Abstract
Teacher development in the EFL context has been well-established in Western educational institutions. However, although there are some limited studies in the Middle East, it is still under-researched in Saudi Arabia. This study investigates the EFL teachers’ perceptions of reflective teaching as a tool for teacher development and its challenges in higher education in Saudi Arabia. It also aims to raise teachers’ awareness of the importance of teacher development and its empowering impact in meeting their students’ needs. Based on a review of previous studies, the present study hypothesized a significant relevance between reflective teaching practice and the promotion of professional development. A structured questionnaire is used as a quantitative methodology followed by qualitative analysis of the findings. The findings support the hypothesis in which the participants’ views revealed a strong relationship between reflective teaching and professionalism in teaching. Finally, further recommendations that suggest methods of reflective teaching are proposed.
Highlights
EFL teachers are in an endless struggle to meet the needs of the curriculum and achieve students’ needs for their future career
The findings revealed that teachers have a general understanding of reflective practice activities, and by engaging them in reflective practice activities, it has motivated teachers to question their theories and conceptions of teaching
The majority of teachers admitted the crucial role of teaching development in enhancing teaching and attaining professionalism
Summary
EFL teachers are in an endless struggle to meet the needs of the curriculum and achieve students’ needs for their future career. In an attempt to fulfill such a mission, EFL teachers have to be responsible and knowledge-grounded of the updated learning theories and approaches In this regard, teachers need to apply different approaches, evaluate and reflect upon their teaching practices in order to become competent and professional teachers. Teachers’ competence involves a balance between enhancing the students’ learning and accomplishing their careers and research studies in an attempt to align with the updated world and gain sufficient training in the EFL field. To this point, referring to the Saudi context, the English Language Institute provides a comfortable enriching environment to motivate and help teachers to achieve such a balance and attain ultimate professionalism. The Professional development Unit is an active unit where it aims to improve the quality performance of its teachers by providing in house training for the teachers
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