Download - PG conference presentation
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIETNAMESE
TEACHERS’ BELIEFs, IDENTITY AND
THEIR CLASSROOM DISCOURSE
PRESENTOR: THI HONG NHUNG NGUYEN
An example of Vietnamese Classroom
context
Most common responses
They are
my children
They are
my brother
and sister
They are
my friends
Who do you
consider your
students to
be?
They are
my
students
OUTLINE
1. Teachers’ beliefs
2. Teachers’ identity
3. Vietnamese teachers’ identity
4. Research questions
5. Research methodology
6. Samples of data analysis (3)
7. Findings and implications
Conceptualising
teachers’ beliefs
Teachers beliefs
Features and influential
factors
Relationship between
teachers’ beliefs and practice
What is belief?
• Belief is defined primarily on the users’ decision
(Pajares 1992)
• Diversity – different from field to field
“…a set of conceptual representations which signify to
its holders a reality or given state of affairs of sufficient
validity, truth or trustworthiness to warrant reliance
upon it as guide to personal thought and actions”
(Harvey 1986:660)
“[a] teacher’s beliefs are shaped by many factors. Among
them are the influence of discipline subculture, the quality of
preservice experience in the classroom and the opportunity
for reflection on the preservice experience” (Fang 1996:52)
Key relevant theoretical point:
Beliefs must be inferred from “belief statement, predisposed
manner, and behaviour related to the belief in question”
(Rokeach 1968, cited from Pajares 1992:315)
Features and influence factors of
Teachers’ beliefs
Relationship between teachers’
beliefs and practice
Consistency Inconsistenc
y
• Basturkment et al. (1986)
(instructional practice)
• Mangano and Allen
(1986)(Classroom interaction)
• Johnson (1992)
(Pedagogical approach)
• Wing (1989)
(Students’ perception on the
subject)
• Wilson et al. 1993 (Classroom
observations, thing-aloud
protocols, interviews, simulated
recalls)
• Fang (1996) (incongruent with
practice)
• Ashti (1990) (Classroom reality)
Teachers’ identity
Early conceptualisation:
The idea of ‘self’: “…a singular, unified, stable essence
that was little affected by biography” (Day et al. 2006)
Recent contributions:
• not fixed (Karreman and Alcesson, 2001)
• Role-oriented (Hall et al. 1999)
• Discursively constructed (Schnurr and Zayts 2011)
Vietnamese teachers’ identity
Chinese Confucian Heritage Culture
influence
Master of knowledge
Moral role modelStudents as ‘empty
vessel’
Ideologies Social norms
New context of Vietnamese
education
Innovative teaching approaches
(CLT, Student-centered approach)
Epistemic incongruence Morality dilemmas
Research questions
1. What are the features of these Vietnamese
teachers’ classroom discourse? How do teachers
deal with epistemic incongruence and moral
dilemmas in the classroom?
2. How is the relationship between these Vietnamese
teachers’ belief and their classroom practice
reflected through classroom conversation analysis?
3. What are the implications for Vietnamese teachers
for their professional development?
Research methodology
Research approach: Qualitative (drawing from
Conversation analysis and interpretation)
• Conversation analysis (CA):
Turn-taking organization
Sequence organization
• Classroom observation
• Unstructured interview
Sample 1 – Morality influence sequence (1)
Sample 1 – Epistemic influence sequence (2)
Sample 2 – Classroom epistemic incongruence
Findings and implications
Findings: addressing question 1 on the pattern of Vietnamese classrooms’ talk
• The imbalance of turns and rights to control the floor in the classroom discourse violates this key characteristic of equal responsiveness in friendship.
• the IRF/IRE pattern indicate that the rights of students in the classroom sequence are restricted.
• Long sequence of turn constructed to shape and influence students’ thinking.
• Echoing the inconsistence between teachers’ beliefs and their physical classroom practice (Research question 2)
Findings and implications
Implications: suggested causes and solutions for Teachers’
development (research question 3)
• Narrow perception of the term ‘friendship’
• Raise awareness on the inconsistency of teachers’
beliefs and practice:
The impact of the classroom as an institutional talk
Crucial role of students in constructing subject and social
knowledge: balanced turn-distribution, students’
initiation…
Thank you for your attention