PEER COACHING IN MALAYSIA: EXPLORING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES PROGRAMME FOR ARABIC LANGUAGE SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the peer coaching practices in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) amongst Arabic language secondary school teachers in Malaysia. The Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) made a commendable commitment to transform teaching into the profession of choice as outlined in the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025. A concomitant of this commitment is that it has become evident that the quality of teachers’ Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes needs to be enhanced in order to enable teachers to achieve their full potential in their chosen profession. One method of improving such programmes is through the use of peer coaching but the implementation of such an approach has, however, been made problematic by the fact that there has been comparatively little research on peer coaching practice in PLCs in Malaysia. Indeed, prior to the research reported in this submission, it has been uncertain if peer coaching practice in Malaysia affects teachers’ commitment and self-efficacy in a way that will improve student learning. Furthermore, the nature and level of support from the Principals and State Officers in encouraging teachers to practise peer coaching has also been unclear. This study sought to address the lack of empirical evidence in this important topic through a mixed method sequential explanatory study. In the first quantitative phase, the assessment measures were through the use of: i) a Peer Observation Scale (POS); ii) an Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ), and; iii) a Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES). Data were collected from 179 Arabic language teachers in two types of secondary schools in Malaysia. All of the descriptive analysis was measured by frequencies and percentages of the responses; inferential analysis measured the comparison between demographic backgrounds using an independent t-test and analysis of Variance; and the correlation between the variables was conducted using Spearman’s correlation coefficients. In the qualitative follow-up phase, semi-structured interviews exploring the implementation of peer coaching practice were conducted with 15 teachers, four Principals, and two State Officers in order to deepen understanding of the quantitative results and the data was analysed using the thematic analysis technique. The findings from the first phase of quantitative analysis revealed a high agreement on peer coaching practice and a significant difference in two types of demographic, which were school location and teachers’ position in schools. Although the teachers’ commitment to the school’s organisation and their self-efficacy demonstrates a high level, the correlation only revealed a weak relationship coefficient between Peer Observation Scale, Organisational Commitment Questionnaire and Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale. Notably, evaluation, workload and time constraints appeared as negative factors in peer coaching practice. In the thematic analysis in the second phase, the nature of peer coaching practice was explored with the suggestions for improvement of the practice. Despite positive acceptance of peer coaching ideas, time constraints, workload, personal attitudes, and an unsupportive environment were highlighted as challenges to implementing peer coaching practice. The school’s development strategies and instructional leadership support emerged as important factors in encouraging the practice of peer coaching amongst teachers. The current study contributes to knowledge by proposing: i) a research model of peer coaching in Malaysian secondary school teachers, and; ii) a Peer Observation Scale (POS) that consisted of two significant constructs, which are Benefit and Constraint.