Teacher education
Majid Nowruzi; Abolfazl Khodamoradi
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of Collaborative Action Research (CAR) on the professional identity formation of preservice English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Iran, framed within Kumaravadivelu’s postmethod pedagogy. Through focus group interviews, mentor observation notes, and ...
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This study investigates the impact of Collaborative Action Research (CAR) on the professional identity formation of preservice English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Iran, framed within Kumaravadivelu’s postmethod pedagogy. Through focus group interviews, mentor observation notes, and reflective journals, seven key themes emerged: Promoting Collaborative Learning and Shared Responsibility, Shaping a Lifelong Commitment to Professional Development, Building Leadership and Agency, Fostering Reflective Practice, Developing a Student-Centered Professional Identity, Enhancing Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving, and Connecting Theory to Practice. The findings reveal that CAR serves as a transformative tool that enables preservice teachers to engage in reflective, autonomous, and collaborative practices aligned with postmethod principles. By addressing real classroom challenges, participants developed a deeper understanding of their roles as educators, fostering a student-centered approach and a commitment to ongoing professional growth. The study underscores CAR’s potential to prepare preservice teachers to function as adaptive, critical, and agentive educators in diverse contexts. It highlights the relevance of postmethod pedagogy in reshaping teacher education, particularly in Iran, where preservice teachers navigate unique cultural and educational dynamics. Integrating CAR into EFL teacher training programs can empower future educators to bridge theory and practice, ultimately contributing to more responsive and effective language teaching.
Abolfazl Khodamoradi; Mojtaba Maghsoudi
Abstract
This study was carried out to develop a new scale for measuring TEFL prospective teachers’ attitudes toward the teaching profession to be used as an instrument in the admission procedure of Iranian Teacher education Universities. The participants were two groups of junior and senior prospective ...
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This study was carried out to develop a new scale for measuring TEFL prospective teachers’ attitudes toward the teaching profession to be used as an instrument in the admission procedure of Iranian Teacher education Universities. The participants were two groups of junior and senior prospective teachers (n= 54 & n=186) majoring in Teaching English as a Foreign Language at Farhangian University in Iran. After reviewing the literature and interviewing 54 participants, the initial draft of the scale containing 38 items using a 5-point Likert type was developed. After revising the draft based on the experts’ comments and the feedback from a group of participants, the new version with 32 items was completed by 186 participants and their responses were submitted for statistical analyses. As a result of the exploratory factor analyses, the scale was reduced to 22 items across four factors, entitled economic factor, social factor, professional factor, and teacher competency factor. The reliability coefficients were found to be 0.70 for the whole scale, and 0.67, 0.69, 0.76 and 0.73 for the subscales, respectively. The results of confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the four-factor solution possessed good data-model fit across all indices, χ2 (203, N = 186) = 356.38, p < 0.000, χ2/df = 1.76, GFI = 0.95, NNFI = 0.92, CFI = 0.93 SRMR = 0.05, RMSEA = 0.064. The results demonstrated that the scale was valid and reliable to measure professional attitudes of TEFL prospective teachers.
Abolfazl Khodamoradi; Mojtaba Maghsoudi; Seyed Hassan Talebi
Abstract
Classroom is an environment where teachers and students as inhabitants of different worlds are supposed to experience some sort of daily give-and-take. Such inherent discrepancies between these two groups of interlocutors might be among the untouched areas of research. Therefore, this study aimed to ...
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Classroom is an environment where teachers and students as inhabitants of different worlds are supposed to experience some sort of daily give-and-take. Such inherent discrepancies between these two groups of interlocutors might be among the untouched areas of research. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the cords and discords between first-year student teachers’ and their educators’ perceptions of educator interpersonal behavior. The sample of the study included 4 EFL educators and 102 student teachers majoring in TEFL at two branches of Iranian Teacher Education University. Data were collected with the Australian version of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) that was validated and modified into four formats for measuring the participants’ perceptions of the actual educators and an ideal educator interpersonal behavior. The results indicated that although both groups perceived an ideal educator interpersonal behavior in the same way, the educators generally overestimated their cooperative behaviors (Leadership and Students responsibility) but underestimate their oppositional ones (Uncertain) in comparison to what their student teachers perceived. The results also indicated that male and female student teachers perceived some cooperative behaviors in the educators from the opposite gender more significantly. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that there are some perceptual mismatches between student teachers’ and educators’ perceptions of actual educator interpersonal behavior. Therefore, the findings imply that educators should take some measures to locate these perceptual mismatches and eliminate them gradually.
