Perezhivanie and the Development of Inclusive Practice: Iranian Pre-Service EFL Teachers’ Verbal Interactions, Challenges, and Management Efficacy

Leyla  Nekoui; Ehsan Rezvani; Fatemeh  Karimi

Authors

Leyla Nekoui Department of English, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5909-1282
Ehsan Rezvani Department of English, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8996-0312
Fatemeh Karimi Department of English, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5585-8667

Keywords:

Perezhivanie, inclusive education, EFL teacher education, verbal interactions, classroom management efficacy, critical participatory action research

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates how Iranian pre-service EFL teachers develop inclusive classroom practices through an embedded, participatory action research intervention, with particular attention to their verbal interactions, identified challenges, and management efficacy. The study employs Vygotsky’s concept of perezhivanie as a theoretical lens to understand how pre-service teachers experience and make meaning of inclusive practice development. A critical participatory action research (CPAR) framework guided the 14-week embedded education intervention involving 25 pre-service EFL teachers at Farhangian University and Maharatgostar Institute in Isfahan, Iran. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, classroom observations, and reflective journals. Thematic analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase procedure.Three major themes emerged regarding verbal interactions: using inclusive and affirming language, strategic questioning and redirection, and balancing authority with empathy. Challenges identified included addressing student diversity and proficiency gaps, managing large class sizes with limited resources, and coping with student demotivation. The findings reveal dynamic, reciprocal relationships among challenges, verbal interactions, and management efficacy, demonstrating how pre-service teachers’ perezhivanie of inclusive practice evolved through dramatic collisions between ideal and present forms of inclusive pedagogy. The study introduces the Zone of Refractive Practice (ZRP) as a theoretical framework explaining how pre-service teachers transform their inclusive practice through the dialectical process of experiencing, refracting, and reconstructing their professional understanding. Perezhivanie emerges as a powerful analytical tool for understanding the sociocultural genesis of inclusive teacher identity.

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