policies, lack of resources, and local
community values constrain their agency (Flynn &
Curdt-Christiansen, 2018; Fogle & Moser, 2017; Tarnanen
& Palviainen, 2018). erefore, this review aims to dig
into English teachers’ perceptions and practices and
the challenges faced when becoming agents of change.
us, the paper will attempt to answer the following
guiding questions:
1. What are the English teachers’ perceptions of their
role as agents of change?
2. What practices are English teachers performing
to develop agency?
3. What challenges do English teachers face to become
agents of change?
Conceptual Framework
Kayi-Aydar (2015) considers agency strongly asso-
ciated with the contextual factors within which it is
achieved, not just with an individual’s ability. In essence,
people do not exercise agency individually; indeed,
many of their attempts are done by working with oth-
ers (Bandura, 2000). Building upon the idea of agency
as a sociocultural construct, Weng et al. (2019) assert
that agency is not only the product of personal beliefs
but also an exercise of social interactions. Teachers are
agents of change in society ; therefore, their participation
is fundamental for social change (Ruiz Ortega, 2022).
English teachers as agents of change with cultural-
historic knowledge should see their role as developers of
skills for learning for life (Cross, 2010). English teachers’

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An Integrative Literature Review on English Teachers as Agents of Change
agency implies “not only content knowledge, but also a
great understanding about the students, culture, cultural
dierences, and culturally signicant pedagogies” (Fu
& Weng, 2023, p. 17).
Having arrived at a considerable definition of
teacher agency, it is also important to view English
language teachers’ roles from a positive perspective
(Ishihara et al., 2018). English teachers today exhibit
actively negotiated agency despite the structural
constraints and are aware of their sociocultural, insti-
tutional, and instructional contexts. According to Leal
and Crookes (2018), English teachers with a sense of
social involvement may achieve positive change because
they make more than they think. More recently, Foley
et al. (2022) found that some preservice English teach-
ers seek opportunities to foster the students’ language
learning by displaying a sensitive awareness of their
cultural background. Finally, reections on practices
can help English teachers take a critical stance on their
professional competence and enrich their understand-
ing as agents of change (Leijen et al., 2020).
Method
This integrative literature review attempted to
identify English teachers’ perceptions, practices, and
challenges as agents of change. During the initial stage,
we searched for empirical indexed articles referenced in
Scopus and Web of Science in the last seventeen years
(starting in 2006), and using as keywords “English
teachers,” “teacher agency,” “social change,” and “social
competence.” Besides, we applied additional filters
related to the subject area based on the Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development: research
on social sciences (with education as the main sub-area)
and applied linguistics. Aer the search, 77 articles
were obtained.
Aer applying the lters, we sorted out the results
based on titles and abstracts and included all the stud-
ies on the role of English teachers as social agents. e
selected articles focused on both preservice and in-
service teachers. Nineteen articles were excluded because
they dealt with language policies, critical pedagogies,
or methods to teach English. Table 1 summarizes all
the criteria followed during the rst stage.
Aer completing the general tracking, we selected
58 articles for analysis. We categorized the data to gain
information and to answer the three guiding questions.
Table 2 summarizes the main subcategories that emerged
from this process.
Findings
English Teachers’ Perceptions of
Their Role as Agents of Change
Almost half the selected studies (26) found that
participants were agents of change despite the structural
Year of publication 2006–2023
Type of document Articles
Area Social sciences (education) and applied linguistics
Author, countries, and aliation All
Language English
Keywords English teachers, teacher agency, social change, social
competence
Databases Scopus (n = 42) + Web of Science (n = 35) = 77
Number of analyzed articles 58
Table 1. Criteria for the Initial Stage of the Integrative Literature Review

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factors. Eighteen studies showed English language
teachers as agents of change through their positive
attitudes and emotions toward agency when teaching
English. Five studies highlighted English teachers’
perceptions of agency associated with learners. In
another ve, English teachers perceived their agency
through a certain resistance to the rules established by
institutional power. Finally, four studies showed that
participants were unable to exert their agency. Next,
we describe the ve categories that emerged from this
rst guiding question.
Agents of Change Despite Structural Factors
As stated before, in 26 studies, English teachers
considered themselves immersed in complex struc-
tural factors mediating between their identities and
the contexts in which they asserted agency. Indeed,
English teachers participating in those studies rec-
ognized 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
Categories Subcategories n%
English teachers’ perceptions of
their role as agents of change
Agents of change despite structural factors 26 44.82
Positive attitudes and emotions toward
agency 18 31.03
English teachers as agents of change
concerning their learners 5 8.62
Resistance to the rules established by
institutional power 5 8.62
English teachers’ perceptions of no agency 4 6.89
English teachers’ practices to
develop agency
English teachers’ practices related to
interactions with communities 22 37.93
Humanistic approaches 20 34.48
Literacy practices 6 10.34
Teachers’ freedom to implement practices and
agency 5 8.62
Translanguaging practices 4 6.89
Use of technologya1 1.72
English teachers’ challenges for
becoming agents of change
Collective agency 19 32.75
English teachers’ reections on their practices 18 31.03
Challenges related to students’ realities and
needs 10 17.2 4
Language policies 10 17.2 4
Challenges derived from students’ negative
attitudesb1 1.72
Table 2. Emerging Categories From the Three Guiding Questions (N = 58)
a, b Due to the limited number of studies that mention t hese topics, these two subcategories will not be explored during the ana lysis.

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An Integrative Literature Review on English Teachers as Agents of Change
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 inuential factors such as school culture, teachers’
interactions with students, and colleagues’ cooperation
also inuenced 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 conicting 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.
Positive Attitudes and Emotions Toward Agency
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).
ey 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 diculties, such as students’
social realities and vulnerable conditions for developing
agency, English teachers seek ways to construct aective
bonds through condence 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 congure their identity as agents of change.
erefore, English teachers’ agency develops through
positive emotions such as enthusiasm, happiness, caring,
and job satisfaction (Bakadorova & Raufelder, 2018;
Miller & Gkonou, 2018; Wu, 2022).
English Teachers as Agents of Change in
Relation to Their Learners
In ve studies, English teachers highlighted percep-
tions 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

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condent 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.
Resistance to the Rules Established by
Institutional Power
In ve 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 neces-
sary for teacher agency. Miranda and Valencia Giraldo
(2019) suggest “a perspective on language education
policies that approaches equity dierently, acknowl-
edging language diversity and not simply the quantity
of outcomes, and envisions teachers as policymakers
through their agency” (p. 283).
English Teachers’ Perceptions of No Agency
In a few studies (4), the participating English teach-
ers 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.
English Teachers’ Practices
to Develop Agency
Twenty-two studies reported that participants
developed practices by interacting with communities,
students, and colleagues. In 20 studies, English teach-
ers considered it significant to include humanistic
approaches to develop agency. Six studies reported
teachers’ use of literacy practices to increase agency,
and ve found that agency could be fostered through
activities related to teachers’ freedom to implement
practices. Translingual strategies to attend multilingual
classes were also found in four studies as practices devel-
oped by English teachers. More detailed information
on the emerged categories from this guiding question
is provided below.
Practices of English Teachers Related to
Interactions With Communities
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 ndings of the
studies, Balyer and Özcan (2020), referring to their
participants, armed 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

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An Integrative Literature Review on English Teachers as Agents of Change
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’ necessi-
ties, 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).
Humanistic Approaches
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 diculties and made a
dierence 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 view-
ing 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 aectivity, connection
to the common well-being, and attention to students’
diversity (Foley et al., 2022; Satyro, 2022; Sierra Pie-
drahita & Echeverri Sucerquia, 2020).
Considering some of the conclusions stated by the
authors of the studies, English teachers might oer
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).
Literacy Practices
As mentioned before, in six studies, English teach-
ers 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 knowl-
edge 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 identi-
ties and satisfaction, but also have a direct impact on
how students experience literature” (p. 352). Finally,
students would benet 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).

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Teachers’ Freedom to Implement Practices and
Agency
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 conrm 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 inten-
tionally 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).
Translanguaging Practices
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.
English Teachers’ Challenges for
Becoming Agents of Change
e main challenges found in the reviewed studies
include the inability to form collective agency (19),
reecting on teaching practices (18), students’ realities
and needs (10), and language policies (10).
Collective Agency
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 eects of strong profes-
sional 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 profes-
sional agency is particularly signicant 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 deci-
sion-making and working with other agents—including
families, school colleagues, and other professionals—
might be a real challenge for teachers to fulll 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 opportu-
nities to plan together and make decisions collectively
when exercising agency (Leontjev & deBoer, 2022;
Rodrigues & Duboc, 2022; Sierra-Piedrahita, 2018).
English Teachers’ Reections on Their Practices
Eighteen studies linked English teachers’ challenges
to reections on practices. All teachers could reect
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

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An Integrative Literature Review on English Teachers as Agents of Change
involved in reective actions to address their sense of
agency. Teachers with dierent pedagogical cognitions
could also conduct peer reections to empower their
understanding of teachers’ practices and agentic actions.
In addition, English teachers’ agentive and reective
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 reected 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). e challenges English teachers faced
could be seen as reections 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 reect 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).
Challenges Related to Students’ Realities and
Needs
Ten studies revealed that English teachers’ chal-
lenges 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 condence,
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).
Language Policies
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.
Conclusions
is review sheds light on how agency is perceived
by English teachers, their practices, and the challenges
they face. As the reviewed studies show, English teach-
ers have been developing sustained actions as agents
of social change to impact their students’ lives and

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Betancurt & Gallego
transform their way of seeing language not merely
as a set of knowledge but as a way to develop skills in
learners and to lead school transformation for the future.
is brief exploration of what English teachers
perceive as agents of change has shown dierences in
how they face constraints but has also helped position
language educators as dynamic agents in decision-
making policies. is review paper corroborates the
idea that English teachers’ agency is partly a product of
their context. However, by changing their environmental
and structural circumstances, they can be creators of
spaces of change (Bandura, 2000).
e reviewed studies show that English teachers
can have two main stances. On the one hand, they can
see the impact of positive attitudes and emotions when
exerting agency. On the other hand, a small group of
studies showed the participants doubting the idea of
having skills to develop their agency. From the rst
stance, English teachers can act agentively through
emotions, which are positioned as forming part of a
sustainable agency. Miller and Gkonou (2018) state that
each teacher interviewed in their study endeavored
to make a great eort to create a benecial classroom
environment and positive relationships to achieve
emotional rewards through understanding students
better and being better understood by them. Thus,
English teachers can facilitate agency by considering
some affective factors and positive attitudes in the
form of mindsets that allow meaningful engagement
(Svalberg, 2018). As for the second stance, agency is
not possible due to tensions with students, colleagues,
and language requirements; the constant struggles
experienced by teachers were manifested as “conicting
factors” which harm teachers’ perceptions of their role
as agents of change (Benesch, 2018; Torres-Rocha, 2017).
As for teaching practices, interactions with commu-
nities and using humanistic approaches also appeared
to signicantly impact English teachers’ ability to act
agentively. Palmer and Martínez (2013) claim that
teachers can overcome the hegemonic discourses in
classroom interactions when they know the power
of working at the interactional level. Similarly, Var-
ghese and Snyder (2018) conclude that English teachers
demonstrate agency despite many constraints and
challenges by maintaining strong connections and
working willingly with students and their families.
Agency development is considered to be activated
when teachers interact with their communities, which
allows them to identify contextual conditions and guide
themselves toward taking further action (Hernández
Varona & Gutiérrez Álvarez, 2020). Besides, the use of
such humanistic approaches corroborates that English
teachers consider themselves agents of change when
they respect their learners and enable a democratic
environment through the teaching of dierent cultures
(Pillay, 2017).
Based on the review, we consider that teachers have
to face signicant challenges to impact the collective
agency, such as language policies, which were noticeably
less discussed in the reviewed studies. With regard to
collective challenges, English teachers need to exercise
agency through constant collaboration with others so
that they can share concerns related to their contexts
and look for desirable changes. Agentic actions also
include activities beyond the classroom, such as being in
contact with parents, assisting colleagues, and providing
information for their students to include other peers
without rejecting them for their dierences (Haneda &
Alexander, 2015). In any process aimed at developing
agency, teachers should initiate a variety of agentic
actions by collaborating with colleagues. us, constant
interaction with others is a signicant resource for
English teachers to exercise their professional agency
and overcome constraints due to structural and language
policies.
Besides collective agency, reection on teaching
practices is another crucial issue. Teachers’ reections
on their actions play a major part in better describing
their intentional eorts to solve problems. erefore,
through positive attitudes, agentic attempts, and constant

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An Integrative Literature Review on English Teachers as Agents of Change
reection, the teachers exercise their agency in their
contexts to overcome many constraints (Ruan et al.,
2020). According to Cots and Nussbaum (1999), reec-
tion is a tool to improve social competence; therefore,
it should also be based on the learners’ activities and
thoughts. To achieve this, English teachers should
support the students with meaningful tasks to solve
contextualized problems.
Our synthesis also indicates that English teachers
face challenges regarding students’ realities and needs.
Kirsch (2018) asserts that English language teachers can
develop their agency when they place their students as
the main actors of the learning process and when their
purposes are focused on the learners’ future. English
teachers’ agency occurs when they take the time to
listen to their students and develop activities aimed
to satisfy their specic needs and interests, which is
aligned with the perspective of teaching a language from
a humanistic perspective that allows English teachers
to empower students and congure the classroom as
a safe and welcoming place for learners.
One common issue is that, although challenged,
English teachers’ agentic actions are not dampened by
structural factors or language policies. On the contrary,
this review conrms the potential of English teachers
to transform education in terms of their students, com-
munities, and institutions.
An important observation is that agency emerges
in contexts in which English teachers have a strong
sense of belonging to the place they work for and are
committed to implementing agentic actions through
interactions and relationships with the members of their
communities. However, further studies must involve
parents, students, and other school and community
personnel to gain greater insight into how teachers
exercise agency in response to their contexts. Lastly,
this study implies an urgent need to include the voices
of English teachers in policy formulation from a critical
awareness that recognizes the role of English educators
as agents of change.
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About the Authors
Lina Betancurt is a doctoral candidate in Education (Universidad de Caldas, Colombia). She holds an
MA in Didactics of English and is an English teacher at I.E. Técnica Alfonso López (Colombia). Her research
interests lie in developing critical reading and language awareness.
Liliana del Pilar Gallego holds a PhD in Psychology of Education from Universidad de Barcelona
(Spain), one MA in Cognitive Sciences and Language, and another in Applied Linguistics to the Teaching
of English (Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Colombia). She is a professor at Universidad de
Caldas and coordinates one research group there. Her interests are in ELT and identity.