English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in Teaching Reading Skills in Secondary Schools

Abstract

Improving teacher quality, a pressing concern in modern education and improving instructional quality is becoming crucial particularly in the realm of foreign or second language learners. The purpose of this study was to investigate secondary school English as Foreign Language teachers’ general perceptions and practices of pedagogical content knowledge in the teaching of reading skills to grade nine students. The researchers used a descriptive survey design by generating quantitative data from English as Foreign Language teachers’ questionnaires and observation checklists as data collection tools. In total, 35 English as Foreign Language teachers participated in filling out the self-report questionnaire. To get insight into the implementation of pedagogical content knowledge, four English as Foreign Language teachers’ classroom practices were observed using a structured observation checklist and field notes during one academic semester in 2021. SPSS (IBM version 24) was used to analyse the data. Findings showed that English as Foreign Language teachers’ perceptions of pedagogical content knowledge seems to be slightly above average. The relationship between English as Foreign Language teachers’ general perception and pedagogical content knowledge implementation in the classroom had a moderately high positive relationship (r =0.67) between them. The results from the observation checklists revealed that teachers lack basic competence in pedagogical content knowledge implementation in teaching reading skills. To fill this gap, continuous professional development training schemes should be arranged for English as Foreign Language teachers.