Document Type : research paper
Authors
Department of ELT, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
Abstract
There is a consensus among researchers and educators that teachers need to be well prepared to improve the quality of education and students’ learning. Nevertheless, little attempt has been made to implement the trends in teachers’ quality assurance (TQA) in the field of language education. To overcome this gap, the researchers developed a questionnaire on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ quality assurance to underscore the role of TQA as a valuable part of teachers’ professional knowledge. First, the researchers developed 51 items based on a thorough review of the literature on TQA and interviewing 10 TEFL university professors. Next, the 51-item questionnaire was reviewed and revised based on the university professors’ comments. Then, 52 EFL teachers, who were selected based on convenient sampling, answered the questionnaire in the piloting phase. Subsequently, after refining the items, 207 EFL teachers chosen through convenient sampling responded to the revised questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha and exploratory factor analysis were applied to evaluate the reliability and construct validity of the questionnaire, respectively. The results showed that the items loaded on four components, which were named as “skills and knowledge, students’ learning and classroom management, working collaboratively, and students’ needs and feelings”. The good results of the reliability and construct validity of the questionnaire imply its potential use to evaluate TQA consistently. Moreover, the EFL teachers’ high agreement with the questionnaire items showed their awareness of the importance of TQA. The findings of this study can offer insights to second language teachers and teacher educators.
Keywords
Allais, S. M. (2009). Quality assurance in education. Centre for Education Policy Development.
Al-Issa, A. S. (2017). Qualities of the professional English language teacher educator: Implications for achieving quality and accountability. Cogent Education, 4(1), 1326652. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1326652
Azkiyah, S. N., & Mukminin, A. (2017). In search of teaching quality of EFL student teachers through teaching practicum: Lessons from a teacher education program. CEPS Journal, 7(4), 105-124. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.366
Bennett, R. V., Ishler, M. F., & O’loughlin, M. (1992). Effective collaboration in teacher education. Action in Teacher Education, 14(1), 52-56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01626620.1992.10462799
Biqiche, A., Chnani, H., & Messouab, I. (2019). Quality assurance in teacher professional development programs: A case study of EFL teachers in Moroccan public high schools. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 24(5), 46-52.
Blake, D. (1994). Quality assurance in teacher education: A case study. Quality Assurance in Education, 2(1), 26-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/09684889410054554
Chong, S., & Cheah, H. M. (2009). A values, skills, and knowledge framework for initial teacher preparation programmes. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 34(3). https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2009v34n3.1
Chong, S., & Ho, P. (2009). Quality teaching and learning: A quality assurance framework for initial teacher preparation programmes. International Journal of Management in Education, 3(3-4), 302-314. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMIE.2009.027352
Cochran-Smith, M. (2001). The outcomes question in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(5), 527-546. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00012-9
Cribb, A., & Gewirtz, S. (2007). Values and schooling. In J. Dillon, & M. Maguire (Eds.), Becoming a teacher: Issues in secondary education (3rd ed.) (pp. 55-68). McGraw-Hill.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2020). Accountability in teacher education. Action in Teacher Education, 42(1), 60-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.2019.1704464
Das, K. (2019). The role and impact of ICT in improving the quality of education: An overview. International Journal of Innovative Studies in Sociology and Humanities, 4(6), 97-103.
Davari, H., & Aghagolzadeh, F. (2015). To teach or not to teach? Still an open question for the Iranian education system. In C. Kennedy (Ed.), English language teaching in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Innovations, trends, and challenges (pp. 11-19). British Council.
DeLuca, C., LaPointe-McEwan, D., & Luhanga, U. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy: A review of international standards and measures. Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Accountability, 28(3), 251-272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-015-9233-6
Dornyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford University Press.
Farhady, H., & Tavassoli, K. (2021). EFL teachers’ perceptions and practices of their language assessment knowledge. Language Testing in Asia, 11, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-021-00135-4
Hargreaves, A. (2019). Teacher collaboration: 30 years of research on its nature, forms, limitations, and effects. Teachers and Teaching, 25(5), 603-621. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2019.1639499
Hinton, P. R., Brownlow, C., McMurray, I., & Cozens, B. (2014). SPSS explained (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Kashanizadeh, I., Ketabi, S., & Shahrokhi, M. (2023). Investigating technological innovation in English language teaching: Iranian EFL instructors in focus. Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies, 11(1), 53-77. https://doi.org/10.30479/jmrels.2023.18165.2155
Kazemi, A., & Soleimani, N. (2013). On Iranian EFL teachers’ dominant teaching styles in private language centers: Teacher-centered or student-centered? International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World, 4(1), 193-202.
Kelemen, G. (2015). Developing professional knowledge in the initial teacher education. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 180, 357-364.
Khodamoradi, A., & Maghsoudi, M. (2023). Constructing and validating professional attitude scale for Iranian TEFL prospective teachers. Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies, 10(1), 25-46. https://doi.org/10.30479/jmrels.2022.17296.2073
Komorowska, H. (2017). Quality assurance in teacher education. Glottodidactica. An International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 44(1), 23-38. https://doi.org/10.14746/gl.2017.44.1.02
Kong, S. C., & Lai, M. (2023). Effects of a teacher development program on teachers’ knowledge and collaborative engagement, and students’ achievement in computational thinking concepts. British Journal of Educational Technology, 54(2), 489-512. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13256
Koster, B., & Dengerink, J. J. (2008). Professional standards for teacher educators: How to deal with complexity, ownership, and function. Experiences from the Netherlands. European Journal of Teacher Education, 31(2), 135-149. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619760802000115
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2014). Rethinking global perspectives and local initiatives in language teaching. In S. Ben Said, & L. J. Zhang (Eds.), Language teachers and teaching: Global perspectives, local initiatives (pp. 317-323). Routledge.
Lassonde, C. A., & Israel, S. E. (2009). Teacher collaboration for professional learning: Facilitating study, research, and inquiry communities. John Wiley & Sons.
Meissel, K., Parr, J. M., & Timperley, H. S. (2016). Can professional development of teachers reduce disparity in student achievement? Teaching and Teacher Education, 58(4), 163-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.05.013
Mok, K. H. (2007). Questing for internationalization of universities in Asia: Critical reflections. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3-4), 433-454. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315306291945
Mousavi, M. A., Atai, M. R., & Babaii, E. (2016). Exploring standards and developing a measure for evaluating Iranian EFL teachers’ professional competence in the private sector. Iranian Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 5(2), 30-59.
Ojo, B. J. (2007). Supervision and quality assurance strategies in education: Implication for educational policy making. African Research Review, 1(2), 76-85. https://doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v1i2.41001
Pallant, J. (2020). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS. Routledge.
Popescu-Mitroi, M. M., Todorescu, L. L., & Greculescu, A. (2015). Quality assurance and classroom management in the study of English in technical higher education. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191, 1917-1922. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.724
Rea-Dickins, P. (1994). Evaluation and English language teaching. Language Teaching, 27(2), 71-91. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444800007679
Sabirova, D. R. (2014). Continuous teacher education: Quality assurance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 143, 243-246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.07.396
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Pearson.
Tajeddin, Z., Khatib, M., & Mahdavi, M. (2022). Critical language assessment literacy of EFL teachers: Scale construction and validation. Language Testing, 39(4), 649–678. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02655322211057040
Tang, S. Y. F., Cheng, M. M. H., & So, W. W. M. (2006). Supporting student teachers’ professional learning with standards‐referenced assessment. Asia‐Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 34(2), 223-244. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13598660600720629
Tavassoli, K., & Farhady, H. (2018). Assessment knowledge needs of EFL teachers. Teaching English Language, 12(2), 45-65. https://doi.org/10.22132/tel.2018.74116
Thaine, C. (2004). The assessment of second language teaching. ELT Journal, 58(4), 336-345. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/elt/58.4.336
Tütünis, B., & Yalman, D. (2020). Teacher education and foreign language teacher professionalism in the 21st century. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET), 7(3), 1168 - 1176.
White, R. (1998). What is quality in English language teacher education? ELT Journal, 52(2), 133-139.
)