Motivating teachers in the developing world: Insights from research with English language teachers in Oman

Abstract

According to some commentators, targets set by the international community for bringing education to all children in developing countries are threatened by a teacher motivation crisis. For this crisis to be addressed, challenges to the motivation of teachers in such contexts need to be understood from perspectives both theoretical and comparative. Thus, motivation theory is required as well as analysis of the changes that have taken place in countries whose education systems have developed rapidly in recent decades. Stories of motivated teacher behaviour in such national contexts, which include the Sultanate of Oman, might be of relevance to educational reformers. Drawing upon self-determination theory, this article discusses the nature of the reported teacher motivation crisis in the developing world, highlights recent historical developments in Oman, considers the extent to which negative environmental influences on teacher motivation in Oman have been addressed and then looks for evidence of intrinsic motivation in case studies of Omani English teachers. Returning to the developing world, conclusions focus on how teachers' psychological needs for relatedness, competence and autonomy can be met through educational policies that reduce negative influences on teacher motivation and provide both inspiring professional development opportunities and work environments characterized by respect.

Using Qualitative Research Methods to Assess the Degree of Fit between Teachers’ Reported Self-efficacy Beliefs and their Practical Knowledge during Teacher Education

“…However, there was another focus to my original research into Sarah's development (Wyatt, 2008), which was on her use of communicative language teaching (CLT) to develop speaking skills in a girls' lower secondary school; this engaged her throughout the three-year degree and became the subject of her dissertation. I have discussed aspects of her practical knowledge and motivation more generally in relation to this task elsewhere (Wyatt, 2009(Wyatt, , 2011(Wyatt, , 2013bWyatt & Borg, 2011), but not her TSE beliefs. The reason for the present focus is that Sarah's reported TSE beliefs regarding using CLT to develop speaking skills surprised me in some ways.…”

“…The other teacher focused on here is Omar, a teacher committed to helping learners overcome difficulties in reading in a village boys' school in the mountains. I have discussed his developing practical knowledge and motivation more generally in relation to this task elsewhere (Wyatt, 2012(Wyatt, , 2013b. His reported TSE beliefs are of interest as they seemed exaggerated.…”

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“…We will only report some results of some quite recent studies on teachers' motivation, in order to have a clearer picture of the ways through which it has been analysed. Concerning goal theories, research on teachers' motivation takes strongly into consideration the influence of goal-achievement (Woolfolk Hoy 2008;Praver, Oga-Baldwin 2008;Wyatt 2013).…”

“…Individuals will respond favorably if they perceive their goals are realistic, achievable and a reward comes with them. (Koran 2015, 79) Analysing language teachers of English in Oman by adopting Self-Determination Theory, Wyatt (2013) concludes that creating the conditions that can satisfy those psychological needs which trigger intrinsic motivation (i.e. autonomy, competence, and relatedness) is vitally necessary for the well-being of teachers, and consequently for the well-being of their students.…”

“Are they becoming more reflective and/or efficacious?” A conceptual model mapping how teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs might grow

“…The specific TSE beliefs tasks that emerged in the individual cases were as follows:  Using communicative tasks to develop speaking skills  Enhancing learners' motivation through creative use of materials  Helping learners overcome difficulties in reading  Mentoring teachers to become more reflective practitioners  Supporting low achievers through groupwork activities All the above tasks represented motivating challenges for the teachers (and senior teachers) concerned, challenges which they were deeply committed to addressing. As to the ways in which and extents to which they were able to do so, I have discussed this elsewhere (Wyatt, 2009a(Wyatt, , 2009b(Wyatt, , 2010a(Wyatt, , 2010b(Wyatt, , 2011a(Wyatt, , 2011b(Wyatt, , 2012(Wyatt, , 2013a(Wyatt, , 2013b(Wyatt, , 2015Wyatt and Arnold, 2012;Wyatt and Borg, 2011); some of these publications focus on individual stories of PK and/or TSE beliefs growth in relation to particular tasks, while others are comparison studies highlighting common themes or patterns of development. My interest in these teachers for this current paper is purely with regard to illustrating the development of an alternative conceptual model of TSE beliefs growth (Figure 4, below); this model originally appeared in my PhD thesis (Wyatt, 2008), but has not otherwise been published.…”