English Teachers through Reflective Practice

Abstract

I have explored professional qualities of English teachers and their reflective practice in this study. The main purpose of this research was to explore, analyze and identify the qualities of professional English language teachers and their professional development through reflective practice in the higher secondary schools of Nepal. I have enriched my study by incorporating relevant and resourceful ideas gathered through literature review. The theories have provided me with a strong and tremendous foundation for critically gauzing the dynamics pertaining to professional development of teachers through reflective practice. I have adopted ontological, epistemological, methodological and axiological standpoint to carry out this study. I was aware of the fact that no interpretation is final and knowledge is contextual and alterable due to the intervention of technological upheavals and recent trends in education. Nevertheless, perpetual discourse, dialogue, discussion, dealing, observation and intensive interaction based on inter-subjective inquiry in unearthing what research participant experienced as truth assured me to claim that the revealed knowledge is credible to some extent. I have derived meanings following interpretive paradigm along with analysis, interpretation and reflection on the beliefs, values and feelings presented by research informants about reflective practice in particular and professional development of teachers in general. The informants were thirty two English language teachers from Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur Districts. I collected data through interviews and observations. I interviewed twenty English teachers both from institutional and public higher secondary schools. I observed the classroom practices of twelve English teachers. Pertaining to the first research question, “how do the English teachers perceive their professional qualities?” I have found and explored that there are several qualities that a good language teacher must possess. As deduced from the study, the professional qualities of the English language teachers are: respect and devotion to the profession, learner, motivation, problem solver, reflective practitioner, commitment, planner and evaluator, training and experience, mission and vision, balance between work and life, fluency and accuracy, communication skills, accountable, trustworthiness, patience, positive, creative, analytical and sense of humour. It has revealed that professional qualities are both in-traneous and extraneous in nature. They qualify, dignify, energize, enhance, enlighten and heighten the academic attitude and altitude of the teachers. However, this is only the perception of English teachers which may not bear the reality in practice. Regarding the second research question, ‘how teachers perceive reflective practice’ I have found that all teachers are positive towards it. However, they are not in a habit of using them exclusively while teaching the language. It can be deduced that reflective practice is a meditative and a thoughtful process. It focuses very much on planning and preparation. It is a recalling and self-assessing process; professional and creative process; sharing and strengthening the strength process and motivating, encouraging, enriching and enabling process. Nevertheless, reflective practice may not be a panacea only from teachers’ perceptions for their professional development. Regarding the third research question ‘how the teachers do the reflective practice, it can be deduced that they share their experiences; make their participation and discussion in the meeting; do interaction and presentation; take feedback and comments from the students; maintain the diary and the journal; remember the significant teaching moment; think critically and creatively; do peer observation and team teaching; record using audio-video devices; and they follow the culture of collaboration and cooperation. However, teachers are using reflective practice only to some extent. It is not satisfactorily satisfying. There is a gap in their perceptions and practices of reflective practice. I am also aware of the fact that the perception of teachers should not be taken as a sole reason for justifying the reflective practice they have adopted in the classrooms. The observation of their classes made me come to the conclusion that what is observed and what is expressed may sometime be incongruent and not revealing. Pertaining to the fourth research question “why the reflective practice is significant for the professional development of teachers” it can be interpreted and explored that reflective practice makes teaching interesting and lively; it minimizes the weaknesses and maximizes the strengths of the teachers; it helps them to improve their presentation and creative writing skills; it develops professionalism on the part of them; it helps them to become a problem solver, a good communicator and a decision maker; it gives them the sense of satisfaction and self-esteem; it makes them competent, confident and committed in their profession; it helps them in generating new approaches, methods, techniques, ideas and philosophy; it sharpens the perceptions and perspectives of teachers; it makes them curious, critical and truthful; it makes them accountable and responsible to think and to reflect; it makes them mobile, up to date, and a good linker; it develops sharing culture and addresses the emotion and motion of the teachers and it evokes hidden talents of them. I am also aware of the fact that reflection is invigorating the teachers inwardly. Finally, pertaining to the fifth research question ‘what deters the English teachers from doing the reflective practice for their professional development and how do they solve the problems?’, I have deduced the following findings. The problems teachers have faced while doing the reflective practice are: lack of content, training and materials, lack of cooperation and collaboration, hesitation, lack of meeting and habit formation, Lack of time and willingness to show the weakness, lack of positive attitude, large classes and lack of motivation. The study has revealed that it is through discussion, interaction, and interpretation, language teachers can improve their reflective practice. Habit formation, critical thinking and creative writing, cooperation and collaboration, self-evaluation and student feedback, paper presentation and written examination; questioning, note-making and recalling the events, motivation and solving the problems are the strategies which play a crucial role to improve the reflective practice of teachers. Furthermore, the study found that a professional teacher is able, capable, competent and confident. Only the competent teacher can teach confidently. He or she is daring, caring and sharing. Courage and care are the key words to success. He or she is engaging, inspiring and encouraging. Being with professional makes a professional. Reflection, therefore, is the ability to convert the abstract into the practical and the idea into action. Thinking back and moving ahead with action is reflection. It leads to invention. It is also a heutagogical practice of directing one’s learning and practice. Even inaction may happen in it. Reflective practice has become a key driving force and an increasingly influential referent in the professional development of teachers. It seeks to offer a dynamic, reliable, vivacious, invigorating, veritable and viable means by which the teacher can develop his or her professionalism because it is teacher initiated and teacher directed. Reflective practice and professional development should go together if a teacher wants to be an effectively delivering one. Furthermore, a reflective and professional teacher edifies frustration into creation, pain into pleasure, difficulty into destiny, challenge into charm, grief into gladness, pessimism into optimism, reader into researcher, factor into structure, action into reflection and unheard voices into heard voices. Key Words: Professional Qualities- Positive and Reflective Attitude- Culture of Cooperation and Collaboration- Rumination- Acting- Presenting and Reflecting Sharing Experiences- Comments and Feedbacks-Critical Thinking and Creative Writing-Passion-Patience-Perseverance- Professional Development.