EFL Teachers’ Attitudes towards Being Supervised in an EFL Context

Abstract

This study was an attempt to explore Iranian EFL teachers' attitude towards supervision and its influence on their classroom decision making. The study also examined the relationship between teachers' teaching experience and their attitude towards classroom supervision. 74 male and female English teachers holding BA, MA, or PhD degrees participated in this survey. Classroom observation and a teachers' questionnaire were used for the purpose of the study. The findings reveal that among the less experienced teachers those who had less than five years of teaching experience were found to be more influenced by the supervision process when it came to making decisions in the classroom. These teachers indicated the importance of supervision for their classroom improvement and their teaching skills and appeared to hold positive attitudes towards supervision program they were experiencing. Teachers with six to ten years of teaching experience appeared to be the most pessimists amongst others. In addition, from the results of the qualitative analysis it can be concluded that the supervision program obviously failed to function for those teachers who had 16 years of teaching experience and more as well. In this case, the program seemed to be only a paperwork job.

The Potential of General Classroom Observation: Turkish EFL Teachers’ Perceptions, Sentiments, and Readiness for Action

“…In a recent inquiry, Lasagabaster and Sierra (2011) documented that the majority of Spanish EFL teachers held positive attitudes towards classroom observation as the advantages of observation prevail over the disadvantages in their minds although anxiety-provoking nature of observation and time constraints led to limited willingness to take part in possible observation activities. More recently, Rahmany, Hasani, and Parhoodeh (2014) found that less experienced teachers with less than five years of teaching experience were more influenced by the supervision process in terms of making decisions in the classroom whereas teachers with six to ten years of teaching experience looked like to be the most worrywarts.…”

A Study on the EFL Teachers’ Awareness of Classroom Observation Criteria

“…That is, more experienced teachers are more likely to be reflective and think about their performance, participate further in the decision-making process, and are generally more successful in teaching (Richards & Farrell, 2005). According to the findings offered by Rahmany, Hasani, & Parhoodeh (2014), the classroom observation along with the supervision of the teacher's performance plays an important role in the decision-making process of inexperienced teachers; since this group of teachers has a positive attitude towards the role of the supervisor. Moreover, the results of the current study are in line with the findings of Garrett & Steinberg (2014).…”

“…Given this awareness, teachers improve certain skills and methods, promote their teaching performance, and gain more useful working experiences. According to Rahmany et al (2014), classroom observation and collecting information based on pre-determined assessment criteria given positive feedback to teachers, which leads to the improvement of the teachers' professional performance and the students' learning as a result. In a similar vein, Williams (1989) also discussed that if the main objective of observation is the improvement of the teaching performance and not making a judgment about their teaching method, it provides great opportunities for the teachers, which ultimately results in an increase in their awareness and ability to evaluate their own teaching method.…”

“…In a similar vein, Williams (1989) also discussed that if the main objective of observation is the improvement of the teaching performance and not making a judgment about their teaching method, it provides great opportunities for the teachers, which ultimately results in an increase in their awareness and ability to evaluate their own teaching method. In addition, Rahmany et al (2014) argued that most teachers carefully read their observation report following the observation session and use the mentioned criteria in it for improving their teaching quality. Therefore, when the teachers' awareness of observation increase, the teachers are considered as the main authority in the observation process, and this change of approach lead to a big change in the act of observation (Akbari et al, 2006).…”

Human Relations in Instructional Supervision: EFL Trainees’ Appraisal of a TEFL Practicum

“…For Kilminster et al (as cited in Muttar & Mohamed, 2013) supervision is the "provision of guidance and feedback on matters of personal, professional and educational development in the context of trainee's experience taking place" (p. 2). Rahmany, Hasani, & Parhoodeh (2014) consider it as a tool commonly used in education to support understanding and development. In their point of view, it includes "monitoring and analyzing classroom teaching practice and gathering appropriate data according to standards set by the administrator with the aim of providing meaningful feedback and direction to teachers to improve teaching and accordingly learning process" (p. 349).…”