A Mixed Methods Investigation of Critical Cultural Awareness of Iranian Female and Male Senior High School EFL Teachers

Critical cultural awareness is a crucial component of intercultural competence that has become an essential subject in foreign language curricula. It has captivated many academics' interests in the language teaching field. Following an ex post facto, correlational mixed-methods design, the study aimed to investigate the critical cultural awareness of 108 Iranian female and male EFL teachers from different high schools. To achieve data triangulation, the study employed the Critical Cultural Awareness Questionnaire, semi-structured interviews with 15 volunteer teachers, and observation of 15 naturally occurring classes. The obtained quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results indicated that teachers demonstrated a relatively good level of critical cultural awareness across their dimensions. The independent samples t-test reported no statistically significant difference in the critical cultural awareness of male and female EFL teachers. The qualitative interview data further elaborated these findings, revealing that teachers possessed a solid theoretical understanding of critical cultural awareness and expressed willingness to integrate it into their teaching. However, the classroom observation checklist, as a second quantitative source, revealed limited implementation of critical cultural awareness in actual practice, with low mean scores highlighting a gap between teachers’ reported awareness and their pedagogical application. The findings of this study may offer multiple valuable insights into critical cultural awareness and direct stakeholders in teacher education programs at the university level to pay more attention to promoting critical cultural awareness among foreign language teachers and to incorporate practical strategies for enhancing it in classroom contexts, as evidenced by teachers’ positive perceptions in interviews but limited implementation observed in actual practices.