Abstract
This study is driven by the scarcity of studies on teacher effectiveness and learning/growth in non- WEIRD societies, concepts in human psychology and behaviour that are developed in “Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies” (Henrich et al., 2010, p. 61), and OLEs. Using a case study design and participatory approach, the researcher collected data from four research participants to answer four research questions: 1. How do in-service EFL teachers conceive teacher effectiveness which is aimed at supporting student learning experiences in OLEs? 2. To what extent are these conceptions enacted in practice? 3. What do in-service EFL teachers learn about teacher effectiveness through their interactions with school- and community-based stakeholders? 4. How do in- service EFL teachers revisit their original conceptions and practices on the basis of such learnings? To answer the research questions, I adopted different qualitative data collection tools: a qualitative questionnaire, an arts-based method combined with participants’ audio-recorded narratives and semi- structured interviews, stimulated recall interviews, and reflective journals.The findings confirm that teacher effectiveness is complex, multidimensional, and has an intertwined relationship among its dimensions. Goodwin’s (2010) taxonomy of teacher knowledge was used as an analytical framework. Under the personal domain, the data highlight that effective teachers have personal (e.g., charismatic) and professional (e.g., creative) traits that help them enact their conceptions of teacher effectiveness, receive some form of formal professional input, boost their effectiveness through informal sources of knowledge, and have other roles that contribute to their social value and professional knowledge.
Under the domain of contextual knowledge, the cross-case analysis emphasizes that effective teachers are aware of external factors operating at different contextual levels (micro, meso, and macro) and their impact on their professional identity and practices. Finally, under the domain of pedagogical knowledge, effective teachers are conceptualized as having three types of knowledge: general pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and technological pedagogical knowledge.
As for teachers’ enactment of their conceptions of teacher effectiveness, the cross-case analysis shows an alignment between the teacher participants’ conceptualizations about teacher effectiveness and their reported practices, which was due to internal (e.g., knowledge about the different online tools/platforms) and external factors (e.g., students’ willingness to participate and engage in the lesson). The teachers, however, could not consistently enact their conceptions of teacher effectiveness due to external factors (e.g., large number of students in the groups).
Regarding the last two research questions, the school- and community-based stakeholders with whom the teachers had conversations highlighted that teacher effectiveness meant being creative, having general pedagogical knowledge and technological pedagogical knowledge, and being cognizant of the context, specifically at the micro and meso contextual levels. As for teacher participants’ professional learning, two teachers provided relevant data showing that the reflections and current practices of one of them did not facilitate any cognitive developments and his conceptualizations of online teaching and learning remained the same. This confirms that reflective practice is not sufficient to promote professional learning; teachers must act on their reflections (reflection + action) (Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002). The other teacher, however, did not hold any biases about online learning environments that were challenging as she interacted with the stakeholders. She was positive and open when conversing with them and wanted to hear about their conceptions of teacher effectiveness. Therefore, she reported that she experienced growth in different domains of knowledge and change in her practices. The study has implications for many stakeholders, including teachers in the field of EFL, school leaders and decision makers, teacher educators, and researchers.
| Date of Award | 26 Jun 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
|
| Supervisor | Santiago Sanchez (Supervisor) & Gail Forey (Supervisor) |