My PhD study explored the experiences of a cohort of Iranian doctoral candidates in New Zealand. This paper presents my response to the unexpected challenge I faced as I collected data and formed my theoretical framework. I found that Western interpretations of non-Western international students largely ignored social-cultural specificities. I…

The global imaginary contributes to the perpetuation of neo-colonial and neoliberal mentalities, which reinforce the political, cultural, and social dominance over international students. Through an exploration guided by interrelated theories of agency and transnational social fields, this study employs a narrative inquiry methodology with a…

The purpose of this study was to compare the functioning of five restrictive CDMs, including DINA, DINO, A-CDM, LLM, and RRUM, against the G-DINA model to identify the best-fitting CDM which can better explain the interaction underlying the attributes of the reading comprehension section of an Iranian high-stakes language proficiency test. To this…

The doctoral defence is the oral examination of the doctoral thesis. While it is a major milestone for doctoral candidates, this event is often shrouded in mystery. In this article, I explore the doctoral defence from an international perspective. I have studied the format of the defence based on written testimonies as well as the literature on…

Students' perceptions of assessment in higher education (HE) are critical, since such perceptions can enhance or diminish student motivation for learning. Despite this, research on students' perceptions of assessment in HE is scarce. To initiate a new agenda in this area, the present study explored Iranian doctoral students' (N = 16) perceptions…

Using Kane's interpretive argument model and Messick's validity argument approach, this study rigorously examined faculty and PhD candidate's perspectives on PhD admission interviews in Iranian universities. We interviewed 10 professors and PhD interviewees which provided comprehensive insight into nuanced perspectives. We conducted rigorous…

Muslims may not experience integration or assimilation in European countries, as they have certain values regarding hijab, eating restrictions, and lifestyle. They may therefore face more challenges than other migrants. With the insight that religiosity may have an impact on migrants' national and/or ethnic identities, we look at the role of…

Research is an indispensable part of any educational endeavour generally and graduate/postgraduate studies particularly, since the Iranian educational system requires M.A. and Ph.D. candidates to submit a thesis or dissertation as partial fulfilment of the requirements for attaining their respective academic degrees. However, a review of the…

One of the significant drawbacks of the English Language Teaching (ELT) Ph.D. programme in the Iranian ELT setting is the insufficiency of the research courses offered in the current curriculum, which do not adequately address the Ph.D. candidates needs, and this issue was not tackled in the field. Therefore, adopting a qualitative approach, this…

This study represents the inaugural attempt at assessing the authenticity of the tasks encompassed in the IELTS Speaking Module. The evaluation is conducted from the vantage points of applied linguistics and general education, and serves to enhance comprehension of authenticity and authentic assessment. In order to achieve this objective, an…

The increasing demands on faculty members and students to conduct research might result in domination in supervisor-student relations across cultural contexts. This study aimed to explore how students' research relationships with their supervisors are manifested within TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) postgraduate curriculum in Iran's…

Student-University Identification (SUI) of virtual students in higher education is one area of identity that receives less attention. This study aimed to explore the SUI of a purposive sample of five virtual students studying Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) at the Ph.D. level in Iran. Investigating SUI in higher education among…

Scaffolding is a contributing factor to the effectiveness of pragmatic instruction. Although there is a large body of research on the means of scaffolding in second language teaching, research on scaffolding in L2 pragmatic instruction, especially in online teaching, is still in its infancy. To bridge the gap, this study investigated the means of…

Despite the substantial growth of research on identity construction in real-life contexts, little is known about PhD students' online identities, especially their identity shift from real-life to virtual contexts. The present study aimed to address this gap by examining the identity development of ten PhD students from the field of Applied…

Language testing and assessment have grown in popularity and gained significance in the last few decades, and there is a rising need for assessment literate stakeholders in the field of language education. As teachers play a major role in assessing students, there is a need to make sure they have the right level of assessment knowledge and skills…