[Home ] [Archive]   [ فارسی ]  
:: Main :: About :: Current Issue :: Archive :: Search :: Submit :: Contact ::
Main Menu
Home::
Journal Information::
Articles archive::
For Authors::
For Reviewers::
Registration::
Contact us::
Site Facilities::
::
Search in website

Advanced Search
..
Receive site information
Enter your Email in the following box to receive the site news and information.
..
:: Volume 19, Issue 2 (9-2016) ::
IJAL 2016, 19(2): 61-86 Back to browse issues page
EFL Teacher Education Programs in Iran: The Absence of Teachers’ Involvement
Somayeh Baniasad-Azad , Mansour Tavakoli , Saeed Ketabi
University of Isfahan, Isfahan
Abstract:   (7376 Views)
This study investigated the nature of EFL teacher education programs with respect to implementation, practicality, and approach to teacher learning. The data were collected through observation of two teacher education programs and interviews with 8 teacher trainers. The results attested to the transmission orientation of the programs. It was found that a pre-specified body of teaching knowledge is transferred from the trainers to the teachers. Teachers’ creativity, prior knowledge, and experience, the role of teaching context, and the population of learners are not considered in program development. The results of interviews with teacher trainers supported the results of the observations. It was found that even the trainers are not involved in the process of program development, as they are only transmitting the materials presented by textbook authors. The findings also indicated that what teachers considered beneficial for their development was different from what was incorporated in the programs. The existing gap between macro plans and teachers’ practices and preferences results from the centralized education system in Iran in which practicing teachers are not involved in the policy-making process. Implications for teacher education in general and EFL teacher education programs in particular are discussed.    
Keywords: EFL Teacher education programs, English teachers, Teacher trainers, Teacher development
Full-Text [PDF 439 kb]   (2726 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Received: 2016/01/3 | Accepted: 2016/08/25 | Published: 2016/09/21
References
1. Ahn, K. (2011). Learning to teach under curricula reform: The practicum experience in South Korea. In K.E Johnson & P.R. Golombek, Research on second language teacher education: A sociocultural perspective on professional development (pp. 239-254). New York: Taylor & Francis.
2. Akbari, R. & Yazdanmehr, E. (2014). A critical analysis of the selection criteria of expert teachers in ELT. Theory and practice in language studies, 4 (8), 1653-1658. [DOI:10.4304/tpls.4.8.1653-1658]
3. Allwright, R. L. (2003). Exploratory Practice: Rethinking practitioner research in language teaching. Language Teaching Research, 7, 113–141. [DOI:10.1191/1362168803lr118oa]
4. Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., & Sorensen, Ch. (2010). Introduction to research on education. Belmont: Wadsworth.
5. Atai, M. R., & Mazlum, F. (2013).English language teaching curriculum in Iran: Planning and practice. The Curriculum Journal, 24 (3), 389-411. [DOI:10.1080/09585176.2012.744327]
6. Bell, B., & Gilbert, J. (1994). Teacher development as professional, personal, and social development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 10, 483-497. [DOI:10.1016/0742-051X(94)90002-7]
7. Borg, S. (2006). Teacher cognition and language education: Research and practice. London: Continuum.
8. Burns, A., & Richards, J. C. (2009). The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education. New York: Cambridge University Press.
9. Danafar, A., & P. Derakhshan. (2003). Investigation of factors contributing to high school students' English academic achievement in Yazd. Tehran, Iran: Ministry of Education.
10. Dunn, W. (2011).Working toward social inclusion through concept development in second language teacher education. In K.E Johnson & P.R. Golombek, Research on second language teacher education: A sociocultural perspective on professional development (pp. 50-65). New York: Taylor & Francis.
11. Freeman, R. D. (1996). Dual-language planning at Oyster Bilingual School: "It's much more than language". TESOL Quarterly, 30 (3), 557-582. [DOI:10.2307/3587698]
12. Freeman, D., & Johnson, D. (1998).Reconceptualizing the knowledge-base of language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 32, 397-418. [DOI:10.2307/3588114]
13. Fullan, M. G. (1995). The limits and the potential of professional development. In T.R. Guskey & M. Huberman, Professional development in education: New paradigms and practices (pp. 253-267). New York: Teachers College Press.
14. Hayati, A.M., & A. Mashhadi. (2010). Language planning and language-in-education policy in Iran. Language Problems and Language Planning, 34 (1), 24–42. [DOI:10.1075/lplp.34.1.02hay]
15. Jahangard, A. (2007). Evaluation of the EFL materials taught at Iranian high schools. The Asian EFL Journal, 9 (2), 130–50.
16. Johnson, K. E. (2009). Second language teacher education: A sociocultural perspective. New York: Taylor & Francis.
17. Johnson, K. E. (2009). Trends in second language teacher education. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards, The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education (pp. 20-30). New York: Cambridge University Press.
18. Johnson, K. E., & Golombek, P. R. (2011).Research on second language teacher education: A sociocultural perspective on professional development. New York: Taylor & Francis.
19. Johnston, B. (2009). Collaborative teacher development. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards, The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education (pp. 241-250). New York: Cambridge University Press.
20. Kiany, Gh., Mirhosseini, A., & Navidinia, H. (2011). Foreign language education policies in Iran: Pivotal macro considerations. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 53 (222), 49-70.
21. Lodico, M.G., Spaulding, D.T., & Voegtle, K.H. (2006). Methods in educational research: From theory to practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
22. Mohammadi, J., & R. Rashidi. (2002). Investigating English teaching quality in high schools of Najaf Abad. Amuzeh (Teaching) 13, 44–51.
23. Patton, M. Q. (1998). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. [3rd Edition]. CA: Sage Publications.
24. Pishghadam, R., & Saboori, F. (2014).A socio-cultural study of language teacher status. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 2(1), 63-72.
25. Poehner, P.M. (2009). Drafting a new chapter on critical friends groups: Exploring teacher learning from a Vygotskian perspective (Doctoral Dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University).
26. Quiocho, A., & Stall, P. (2008). Nclb and teacher satisfaction. Leadership, 37(5), 20-24.
27. Riazi, A. (2005). The four language stages in the history of Iran. In A.M.Y. Lin & P.W. Martin, Decolonization, globalization: Language-in-education policy and practice (pp. 98–114). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
28. Riazi, A., & Mosalanejad, N. (2010). Evaluation of learning objectives in Iranian high school and pre-university English textbooks using Bloom's taxonomy. The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language, 13 (4), 1–16.
29. Richards, J. C. (2002). 30 years of TEFL/TESL: A personal reflection. RELC Journal, 33 (1), 1-35. [DOI:10.1177/003368820203300201]
30. Richardson, V. (1997).Constructivist teaching and teacher education: Theory and practice. In V. Richardson, Constructivist teacher education: Building new understandings (pp.3-15).London: The Falmer Press.
31. Richardson, V. (1997).Constructivist teacher education: Building new understandings. London: The Falmer Press.
32. Smith, L.C. (2005). The impact of action research on teacher collaboration and professional growth. In D. J. Tedick, Second language teacher education: International perspectives (pp. 199-215). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
33. Smith, C., & Gillespie, M. (2007). Research on professional development and teacher change: Implications for adult basic education. In J. Comings, B. Garner & C. Smith (Eds.), Review of adult learning and literacy: Connecting research, policy, and practice (Vol. 7, pp. 205-244). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
34. Tarone, E., & Allwright, D. (2005). Second language teacher learning and student second language learning: Shaping the knowledge base. In D. J. Tedick, Second language teacher education: International perspectives (pp. 5-23). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
35. Tedick, D. J. (2005). Second language teacher education: International perspectives. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
36. Tharp, R., & Gallimore, R. (1988) Rousing Minds to Life. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
37. Ur, P. (2013). Language-teaching method revisited. ELT Journal, 6 (4), 468-474. [DOI:10.1093/elt/cct041]
38. Waters, A. (2012). Trends and issues in ELT methods and methodology. ELT Journal, 66 (4), 440-449. [DOI:10.1093/elt/ccs038]
39. Yoshida, T. (2011). Moodle as a meditational space: Japanese EFL teachers' emerging conceptions of curriculum. In K.E Johnson & P.R. Golombek, Research on second language teacher education: A sociocultural perspective on professional development (pp. 136-153). New York: Taylor & Francis.
Send email to the article author

Add your comments about this article
Your username or Email:

CAPTCHA



XML     Print


Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:

Baniasad-Azad S, Tavakoli M, Ketabi S. EFL Teacher Education Programs in Iran: The Absence of Teachers’ Involvement. IJAL 2016; 19 (2) :61-86
URL: http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-2728-en.html


Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Volume 19, Issue 2 (9-2016) Back to browse issues page
Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics
Persian site map - English site map - Created in 0.08 seconds with 37 queries by YEKTAWEB 4666