EFL teachers’ reflective practice, job satisfaction, and school context variables: Exploring possible relationships

TESOL Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Aliakbari ◽  
Reza Khany ◽  
Maryam Adibpour
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
School Context ◽  
Context Variables ◽  
Efl Teachers

scholarly journals Exploring the consequences of teachers’ self-efficacy: a case of teachers of English as a foreign language

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Goudarz Alibakhshi ◽  
Fariborz Nikdel ◽  
Akram Labbafi
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Research Method ◽  
Burn Out ◽  
Efl Teachers

AbstractTeacher self-efficacy has been abundantly studied. However, it seems that the consequences of teachers’ self-efficacy have not been appropriately explored yet. The research objective was to investigate the consequences of teachers’ teaching self-efficacy. The researchers used a qualitative research method. They collected the data through semi-structured interviews with 20 EFL teachers who were selected through purposive sampling. The interviews were content analyzed thematically. Findings showed that self-efficacy has different consequences: pedagogical, learner-related, and psychological. Each consequence has several sub-categories. It is concluded that high self-efficacy affects teachers’ teaching practices, learners’ motivation, and achievement. It also affects teachers’ burn-out status, psychological being, as well as their job satisfaction. The findings can be theoretically and pedagogically important to EFL teachers, teacher-trainers, and administrators of educational settings.

scholarly journals ONLINE COLLABORATIVE ACTION RESEARCH IN AN EFL CONTEXT: THE EFFECT ON TEACHERS’ REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

2021 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 158-175
Author(s):  
Zahra Fathian ◽  
Majid Farahian
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Collaborative Action Research ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Collaborative Action ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
The Impact

Technology can be integrated in teacher education and, hence, be used to empower teachers to extend learning beyond their classrooms. Therefore, the present study was an attempt to investigate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of action research and explore the impact of their collaborative action research in an online discussion group on their reflective practice. In addition, we were interested to know how online collaborative research action research contributes to their promotion of reflective thinking.The participants of this study were 23 Iranian EFL teachers who were recruited based on convenience sampling. The design of the study was a pre-test post-test design. As such, two questionnaires were given to the participants at the beginning and end of the study. As the next step, the participants took part in online discussion groups for 10 sessions in which they read and watched some essays and videos, wrote about some topics, and shared their ideas and experiences. To consolidate the findings, semi-structured interviews were held with 12 participants. The result of the study indicated that most of the participants of the study had optimistic views regarding action research. In addition, participating in online discussion groups enabled them to think more about their teaching practice and gain higher levels of reflectivity. The results of the qualitative phase indicated that the online courses had effect on the teachers’ practice and reflectivity in different ways. Despite all studies conducted on action research in Iran, contradictory results have been found regarding teachers’ perception of action research. In addition, to the researchers’ knowledge, no study has investigated the use of online collaborative action research on teachers’ reflection. As such, it seemed necessary to conduct a study to explore the role of action research as a framework for improving reflective practice.

School Composition and Context Factors that Moderate and Predict 10th-Grade Science Proficiency

2010 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 1096-1136
Author(s):  
Mark C. Hogrebe ◽  
William F. Tate
Keyword(s):  
School Environment ◽  
School Context ◽  
Minority Status ◽  
Demographic Composition ◽  
Context Factors ◽  
10Th Grade ◽  
Context Variables ◽  
Science Scores ◽  
Science Proficiency ◽  
Proficiency Scores

Background Performance in high school science is a critical indicator of science literacy and regional competitiveness. Factors that influence science proficiency have been studied using national databases, but these do not answer all questions about variable relationships at the state level. School context factors and opportunities to learn science may vary geographically across states and interact with demographic composition variables. Purpose The purpose was to examine relationships between 10th-grade science proficiency and school context factors related to school environment, courses, and teachers. The moderating or interaction effects were examined for the school demographic composition variables of free/reduced lunch and minority percentages on variable relationships with science proficiency scores. Population and Unit of Analysis Data for this study consisted of all Missouri high schools in 2002 with a 10th-grade class size of at least 25 students (N = 423). Unit of analysis was the single school. Research Design This was a secondary data analysis study that used variables collected annually from all schools in Missouri. Multiple regression was used to examine relationships and moderating effects of school demographic composition. Predictor variables were grouped into three categories for school context: school environment, course-related, and teacher-related. The outcome variable was 10th-grade scientific attainment as measured by the Missouri state proficiency test in science. Results School context variables of higher dropout and mobility rates signaled greater risk factors, especially when moderated by free/reduced-price lunch percentage (FRL pct) and minority status. When FRL pct and Minority pct were higher, lower science proficiency scores were associated with elevated dropout rates. Similarly, greater mobility was related to lower science scores when school FRL pct was high. Some school-level variables interacted positively with FRL pct and minority status, which resulted in higher science scores. Schools with more FRL and minority students achieved higher science proficiency scores when they had a greater percentage of courses taught by highly qualified teachers and more teachers were regularly certified. Higher science scores were associated with greater percentages of master's degree teachers in schools with a larger percentage of minority students. A surprising finding revealed a geographic influence and demonstrates why testing for interactions can lead to better understanding of the data. Conclusions The findings are consistent with the status attainment literature and the theoretical arguments associated with geography and educational attainment in that socioeconomic status and minority status are important predictive factors in Missouri. As an extension of previous research, this study demonstrates that the school composition variables of FRL pct and Minority pct are significantly related to science proficiency in the 10th grade. Not only are they predictive of science proficiency scores, but they also interact with each other and moderate the relationships between school context variables and 10th-grade science scores. This study suggests that teacher quality in high-poverty majority-minority school settings remains an important policy target for reform and improvement.

scholarly journals Construction and validation of barriers to Iranian ESP instructors’ reflective practice scale

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Milad Sheikhbanooie ◽  
Majid Farahian
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Item Pool ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Alpha Coefficient ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Final Version ◽  
Efl Teachers

PurposeSince reflectivity has a crucial role in education, it has attracted researchers’ attention in the last decades. As such, the present study aimed to construct and validate a questionnaire to assess the barriers to reflective practices of Iranian ESP (English for Specific Purposes) instructors. Furthermore, this study aimed to investigate the reliability of the scale.Design/methodology/approachTo attain the purpose of the study, the researchers developed the first item pool of the questionnaire which included 67 items. Then, 4 experts were asked to pass their judgments on the items. Accordingly, 37 items were excluded and the next draft of the questionnaire that included 30 items remained. After their feedback, the revised scale was piloted with 10 ESP instructors to check the clarity of items. Then, the scale was administered to 210 ESP instructors. At the next stage, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was run to assess the construct validity of the questionnaire. Based on the results, three items were removed. To investigate the internal consistency of the scale, a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was employed.FindingsThe final version of the scale included 27 items with three subscales, namely, learners, instructors and institutions’ issues. The results revealed that the questionnaire enjoyed an acceptable level of validity and reliability.Originality/valueApart from a few studies, no other study has scrutinized barriers to EFL teachers’ reflectivity. In addition, in the realm of ESP, no study has developed a scale to measure barriers to ESP teachers’ reflective practice.

scholarly journals Multitasking and Job Satisfaction amongst Secondary School Teachers at the District of Klang, Selangor Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Leele Susana Jamian ◽  
Mohd Syarudin Mohd Nazir ◽  
Gurnam Kaur Sidhu ◽  
Khairunnisa Othman ◽  
Norshiha Saidin
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary School Teachers ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
School Context ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Educational Management ◽  
Job Satisfaction Survey ◽  
Local Literature ◽  
The Relationship

The role of a teacher has always been challenging especially in the 21st century. Ranging from teaching, extra-curricular activities, sports, administrative, to non-academic matters, teachers teaching in the secondary schools tend to multitask their daily duties. Added with numerous responsibilities in the digital era, doing just one thing at a time seems to be very luxury yet awfully wasteful. Indeed, multitasking was considered essential in today’s work efficiency. Based on observation and empirical studies, multitasking tends to influence and contribute to teachers’ job satisfaction. Nonetheless, there are also gaps in the existing local literature pertaining to multitasking and job satisfaction amongst teachers in the Malaysian local school context. In view of this, the current study is conducted with the primary aim to investigate the relationship between multitasking and job satisfaction amongst the secondary school teachers in one of the districts of Klang, Selangor, Malaysia. A descriptive correlational research design using a mixed-methods approach was employed to explore the relationship between the two variables. Two instruments measuring multitasking by Woods, Boyd, Rand, Nardo and Boyd (2014) and Job Satisfaction survey by Spector (1997) were adapted to suit the local setting for data responded by 124 secondary school teachers. The quantitative findings revealed that there were significant, positive and moderate relationships between multitasking and job satisfaction. However, findings from the multiple regression indicated that only 11.3% of the variance in job satisfaction was contributed by multitasking. In addition, qualitative data tend to triangulate the quantitative findings. Besides positive responses, there were also voices that proposed otherwise. Consequently, all these findings lead to some important implications in terms of the corpus of knowledge and policy implication related to the two variables of educational management and leadership amongst the teachers cum instructional leaders in the academic setting.

scholarly journals Teachers’ Reflective Practice and Challenges in an Indonesian EFL Secondary School Classroom

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 289
Author(s):  
La Sunra - La Sunra ◽  
Haryanto Haryanto ◽  
Sahril Nur
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Junior High School Teachers ◽  
Inadequate Knowledge ◽  
Efl Teachers

This study investigated the EFL teachers’ perception and practices of reflection in teaching. The study was conducted through qualitative method by purposive sampling technique. The data were collected through semi-structured interview, and documentation from seven EFL Junior High School teachers in Makassar. The results of the study showed that the EFL teachers perceived reflective practice mainly as an evaluative process to their teaching experience. They all believed that reflective practice was one of the effective teacher characteristics and useful for increasing the quality of teaching and learning. Their reflections were mostly at descriptive and dialogic level. Inadequate knowledge and workload were identified by the EFL teachers as the challenges to reflection.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document