Abstract
Research on teacher collaboration emphasizes the key role of collaborative culture for teachers’ functioning; however, there is little empirical evidence to investigate its relationship with knowledge sharing among university ESP teachers. In the present study, the relationship between EFL teachers’ collaborative climate and knowledge sharing was sought. The data were collected through two surveys of 328 Iranian ESP teachers. A Pearson correlation was carried out to investigate the relationship between the two variables of the study. A multiple regression analysis was also run to examine if ESP teachers’ collaborative climate predicts their knowledge sharing. A follow-up interview with 13 ESP teachers was conducted to consolidate the findings and explore the contribution of teachers’ collaborative climate to their knowledge sharing. The Pearson correlation coefficient test demonstrated a significant positive correlation for four measures (organizational culture, the head of department, teachers’ attitude, workgroup support), and the collaborative climate. The results of the multiple regression also indicated that four subscales of collaborative climate were the predictors of ESP teachers’ attitude towards knowledge sharing. Analysis of the interview data, on the other hand, indicated how teachers’ collaborative climate contributes to their knowledge sharing through one of the four main sources, namely helpful atmosphere, encouragement received from the heads of departments, the expectation of reward, and work group support. In line with these findings, several practical recommendations were offered.
Highlights
Learning a foreign language, especially English, has become increasingly important in all fields of study
The results indicated that the attitudes towards knowledge sharing and the status of a collaborative climate were desirable among the ESP teachers since they made efforts to build cohesion and teamwork in a collaborative climate
This study concluded that ESP teachers’ collaborative climate was a predictor of their attitudes toward knowledge sharing. This means that the academics who are actively involved in a collaborative climate are more likely to take part in knowledge sharing with their colleagues
Summary
Learning a foreign language, especially English, has become increasingly important in all fields of study This feature is more evident in ESP, where there is a growing demand in ESP courses for mastering English language skills (Rajprasit, Pratoomrat, & Wang, 2015). The three-credit course places a great emphasis on comprehension skills and general vocabulary development Likewise, it is very important for ESP courses to enable students to read and understand English for special purposes. The goal of ESP courses is to prepare students to read common texts and words related to the topic This course is based on two assumptions: a) matching the content of the course with the field of the students and b) limited improvement of comprehension and reading skills as well as grammar and vocabulary (Ghonsooly & Pishgadam, 2011). Apart from the importance and necessity of these courses, the role of ESP teachers’ characteristics and their ability to teach ESP play a pivotal role
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.