Enhancing Research-Publication Competencies of EFL Doctoral Students in English Studies: A Follow-up Study on the Reframed Community of Practice Model

This follow-up study, the third phase of a longitudinal project, examined how the Research-Publication (Res-Pub) Training Workshop, grounded in the Disciplinary Writing Expertise (DWE) framework, influenced 20 doctoral students’ self-efficacy in key areas of the Reframed Community of Practice (CoP) model, which is built on the perspectives of Lave and Wenger (1991) and Wenger (1998). These students were in English Studies, whose research focused on areas within the Humanities and Social Sciences. It explored the participants’ self-efficacy in six elements of the Reframed CoP model that characterized their scholarly development post-workshop: Expert-Guided Collaborative Learning, Participatory Learning Dynamics, Academic Identity Formation, Cognitive Mastery of Academic Practices, Scholarly Professional Growth, and Constructive Adversities in Academic Publishing. The data from a 2019 self-efficacy survey and 2022 follow-up interviews revealed high overall self-efficacy (grand mean = 3.32), with the strongest efficacy in Participatory Learning Dynamics (mean = 3.70), Expert-Guided Collaborative Learning (mean = 3.65), Academic Identity Formation (mean = 3.62), and Cognitive Mastery (mean = 3.38). However, moderate efficacy in Constructive Adversities (mean = 2.82), and Scholarly Professional Growth (mean = 2.79) suggests that the participants have yet to fully embrace independent scholarship due to limited access to global academic discourse. Qualitative findings complimentarily strengthened the quantitative data, highlighting roles of research knowledge and experienced members of the community, and knowledge construction fostered by the Reframed CoP model. The findings suggest the need for enhanced pathways to support early career scholars’ development.