Applying models of change: an investigation into teachers’ perceptions

of recent changes to teaching and learning English as a foreign language

in the United Arab Emirates schools

Mona Al Hammadi

September 2010

This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of MA Education Leadership and Management, Roehampton University

Abstract

Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) has established the Public-Private Partnership project

(PPP) in the public schools since the year 2005. This project aims to work with teachers and

principals in the public schools to improve the quality of teaching and learning and to increase

students’ outcomes through inviting four international education contractors to manage the

public schools. The contractors, referred to as “companies”, introduced several changes in the

schools and the teaching subjects. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions

of the recent changes to the English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching and learning. The

study investigated the effectiveness of the change process adopted by the companies, from

teachers’ perspectives. Appropriate qualitative methods exploiting semi-structured interviews

and focus groups were the primary data collection tools for this study. The critical analysis of the

data suggests that teachers encountered several problems with the recent changes to the EFL

teaching and learning such as lack of rationale for change and lack of training and resources,

which were factors that affected teachers’ implementation of the changes as well as the success

of the changes to improve EFL teaching and learning. The results from the data analysis also

demonstrated teachers’ understanding to the change process and to what should be done to

improve the quality of the change process adopted by ADEC and the companies.

Recommendations of this study included the need to encourage and support teachers’

innovations as well as the need to monitor and assess the implementation stage to evaluate the

effectiveness of the new innovations in achieving the desired goals.

Key words: Educational change, organizational change, change models, EFL, Public-Private Partnership, teachers’ perceptions, qualitative methods.

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Acknowledgements

My sincere thanks and utmost gratitude go to my supervisor Agnieszka Bates for providing me

with assistance and guidance throughout the journey of preparing and writing the dissertation.

I would also like to gratefully thank my lovely husband, Mohamed Asaad Taher, for the

invaluable encouragement, help and support during my studies in London.

Last, but never least, all gratitude and acknowledgments should go to my parents, brothers and

sisters, and friends who supported and helped me while pursuing my MA degree.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................5

Chapter 2: Literature Review...........................................................................................9

2.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................................9

2.2 The meaning of change.................................................................................................................9

2.3 The importance of change........................................................................................................... 11

2.4 Change models............................................................................................................................ 12

2.4.1 Lewin’s (1947) three-step model....................................................................................... 13

2.4.2 Bolman and Deal’s (2003) reframing organizations..........................................................16

2.4.3 Senge’s (1999) dance of change........................................................................................ 21

2.4.3.1 The challenges of initiating...................................................................................22

2.4.3.2 The challenges of sustaining and transformation..................................................23

2.4.3.3 The challenges of redesigning and rethinking.......................................................24

2.5 The implications of change models for improving EFL teaching and learning in the UAE...... 26

Chapter 3: Research Methodology.............................................................................................29

3.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................29

3.2 Social science..............................................................................................................................29

3.2.1 Positivism..........................................................................................................................30

3.2.2 Interpretivism....................................................................................................................32

3.3 Interviews...................................................................................................................................34

3.3.1 Semi-structured interviews...............................................................................................34

3.3.2 Open-ended questions...................................................................................................... 36

3.3.3 Focus groups.................................................................................................................... 36

3.3.4 Recording data................................................................................................................. 40

3.4 Research sample.........................................................................................................................40

3.5 Ethical considerations................................................................................................................41

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3.6 Procedure...................................................................................................................................42

3.7 Data transcription..................................................................................................................... 43

3.8 Data analysis............................................................................................................................ 43

Chapter 4: Data Presentation and Analysis...........................................................................45

4.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................45

4.2 The problems with the most recent changes to TEFL in the UAE as perceived by EFL teachers.......................................................................................................................................... 46

4.2.1 Lack of rationale for change and its effects on the teachers implementing change.......46

4.2.2 Unclear role....................................................................................................................48

4.2.3 Poorly planned and designed curriculum.......................................................................50

4.2.4 Lack of resources...........................................................................................................52

4.2.5 Lack of training ............................................................................................................ 54

4.2.6 Cultural boundaries....................................................................................................... 56

4.2.7 Lack of monitoring and assessment...............................................................................58

4.2.8 Impact on students’ outcomes........................................................................................60

4.3 Teachers’ tacit models of effective change to TEFL.............................................................. 62

4.4 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................64

Chapter 5: Conclusion................................................................................................66

5.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................66

5.2 Critical evaluation of the work undertaken.............................................................................66

5.3 Summary of the main findings................................................................................................67

5.4 Recommendations...................................................................................................................69

5.5 Routes for future research.......................................................................................................70

Bibliography................................................................................................................................72

Appendix A: Permission Letter (Principal)...............................................................75

Appendix B: Permission Letter (Teacher).................................................................76

Appendix C: Interview Guiding Questions...............................................................77

Appendix D: First Interview Transcripts...................................................................78

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Appendix E: Second Interview Transcripts...............................................................92

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Chapter 1: Introduction

During my work as an English teacher in one of the girls’ public schools in Abu Dhabi, I realized

that change was necessary in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. After twelve

years of English learning, many students graduate from high schools with poor English language

skills. From my experience with grade nine, some of the students have difficulties in

communicating in English and some of them can barely understand simple conversations. This

could be due to the teaching methods previously used in English language learning. Many

teachers in EFL classrooms use behaviorist approaches to teaching. Drilling, memorization,

accuracy, grammar and translation are the central features of some English classrooms in the

UAE.

Since the establishment of Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), fundamental changes have

been introduced to the educational sector of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United

Arab Emirates (UAE). Its mission is “to produce world-class learners who embody a strong

sense of culture and heritage and are prepared to meet global challenges” (Abu Dhabi Education

Council, 2009). ADEC has introduced several changes in the public schools. One of its major

projects is the Public Private Partnership (PPP) schools, where it invited four international

education contractors (companies) to manage 30 public schools and to “work with teachers and

principals to improve the quality of instruction and to increase student achievement in

government schools” (Abu Dhabi Education Council, 2010).

In spite of ADEC’s efforts to reform education, reports indicate that the education in the UAE

remains the same as modest development was noticed even after the implementation of the PPP

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project. In the reputable local news paper, ‘The National’ Ridge (2009) claims that “despite these

extensive investments, education quality and achievement remain stagnant in the UAE, Qatar

and throughout the Gulf”. She also points out that there is a lack of educational research in the

Gulf region which makes “the education sector in the Gulf one of the most understudied sectors

in the world” (Ridge, 2009).

The lack of educational research in the Gulf region motivated me to conduct a research about the

educational reforms in the UAE. More specifically, there was an essential need to investigate the

effectiveness of ADEC’s PPP project in the public schools of Abu Dhabi. Therefore, I was

interested in investigating teachers’ perceptions of the recent changes introduced to teaching

English as a foreign language (TEFL) simply because teachers are the implementers of these

changes. This study is aimed at identifying the problems associated with the process of change

initiated by the companies. The findings of this study will provide ADEC with valuable

assistance to promote changes more effectively in the future.

This study aims to answer the following questions:

1. Why is change needed: the rational for change

2. What are the main change models in management and leadership literature and how can they

be evaluated?

3. What were the problems with the most recent changes to TEFL in the UAE?

4. What can we learn from change models in order to better promote and implement change in

the TEFL context in the future?

In order to answer these research questions I have designed my research based on the

interpretivist research paradigm using qualitative research methods to collect the data.

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Semi-structured interviews using focus groups were the primary data collection tools in this

study. These tools encouraged teachers’ participation and enabled them to express their

perceptions and share their experiences more openly and in a comfortable environment. In

addition, focus group interviews allowed me to generate rich data that would answer my

research questions.

This dissertation is structured as follows. Chapter two presents a review of literature on the

concept of change including its definition in different contexts and its importance in

developing the educational systems that support the development of societies. This chapter

also discusses the most important change models namely: Lewin’s (1947) three-step model,

Bolman and Deal’s (2003) reframing organizations and Senge’s (1999) dance of change.

Then, links between these change models and their ability to improve EFL teaching and

learning in the UAE public schools are established.

Chapter three discusses the methodological approach used in this study with a particular

emphasis on the interpretivist paradigm and, therefore, the qualitative methods, which were

deemed most appropriate for this research. It also provides justifications for the use of

semi-structured interviews using focus groups as the primary data collection tools, and

discusses their advantages and limitations. Then, the research sample and ethical issues are

discussed. The procedure for conducting the interviews and the methods used in the data

transcription and analysis are outlined at the end of this chapter.

Chapter four is concerned with the presentation and analysis of the data obtained. Two

major themes emerged after transcribing the data collected from the interviews. The first

theme presents the problems that teachers had with the recent changes to TEFL and the

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second theme reflects on teachers’ understanding of the change models. The data gathered

produced predicted results such as the lack of training required to prepare the teachers for

the implementation of change. The data also indicated surprising results such as the

manipulation of students’ grades by one of the companies in order to demonstrate positive

change and present it to ADEC. The results are then analyzed and linked to the literature

review discussed in chapter two.

The conclusion and recommendations chapter evaluates the work undertaken in terms of

the effectiveness of the research methodology and the data collection tools in answering the

research questions. It also summarizes the main findings and draws recommendations to

ADEC on how to successfully promote change to classrooms in the future. Finally, other

recommendations are presented as areas of potential further research.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

This study aims to explore teachers’ perceptions of the recent changes to EFL teaching and

learning as well as to provide ADEC with suggestions on how to promote changes more

effectively in the future. In order to understand change and its processes, first, this chapter

articulates the meaning of change and its importance. Second it discusses the main three change

models: Lewin’s (1947) three-step model; Bolman and Deal’s (2003) reframing organizations;

and Senge’s (1999) dance of change. Analyzing these models enabled me to develop

understanding of different change processes and their challenges from different perspectives. For

instance, both Lewin’s (1947) and Bolman and Deal’s(2003) change models focus on changing

behavior, while Senge’s (1999) model aspires to more profound change that entails a shift in

thinking.

2.2 The meaning of change

Change, in the general context, whether imposed or sought for, is associated with the feelings of

"loss, anxiety, and struggle" (Marris, 1975, in Fullan, 1982, p. 25). Fullan and Hargreaves (1991)

describe change as:

A journey of unknown destination, where problems are our friends, where seeking assistance is a

sign of strength, where simultaneous top-down bottom-up initiatives merge, where collegiality

and individualism co-exist in productive tension

(cited in Fullan, 1993, p. viii).

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Change could be ‘top-down’, which denotes change introduced by agents who are in top

hierarchical positions in an organization, or ‘bottom-up’, where the employees have the

opportunity to create and implement innovations that could help them achieve their goals.

However, Fullan (2007) suggests that it does not matter where change comes from as both

directions could fail. What matters the most is the quality of the change process and what

happens within it.

Change could carry different meanings for different people due to its subjective nature;

depending on the outcomes, educational change can be viewed as an achievement, success and

professional growth, or it can lead to negative feelings such as anxiety and loss (Fullan, 1982).

Van de Ven and Poole (1995) define change as “the observation of difference over time in one or

more dimensions of entity” (cited in Kezar, 2001, p.12). Similarly, the Oxford Dictionary defines

the verb “to change” as “to make or become different” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2010). This could

mean that when we change something we make it look, act, think or sound different than it used

to be.

Senge (1999) suggests that change has several meanings and sometimes those meanings are

contradictory. For example, leaders might view change as the ability to create new approaches

to increase their organizations’ productivity, while employees might view change as a source of

threat and problems. Senge (1999) claims that change could be external (customers, technology

or social and political environment) or internal (strategies, practices or views), and the concern is

about the relationship between external and internal changes. Change could also mean top-down

programs such as reforming, reorganizing and many other ‘re’s (Senge, 1999).

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In regard to organizational change, Burnes (1996) emphasizes that “organizational change refers

to understanding alterations within organizations at the broadest level among individuals, groups,

and at the collective level across the entire organization” (cited in Kezar, 2001, p. 12). On the

other hand, Morgan (1998) views the organization as “an open system in constant interaction

with its environment, transforming inputs into outputs as a means of creating the conditions

necessary for survival”, and believes that “changes in the environment are viewed as presenting

challenges to which the organization must respond” (p. 215).

Educational change in practice, associated with the implementation of new educational policy or

program, is a multidimensional process involving at least three dimensions or elements, namely:

the change in materials through the use of revised or sometime new materials; the change in

teaching strategies by adopting new teaching approaches and activities; and the change of

beliefs, assumptions and theories (Fullan, 1982).

2.3 The importance of change

There are several reasons why educational change is crucial. Sikes (1992) suggests that “a

fundamental purpose of education is to prepare young people for life in society, and since

societies throughout the world are constantly changing and developing, education can also be

expected to change” (p. 36). In addition, Hargreaves (2005) asserts that educational change is

needed to prepare students for the rapid social, political, economical and technological growth.

He adds: “societies increasingly require the full range of human abilities potentially available to

it, development strategies that build the capacities of individuals and institutions are ever more

necessary” (pp. 362-363). Moreover, Glaser (1990) claims that the 21st century requires schools

to shift from a ‘selective mode’ where learning conditions and approaches for success are

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limited, to an “adaptive mode in which the educational environment can provide for a range of

opportunities for success” (in Hargreaves, 2005, p. 363). Therefore, in rapidly growing

developing countries such as the UAE, it is important to create productive schools that could

prepare Emirati students to play a significant role in the society.

Educational change is taking place in the UAE and new programs have been developed to

replace the old ones. In her article in the reputable local newspaper ‘The National’, Ridge (2009)

reported that “the UAE and Qatar both have been particularly active in investing in programs to

improve the quality of public education”. However, “In theory, the purpose of educational

change is presumably to help schools accomplish their goals more effectively by replacing some

programs or practices with better ones” (Fullan, 1982, p. 11). However, it is important to note

that not all new programs are successful as emphasized by Fullan (2007), who argues that the

introduction of new programs and practices does not always make a difference or help schools

accomplish their goals, and in some cases, it can make things even worse. Whether or not change

initiatives are deemed to be successful depends, to a large degree on the processes of change,

which are discussed in the next section.

2.4 Change models

There are numerous theoretical models of change. Each of these models attempts to describe the

process of the organizational change. The models of change discussed in this section are Lewin’s

(1947) three-step model; Bolman and Deal’s (2003) reframing organizations; and Senge’s (1999)

dance of change. Both Lewin’s (1947) and Bolman and Deal’s (2003) models focus on change

behavior, while Senge’s (1999) model views organizational change as profound change. In

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addition, Senge (1999) argues that creating new strategies and practices are important, but what

is more important is to change thinking. The three models of change are discussed below.

2.4.1 Lewin’s (1947) three-step model

Social scientist Kurt Lewin (1947) introduced the three-step change model which is referred to as

Lewin’s key contribution to organizational change (Burnes, 2004). He views change as a process

rather than an event, and he argues that a successful change process contains three steps namely:

unfreezing, movement and refreezing (Burnes, 2004).

The unfreezing step is crucial for understanding and recognizing the importance of change. This

step involves unfreezing the current situation by “reducing those forces which maintain

behaviour in its present form” (Mullins, 1999, p. 823). Lewin (1951) “conceived of change as

modification of those forces keeping a system’s behaviour stable” (Cummings and Worley,

2009, p. 23). There are two groups of forces that affect behavioural change. These are

‘restraining forces’ resisting change and seeking to maintain the status of quo and ‘driving

forces’ promoting and enforcing change. “When both sets of forces are about equal, current

behaviours are maintained in what Lewin termed a state of ‘quasi-stationary equilibrium’ ”

(Cummings and Worley, 2009, p. 23). In order for change to take place, the equilibrium or the

status of quo should be destabilized. If the restraining forces are more or equal to the driving

forces, change will not happen and resistance will occur. Therefore, it is important to either

increase the driving forces or decrease the restraining forces for change to happen (Change-

Management-Coach.com, 2010).

Schein (1996) identifies three processes to achieve the unfreezing step successfully:

disconfirmation; induction of guilt and survival anxiety; and creation of psychological safety;

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“each of which has to be present to some degree for readiness and motivation to change to be

generated” (Schein, 1996, p.60). The disconfirmation process is one of the main driving forces. It

introduces information that shows the differences between the current behavior of the

organization members and the behavior desired by the reformers. Some individuals might deny

and ignore the disconfirming information. Thus, it is important stimulate the feeling of guilt and

survival anxiety in order for individuals to start thinking that if they did not accept change, they

will not achieve their goals and desires (Schein, 1996). For instance, teachers need to understand

and should agree that the changes introduced are the only solution to improve EFL teaching and

improve students’ outcomes.

Schein (1996) suggests that there is a type of anxiety that prevents individuals from accepting

change, which is called “learning anxiety” (p. 60). Learning anxiety is experienced when

individuals feel that if they accept change, they will prove to themselves and to others that they

were wrong and incompetent, and therefore, they should change. Thus, learning anxiety is

viewed as a fundamental restraining force that leads individuals to feel insecure and accordingly,

resist change. Therefore, dealing with the learning anxiety is an important element to push

change forward (Schein, 1996). Schein (1996) argues that “unless sufficient psychological safety

is created, the disconfirming information will be denied or in other ways defended against, no

survival anxiety will be felt, and consequently, no change will take place” (p. 61). In sum,

Schein (1996) argues that in order for people to accept change and new information, it is

important that they feel safe and secure and less threatened by change. Once this state of

acceptance has been secured, people in the organization are ready for the next step identified by

Lewin (1947), as the moving step.

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In the course of the moving stage, groups or individuals start turning away from their old

ineffective practices and behaviors to new effective ones. This step “involves intervening in the

system to develop new behaviours, values, and attitudes through changes in organizational

structure and processes” (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p. 24). This stage is often the hardest

step as people involved would feel unsure and afraid to change even when they agree and

understand that change is important. Therefore, support is essential in this stage. It increases

people’s confidence and encouragement to change (Change-Management-Coach.com, 2010). In

addition, Lewin (1947) suggests that reinforcement and motivation are the key elements to

ensure the consistency of change (cited in Burnes, 2004).

Refreezing is the last step of Lewin’s three-step change model. Refreezing is a necessary step to

ensure that the new adopted behaviors are stabilized (Burnes, 2004). Change is more likely to be

short-lived if this step is not accomplished (Kritsonis, 2005). In this stage, “new behaviours

must be... congruent with the rest of the behaviour and personality of the learner or it will simply

set off new rounds of disconfirmation” (Schein, 1996, p. 63). In other words, if people involved

in change did not integrate the new behaviors and practices in their work routine, they are more

likely to retrieve their old behavior. Cummings and Worley (2009) suggest that, in order to

accomplish refreezing, organizations must change their culture, structure, practices and rewards

system.

Over the years, Lewin’s three-step model of change has greatly contributed to organizational and

social development, but it has also faced several criticisms (Burnes, 2004; Kanter et al, 1992).

One of the criticisms is that his planned approach to change was viewed to be too simplistic and

mechanistic for organizations that are rapidly and consistently changing (Burnes, 2004).

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Furthermore, many have argued that for such changing organizations the refreezing step cannot

be achieved (Burnes, 2004). Besides, Kanter et al (1992) claim that “organizations are never

frozen, much less refrozen, but are fluid entities with many ‘personalities’” (cited in Burnes,

2004, p. 989). Defending Lewin’s model, Burnes (2004) argues that “when Lewin wrote

‘refreezing’, he referred to preventing individuals and groups from regressing to their old

behaviours” (p. 993).

Others have criticized Lewin’s model for not being able to incorporate radical, transformational

change, and for the fact that his model is only relevant to incremental and isolated change

projects (Dawson, 1994 cited in Burnes, 2004). However, Dickens and Wathins (1999) explain

that Lewin’s model was concerned with changing individuals’, groups’ or organizations’

behavior, rather than promoting transformational change that is only appropriate in “situations

that require major structural change” (cited in Burnes, 2004, pp. 993-994). The limiting focus of

Lewin’s model on behavior, rather than thinking, and the freezing metaphor, which firmly

grounds the model in the observable, external, physical reality, have been surpassed in the model

of reframing organizations, which is discussed next.

2.4.2 Bolman and Deal’s (2003) reframing organizations

The simple, linear process of change consisting of unfreezing, moving and refreezing becomes

much more complex as presented by Bolman and Deal (2003). Through studying major

organizational thoughts, Bolman and Deal (2003) identify four perspectives which are labeled as

‘frames’. The four frames are aimed to help leaders and managers understand their organizations.

For Bolman and Deal (2003), a frame is like a mental map, which is defined as “a set of ideas or

assumptions you carry in your head [that] helps you to understand and negotiate a particular

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territory” (p. 12). In this context a territory here means whatever individuals are interested in

such as a particular sport, art or subject. The four frames, namely: structural, human resource,

political and symbolic, have their origins in thinking presented in a range of social sciences,

especially from sociology, psychology, political science and anthropology. Each frame enables a

different view of the organization. Successful managers are those who “reframe until they

understand the situation at hand. They do this by using more than one frame, or perspectives, to

develop both a diagnosis of what they are up against and strategies for moving forward”

(Bolman and Deal, 2003, p. 15).

Bolman and Deal (2003) contend that “organizational change is a multiframe undertaking” (p.

370). They also suggest that “change rationally conceived usually fails” (p. 369). When some

managers focus on changing one or two frames while ignoring the other frames, they fail to

change anything. For instance, managers who promote changes to the formal structure of the

organization might find out that people are not ready to play their new roles and take their new

responsibilities. Therefore, it is important to consider the four frames while planning for change.

The ‘structural frame’ is concerned about goals, assigning roles and defining relationships.

Organizations assign roles and responsibilities to their employees and they would create rules,

policies and hierarchies to manage different activities into a unified strategy. Bolman and Deal

(2003) assert that “structure confers clarity, predictability, and security” (p. 374). When

individuals understand their positions and responsibilities as well as others’, they will understand

who is in charge, when and over what. When change is made to the organizational structure, it

destabilizes the current arrangements causing ambiguity and confusion as people might not

understand their new responsibilities as well as others’, and might “become unsure about their

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duties, how to relate to others, and who has authority to decide what” (Bolman and Deal, 2003,

pp. 375-376). Bolman and Deal (2003) suggest that in order to overcome such a difficulty,

change efforts must expect and predict structural issues and, therefore, reassign roles and

relationships.

The ‘human resource’ frame deals with the human aspect of the organization. It views the

organization as an “extended family” formulated by individuals with feelings, prejudices, skills,

and weaknesses. Those individuals have the ability to learn and to stand for their old practices

and beliefs. Therefore, the main challenge for the organization is to adopt and direct those

individuals so that they could accomplish their jobs while feeling good and satisfied. Some

change initiatives stumble because they ignore developing individuals who are involved in

change. People tend to resist change because it is sometimes difficult and threatening. According

to Bolman and Deal (2003), “Changes in routine practice and procedure undermine existing

knowledge and skills, and they undercut people’s ability to perform with confidence and

success” (p. 373). When people lack the knowledge and skills needed to implement changes

successfully, they tend to feel lost and anxious. Thus, they resist change and prefer their old

practices. If people were forced to implement change, the outcomes could be disappointing.

Change reformers need to develop and prepare individuals involved in change if they want it to

be implemented successfully. According to Bolman and Deal (2003) “Training, psychological

support, and participation, all increase the likelihood that people will understand and feel

comfortable with the new methods” (p. 373). Developing people’s understanding, knowledge

and skills is essential to increase their confidence and ability to implement change effectively.

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The ‘political frame’ views the organization as a jungle. Individuals within the organization have

different goals and interests and they tend to compete for possessing power and resources. The

fact that the members of any organization have various goals and interests might lead to

conflicts. Bolman and Deal (2003) suggest that in politics, conflict is viewed as a natural feature

of the organizations, and that “it is managed through processes of negotiation and bargaining,

where settlements and agreements can be hammered out”. Change itself could also cause

conflicts as it “always creates division and conflict among competing interest groups” (Bolman

and Deal, 2003, p. 378). As change emerges, coalitions of supporters, opponents and those who

are in between form. They fight in a battle where there are winners and losers. The winner in this

conflict is the coalition that posses power and resources (Bolman and Deal, 2003). However,

Bolman and Deal (2003) assume that “often, the status quo prevails and change agents lose” (p.

377). If conflicts are ignored, they could lead to disasters and change failures. In order for

change to be successful, Bolman and Deal (2003) suggest that it is important to create areas with

roles, rules and referees to create opportunities for the diverse conflict groups to negotiate and

reach shared agreements.

The ‘symbolic frame’ considers organizations as tribes or theatres. The organization is seen as a

culture driven by myths, stories, metaphors and heroes of all which serve to promote a sense of

clarity and direction (Bolman and Deal, 2003). It views individuals as actors who “play their

roles in the organizational drama while audiences from impressions form what is seen onstage”

(Bolman and Deal, 2003, p. 15). Thus, activities and events carry meaning, which individuals

may construct differently (Bolman and Deal, 2003).

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It is important to note that change creates loss of meaning and purpose. According to Bolman

and Deal (2003) “any significant change in an organization triggers two conflicting responses.

The first is to keep things as they were ... [and] the second is to ignore the loss and rush busily

into the future” (p. 380). People are attached to symbols or symbolic activities regardless if they

were positive or negative, and when people are separated from these attachments, they face the

difficulty of leaving their past and moving forward (Bolman and Deal, 2003). For this reason,

Bolman and Deal (2003) suggest that creating transitional rituals is a very important factor for

successful change. This enables people to gradually let go of their past, deal with the present and

move to the future. Leaders need to rely on their organizations’ culture and traditions in order to

build a shared culture and values that creates meaning for people (Bolman and Deal, 2003).

As mentioned above, to achieve a successful change, leaders need to view their organizations

from multiple dimensions. However, leaders tend to choose the frame that is most important to

them, and they view their organizations from that frame. Bolman and Deal (1999) advocate that

leaders need to consider other frames that allow multiple ways of viewing the organization.

While their model of the change process highlights the complex nature of change as it is played

out at four different levels of organizational activities, using the concept of ‘frames’ as a way to

view the organizations could ground this model into the observable and visible activities, which

is similar to Lewin’s model. Besides, frames could limit what individuals can see. For instance,

when we look at a frame, we normally focus on the picture inside and ignore everything else

outside the frame. The four-frame model (structural, human resources, political and symbolic)

tend to focus on the internal factors that leaders need to consider while planning for change.

However, there are some external factors such as the economy, society and government plans

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and demands that could have a huge impact on change. An alternative model that is concerned

about shifting not only individuals’ behavior but also their thinking is the ‘dance of change’.

2.4.3 Senge’s (1999) dance of change

The dance of change considers a particular type of organizational change in which combines

inner shifts in “people’s values, aspirations, and behaviors with outer shifts in processes,

strategies, practices and systems” (Senge, 1999, p. 15). This type of change is called ‘profound

change’. Profound change provides opportunities for learning because the organization does not

change by itself. However, “it builds its capacity for doing things in a new way—indeed, it

builds capacity for ongoing change” (Senge, 1999, p. 15). Change does not only requires creating

new strategies, practices and systems, but it also requires “fundamental shift in thinking” (Senge,

1999, p. 10). Organizations are results of the way people think within them and changing the

organization requires allowing people to change the way they think (Senge, 1999). Therefore,

educational reform in the UAE should not only aim to create new policies, practices and systems,

but it should also aim to change teachers’ thinking and develop their capacity to learn in order to

achieve sustainable effective change.

Shifting people’s values and opinions does not happen through explicit training or authority.

However, it requires developing a learning organization that allows people to participant and get

involved in different change activities (Senge, 1999). Senge (1999) argues that change driven by

learning tends to be more sustained and effective than change driven by authority. Thus, it is

important to provide the people with the opportunity to plan, design, initiate and implement

small projects. Through experimenting small projects people could gain new experiences and

learn from their success and failure through discussing and sharing their experiences with others.

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This could build a learning organization with committed people who share similar values and

aspirations.

At any stages of profound change there are external and internal challenges. It is important that

leaders understand the growth processes and the forces that support these processes. Meanwhile,

they also need to understand the challenges and the obstacles that hinder their organization’s

growth, and develop strategies that help them to deal with these challenges (Senge, 1999). Senge

(1999) asserts that “we need to appreciate “the dance of change,” the inevitable interplay

between growth processes and limiting processes” (p. 10).

Senge (1999) identifies several challenges that hinder and limit any profound change process.

The challenges are classified under three categories namely: challenges of initiating, challenges

of sustaining momentum, and challenges of redesigning and rethinking. Those challenges are

predictable and they occur “as natural counter pressures to generating change” (p. 26). The

challenges reflect individuals’ assumptions and practices, so it is important to address them and

deal with them in order to achieve sustainable profound change (Senge, 1999). To follow is a

discussion of some of the challenges that leaders need to consider through the process of

profound change.

2.4.3.1 The challenges of initiating

As soon as change is introduced, the reformers encounter the challenges of initiating. Those

challenges prevent change from happening as they develop in the early process of change

(Senge, 1999). One of these challenges occurs when people start struggling with the new

practices and knowledge. Senge (1999) suggest that leaders need to develop individuals’

capacity to meet change demands and provide them with “quality coaching, guidance, and

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support” that are essential to overcome this challenge (p.103). One way to overcome this

challenge is to understand the type of help individuals need and find reliable and capable

consults and coaches who could provide the right help at the right time (Senge, 1999).

In today’s business people are so overloaded that they are hesitant to engage in anything new,

and convincing them to take part in the change initiative would be challenging (Senge, 1999).

People need to be convinced of the importance of the initiatives. They will not put any time or

effort in something that they think is not relevant or important. Senge (1999) proposes that

creating clear and convincing reasons for change initiatives could help increase people’s

commitment to change. It is essential that people understand their organization and its needs.

Once they understand how changes could bring improvement and development to their

organization, they will be more motivated and committed to achieve the organization’s goals.

2.4.3.2 The challenges of sustaining and transformation

Achieving sustainable change that could last for long periods of time could be problematic for

some organizations. One of the challenges that prevent organizations from achieving sustainable

profound change is the measurement problems (Senge, 1999). These problems occur when the

new innovations do not meet the organization’s expectations or when the traditional

measurement tools don’t calibrate the reformers efforts. Senge (1999) argues that if the leaders

try to defend their new innovations by proving that the traditional measurements are

incompetent, they may lose accountability and credibility, and if they try to meet those

traditional measurements they may undermine the new innovations. Therefore, assessing and

measuring new innovations tend to be complex and ambiguous (Senge, 1999).

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Achieving expected results could sometimes be difficult and challenging. Senge (1999) claims

that people who are involved in change struggle between adapting the new practices and

achieving concrete results. The lack of concrete results may lead some people to think that the

new innovation is not working (Senge, 1999). However, some practices takes longer time than

expected to be properly implemented, which could sometimes negatively affect the emergence of

the expected outcomes (Senge, 1999). Therefore, Senge suggests that leaders need to plan for “a

realistic time horizon for realizing the benefits of that practice” (p. 287). This means that the

change reformers need to carefully plan for change and allow for some positive results to emerge

at the early stage of the change process, as it increases individuals’ motivation and commitment

to the change initiatives.

Assessing the progress of the new innovations in practice is very important. Senge (1999) assets

that “learning to assess the consequences of significant change initiatives is a complex new

territory, often neglected by leaders of those initiatives” (p. 289). Therefore, leaders need to learn

how to effectively assess the progress of the new innovations in practice. However, they also

need to understand that the aim of assessments is not only to evaluate the new innovations but

also to learn from their experiences as Senge argues that “the key shift is to bring measurement

and assessment into the service of the learners, rather than have it feared as a tool for outside

“evaluators” (p. 289).

2.4.3.3 The challenges of redesigning and rethinking

After dealing with the challenges of sustaining momentum change reformers will face another

set of problems and challenges. Senge (1999) asserts that these challenges tend to be frustrating

and enervating as leaders or internal networks cannot deal with them alone because they need

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“imaginative, courageous executive leadership” (p. 360). One of these challenges is the

challenges of rethinking and redesigning the strategy and purpose of the change initiatives. They

occur in different ways for different leaders. Rethinking the strategies often lies on the top

management leaving other employees with no space to question or rethink the organization’s

strategy and purpose. However, Senge (1999) argues that allowing people to deeply question the

purpose and the strategies is loaded with challenges because “it opens the door to a traditionally

closed inner sanctum of top management” (p. 488).

Involving people from different organizational levels is important as it allows for the emergence

of new and unexpected ideas that the top management might not think about alone. Senge (1999)

suggests that involving people throughout the organization “does not mean that top management

abdicates” (p. 498). However, they could “maintain responsibility for strategic direction, but do

so by remaining open to ideas from throughout the enterprise” (p. 498). In addition, I believe that

giving individuals the opportunity to participate in rethinking the strategy and the purpose of the

new initiatives could increase their commitment and motivation and could also improve their

performance.

Creating profound change lies on dealing with different challenges of initiating, sustaining, and

redesigning. Senge (1999) claims that different change initiatives may face different challenges

and that there are other unanticipated challenges that reformers may encounter in the process of

profound change. Recognizing and understanding these challenges help building strong

leadership capacity that could achieve suitable profound change.

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2.5 The implications of change models for improving EFL teaching and learning in the

UAE

From Senge’s (1999) model, we learn that in order to bring change to EFL teaching and learning

in the UAE it is important to build teachers’ capacities to implement the changes successfully.

Training and guiding EFL teachers might not be enough to achieve suitable and effective change.

Teachers need to learn how to play an effective role in bring change to their classrooms as well

as the school.

Any profound change could encounter many challenges. Successful leaders are those how

identify these challenges and deal with them. In addition, in order to achieve sustained profound

change is important that teachers change the way they think because deep, sustained change does

not only require adopting new behaviors and practices, but it also requires a shift in thinking.

EFL teachers need to feel safe, secure, and less threatened by the new initiatives. The unfreezing

step in Lewin’s three-step model is a very crucial step in any change effort. Schein (1996) made

great contribution in developing this step. We could learn from her contribution that change

emerges when EFL teachers start building the feeling of guilt and survival anxiety. It is when the

EFL teachers start to believe that change could help them achieve their goals and improve their

students’ outcomes. Furthermore, fear and anxiety are fundamental restraining forces to change.

Thus, it is important to address these feelings and deal with them at the very beginning of the

change process. The unfreezing is the first step to move change successfully forward. It is where

EFL teachers start feeling safe and secure and understand the importance of change. On a

practical level, I would argue that leaders need to think about providing support which could help

to build, what Schein (1996) refers to as “sufficient psychological safety” (p. 61) that would

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counterbalance the learning anxiety. This could encompass training, provision of sufficient

resources, regular communication with teachers and, above all, a culture of dialogue and

openness.

Viewing the organization from one angle could limit what leaders can see. Bolman and Deal’s

(2003) reframing organization model addresses the importance of considering multiple frames in

organizational change. From the reframing model, we learn that in order to bring successful

change to EFL subject, we need to consider not only changing materials, practices or the

curriculum, but we need to consider all of these aspects. For instance, when the reformers

introduce change to the EFL curriculum they need to consider several issues. First, they need to

understand that adopting the new curriculum would be a difficult task for some teachers who

were attached to the old curriculum (symbolic frame). Second, they need to train the teachers on

how to effectively use the new curriculum (human resource frame). Similarly, Fullan (2007)

argues that change should not be viewed as a single entity, but it is multidirectional. He also

suggests that change in classrooms is associated with three dimensions, which encompass

practices, materials and pedagogy; in order to achieve successful change, Fullan argues, it is

important to articulate the three dimensions. For instance, if EFL teachers are required to adopt

new teaching methods, they will need to change the type of strategies and activities they are

using and adopt new materials that could facilitate their new practices. Ignoring or missing one

of the dimensions could cause change failure.

Consequently, there is no one ‘right’ change model. Each change model might be effective in

some particular change satiations but not all. Successful leaders are those who understand change

processes and know when to adopt the right change model at the right time. Fullan (2007) asserts

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that it does not matter what the change is or where is it coming from; what matters is the process

of change. In other words, the success of change depends on what happens in the process of

change. Finally, of utmost importance is for leaders to remember that change models are just

models, inasmuch as they represent real life. However, whether or not the models are helpful in

the everyday practice of leaders introducing and implementing change, will depend on the

particular circumstances of particular teachers, who, as Fullan (2007) points out, are at the grass

roots of change. The circumstances of these people, UAE teachers of English as a Foreign

Language, are presented in the Data Analysis Chapter of this dissertation.

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Chapter 3: Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction

The primary purpose of this study is to explore EFL teachers’ perceptions regarding the

changes introduced to the EFL teaching and learning in Abu Dhabi public schools. This

chapter articulates and justifies research methodology followed in this study. This study

adopted the Interprevitism paradigm using qualitative data collection tools. Unlike the

positivism quantitative research methods, qualitative research allows the researcher to

collect in-depth data which served the aim of this study.

This chapter discusses the theory underpinning social research and both the positivism and

Interprevitism research paradigms, their advantages and limitations. Then it analyzed the

advantages and limitations of conducting semi-structured interviews using focus groups,

which were the primary data collection tools in this study. Next, research sample and

ethical issues are discussed. Finally, the procedure of conducting the interviews and the

methods used for the data transcriptions and analysis are outlined.

3.2 Social science

As human characteristics are unique and complex, there was a need for special science to study

and explore the social aspects of human lives. Social science was developed to study the

interaction between individuals and groups in societies as well as their opinions and attitudes

(Neuman, 2006). It is as important as any other types of sciences such as the physical and natural

sciences. The physical science studies the nature of the world while the social science studies the

social life of people who live in this world. Both require scientific methods to obtain knowledge,

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understanding and results (Trigg, 2001). However “human beings are qualitatively different from

the objects of study in the natural sciences” such as stars, planets and rocks (Neuman, 2006, p.

80). For this reason Hayek (1952) believed that social science is subjective because “its subject

matter is human opinions and attitudes” which could only be identified through introspection

(cited in Rudner, 1954, p. 164).

Social researchers have identified several research paradigms. Neuman (2006) suggests that

research paradigms are different approaches to research that enable the researchers to view the

world from different angles. He defined paradigm as “A general organizing framework for

theory and research that includes basic assumptions, key issues, models of quality research and

methods for seeking answers” (Neuman, 2006, p. 81). There are two common and major

approaches to social research: positivism and interpretivism. “Each approach is associated with

different traditions in social theory and diverse research techniques” (Neuman, 2006, p. 81).

3.2.1 Positivism

Positivism is a very old research approach that has been widely used in social science since the

nineteenth century (Neuman, 2006, p. 81). Positivism in science including social science is

concerned about objective reality that we could observe and experience (Gray, 2009). It suggests

that through linking events and observations to general laws, we could provide explanations to

these events (Robson, 2002). Therefore, this approach views knowledge as objects or facts that

could be observed or experienced and it rejects any invisible or theoretical entities (Robson,

2002). In this approach, both the social and natural scientists use the same research approach.

They prefer quantitative data that could be obtained from experiments, measurements or surveys

and they analyze these data to test their hypotheses (Neuman, 2006).

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In social science, this approach is used to identify and document “universal casual laws of human

behavior” (p. 82). It is concerned about human behavior rather that human perceptions, beliefs

and values. Positivists believe that social pressure and situations are external forces that affect

and shape all human behaviors and actions. They also believe that “people respond to external

forces that are as real as physical forces on objects” which is called “mechanical model of man”

and through observing these forces, we could provide explanations of human behaviors

(Nueman, 2006, p. 83).

Although positivism has been widely used in natural sciences, the majority of experts in the

educational field have criticized its use in educational and social research. Srantakos (1998)

argues that people are not only natural elements, they are also “social personas, acting

individuals with their own wishes, perceptions and interests” (cited in Robson, 2006, p. 23).

Similarly, Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2000) argue that one of the limitations of positivism is

that it views human behavior as “passive, essentially determined and controlled, thereby,

ignoring intentions, individualism and freedom” (p. 19). Moreover, anti-positivists argue that in

order to explain human behaviors we need to understand their own interpretations of the world

around them. The researcher then should look inside those people rather than observing them

from distance. Therefore, social science is viewed as a subjective rather than an objective science

(Cohen et al, 2000). In other words, human behaviors are driven by both external and internal

forces. In order to explain and understand particular behaviors we should not only study and

observe the external forces, however, we also need to understand the internal forces such as

individuals’ opinions, beliefs and values.

This research is concerned about providing deep understanding of teachers’ perceptions,

opinions and experiences regarding the changes introduced to the EFL subject. Therefore, the

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positivist approach would not be appropriate for this study. On the other hand, an alternative

research paradigm for positivism will be used in this study, which is interpretivism.

3.2.2 Interpretivism

Interpretivism, in contrast to positivism, suggests that human behaviors are driven by their

own interests and motives as well as their understanding of their own environment. Robson

(2002) argues that “People, unlike the objects of the natural world, are conscious,

purposive actors who have ideas about their world and attach meaning to what is going on

around them” (Robson, 2002, p. 24). Similarly, Weber (1981), a German sociologist,

suggests that we need to study and understand individuals’ inner motives and needs that led

them to do certain actions or behave in a particular way (cited in Neuman, 2006).

The main objective for the interpretive researchers is to develop a deep understanding of

their participants’ lives and to find out how people construct meaning in their natural

context (Neuman, 2006). Thus, “Reality is represented thought the eyes of participants”;

reality is what people think and believe (Robson, 2002, p. 25). Therefore, knowledge is not

only based on observable phenomena, but also on invisible entities such as values and

beliefs (Cohen et al, 2000).

Although interpretive approach provides deep understanding of people’s perceptions in

their social context, the results obtained in this approach are criticized in terms of their

reliability, validity and generalization (Kelliher, 2005). In terms of generalization, Carr and

Kemmis (1986) contend that the interpretive approach failed “to produce wide-ranging

generalizations, or to provide ‘objective’ standards for verifying or refuting theoretical

accounts” (p. 94). While criticizing this approach, Layder (1994) argues that one of the

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limitations of the interpretive approach is that it ignores the power of the external forces

that could affect individuals’ behaviors. He adds that, just as the positivistic approach is

criticized for neglecting internal forces, so the interpretive approach is criticized for

neglecting external forces (cited in Cohen et al, 2000).

Generalizing results was not sought for in this research. This research is a small-scale study

designed to explore and understand EFL teachers’ perceptions and experiences regarding

the changes introduced to the EFL teaching and learning in Abu Dhabi. Thus, interpretive

approach was thought to be the most appropriate research paradigm for this study.

Interpretive researchers use qualitative research methods such as participant observations

and deep interviews which allow the researcher to obtain multiple perspectives (Robson,

2002). Qualitative methods enable the researcher to investigate particular issues in “depth

and detail” (Patton, 1990, p. 13). In addition, “qualitative research takes place in natural

settings” which allows the researcher to be closer to the field he/she is researching

(Creswell, 2003, p. 181). This could deepen the researcher’s understanding about the

participants’ experiences and their relations with the setting (Creswell, 2003).

In qualitative research, interviews can be the primary or the only method in a study

(Robson, 2002). Thus, interviews were the primary data collection tool in this study. Miller

and Glassner (2004) suggest that “Those of us who aim to understand and document

others’ understandings choose qualitative interviewing because it provides us with a means

for exploring the points of view of our research subjects” (p. 127). Although observations

are very useful research methods that could help the researcher observe participants in their

natural settings, they could be very limited in providing understanding of what is going on

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in participants’ minds. Interviews, on the other hand, could be the gate to participants’

minds. They allow the researcher to speak directly to the participants and ask them

particular questions regarding their feelings, thoughts, values and experiences.

3.3 Interviews

Interviews are a “natural means of extracting information” where information results from the

interaction between the interviewer and the participants (Holstein & Gubrium, 2004, p. 140).

Through this interaction “both participants [interviewer and interviewee] create and construct

narrative versions of the social world” (Miller and Glassner, 2004, p. 125). The data generated

from interviews give the researcher “an authentic insight into people’s experiences” (Silverman,

2001, cited in Miller and Glassner, 2004, p. 126).

3.3.1 Semi-structured interviews

There are several types of interviews such as structured, semi-structured and unstructured

interviews. Choosing the appropriate type depends on the research aims and questions (Gray,

2004). Semi-structured interviews using open-ended questions were used in this study as a

primary data collection tool. This type of interviews offers great flexibility for both the

researcher and the respondents (Robson, 2002). Predetermined questions can be used in both

semi-structured and structured interviews. However, in semi-structure interviews the interviewer

has the flexibility to change the question wording, omit inappropriate questions with any

particular interviewee as well as to add additional questions while interviewing (Robson, 2002).

There are several advantages of using semi-structured interviews. One of the advantages is that

they allow the participants to expand their answers and elaborate on their thoughts and opinions.

In addition, they give the interviewer more flexibility and autonomy while interviewing the

35

participants (Gray, 2004). For instance, in semi-structured interviews, the interviewer could ask

participants further and unplanned questions for clarification, or change the path of the interview

if the participants provided unexpected ideas that the interviewer would like to know more about

(Gray, 2004). Another advantage is that semi-structured interviews create friendly and

comfortable environment for both the interviewer and the participants, unlike the structured

interviews where the interviewer should only ask planned questions, and interaction with

participants should be kept to minimum (Gray, 2004).

Although semi-structured interviews have several advantages, there are limitations that the

researcher should consider while adopting this method. One of the limitations of interviews in

general is the bias they introduce to participants and consequently, to the data (Hughes, 1989, in

Cohen et al, 2000). For instance, while interacting in the interview, the interviewer could ask the

participants ‘leading questions’ that could lead them to say what the interviewer would like to

hear, and as Cohen et al (2000) suggested, using leading questions is like ‘putting words in to

participant’s mouth’. The flexibility characterized in the semi-structured interviews could be

another source of bias as the interviewer is not restricted to asking specific questions such as in

structured interview. Thus, caution was taken in this study while conducting the interviews by

avoiding leading questions and thereby reducing bias.

Another limitation of semi-structured interviews is that they could be unreliable. Semi-structured

interviews are non-standardized (Gray, 2004), and “the lack of standardization ... inevitably

raises concerns about reliability” (Robson, 2002, p. 273). Reliability in interviews means asking

the same questions, using the same order of the words and questions for each interviewee

(Cohen, et al, 2000). It is easier to ensure reliability in structured interviews; however it is more

difficult to ensure reliability in semi-structured interviews as it is hard to ensure asking the same

36

questions in the same sequence to different participants (Cohen, et al, 2000). Therefore, in order

to achieve reliability, I prepared and used guiding questions for all my participants and myself to

ensure that similar topics where covered in each interview (see Appendix C). This does not mean

that questions were exactly the same in each interview; however guiding questions helped reduce

bias as well as increase the level of reliability.

3.3.2 Open-ended questions

Hatch (2002) suggests that “Qualitative research seeks to capture participants perspectives, so

formal interview questions need to be open-ended” (p. 102). The aim of this study is to explore

EFL teachers’ perceptions regarding the changes introduced to EFL teaching and learning which

were obtained through the usage of open-ended questions. Kerllinger (1970) defined open-ended

questions as “those that supply a frame of reference for respondents’ answers, but put a

minimum of restraint on the answers and their expressions (cited in Cohen et al, 2000, p. 275).

One of the advantages of using open-ended questions is that they allow the researcher to gather

rich and detailed data as they enable the participants to expand their answers and clarify any

misunderstood views (Robson, 2002). Moreover, because open-ended questions provide no

restrictions on participants’ answers, they are more likely to produce interesting and

unanticipated answers (Robson, 2002) which allow the emergence of unexpected themes. On the

other hand, the downside of using open-ended questions is that they could be difficult to analyze

(Robson, 2002). Gathering variety of answers maybe difficult to categorize, compare or contrast.

3.3.3 Focus groups

Semi-structured interviews could be conducted with individuals as well as groups. In this study I

used focus group interviews. According to Morgan (1997) “focus groups are basically group

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interviews” and “the reliance is on interaction within the group, based on topics that are supplied

by the researcher who typically takes the role of a moderator” (p. 2). Vaughn, Schumm and

Sinagub (1996) define focus group as “an informal discussion among selected individuals about

specific topics relevant to the situation at hand” (p. 4). Both definitions highlight the importance

of interaction among participants in focus group interviews. There are several reasons for

selecting focus group interviews for this study. One of the main reasons is that focus group

interviews generate data that could answer my research questions. Another reason is the

advantages obtained from conducting focus group interviews.

One of the advantages of using focus group interviews is “the ability to observe interaction on a

topic” (Morgan, 1997, p. 10). The interviewer could directly indentify the similarities and

differences regarding participants’ beliefs, opinions and experiences while observing their

interaction (Morgan, 1997). Another advantage is that focus group provides “accurate

information about what participants actually think than do other research methods” (Vaughn et

al, 1996, p. 17). For instance, if questionnaires were used in this investigation, ‘reluctant’

participants might answer the questions randomly and thereby negatively affect the data;

however, in focus group interviews the participants were able explain their answers and provide

examples from their experiences, which provided accurate information about their views.

An additional advantage is that, through focus group interviews, hesitant or shy participants were

encouraged and motivated to actively participate in the interview due to the natural and

comfortable group setting. Krueger (1994) highlights that “focus groups place people in a

natural, real-life situations as opposed to the controlled experimental situations typical of

quantitative studies” (p. 34). He adds that the natural setting of focus groups encourage

participants’ openness and honesty and reduce tension and pressure. Furthermore, Wilkinson

38

(2004) proposes that focus groups are naturalistic because they involve a range of

communicative processes such as storytelling, arguing and joking.

Focus group interviews, unlike individual interviews, can generate great amount of data from

several participants at the same time with less cost (Cohen et al, 2000). They allow participants

to comment or elaborate on responses made by other group members. “This often leads to the

production of more elaborated accounts than are generated in individual interviews (Wilkinson,

2004, p. 180). When participants agree on each others’ views they tend to elaborate or give

examples which allow me as a moderator to collect more detailed data. Similarly, when

participants disagree, they try to convince and persuade each other of their views which could

also produce elaborated accounts (Wilkinson, 2004). In this study, through the focus group

interviews the participants showed agreements and disagreements on several points.

Focus group interviews could be homogeneous where participants share similar backgrounds,

positions and experiences or heterogeneous where participants come for different backgrounds

and positions and have different experiences (Robson, 2002). In this study, focus groups were

homogeneous. Each interview involved EFL teachers from the same school, shared similar

backgrounds and experiences, but teaching different levels. Conducting interviews with

homogeneous groups facilitates and enhances group communication (Robson, 2002). EFL

teachers knew each other before the interview which allowed them to express their perceptions

more freely. There were also able to facilitate each other through elaborating on each other’s

comments as well as reminding each other of the incidents they had. Moreover, through

heterogeneous groups, participants were able express agreements or disagreements on each

others’ views more safely and with acceptance from both parts (Robson, 2002).

39

My role in focus group interviews is to moderate and facilitate rather than to lead the interview.

The moderator in focus group interviews does not ask questions directly to each participant, but,

on the other hand, he or she facilitates the group interaction and encourages participants to

actively interact with each other (Wilkinson, 2004). Krueger (1994) suggest that in focus groups

“The moderator exercises a mild, unobtrusive control over the group” (101). This allows the

participants to talk more freely about the topic which could lead the researcher to identify

unexpected themes (Wilkinson, 2004).

Although focus group interviews are effective data collection tools that could provide in-depth

qualitative data, they also could be inefficient if misused. Bers (1989) believes that “focus group

research is both an art and a science” (cited in Vaughn et al, 1996, p. 149). Therefore, not every

researcher can conduct this type of interviews as it requires skilful and trained moderator who

understands the dynamics of group interaction to conduct the interviews (Vaughn et al, 1996). In

order to ensure that the focus group interviews were conducted effectively, in preparation to my

role as a moderator, I carried out intensive reading about focus groups and observed several

videos of real focus group interviews before conducting any. This helped me understand my role

and how to use this data collection tool effectively.

As mentioned above, the moderator’s roles are to keep the participants focused on the topic

discussed as well as to ensure discussion flow. However, the moderator has less control on what

the participants are saying and accordingly on the data produced (Gibbs, 1997). Because the

moderator has less control on the discussion participants could be easily diverted. Kruger (1994)

explains that through group discussions irrelevant topics may occur and the moderator should

carefully guide the participants back to the main focus of the interview without affecting their

enthusiasm for the topic. In order to keep the participants focused on the topic, a set of guiding

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questions were prepared to the participants (see Appendix C). The guiding questions helped me

prevent diversions as well as bias.

One of the major limitations of focus group interviews is the generalizability of results. The

results of focus groups cannot be generalized as they do not represent the wider population

(Robson, 2002). On the other hand, Krueger (1996) claims that “the intent of focus groups is not

to infer but to understand, not to generalize but to determine the range, not to make statements

about the population but to provide insights about how people perceive a situation” (p.87). Focus

group interviews were conducted to understand EFL teacher’s perceptions and experiences with

change. Thus, generalization is not aimed for in this study.

3.3.4 Recording data

Focus group interviews could be recorded in two ways, either using a tape-recorder or by writing

notes (Krueger, 1994). In this study, both the tape-recorder and written notes were used to record

the interviews. Using the tape-recorder allowed me to focus on recording the nonverbal side of

the interview such as participants’ body language and facial expressions. However, brief

comments of what the participants were saying were also taken for the need of caution if the

recording failed or was not clear.

3.4 Research sample

Depending on the purpose of this study which is to explore EFL teachers’ perceptions regarding

the changes introduced to EFL teaching and learning in Abu Dhabi, the sampling strategies were

determined. Convenience sampling was followed due to the difficulty of obtaining permissions

as well as time constrain. Two Abu Dhabi girls’ schools that are part of ADEC’s project were

selected for this study. Those schools were chosen because permissions to conduct the interviews

41

were obtained easily and teachers were willing to take part of this study. Furthermore, girls’

schools rather than boys’ schools were chosen due to the cultural barriers, as public schools in

the UAE are separated by gender including faculty. Both the male teaches and I might not feel

comfortable to conduct the interviews which could negatively affect the data. Therefore, only

girls’ schools were chosen to be part of this study.

The first school was a middle school and the second was a primary school. Both schools have

been under ADEC’s project for three years but working with different companies. Teachers were

asked to voluntarily participate in the interviews. Some teachers may not feel comfortable or

confident to share their views and perceptions in front of others. Reasons for this may include

fear of repercussions or shyness. Therefore, teaches were freely able to choose to participate in

the interviews or not. This study aims to explore teachers’ true perceptions and experiences

regarding changes introduced to EFL teaching and learning in their schools, so it was very

important that teachers felt secure and confident to share their views and perceptions openly. In

both schools, four EFL teachers out of eight volunteered to participate, however in the second

school one of the teachers decided to withdraw before starting the interview because she had an

urgent meeting with one of her students’ parents.

3.5 Ethical considerations

Permission letters for conducting the interviews were signed by the principals and the EFL

teachers. I designed two permission letters, one for the principals and the other for the teachers.

The permission letter signed by the principals contained a description of the study and its aims,

the number of teachers needed to be interviewed, the length of the interview, assurance of

confidentiality and the anonymity as well as their permission to interview the EFL teachers (see

Appendix A). Similarly, the permission letter signed by the teachers was similar to the

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principals’ letter, however it contained permission for tape-recording and explained teachers’

rights (see Appendix B). By using the permission letters I was assured that the participants

understood their rights and what they were getting involved in (Neuman, 2006).

I also explained to the teachers that participating in the interview was voluntary to ensure that

teachers were not forced to participant in the interviews and that they understood their right to

agree or disagree to be involved in this study and the ability to withdraw anytime before or

during the interview. Furthermore, during the course of this study the identity of the schools and

the interviewed teachers were kept anonymous. For instance, while transcribing the interviews I

referred to the teachers participated in this study as T1, T2, T3 and T4 (T1 = teacher 1, T2 =

teacher 2 ...etc) and the name of the schools as S1 (school 1) and S2 (school 2).

Furthermore, I explained and assured to the participants that their identity will be anonymous

and the data produced from the interviews would not be used outside the context of this study.

Neuman (2006) suggests that assuring confidentiality and anonymity encourages the participants

to provide more open and honest responses even if they were asked about highly sensitive topics.

3.6 Procedure

I phoned the schools’ principals to obtain preliminary approval to conduct the interviews with

the EFL teachers in their schools. Then, I visited the schools to have a friendly chat with the EFL

teachers, explain the aim of this study and obtain formal permissions from the principals as well

as the EFL teachers to conduct the interviews. Once permissions were obtained, I arranged an

appropriate time with the teachers to conduct the interviews during the school day. Furthermore,

in order to ensure that all participants were free from any classes or duties during the interviews I

informed the principals of the interview timing and length.

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3.7 Data transcription

Focus group interviews were transcribed directly after each interview. All responses were

transcribed as Vaughn et al (1996) suggest that all responses should be transcribed whether they

are relevant to the topic or not in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the focus group interviews

and to avoid bias. After transcribing the data, I, as a bilingual speaker, translated the responses

from Arabic to English. Another translation was made to the same data by a second bilingual

speaker and compared with the first translation to ensure the accuracy of the data.

One of the limitations of translating the data from one language to another is as discussed by

Birbili (2000) that “most languages bear some feelings, values, and assumptions that the

researchers, particularly as an outsider, may not be aware of” (cited in Liamputtong, 2010, p.

214). However, because I am considered as a native Arabic speaker, I was able to capture the

assumptions and the meaning of the terms used by the participants accurately.

According to Birbili (2000) “It is recommended that in cases where two languages do not have

direct verbal equivalence, the researcher attempt to gain comparability of meanings rather than

concern about lexical comparability” (cited in Liamputtong, 2010, p. 214). Therefore, while

translating, I interpreted few responses as some terms may lose their meaning if literally

translated and consequently may affect the reliability of the data (Birbili, 2000, cited in

Liamputtong, 2010).

3.8 Data analysis

The data produced from the focus group interviews were qualitatively analyzed. Krueger and

Casey (2000) explain the process of analyzing focus group data which was adopted for this

study. After transcribing the data, all responses were categorized by colour coding. Coding

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helped me compare response within each group and between different groups and to identify

similarities and differences in participants’ beliefs, opinions and experiences. Notes of the

nonverbal communication from the two focus group interviews were also considered while

analyzing the data. Emerging themes were listed and all related responses were listed under

them. Finally, each theme was summarized and interpreted.

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Chapter 4: Data Presentation and Analysis

4.1 Introduction

This study aims to explore the teachers’ perceptions of the recent changes introduced to EFL

teaching and learning in the public schools of Abu Dhabi, and to provide ADEC with

suggestions that could help them promote changes more effectively in the future. This chapter

presents a summary of the main findings which emerged from this study, followed by a

discussion of these findings from the point of view of literature. The key questions of this study

focus on the rationale for change and change models, the problems with change implementation

in the specific context of EFL in the UAE, and the lessons that could be learned from the

problems encountered in this particular context for future change efforts. In order to find answers

to these questions, two focus group interviews were conducted with seven EFL teachers from

two primary girls’ schools in Abu Dhabi. In each interview, teachers were provided with guiding

questions to maintain the focus of the interview and to ensure that several aspects related to the

topic were covered. The teachers answered the guiding questions through discussing them with

each other. The interviews were tape-recorded accompanied with written notes.

The findings indicate that teachers from both schools faced several problems with the recent

changes to EFL teaching and learning. Most of the teachers showed lack of understanding

regarding the changes and their aims, and most of them argued that their old practices and the

curriculum they followed prior to the changes were more effective and appropriate for teaching

and learning EFL in the UAE than those recently introduced. While observing the teachers in the

46

interviews, negative feelings such as frustration, anxiety and disappointment were noticed in

their responses. Two primary themes emerged after transcribing teachers’ responses, which are

discussed below: the problems with the most recent changes to TEFL as perceived by EFL

teachers and teachers’ tacit models of effective change to TEFL. At the end of this chapter, I will

provide recommendations for better changes to TEFL in the future.

4.2 The problems with the most recent changes to TEFL in the UAE as perceived by EFL

teachers

Teachers in both schools identified several problems associated with the recent changes to TEFL

such as lack of rationale for change and its effects on the teachers implementing change, unclear

roles, poorly planned and designed curriculum, lack of resources, lack of training, cultural

boundaries, lack of monitoring and assessment and the impact on students’ outcomes and. It was

interesting to observe that teachers in school 1 (S1) expressed their problems with more openness

and depth than teachers in school 2 (S2). This could be due to the fact that the number of

teachers participating in the interview from S1 was more than that of S2 as one teacher from S2

withdrew before starting the interview and another teacher left fifteen minutes before the end of

the interview. This affected the amount of data as teachers in S2 were a bit conservative and shy

in the interview. However, I was still able to tackle their problems with the recent changes

introduced to their classrooms.

4.2.1 Lack of rationale for change and its effects on the teachers implementing change

The lack of rationale for the recent changes was one of the major problems that teachers from

both schools shared. The companies started working with both schools without clearly presenting

their goals, mission and roles to the teachers. Furthermore, teachers were implementing the new

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changes without understanding what they were doing and for what reason, which made them

think that the new initiatives were useless and did not help improve TEFL or students’ outcomes.

In S1, T3 stated that the company was treating them “like robots” and that they had to “follow

instructions without understanding the reason behind what we are doing”. In addition, T1 in S2

commented that she did not know “what are [the company’s] goals and expected outcomes at the

end of their plan” and said, “to be honest, I do not know why they are here”. She added ironically

that “the government forced them on us”.

There are several factors that affect the success of change implementation and one of these

factors is clarity. As suggested by Fullan (2007) “Lack of clarity—diffuse goals and unspecified

means of implementation—represents a major problem at the implementation stage” (p. 89).

Teachers in S1 and S2 showed lack of understanding of the companies’ mission and goals as

they were either badly presented or poorly designed. This had a huge impact on the

implementation of the new initiatives as teachers did not understand what they were doing which

could indicate that teachers did not implement the new innovations successfully in their

classrooms. Furthermore, Senge (1999) suggests that people will not spend any time or effort in

something that they think is not relevant or important. Therefore, people need to be convinced of

the importance of the new innovations in order to implement them. This is applicable to teachers

as they would not be motivated or committed to a change initiative unless they were convinced

of its importance. Lack of clarification of the companies’ goals and aims caused confusion and

misunderstanding of what should be achieved, which affected teachers’ enthusiasm to work with

the companies in order to implement the new innovations in their classrooms.

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4.2.2 Unclear roles

The lack of clarity was not only associated with the rationale of change, but it was also found in

defining the roles of the schools, companies and EFL supervisors in the change process. Two

teachers in S2 thought that the EFL supervisor assigned from the company was like an

“assistant” who could help them prepare and type their lesson plans and exams. However, the

other teacher thought that planning and preparing the lessons were the teachers’ job and that the

supervisor should not help them do that. This made the two teachers question the supervisor’s

role in their school, where they failed to find an answer. On the other hand, teachers in S1 stated

that their supervisor did not provide them with any type of support. For example, T2 commented

that the supervisor “did not attend our classes and did not see our activities or our lesson plans.

She did not do anything”.

Teachers were also unsure about the companies’ roles in their schools. Teachers in S1 and S2

indicated that although there was a partnership between the companies and the schools, no

elements of partnership were found. Teachers in S1 stated that ADEC told them that the PPP

project was a “school improvement partnership”, but teachers thought that the company “just

came to stay” in their schools and “not to improve”. Similarly, T3 in S2 stated ADEC “said that

this is a partnership, but it does not seem so”. She added: “partnership means us working

collaboratively with [the company] to improve TEFL, but the reality is something different”. In

addition, unclear roles made it difficult for teachers to know who was responsible for what.

Teachers in S2 stated that “whenever we raise an issue to [the company members] they would

just say that the company or even sometimes ADEC asked us to do this and that”. Another

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teacher added that “whenever we disagree on something they just ask us to talk to ADEC” and

one of the teachers replied in the interview saying “yes, because they know that we will not”. It

was obvious that the company members were using ADEC or their company as a tool to threat

teachers because they knew that the teachers would not have the courage to talk to ADEC or the

company about their problems as some teachers may fear loosing their jobs. Furthermore,

teachers in S1 pointed out that they were lost between the company’s and the school’s demands

and that they did not know who they were accountable to. One of the teachers explained that “the

school asked us to do things and the company asked us to do the opposite. We did not know what

to do or who to listen to”, while another teacher added: “we were lost in between”.

ADEC suggests that the purpose of its PPP project is to “work with teachers and principals to

improve the quality of the instruction and to increase student achievement in government

schools” (Abu Dhabi Education Council, 2010). However, teachers in both schools felt that there

were no equal partnerships between the companies and schools as companies had greater

authority than the schools. In this regards, Bolman and Deal (2003) assert that unclear roles may

cause ambiguity and confusion. Through its project, it was found that ADEC did not clarify the

companies’ role in the schools prior to or throughout the course of the PPP project. This caused

severe miscommunication problems between the parties involved in the change project (i.e. the

schools, teachers and the companies), which negatively affected the schools and teachers’

relationship with the companies. Bolman and Deal (2003), in their structural frame, suggest that

change efforts must expect and predict structural issues as well as reassigning roles and

relationships. This means that ADEC should clearly define the companies’ role in the schools as

well as the schools’ role in the change process in order to avoid misunderstanding of

responsibilities.

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4.2.3 Poorly planned and designed curriculum

Teachers in both schools indicated that the new curriculums provided by the companies were

poorly planned and designed. Teachers in S1 reported that the company asked them to stop using

their old books without providing them with alternative books to use and that their old

curriculum was replaced with an inappropriate one. T2 stated that “[the company] gave us some

papers and told us that this would be our new curriculum” and T3 added that the new curriculum

was “a file with some papers that contained some activities that we should use with our

students”. However, teachers in S1 argued that these activities were not appropriate to the UAE

culture. For instance, T1 stated that most of the reading materials and websites provided to the

teachers “were related to the American culture”. Teachers also indicated that the new curriculum

was less interesting and entertaining compared to the old one as it covered two themes only in a

semester, which made the teachers and the students “feel bored”. Furthermore, the curriculum

and the examination system were not related as T2 claimed that “what we teach [the students] in

the classroom is something and what is in the real exam paper is something else”; she added that

“it seemed that all what we have been doing in the classroom with the children was useless”.

On the other hand, teachers in S2 suffered from the constant changes in the curriculum. For

example, in the first year, the company asked the teachers to stop using their old books and to

teach the students through stories only. In the following year company provided the students

with one course book and two stories for each semester. In the third year, however, they asked

the teachers to use their old curriculum and books as they used to do prior to implementing the

changes. One of the teachers stated that they “were in a complete mess”, while another teacher

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said that “parents were complaining and asking us “what is this, why are you changing the

curriculum every year?” When I asked the teachers whether or not the company assessed the old

curriculum and books before introducing any change they replied: “they would not ask us to

eliminate the books and use them again if they have looked at them”. Another teacher said: “we

tried to discuss this issue with our supervisor, but she did not have anything to say”.

Lack of assessment on the previous curriculum and practise made the new innovations useless

and worthless. After three years of constant changes to the curriculum in S2, the company

realized that the old curriculum was appropriate and that it could help them achieve their desired

goals. This could indicate that the company did not assess the old curriculum or even looked at it

before they plan for change. Meanwhile, the company in S1 asked the teachers to stop using the

old curriculum and books without providing them with appropriate alternatives. Fullan (2007)

claims that “the major initial stance should involve critical assessment, that is, determining

whether the change is desirable in relation to certain goals and whether it is “implementable” (p.

119). The reformers should critically assess their initiatives before moving to the implementation

stage. They should check whether their new innovations are important, bring development, lead

to the desired goals, and are implementable, and whether the resources that could support the

new innovations are available (Fullan, 2007). In addition, Senge (1999) suggests that creating

clear and convincing reasons for change initiatives could help increase peoples’ commitment to

change. If the teachers were convinced that the new curriculum was better than the old

curriculum and that changes in the curriculum could improve TEFL and students’ outcomes, they

would be highly motivated to implement these changes. The companies wasted time, money and

effort while brining constant non-deliberate changes to the curriculum.

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4.2.4 Lack of resources

In addition to the poorly planned and designed curriculum, the schools, teachers and students

suffered from the lack of resources throughout the change period. Lack of essential resources

such as textbooks for the teachers and students, printing and copying machines, and computers

made it so difficult for teachers in S1 to implement the changes in their classrooms. Teachers in

S1 claimed that they had “bad experiences with planning” their lessons as they did not have a

textbook to use and were not able to easily print or copy the activities they prepared. One of the

teachers said that “we were in a complete mess. The lack of resources made it so hard for us to

do anything”, and claimed that even the school did not support and help them to overcome this

problem. T2 reported that “the school told us that since the company did not supply us with

books, they should provide us with printers and sheets to copy and print our classroom

worksheets. The school made it so hard for us to copy and print worksheets and told us that it

was affecting the school’s budget”.

Parents had also suffered from the lack of textbooks and worksheets. They complained that the

teachers “were not teaching their children anything” and that they “did not give them enough

worksheets for homework”. Parents were also complaining about the textbooks as one of the

teachers stated that “until now my students do not have books and the parents are complaining

regarding this matter. They said that they do not know how to help their children at home when

they have no idea about what their children are learning”.

The teachers in S1 reported that the company promised them on several occasions to provide

them with highly-equipped classrooms and laptops for each teacher. However, the teachers said

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that none of these promises came true and that after three years of delays, the company started

providing them with some essential materials such as a printer and one laptop for the whole

department. Before that, teachers struggled to teach the new curriculum and applied the new

practices without the required materials. The teachers seemed frustrated regarding this matter as

one of them complained that “they always tell us that at the end of the semester we will be

provided with everything we need, but we did not see anything”. Another teacher added: “we

had enough promises and they would never be real”. The third teacher said: “we never believe

what they say unless we see things with our own eyes”.

On the other hand, teachers in S2 did not have any problems with the resources. Their school

provided them with the essential resources such as laminating machine, photo-copiers and

computers. Teachers stated that “the school was very supportive from the beginning” and that

“before the company started working in our school, we had all of these resources”. Moreover, the

company provided the teachers with illustrating materials such as data shows.

In my opinion, the lack of resources could be one of the major resistance forces. Fullan (2006)

suggests that one of the reasons for the lack of implementation is the “inadequate resources to

support implementation” (p. 124). Students in S1 did not have a textbook which means that they

were mainly depending on the resources provided by their teachers such as worksheets.

However, due to the lack of resources and support from the company and the school, it was

difficult for the teachers to prepare their lessons or implement any changes. Lewin (1947) asserts

that support is essential in the movement stage; in this stage, teachers start adopting new

practices and behaviors. One way of supporting teachers is to provide them with the essential

resources such as printers and computers. The company in S1 needs to understand that broken

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promises never brings comfort to teachers, but on the contrary, they only result in loss of the

company’s credibility and trust in the school.

4.2.5 Lack of training

The lack of training and development was one of the major problems that teachers from both

schools discussed in the focus group interviews. Teacher reported that the companies introduced

several innovations and asked them to implement these innovations without giving them any

training on how to implement such innovations effectively in their classrooms. Teachers in S1

claimed that the company did not give them useful workshops and that “most of the workshops

were useless”. Teachers were forced to stay beyond school hours to attend workshops which they

thought were “useless and repetitive” and the suggested that they already studied what the

company was presenting in their universities. For instance, in the third year, when the company

started to provide the teachers with some illustrating materials such as data shows and the

PowerPoint, teachers stated that the company only explained to them how these tools worked. T1

said that the company taught them “how to use [the illustrating materials] but not how to

integrate them in our classrooms”. T3 added: “they gave us a presentation on how to use these

materials”. However, the teachers needed different type of training and workshops as they

argued that they “need more practical workshops”; and they added: “that is what we are missing

and what we do need. We need them to train us how to teach using new and modern teaching

methods by giving us live examples for the classroom”.

In addition, the company in S1 introduced a new grading system based on written reports rather

than grade certificates with numbers. The teachers were asked to follow the new grading system

even if they did not like it, and without teaching them how to write such reports, which created

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several problems with the students and parents. When I asked the teachers whether the company

trained them on how to use the new grading system they replied: “no, they forced us to use these

reports even though we did not like them” and “they gave us a week to write reports for the

entire school”. Besides, teachers mentioned that “the parents did not understand this kind of

reports and did not like it” and that they had several problems with angry parents who did not

understand the content of the report.

On the contrary, teachers in S2 indicated that their company gave them some workshops at the

first year of working with the school. However, the number of workshops decreased significantly

in the second year. T3 stated “I think that at the beginning [the company] was more active and it

cared more than it does now”, and T1 added: “I think that the training was not enough. We need

more training”. When I asked the teacher about the resources, they told me that the company

asked them to use more illustrating materials in the classrooms such as data shows and

PowerPoint. However, the teachers had some difficulties in using these materials in their

classrooms as one of the teachers stated that “our students tend to destroy these illustrating

materials” and suggested that “it was difficult to use them in the classroom”. Another teacher

explained that “[the company] was giving the students more advanced materials and without any

training or proper introduction” and added “it is difficult to suddenly introduce something new to

the students”.

In summary, teachers in both schools reported that they did not have appropriate and enough

training before moving to the implementation stage. Teachers implemented the changes lacking

the important skills and knowledge required for each innovation, which caused a lot of problems

and stress to the teachers as well as parents. Bolman and Deal (2003) argue that some change

initiatives stumble because they ignore developing individuals who are involved in change and

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that people tend to resist change because it is sometimes difficult. When teachers lack the skills

and knowledge needed to implement changes, they tend to feel lost and anxious, and for this

reason many teachers prefer their old practices. Forcing teachers to implement new innovations

are not a feasible solution for this problem. However, Bolman and Deal (2003) suggest that

developing people’s understanding, knowledge and skills are essential to increase their

confidence and ability to implement change effectively.

Teachers in S2 thought that the new illustrating materials were difficult to use in their classrooms

because their students were not familiar with this type of materials. In my view, the problem is

not related to students, but it is rather related to teachers lacking the skills to use these illustrating

materials; the teachers did not know how to introduce these materials effectively to their

classrooms. However, teachers found it difficult to admit that they needed to learn how to use

these materials which made them say that the problem was with the students and not themselves.

Teachers in S2 and S1 thought that they were better than the company members who were

working in their schools in regards to teaching skills and knowledge. This could be the reason

why teachers in S2 did not ask their supervisor for help, even when they needed it. Senge (1999)

claims that “people find it very difficult to ask for help” (p. 107) and he suggests that leaders

need to articulate individuals’ attitudes and feelings that prevent them from asking for help and

develop self-awareness in both the individual and the group level. In other words, teachers need

to learn how to seek help when it is needed and not to allow their pride to negatively affect them.

4.2.6 Cultural boundaries

The companies members working in the schools were not from the UAE or the Arab region.

Some of them previously worked in UAE private schools and others came directly from their

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home countries. Teachers in S1 and S2 talked about their problems with the companies members

asserting that the cultural boundaries had a significant effect on teachers’ relationship with the

companies. Teachers in S1 stated that “[the company’s] problem is that [it is] still having lack of

information and knowledge about the nature of our country and society”, and they thought that it

was very important for the company members to know and understand the UAE culture and

religion before working in the school. T4 stated, with frustration, “why did ADEC bring

companies which know nothing about our educational history and our culture and religion?”

Providing the teachers with inappropriate resources strongly suggests that the company members

did not understand the UAE culture and the Islamic religion as one of the teachers explained

“that is why they are spending lots of money on books and resources that are not appropriate to

our culture”.

Similarly, teachers in S2 agreed that their company did not understand much about the UAE

culture. T2 told the other teachers about a conversation she had with their supervisor saying that

the supervisor told her that “she read in the website that [UAE people] live in tents and use

camels and that she always thought about us in this way”. The teachers laughed while T2

continued: “she was amazed when she saw who we are”.

Teachers in both schools also mentioned that their companies had a lack understanding and

knowledge about the school culture and EFL teaching in their schools. Teachers in S1 reported

that none of the company members observed their classrooms and lessons before planning the

change and that they thought that the company did not know anything about them or their

capacity. Teachers in S2 said that the company members were amazed when they saw their

abilities and the resources they had, and that “the company did not know how to help us, they

think that we are very good”.

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Both companies worked in the UAE schools without understanding the country’s culture and

religion. This created an enormous gap between the teachers and the company members. For

example, teachers in S1 felt that their culture and religion were not respected when the company

provided the teachers with inappropriate materials that were related to other countries’ cultures.

Senge (1999) argues that people cannot create a new culture. However, they need to study others

cultures in order to introduce new values and new ways of doing things. Without understanding

where the teachers and students come from, their values and assumptions, cultural conflict may

occur between what the company thinks and what the teachers believes is the appropriate way to

improve TEFL. Unfortunately, the companies in S1 and S2 underestimated the significance of

conducting a prior evaluation of the school culture especially with regards to TEFL. EFL

teachers’ experiences, strengths and weaknesses were not effectively employed in the process of

planning for change. This made the teachers believe that their experiences were neglected and

that the companies did not know anything about EFL teaching and learning in their schools. I

certainly believe that the companies should know the teachers who they work with by learning

their culture and religion if needed. This will help them create a better vision on how to plan for

successful change and how to improve their relationship with the teachers. In addition, prior

observations and evaluations to EFL classrooms are important to understand the challenges they

are dealing with.

4.2.7 Lack of monitoring and assessment

After implementing change, the two companies did not monitor or evaluate the teachers’

implementation of the changes introduced to TEFL. Teachers in S1 reported that their supervisor

did not check their lesson plans or observe their classrooms to evaluate the appropriateness of

their lessons and to make sure whether they were implementing the changes as required.

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Similarly, teachers in S2 indicated that their supervisor never attended their classrooms unless

there was an inspection by ADEC or the company’s inspectors.

More importantly, ADEC’s inspectors did not conduct regular inspection to evaluate the

companies’ efforts and achievements in developing the schools. Teachers in S1 stated that “no

one is monitoring [the company]. No one has assessed what is going on in the classrooms after

the company took over to evaluate the effectiveness of the company and their plans”. Teachers

also claimed that the inspectors did not try to talk to the teachers to get acquainted with their

problems and needs. T3 in S2 stated “we never got the chance to talk to [the inspectors] and they

never ask us anything”, while T2 argued that “they just visit some classrooms for a short time

and take pictures”. Similarly, T3 in S1 said that the inspectors never talked to the teachers and

that they usually visit their classrooms for 10 minutes and leave.

Assessments are great tools to evaluate the effectiveness of the change initiatives. Senge (1999)

suggests that assessments help in gathering information regarding the implementation results.

Using the collected information, the inspectors could evaluate the effectiveness of the new

innovations and accordingly provide the change reformers with feedback. Such feedback is

required to judge the effectiveness of the change program, compare the new results with the

results of the past and identify problems. Through the feedback, the change reformers could

discuss the results to find solutions to problems and to improve their future plans.

The companies need to assess teachers’ performance and implementation of the new innovations

through conducting explicit classroom observations and assessing students’ progress. Classroom

observations are essential because they reflect the teachers’ understanding of the new

innovations, allow immediate assessment of the effectiveness of these innovations in improving

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the teachers and students’ outcomes and provide the teachers with feedback regarding their

performance. Teachers need feedback on their performance on regular basis to know where they

stand how to move forward.

Fullan (2007) emphasizes the importance of the external and internal accountability and suggests

that they are “useful, even vital, means for understanding and improving performance” (p. 60).

Assessments should not be a sign for lack of trust or too tight control; they are important tools

for learning as they “help people clarify goals and where they are in relations to achieving them,

and it gives them a tool for improvement because it links performance data with changes in

instruction needed to increase achievement” (Fullan, 2007, p. 60). I believe that lack of

accountability might be one of the reasons why change initiatives in TEFL seemed to be

ineffective and useless as teachers in S1 and S2 described them. Appropriate assessments and

evaluations are important in any stage of the change development. They lead to celebrating the

success or developing future plans.

4.2.8 Impact on students’ outcomes

Teachers in S1 indicated that since changes were introduced to TEFL, “nothing noticeable

happened” regarding the improvement of students’ outcomes. Teachers argued that students’

“marks were even better” before the change initiation and that if any improvement was noticed,

“it does not mean that the company should take the credit for doing a great job”. Teachers

claimed that they worked very hard to improve students’ results and helped their students when

they were struggling with the changes. On the other hand, teachers in S2 stated that the company

“did not do anything to say that they had an impact on our students’ grades neither in a good way

nor in a bad way”. Teachers in S2 believed that the company did not bring improvement to

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TEFL in their schools and that after introducing the changes, teachers were asked to return to

their old practices using their old curriculum.

Teachers in S1 thought it was important to point out that the company was manipulating

students’ results to show ADEC that students’ performance had improved since the company

worked with the school, which I thought was very surprising point. Teachers reported that “at the

end of every year the company manipulates students’ grades” and that it did “change the results

so that students’ grades would be higher”. Teachers explained that this “means that students’

grades have decreased since the company worked in our school, but they don’t want to show

that”. Unfortunately, students noticed that their marks at the end of each year did not represent

their real performance and abilities. This problem had a negative impact on students attitudes as

T3 stated that “the girls are now telling us that they do not need to study hard because at the end

they know that they are going to pass and that the company would help them”; T2 added: “some

students told us that they did not answer half of the questions in the exam but still could pass

with high results”. When I asked the teachers whether they tried to talk to anyone regarding this

problem, they said that “we have no one to talk to” and that “the principal and the entire school

know about this and they are suffering from this problem as well”. Teachers felt that the school

had no authority over what was going on and that the principal could not do anything about this

issue.

In S2, teachers indicated that no change took place in TEFL in their school that could affect

students’ outcomes. This could indicate that the company was not doing their job in initiating

positive change to TEFL, which was a surprising finding and unexpected to hear in this

interview. The company in S1, however, seemed to acknowledge its failure to bring effective

change to TEFL through manipulating students’ results instead of identifying problems that

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decreased students’ outcomes. This company lost their credibility and trust in the school; through

their irresponsible action, teachers lost faith on their abilities as change reformers. Teachers

stated: “now, we implement what is convenience to us and what we think is right” and added:

“now they tell us what they want us to do and we do it in our own way, using our own methods”.

This means that teaching EFL is still the same as minor changes were noticed in both schools.

4.3 Teachers’ tacit models of effective change to TEFL

During the interview, teachers in S1 and S2 showed their understanding of the key elements of

the effective change. Teachers in S1 believed that the company “changed everything at the same

time without breaking these changes into steps” and added that the company “could do these

changes in stages, semester by semester”. This indicates that teachers understood that change is a

process rather than an event, which Lewin (1947) and Senge (1999) point out in their models of

change.

Teachers in S1 and S2 talked about the importance of training and preparation. Teachers in S1

thought that prior to introduction of any changes; teachers need to be trained on how to

implement these changes successfully in their classrooms. Similarly, Teachers in S2 talked about

the importance of training and workshops in developing teachers’ capacity and improving their

classroom practices. Fullan (2007) argues that successful change initiations in education tend to

fail because they forget to develop and prepare teachers who could implement changes

effectively. Similarly, Bolman and Deal (2003) in their ‘human resource frame’ assert that

“changes in routine practice and procedure undermine existing knowledge and skills, and they

undercut people’s ability to perform with confidence and success” (p. 373). They suggest that

“training, psychological support, and participation” are important factors to increase people’s

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confidence in implementing change (p. 373). Teachers in S1 also talked about the importance of

providing the teachers with practical training by giving them “live examples from the

classroom”. Senge (1999) agrees that training programs need to take place inside the

organization where people could directly link their experiences with what they learn. In my

opinion, teachers’ training programs should start from their own schools inside their classrooms.

Teachers in S1 and S2 agreed that clarity is crucial for the success of any change process.

Teachers in S2 argued that “things would be easier [if the company] gives us a clear idea about

their goals”. Similarly, teachers in S1 talked about the importance of providing them with clear

plans and objectives as T3 claimed that “nothing would work without a clear plan no matter how

hard [the company] worked”, T1 added: “I’m sure that if they explained to us their plan properly

things would be better”. Senge (1999) asserts that effective change relies on the clarity and

credibility of the change reformers’ aims and values and that “if people feel that their leaders can

be trusted to support new values and actions, they will be more willing to commit time and effort

and to take risks” (p. 197). Therefore, he companies in S1 and S2 need to understand that having

clear plans, goals and aims could help them increase their credibility and trust, and if this is

achieved, teachers will be motivated and committed to change.

Throughout the interviews, teacher in both schools talked explicitly about the importance of

teacher involvement in the change initiatives. Teachers in S1 suggested that the company needed

to involve them in the planning stage by asking them about their ideas and opinions. Similarly,

teachers in S2 commented “they should listen to us, we are the ones who teach in the classrooms

and we have better insight about what is going on in the classrooms” and that “we only receive

instructions” and “have not been involved in anything”. Fullan (2007) highlights the importance

of involving teachers in change activities and listening to their needs. He asserts that

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“Innovators need to be open to the realities of others: sometimes because the ideas of others

will lead to alterations for the better in the direction of change, and sometimes because the

others’ realties will expose the problems of implementation that must be addressed and at the

very least will indicate where one should start” (p. 109)

Thus, it is important to encourage teachers’ participation and involvement in the change process

because they are the actual implementers of change in their classrooms. Bolman and Deal (2003)

claim that allowing employees to participate and engage in decision making related to their work

and working conditions improves their performance, motivation and productivity. Teachers

would be more motivated and committed to change if they were given the opportunity to

participate in the planning, implementation and evaluation processes.

4.5 Conclusion

In summary, teachers have encountered many problems with ADEC’s change initiatives to

improve TEFL. Lack of resources and training, lack of teacher involvement, and lack of regular

monitoring and assessment were some of restraining forces that have prevented any effective

change to take place in EFL classrooms in the UAE. Before the interviews, I anticipated some

problems such as the lack of resources and training. In addition, unexpected issues related to the

recent change initiatives emerged during the interviews. One of the unexpected findings was that

the company in S2 did not introduce any changes to EFL classrooms after failing to change the

curriculum. For this reason, teachers in S2 seemed to have fewer problems with the company

than S1 as no changes were introduced in their teaching routine. Another shocking finding was

that the company in S1 manipulated students’ outcomes to hide their failure and to show ADEC

that they were doing a good job in the school. ADEC stated that their project “is being used to

diagnose, test, and assess the benefits of utilizing private sector expertise to improve public

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education and to achieve defined goals” (Abu Dhabi Education Council, 2010). However,

findings indicate that that there was a lack of monitoring and assessments in both schools which

could be the main reason for the change failure.

The findings discussed above indicate that the companies lacked the awareness and

understanding of the change processes which was ultimately reflected on the problems that the

teachers had with change initiatives. I strongly believe that, the change initiatives planned by the

companies could improve TEFL, but the lack of awareness about the change process and its

models made these initiatives ineffective in practice. Fullan (2007) argues that “Promoters of

change need to be committed and skilled in the change process as well as in the change itself” (p.

108). Thus, successful change does not only require creating effective programs and innovations,

but also requires a thorough understanding of the change process.

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Chapter Five: Conclusion

5.1 Introduction

This chapter evaluates the work undertaken in this study in terms of the effectiveness of the

methodological approach and the data collection tools. Then, it summarizes the main findings of

this study followed by recommendations to ADEC on how to improve educational reform in the

future. Future Research are highlighted at the end of this chapter.

5.2 Critical evaluation of the work undertaken

The methodological approach used in this study proved its effectiveness and success in

generating the data that served the aim of this study. This study set out to explore teachers’

perceptions to the recent changes to EFL teaching and learning. Therefore, qualitative research

methods such as semi-structured interviews were the most appropriate data collection tools for

this small-scale study as they were more flexible than the other types of interviews. In addition,

focus group interviews significantly succeeded to encourage teachers to openly and honestly talk

about their experiences and perceptions.

Due to the time constraint two schools were only investigated in this study which could affect the

generality of the results. Another factor that could affect the generalization of the results is the

fact that only girls’ schools participated in this study. It would have been more interesting to

interview male teachers from boy’s schools and compare their experiences and perceptions with

female teachers from the girls’ schools.

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5.3 Summary of the main findings

It has been three years since ADEC’s PPP project implementation in S1 and S2. The project aims

to “work with teachers and principals to improve the quality of instruction and increase student

achievement in government schools” (Abu Dhabi Education Council, 2010). However, the

findings of this study indicate that the teachers faced several problems with the PPP project and

that the project failed to improve the quality of instruction or increase student achievement in

both S1 and S2, which are managed by two different companies. Two major themes emerged

from analyzing the interviews. The first theme discusses the problems that teachers encountered

with the recent changes to EFL teaching and learning. The second theme articulates teachers

understanding and knowledge of the change models that were associated with their responses.

It was found that teachers in S1 and S2 faced some similar problems related to the recent

changes to TEFL. One of these problems was that the companies did not clearly present their

mission and aims to the teachers, which had an enormous impact on the implementation of the

new innovations. Teachers were asked to accomplish tasks without explaining to them the aims

of these tasks, what exactly they needed to accomplish and the methods they need to follow in

order to achieve the aims of the tasks. In addition, the roles of the supervisor, the company and

the school itself in the change process were not clearly defined in both schools.

Both companies tried to introduce changes to the EFL’s curriculum. However, the findings

indicate that both companies did not plan for such changes appropriately. The company in S1 did

not assess the appropriateness of their new curriculum to the UAE culture and the Islamic

religion. On the other hand, the lack of assessment of the old curriculum before planning for a

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new one cost the company in S2 time and effort where they realized after two years of constant

changes that there was nothing wrong with the old curriculum and that it served their aims.

Lack of resources was one of the major problems that teachers in S1 had. The company did not

provide the teachers in S1 with the essential resources they needed to implement the changes

successfully. On the contrary, teachers in S2 did not have any problems with the resources as

their school and company provided them with all the resources they needed. This indicates that

the four companies working in the PPP project does not have similar identical school

development plans.

The findings suggest that one of the reasons that affected the effectiveness of the new

innovations was the lack of training and preparation for the teachers, who are the implementers

of these innovations. Teachers in both schools suffered from the lack of appropriate and effective

workshops that could help them implement changes successfully and improve their capacity.

Most of the workshops arranged by the companies were repetitive and did not address the

teachers’ needs.

Another important finding was the lack of internal and external assessments and monitoring

throughout the change process. The companies did not monitor the teachers in the

implementation process and did not assess teachers’ implementation of the new innovations.

Similarly, ADEC did not appropriately assess the companies’ efforts in improving and

developing the EFL classrooms. Therefore, lack of accountability was one of the factors that

affected the success of the change initiatives in the EFL classrooms.

As stated earlier, one of the projects’ aims was to increase students’ outcomes. However, it was

found that students’ performance did not improve since the two companies have started working

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in the schools. Due to the lack of accountability, the company in S1 manipulated students’ results

by increasing the actual results at the end of the year’s exams, while the company in S2 did not

introduce any changes to the EFL classrooms, which indicate that it did not improve the

students’ outcomes in any ways.

Finally, it was found that teachers from both schools understood some elements of change

process which were evident in their responses. For instance, teachers in S1 understood that

change is a process and not an event, and that the company needed to implement their changes in

stages. Furthermore, teachers from both schools talked explicitly about the importance of

training and preparation for successful implementation. They believed that teachers need to be

trained on how to implement the new innovations in their classrooms. They also believed that

training should be practical and should start from the classrooms. In addition, teachers deemed

that any successful change should have clear plan, vision and aims. Finally, teachers argued that

they needed to be involved as active participants throughout the change process.

5.4 Recommendations

Based on the findings from the current study, recommendations have been drawn to ADEC on

how to successfully reform TEFL in the future. Before planning for any change, ADEC needs to

identify the real problems that hinder EFL teaching and learning, and based on these problems

they should plan for change by creating new innovations that could help improve and develop

TEFL. In addition, I think that it is not wrong to learn from the educational experiences of other

countries, but it is wrong to assume that what have worked in other countries could work in the

UAE. I agree with Ridge (2009) that “sustainable solutions to the education challenges of the

region require policy decisions based on local realities rather than on international opinions”.

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Bringing companies from outside that lack the understanding of the EFL teaching and learning

situation in the UAE, the UAE culture and religion and students and teachers needs would not

help in developing the situation and results may sometimes be disappointing. Therefore, I believe

that ADEC should encourage teachers to design and create ‘local solutions’ that could help

improve TEFL and increase students’ outcomes. This will create a dynamic learning

environment where teachers learn from their actions and from each other. Senge (1999) suggests

that initiatives driven by learning are more sustainable than those driven by authority.

I believe that the change process is a cycle where one plans for change, implements it, evaluates

its effectiveness and identifies its problems. Once problems are identified, one should go through

that cycle again and again until the desired goals are achieved. Thus, the process of change does

not stop at the implementation stage, but it should continue to include the monitoring and

evaluation stage, where one can learn from the mistakes and find ways to move forward. ADEC

needs to monitor and evaluate the implementation stage carefully in order to assess the

effectiveness of the new innovations in the EFL classrooms and to assess the teachers’

performance during the implementation stage. The lack of monitoring could affect the

sustainability of change as teachers could easily go back to their old practices if they were not

appropriately monitored. Moreover, ADEC should assess and monitor the companies throughout

the life time of the project in order to create a sense of accountability in the companies.

5.5 Routes for future research

This is a small-scale study aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of the recent changes to EFL

teaching and learning in Abu Dhabi’s public schools. Yet, this study could be extended so that it

involves a larger number of schools covering both girls’ and boys’ schools, in order to provide a

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better evaluation of the recent changes to TEFL. In addition, this study is only considered to

evaluate the change processes adopted by the companies. In the future, this study could be

extended to evaluate the new innovations in terms of their appropriateness and effectiveness in

the EFL classrooms through conducting classrooms observations and exploring students’ and

parents’ perceptions.

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