TEACHERS AS REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONERS: A SURVEY ON IRANIAN ENGLISH TEACHERS’ REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

Reflective teaching, which has gained the status of an integral element of teacher pedagogy, is still an elusive concept, probably because it is merely attainable when teachers are provided with opportunities for building professional knowledge and for showing reflective teaching practices. The present study aimed at examining the English language teachers’ perception of their level of reflection and the way their perceptions were realized in practice. Adopting a multi-method design, the study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, data were elicited form 60 EFL teachers using a questionnaire (Akbari, Behzadpoor & Dadvand, 2010). In the second phase, six teachers were randomly selected from among the surveyed teachers and their teaching practices were observed. The record of the observations was, then, analyzed using the seating chart technique to find patterns in the observed teachers’ questioning practice as a sign of their degree of reflectivity. The results revealed a relatively low level of reflection with the teachers under study tending to rely more on their own rationality in teaching. It is argued that for teachers to develop desirable levels of pedagogic integrity, they should involve themselves more in exploring their students’ learning styles and critical aspects of the teaching context.