Teacher reflections and praxis: a case study of Indian teachers of English as a foreign language

This case study engaged Gujarati English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in video-based reflection with the goal of increasing their reflective abilities and uncovering their understandings about reflective teaching practices in the Indian pedagogical and cultural context. The study aimed to explore, and gain a deeper understanding of how structural, institutional, and social dynamics of the larger socio-political cultural context of India affected the classroom teachers' thinking and their teaching practices. It was hoped that not only would the Gujarati teachers demonstrate an ability to reflect on their practice, but that they would also engage in a critical examination of the factors that impacted their context. The computer-based qualitative data analysis software, Atlas.ti, was used to analyze data using a grounded theoretical approach. The findings indicated that participants successfully engaged in reflection about their teaching using video as the tool for their professional development. Initially teacher participants had mixed feelings about recording and watching videos of their classroom instruction; however, teacher participants later enjoyed the experience, explicitly stating that such reflection helped them. The study also revealed that teacher participants perceived parental, social, institutional, and economic factors as influences on their students' learning, however these were simply identified as problems or conditions without any type of deeper critical analysis. Further, it was found that the teachers did not reach a critical level of reflection, nor did they consider taking action to address fundamental contextual issues. While this study showed that teacher reflection using digital video recordings of classroom practice can be a productive approach to meaningful teacher reflection in India, the study also demonstrated that teachers need specific exposure to deeper critical pedagogical thinking to go beyond simply identifying or blaming the social or economic issues embedded in their context. The study concludes with recommendations on how to reach critical teacher reflection. It is hoped that this case study will add to the growing body of research literature related to teacher self-reflection as a means to improving teaching practice and preparing teachers to take on social challenges in the Indian context. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

ISBN: 9781303035289 Pages: 173 Publication Title: ProQuest LLC Loc in Archive 1697502591; ED554753 Cam URL: https://ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1697502591?accountid=9851