چکیده:
This paper reports on the findings of a research aimed at exploring the professional identity (PI) of English as Foreign Language (EFL) teacher in Iran. The research further examined the extent to which the identified PI factors affect their teaching quality. The authors argue that earlier classification of different factors of professional identity of EFL teachers is arbitrary and may only be valid by definition. The possible grouping of these factors is also examined to identify what clusters of factors have relative importance in EFL teacher's professional identity and how these clusters may contribute to the quality of teaching. Sample participants contributed in semi-structured interviews and subsequently based on the thematic analysis of the interviews a questionnaire was developed and completed by a total of 143 EFL instructors and students. Factor Analysis of data identified four distinct clusters accounted for a total of nineteen variables presenting the PI profile of EFL teacher in which Personal Characteristics (PC) emerged as the most important cluster. Consequently, five clusters identified to have a considerable effect on teaching quality, Pedagogical knowledge (PK) found to be the most influential cluster. These findings may well serve as a valuable pedagogical resource for EFL teachers and policy makers to help improve teaching quality, educational processes, and curriculum design.
خلاصه ماشینی:
Professional Identity and Teaching Quality: The case of Iranian EFL teachers* Azade Labbaf ** Department of foreign languages, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
Factor Analysis of data identified four distinct clusters accounted for a total of nineteen variables presenting the PI profile of EFL teacher in which Personal Characteristics (PC) emerged as the most important cluster.
Many studies in the area of EFL/ESL research highlight the importance of teacher professional identity in teaching and emphasize their related implications for classroom practice (Varghese et al.
Related Literature In an attempt to explore the transformative potential of teacher’s identity, Morgan (2004) explains the importance of contextual factors in shaping the relational processes through which teachers and students come to understand themselves and negotiate their different roles by means of practicing language in classrooms.
This was hoped that this analysis shed some light on the relative importance of the components of the identified clusters of EFL teacher professional identity and their contribution to the quality of teaching.
2 Total PI factors affecting teaching quality PI Factors N Mean St. Deviation Mean Rank / )VIew the image of this page) Search for common patterns and interrelationships As suggested in the literature some researchers have assumed the existence of presumably a common pattern of interrelationship between the identified set of components or variables of professional identity of EFL teachers which are usually referred to as clusters of PI (Beijard, et al.