Student voice: Power relations and culture-sensitivity in authorship legitimacy of research publications in Iran

Abstract

Validating student voice in the higher education curriculum has been advocated in a variety of forms; however, the power relations within a particular culture may marginalize student voice, particularly in research practice. For this reason, this study explored how hearing student voice and the concept of power relations within Iran’s postgraduate curriculum might shape the processes of paper publication and authorship legitimacy. Drawing upon phenomenology research, 17 MA/PhD students in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) participated in multiple forms of interviews and written narratives to describe their experiences of conducting research during their postgraduate studies. The findings suggested that student voice in discussing authorship decisions was not heard by professors/supervisors. Iranian professors often attributed the first author to themselves without consulting the students who had predominantly conducted the research. The study’s implications are further discussed to highlight how the notion of power relations plays a determining role in authorship legitimacy and its order, and how such misconduct may be accepted as cultural norms within Iran’s academic setting.