Based on the experiences of a group of mainstream primary teachers of English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) learners in Ireland, a dialogic inquiry has the potential to influence perceptions regarding teacher agency. The participants examined their practice in a collaborative knowledge-creation process and progressed through a series of phases regarding their perceptions of which stakeholders possess agency, observing changes in efficacy beliefs and assigning greater value to their own existing knowledge. The possession of agency was perceived not to be singular but shared, relational and contextual, as teachers recognised their own agency within the context of a specific ecological and temporal setting. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.