The study deals with the theories of the motivation for EFL teachers in participation in PD. It is important that it is carried out to investigate the case of EFL teachers at HaiAn high school. The researcher uses the methods such as interviewing closely EFL teachers to understand their attitude to professional development, and the participants all have positive attitude toward PD. At the same time, the researcher studies the professional development activities that EFL teachers participate. In accordance with the theory mentioned in chapter one, the EFL teachers all take part in the same formal and informal PD activities, especially the reflective practice. Also, the participants are asked to talk about their opportunities and challenges for their professional development. The result shows that the EFL teachers have strong motivation for PD, although they have some certain obstacles in participation in this process. The study also gives suggestions of measures to overcome difficulties when taking part in professional development.
ABSTRACT The study deals with the theories of the motivation for EFL teachers in participation in PD It is important that it is carried out to investigate the case of EFL teachers at HaiAn high school The researcher uses the methods such as interviewing closely EFL teachers to understand their attitude to professional development, and the participants all have positive attitude toward PD At the same time, the researcher studies the professional development activities that EFL teachers participate In accordance with the theory mentioned in chapter one, the EFL teachers all take part in the same formal and informal PD activities, especially the reflective practice Also, the participants are asked to talk about their opportunities and challenges for their professional development The result shows that the EFL teachers have strong motivation for PD, although they have some certain obstacles in participation in this process The study also gives suggestions of measures to overcome difficulties when taking part in professional development i TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i Aims of the study Scope of the study Research questions .3 Methods of the study Overview of the study II DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGIES 2 Professional development Why new educators need extra support? 10 PART B: DEVELOPMENT 16 CHAPTER II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 16 The setting of the study 16 2.2 Participants .16 CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 19 2.1 Teachers’ perceptions of the importance of PD 19 2.2.Teachers’ self-reported PD activities they often participated in 20 2.3.Teachers’ self-reports on the opportunities and challenges for their PD .25 Summary of the chapter .30 PART C: CONCLUSION 32 CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION 32 REFERENCE 37 APPENDIX I According to you, how is professional development important for teachers? I ii According to him (her), there are other forms of professional development for teachers? I Do you regularly attend professional training courses or not? Why you attend such training courses? I In addition to teacher training courses, which form of training you self-study to improve your pedagogy?Why you use those activities? I Do you often attend your colleagues’lessons or not? Why and Why not? If yes, you learn anything through your fellows’ classes? II Do you often think of the lessons you’ve taught? Why and why not? Did you learn something after thinking of your previous lessons again? II Do you often read professional books? If so, why? What kind of books you often read? Why you often read those kinds of books? II Have you ever conducted research on students or improved your teaching hours? Why and why not? If so, how often? Please give an example? .II Do you have any advantages and disadvantages of improving your professionals? II iii PART A: INTRODUCTION Chapter I : LITERATURE REVIEW I INTRODUCTION Rationale Everyone is continually developing as a person and, every day in the workplace, we are always learning Tomorrow will be different from today and we all need to be prepared for change Whether you think your role is changing or not, you need to be prepared for the next development opportunity so you don’t miss out Professional development has become a major focus in EFL teacher education programs worldwide since it is undoubtedly beneficial and essential for professional growth and more effective teaching In the paper presented at the first General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland Annual Lecture in Belfast in March 2006, Geoff Whitty for Institute of Education, University of London states that: Contemporary education reform – including marketisation and centralization, but also a new emphasis on the involvement of a wider range of stakeholders – has resulted in a period of significant change for teachers It has also raised for new questions: for example, what is teacher professional development? How should we understand the roles of teachers? What professional development activities are available and accessible to teachers, and what are the factors affecting teacher’s participation in those professional development activities? The purpose of this thesis isthus to refocus on our attention on teachers’ views, especially on urgency of providing teacher professional development that change teachers behaviours in ways that lead to improvement in students’ performance In addition to calling attention to the ongoing need for effective teacher professional development, I will describe characteristics of high quality professional development and make a case for an unconventional approach to professional development that, unlike “one-shot” workshop and inservice days, allow teacher to acquire and practice new skills over time While the end result of all education reform should be student improvement, every reform initiative, if it is to succeed, must begin with recognition of the importance of teachers in raising student performance (Ferguson, 1991; Armour-Thomas, Clay, Domanico, Bruno, & Allen, 1989) In other words, “student achievement is the product of formal study by educators” (Joyce and Showers, 2002, p.3) We cannot expect students to change what they if we are content for teachers to continue doing what they have always done As an old adage puts it, “If you what you’ve always done, you will get the results you’ve always gotten.” This thesis firstly presents the theoretical issues about the roles and nature of EFL teachers in professional development Chapter I – Introduction To clarify these issues, the definition of terminologies is mentioned in chapter II The next chapter is the presentation of the objectives, aims, methodology used for the research and its findings The conclusion which includes some comments and recommendations is presented in chapter IV In consideration of these problems, as an English teacher, I really want to clarify the topic here with my knowledge and my supervisor’s guidance to analyze, understand the situation of teaching and learning English at HaiAn high school Thanks to it, I will find out lessons, experience for myself and make a small contribution to enhancing the effectiveness in teaching this subject Aims of the study The major aims of the study are: - to gain understandings of secondary school teachers’ motivation for professional development; and define what is meant by motivation - to discuss some common professional development activities - to identify factors that affect either positively and negatively teachers’ motivation for professional development Scope of the study Given the rationale and the aims of the study, it is necessary to limit the study to the areas which are manageable Benefits of teacher professional development create the effectiveness of students’ learning which focuses on two factors: developing teachers’ motivation in participation in PD and factors affecting this process The subjects under the study are at HaiAn High School Research questions The study attempts to find the answers to the following research questions: - What are EFL teachers’ attitudes to professional development? - How motivated are they for professional development? -What are the common professional development activities secondary school teachers participate in? - What factors that affect teachers’ motivation for professional development in the secondary school context ? Methods of the study Because the primary purpose of this study is to gain understanding of the phenomenon under investigation, the main methodology used is qualitative Specifically, data for this study were merely obtained by means of face-toface interviews Overview of the study The study is organized around three parts: Part I – Introduction – provides the rationale for the study and sets up the aims, scope, research questions and methods of the study Part II – Development – consists of three chapters: - Chapter 1: Literature review_ is concerned with the literature review of the study - Chapter 2: Methodology _ describes the study population, the research design as well as data gathering instruments - Chapter 3: Results and discussion _ analyses and discusses data - Chapter 4: Findings and implications_ presents findings and implications Limitations and suggestions for further research are also provided Part III – Conclusion – summarizes and makes a conclusion to the main points which have been explored in the study, gives out recommendations to develop the effectiveness of teacher professional development, some suggestions for future research and the limitation of the study II DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGIES What is motivation? Each individual theory tends to be rather limited in scope However, by looking at the key ideas below, you can gain a better understanding of motivation as a whole According to http// Psychology.about.com, Motivation is the force that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors It is what causes us to take action, whether to grab a snack to reduce hunger or enroll in college to earn a degree The forces that lie beneath motivation can be biological, social, emotional or cognitive in nature In everyday usage, the term motivation is frequently used to describe why a person does something For example, you might say that a student is so motivated to get into a clinical psychology program that she spends every night studying (http// Psychology.about.com) Components of Motivation There are three major components to motivation: activation, persistence and intensity Activation involves the decision to initiate a behavior, such as enrolling in a psychology class Persistence is the continued effort toward a goal even though obstacles may exist, such as taking more psychology courses in order to earn a degree although it requires a significant investment of time, energy and resources Finally, intensity can be seen in the concentration and vigor that goes into pursuing a goal For example, one student might coast by without much effort, while another student will study regularly, participate in discussions and take advantage of research opportunities outside of class 2 Professional development In workplaces, professional development refers to the acquisition of skills and knowledge both for personal development and for career advancement Professional development encompasses all types of facilitated learning opportunities, ranging from college degrees to formal coursework, conferences and informal learning opportunities situated in practice It has been described as intensive and collaborative, ideally incorporating an evaluative stage.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_development - cite_note1 There are a variety of approaches to professional development, including consultation, coaching, communities of practice, lesson study, mentoring, reflective supervision and technical assistance Professional development is a broad term, encompassing a range of people, interests and approaches Those who engage in professional development share a common purpose of enhancing their ability to their work At the heart of professional development is the individual's interest in lifelong learning and increasing their own skills and knowledge Teacher professional development Professional development is defined as “the process of improving staff skills and competencies needed to produce outstanding educational results for students” (Hassel, 1999) The “professional” in professional development implies expertise, pursuit of advanced training, and maintenance of currency in an evoking knowledge base (Four &Eaker, 1998) Teacher professional development is the process of teaching teachers new strategies to improve the quality of instruction Student achievement is linked to numerous factors, but quality teachers are one of the most important components of students’ success If a school district’s teachers not have the tools they need to teach students effectively, their students will suffer To teacher effectively, teachers need access to ongoing teacher professional development This professional development enables teachers to improve their own education through seminars, workshops, and classes Through teacher professional development, teachers learn new teaching strategies to improve the quality of instruction This allows them to make changes in the way they teach their students, incorporating innovative teaching methods in the classroom It teaches them how to work with a variety of learning styles, since not all students learn the same way It also helps teachers change their day-to-day teaching methods, encouraging them to accept new methods based on accurate education research Professional development usually takes place when school is not in session Most teacher professional development occurs in the evening, on weekends, or during the summer School districts also schedule professional development days throughout the school year During these days, students are dismissed early from school or have a day off from school This provides teachers, teaching assistants, and administrative staff the opportunity to participant in training and workshops Teacher professional development is sometimes criticized because it sometimes does not provide teachers with the time, information, and activities they need to make changes within the classroom For this reason, some professional development involves training throughout the school year Mentors and coaches who are considered experts in new teaching methods and strategies meet with teachers during classroom instruction or teacher planning time This can help teachers use what they have learned in a real-world setting, building a bridge between new concepts and classroom instruction Effective teacher professional development is designed to strengthen teachers’ knowledge of content It is based on research and provides data that such new teaching methods culminate in improved student achievement Teacher professional development should also closely align with a particular state’s standards and the curriculum used by the school district Professional development should ideally be created by teachers with the support of those who work in the field of education research All professional development should provide teachers with the necessary resources and support to implement changes in teaching strategies observee is doing these or those teaching activities than what he/ or she is doing Observers can have the value of both observable things and unobservable ones Moreover, observing colleagues’ lessons make them change their teaching “styles”, they realize sometimes it’s worth changing For example, one teacher said she usually follows a reasonable teaching procedure, and she finds her lessons are quite okay However, when attending another colleague’s lesson she realizes teacher talking time is really important If teacher talking time is too high, it takes time for the students of involving in the learning On the contrary, if it’s too low, it’s hard to create an exciting atmosphere Also, reading books is what EFL teachers in their PD but not much In general, the EFL teachers have not really spent much time reading books; they only read when they need to look for something Mainly they exploit the material for his teaching through the internet; the books they read are mostly related to practical grammar with exercises In other word, they just only focus on teaching grammar, they have not developed the theoretical methodology to have long term improvement in their careers This leads to a big problem, because students need developing their English skills to communicate in the real world, not only to “circle the best answer” in their test papers As a result, our students (with many years of learning English ) fail to use English in their work 3.1 Factors affecting EFL teachers in PD Firstly, teachers all agreed that they received assistance from colleagues in improving their professionals Twice a month, they have group meetings in which they can share their difficulties both in professional and in class controlling And, they are young teachers so they can exploit a lot of useful resources on the internet 29 Thirdly, the encouragement and support rom the management is also very important: seminars and lecture festivals are annually organized by interschools and the department of education and training for teachers to exchange knowledge and experience to and from each other However, The teachers in this study seemed to conflict themselves regarding their opinions about the administrators’ support and encouragement On the one hand, they appreciated the organization of workshops or seminars But on the other hand, they stated that support was not enough for them to participate in PD These include the lack of research funding and the support for them to pursue higher degree in their study The participants all agreed that management affected them a lot Not many managers weregood at English so they don’t share anything with EFL teachers, on the contrary, they put more pressure on EFL teachers than teachers of the other subjects All EFL teachers have to sit in the very intensive capacity survey test held by the organization of the project 2020, which leads to many comment dimensions and more or less EFL teachers suffer Teachers did not seem to be aware of action research as a tool for their PD Although a couple of teachers did mention the word ‘ research’ in the interviews’, research to them was just an attempt to understand students’ attitudes and learning preference They did not mention research for the purpose of changes in their practice Summary of the chapter This chapter investigates the current situation of EFL teachers’ professional development at Hai An high school through interviews and questionnaires, then carries out data analysis, comparison, findings and discussion Obviously,student learning will be transformed only if teachers’ 30 classroom practices reflect high standard That is the best way to raise the academic achievement of our students Professional development plays a key role in teacher preparation to meet the students’ needs, a key focus of Vietnam efforts to improve education The PD of EFL teachers brings motivation and effectiveness to the students at Hai An high school In conclusion, in the process of participation in PD, EFL teachers have many advantages as well as disadvantages from their insights and also from the work environment factors To be successful in their teaching, EFL teachers must be creative to strengthen their insights so that they will outweigh the difficulties 31 PART C: CONCLUSION CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION This concluding part will present some concluding remarks related to the research questions and discuss some implications of the study It will also draw attention to the limitations of the study and make suggestions for how future research could build on the findings of this study Recapitulation In summary, the study deals with the theories of the motivation for EFL teachers in participation in PD It is important that it is carried out to investigate the case of EFL teachers at Hai An high school The researcher uses the methods such as interviewing closely EFL teachers to understand their attitude to professional development, and the participants all have positive attitude toward PD At the same time, the researcher studies the professional development activities that EFL teachers participate In accordance with the theory mentioned in chapter one, the EFL teachers all take part in the same formal and informal PD activities, especially the reflective practice Also, the participants are asked to talk about their opportunities and challenges for their professional development The result shows that the EFL teachers have strong motivation for PD, although they have some certain obstacles in participation in this process The study also gives suggestions of measures to overcome difficulties when taking part in professional development Conclusions While the teachers participating in this study were highly motivated for professional development, their understanding of the concept of ‘professional development’ seems to be limited For them, PD just means searching 32 supplementary materials on the internet, peer-observation, attending the training workshops or seminars organized externally and peer-observation These are also professional activities that, according to their self-reports, are available to them Other activities such as teacher support group, keeping a teaching journal, teaching portfolios, peer coaching, analyzing critical incidents (Richards & Farrell, 2005) were not mentioned by any of the participant teachers The greatest challenge to their PD, in their opinion, was related to the management such as the policy for them to study for the Master’s Degree and the professional expertise of the managers with whom they could share their concerns and from whom they could seek professional help Implications for teacher professional development Vietnam government regards the high level proficiency in English for its students as being vital to its effective participation in the global economy Towards that goal, the country needs to have competent EFL teachers It’s necessary that EFL teachers should have motivation for PD and participate in its process including all formal and informal activities Teachers, as mentioned above, may have positive attitudes towards the professional development but they need to improve their understanding of what PD means and what is involved in PD Also, their self-reports on the importance of PD does not guarantee their full actual participation in PD and their application of what they gain from PD to their classroom teaching The most prominent factors in this study that influence teachers’ participation in PD identified in this study namely lack of managerial supports; technical supports; lack of professional training forms; lack of teachers’ positive attitudes and confidence Besides, regimes and policy were also a comparatively big problem that also discouraged the teachers from their professional development 33 In accordance with the findings, some suggestions for educational authorities and for the teachers are offered to ensure a smooth and successful implementation of EFL teachers’ motivation for professional development For educational authorities: Educational administrators and teachers educators need to help teachers have a better understanding of PD and common PD activities, especially those that are available locally Establishing teacher support group, training the peer-observation skills, skills in doing action research are all effective PD activities that not cost much The first thing is to invest and improve the quality of classroom facilities and technology equipment The most urgent demand is that a Hi-tech room should be available so that teachers can adopt new software in their teaching and students can enjoy E-learning The second is the number of students in each class should be urgently narrowed The current number is too big, which is very hard for a language teaching and learning to be effective The third is to implement and provide better professional training courses to help EFL teachers gain further knowledge of their professional fields, of IT and familiarize with some applications of IT such as Violet, Hot Potatoes, Adobe Audition, and website designing… in their daily jobs Another suggestion is to make PD compulsory Even though it is for their own profession and should derive from teachers’ willingness to implement, it is a good idea to provide an urge for them, especially at the early stage of the practice Taking teachers’ burden of huge loads of work and lack of motivation, this idea may help them maintain the activity and gradually form a habit Finally, regime and policy should be constant and focused on teachers 34 realistically so that EFL teachers don’t have too much other concerns which take their time of professional development For teachers: As Thomas Guskey (2000, p4) states “One constant finding in the research literature is that notable improvements in education almost never take place in the absence of professional development” Professional development is key to meeting today’s demand, so EFL teachers should be aware of this importance And each of them has his/ her own way to this activity Research and experience help us recognize that high-quality ongoing professional development deepens EFL teachers’ content knowledge and pedagogical skills; provides opportunities for practice, research, and reflection; and includes efforts that are jog-embedded, sustained and collaborative will assist in the goal to remain up-to-date (Spark, 2000) Research by Joyce and Shower (1988) concludes that levels of teachers learning and strategy use are greatly increased when coaching, study team, and peer support are provided Thus, EFL teachers should confidently taking part in their professional development events held by the city, the school, interschool, especially their professional group Furthermore, each EFL teacher should strengthen their inners to get over the personal difficulties as well as environment obstacles for their own professional development for their own sake Limitations of the study It should be pointed out that there are certain limitations to this study First of all, the population of the study is rather small, which is hard to generate the findings in this study for EFL teachers in general Secondly, the research duration is quite short, thus possibly making it difficult to clarify the responses of the participants Finally, the study only use interview as the main 35 means to collect data which has some certain disadvantages such as: it takes time to use the content analysis technique to analyze the varied nature of the responses from the interviewees.And open questions used in this unstructured interview approach can cause confusion either because of the lack of understanding of the question by the informant or by the lack of understanding of the respondent's answer by the interviewer Suggestions for future research As the result of the findings from the research and the limitations of the study, several issues are worth considering for future research Firstly, a similar investigation should be implemented with a large number of participants or in longer duration so that the result will be more reliable Secondly, the research can be carried out with some other means such as questionnaires, observation to investigate the changes in teaching practice in reality Finally, it is hoped that the implications in this study will be applied to assess the EFL teachers’ motivation in professional development 36 REFERENCE Beatrice F Birman, Laura Desimone, Andrew C Porter, and Micheal S Garet Designing Professional Development that works Borko, H (2008) Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain Educational Research, 33(8), 3-15 Desimone, L Porter, A Garet, M., Yoon, K.S., &Birman, B (2002) Effects of professional development on teachers’ instruction: results from longitudinal study Educational evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24 (81), 81 – 112 Foddy, William Constructing Questions forInterviews, Cambridge University Press, 1993 Geoff Whitty (2006) Institute of education, University of London Guskey, T (2000) Evaluating professional development Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Guskey, T R (1988) Teacher efficacy, self – concept and attitudes towards the implementation of instructional innovation Teaching and Teacher Education, 4(1), 63 – 69 Ingvarson, L., Meier, M., & Beavis, A (2005) Factors affecting the impact of professional development programs on teachers’ knowledge, practice, student outcomes &efficacy Joyce, B.,& Shower, B (1988) Student achievement through staff development New York Longman 10.Kvale, Steinar Interviews An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing, Sage Publication, 1996 37 11.McNamara, Carter, PhD General Guidelines for Conducting interviews, Minnesota, 1999 12 Richards, J C., & Farrell, T S C (2005) Professional development for language teachers: Strategies for teacher learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 13.Sandra H Harwell, Ph.D Teachers’ professional development It’s NOT an event It’s a process 14.Schone, D A (1983) The reflective practitioner New York: Basic Books 15.Spark, D (2002) Designing powerful professional development for teachers and principals Oxford HO: National Staff Development Council 16.Watson, S., & Evans.S (2012) Observing changes in teachers’ practice as a consequence of taking part in professional development: developing a protocol for the observation of lessons 17.https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/ /research.pdf? 18.www Learningforward.org 19.http// Psychology.about.com 38 APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (in English) According to you, how is professional development important for teachers? According to him (her), there are other forms of professional development for teachers? Do you regularly attend professional training courses or not? Why you attend such training courses? In addition to teacher training courses, which form of training you selfstudy to improve your pedagogy?Why you use those activities? I Do you often attend your colleagues’lessons or not? Why and Why not? If yes, you learn anything through your fellows’ classes? Do you often think of the lessons you’ve taught? Why and why not? Did you learn something after thinking of your previous lessons again? Do you often read professional books? If so, why? What kind of books you often read? Why you often read those kinds of books? Have you ever conducted research on students or improved your teaching hours? Why and why not? If so, how often? Please give an example? Do you have any advantages and disadvantages of improving your professionals? II INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (in Vietnamese) Theo anh (chị) việc phát triển nghiệp vụ có tầm quan trọng giáo viên? Theo anh (chị) có hình thức phát triển nghiệp vụ cho giáo viên? Anh (chị) có thường xuyên dự lớp bồi dưỡng nghiệp vụ khơng? Vì anh (chị) tham gia lớp bồi dưỡng đó? Ngoài lớp bồi dưỡng giáo viên tập trung anh (chị) tự học để nâng cao lực sư phạm hình thức nào? Vì anh chị lại sử dụng hoạt động đó? III Anh chị có thường xun dự đồng nghiệp khơng? Vì có? Vì khơng? Nếu có anh (chị) học hỏi qua việc dự đồng nghiệp? Anh (chị) có thường xuyên suy ngẫm lại dạy sau tiết dạy khơng? Vì có? Vì khơng? Nếu có anh (chị) học lần chiêm nghiệm hay suy ngẫm lại dạy mình? Anh chị có thường xuyên đọc sách chun mơn khơng? Nếu có sao? Những loại sách anh chị thường đọc? Vì thường đọc sách đó? Anh chị tiến hành nghiên cứu học sinh cải tiến dạy khơng? Vì có? Vì khơng? Nếu có có thường xun khơng? Hãy cho ví dụ? IV Anh (chị) có khó khăn thuận lợi việc bồi dưỡng tự bồi dưỡng chuyên môn? V ... Vietnamese) Theo anh (chị) việc phát triển nghiệp vụ có tầm quan trọng giáo viên? Theo anh (chị) có hình thức phát triển nghiệp vụ cho giáo viên? ... giáo viên tập trung anh (chị) tự học để nâng cao lực sư phạm hình thức nào? Vì anh chị lại sử dụng hoạt động đó? III Anh chị có thường xuyên dự đồng... Anh (chị) có thường xuyên dự lớp bồi dưỡng nghiệp vụ khơng? Vì anh (chị) tham gia lớp bồi dưỡng đó? Ngoài lớp bồi dưỡng giáo viên tập trung anh