Kenan Dikilitaş

English language teachers becoming more efficacious through research engagement at their Turkish university

Abstract While it is generally recognized that teacher research can be a very beneficial form of continuing professional development (CPD), there is still relatively limited research available on the impact this activity has on teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, which are of interest to educational psychologists because, while being open to constant change, these beliefs influence the way in which knowledge is transformed into action. There is also a relative lack of available research into how teachers develop as researchers; the processes whereby they gain practical knowledge and more positive self-efficacy beliefs in planning, conducting, analysing, presenting and writing up research require further exploration. This qualitative multi-case study addresses these issues, exploring the development of three in-service teachers of English on a foundation programme at a Turkish university. Findings reveal that engaging in CPD which directly benefited their learners helped all three teachers develop positive teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and deeper practical knowledge in relation to the specific tasks that concerned them. Furthermore, from a starting point of having low self-efficacy beliefs in conducting practical research, which reflected their lack of prior knowledge in this area, they all became more efficacious as they gained research experience and developed practical knowledge of research. This study highlights the benefits, then, of helping teachers become more efficacious through CPD that engages them as knowledge-generators. Enthusiastic mentoring, autonomy support and the opportunity to present their research more widely all helped the teachers in this Turkish context to develop.

Innovative Professional Development Methods and Strategies for STEM Education

This chapter presents a study into the impact of the professional doctorate as a learning opportunity for STEM professionals including engineers, pharmacists, nurses, STEM teachers, healthcare professionals, and computing professionals. The professional doctorate is a relatively new approach to doctoral study, which has much to offer to STEM. This form of doctoral study encourages the candidate to undertake project work which is based in, and contributes to, their professional practice. The candidates are experienced practitioners, who wish to raise their practice to doctoral level. This chapter presents a mixed methods study, which has collected and analyzed quantitative data obtained from a survey, qualitative data obtained from focus group sessions, and in-depth narrative accounts. Analysis of these data revealed a number of themes including the importance of trans-professional working, reflection, and development of “authentic” professional voice.

Learning teacher-research-mentoring: stories from Turkey

Abstract The continuing developmental process of learning mentoring, specifically regarding supporting teacher research, has received relatively little attention in fields such as English language teaching, and this qualitative case study addresses the gap. It explores how three teacher-research-mentors, who were experienced classroom practitioners but novices in research-mentoring, grew into their new role while supporting teacher research projects in different English language higher education contexts in Turkey over a one-year period. Vignettes reveal that they became conscious of needing to provide psychological support to sustain teacher-researchers’ motivation from starting their research projects to completing them successfully, presenting findings and writing them up, and that they also developed in other roles, but as subject-specialists sharing knowledge about research to a lesser extent. Outcomes, in terms of the quality of research produced by the teacher-researchers in their contexts, appeared influenced by the different characteristics of their institutions and the degree of external support in the form of mentor-mentoring the teacher-research-mentors could access. Given the increasing interest around the world in teacher research as an empowering form of professional development, there is a growing need for teacher-research-mentors, and these findings, through shedding light on research-mentors’ developmental needs, might be of interest to teacher educators.

Key Issues in English for Specific Purposes in Higher Education

This volume offers research-based studies on English for Specific Purposes in higher education from across the world. By drawing on international studies, the book brings together diverse ESP practices and aspects of relevant issues in the development of ESP programs, teachers and learners in a coherent fashion. There is a growing need for undergraduate students to develop their proficiency of ESP skills and knowledge in the increasingly globalized world. Knowledge of ESP is an important factor in subject matter learning by students, and also closely related to the performance of university graduates in the relevant sectors. Careful planning and efficient implementation are essential to ensure the quality of the language learning process. For a variety of reasons, it proves difficult to maintain ESP instruction in higher education. These reasons include the incompetence of teachers, lack of materials for that specific context, as well as lack of opportunities for ESP teachers to develop their skills. The chapters in this book, taken from a wide variety of countries, shed light on the diversity of current practices and issues surrounding ESP.

Conclusion: Developing in/through Exploratory Practice

This concluding chapter provides a summary of the themes in the previous chapters, and comments on our own developing understandings of the Exploratory Practice principles. We bring together our experiences as mentors, researchers, teachers, and learners engaging in practitioner research. We consider the growing impact of Exploratory Practice as it provides an original and rigorous form for practitioners to develop new ideas and insights relevant for the field of professional development in language education.

Mentoring Language Teaching Professionals in/through Exploratory Practice

This chapter tells the story of our experiences of starting Exploratory Practice (EP) in a new and vibrant setting (Professional Development in Turkey and Northern Cyprus). We explore in-service language teacher education with the introduction of EP as an inquiry-based tool for professional development. Engaging teachers as learners of ‘doing-being’ research can be a catalyst for developing from a focus on practitioners as passive recipients of knowledge to active generators of understandings and knowledge. However, this shift poses epistemological challenges for teachers who do not yet have or are still developing a researcher identity. Together with teachers, teacher educators and curriculum developers, we work to understand the complexities of our various educational contexts.

English Language Teachers’ Perceptions of Involvement in High-Stakes Testing in Turkey

This chapter explores the perceptions of English language teachers about their involvement in High-Stakes testing, offering insights into the role of teachers in the testing process. The aim is to examine how often they are engaged in the different stages of test preparation and discuss whether their involvement has an impact on this process and procedures. It also considers the implications of strategies of involving teachers as contributors to this process. To this end, English language teachers working at five different higher education institutions in Turkey participated in this study. The data was collected through a Likert scale to elicit information about their involvement in the testing preparation process and to examine the positive and negative washback effect of testing on their instructional practices.

Recent Developments in ESP/EAP/EMI Contexts

ESP is a dynamic research discipline, underpinned by the fundamental question of how best to meet the needs of English learners, especially in our increasingly globalized and internationalized world. Since the early 1960s, ESP has become one of the most prominent areas of teaching in universities around the world. What began as a grass-roots solution to the need for vocationally-relevant English language education has evolved into a much broader field of research and application. Today, ESP plays a critical role globally evidenced by the massive growth of higher education institutions offering English-medium instruction (EMI), a conversation which must include the dichotomous approach of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). ESP has found its place as an essential waypoint in the foreign language learning continuum in EMI contexts. As students advance their knowledge in their fields of study, so must they continue to acquire the English to help them understand and articulate vocational concepts, thus giving prominence to ESP. Yet, as this volume argues, there is a significant gap between implementation and assuring quality of ESP offerings, stemming from teachers’ own incompetence and the lack of materials for specific contexts, as well as a lack of opportunities for ESP teachers to develop professionally and personally. This chapter reflects upon the evolution of this field from its roots to its current context. Through chapter-by-chapter synopses, it also presents an overview of the volume’s central premise that quality ESP instruction does and can exist.

Teacher autonomy development through reading teacher research: agency, motivation and identity

ABSTRACT This study highlights the need to promote more personal and informal processes in Teacher Autonomy and focuses on university Language Teachers’ processes in reading Teacher Research (TR) in order to understand how this impacts their autonomy development processes. In particular, it addresses teachers’ interactions with TR articles during the reading process, and aims to gain insights into autonomy development from the teachers’ reflection during the process. This study uses two well-known research tools, Think Aloud Protocol (TAP) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) for an innovative purpose: to fulfil both research and teacher education purposes, thus exemplifying a particular way to promote and investigate critical reading in teacher education. The analysis of the TAPs, and follow-up focus group discussions reveal the key theme of autonomy. Three autonomy-related sub-themes emerged: gaining agency, developing motivation and gaining awareness of a more democratic form of teacher development. 11 participants undertook a task that allowed a highly personalized interpretation of all aspects of the text. It is argued that conditions for autonomy development were created by offering freedom to choose and interpret a text that is comprehensible and relevant. Teachers were entirely free to interpret their texts, and responsible for their learning from it. Teachers interpreted the articles in a variety of ways, and differed according to their emphasis on the particular aspects: motivation, agency and identity. The study concludes that the task provided an opportunity for autonomy to emerge according to the developmental needs of the individual.

Analysing the Data

This chapter tackles the often tricky question of how to analyse the data. This can be an intimidating stage for novice (or even more experienced) researchers. Both quantitative (numerical, ordinal, nominal) and qualitative types of data are explained, and appropriate and rigorous data analysis methods are suggested and carefully exemplified.