ABSTRACT

 

 

The purpose of this research was to find out if the reflection level of Iranian English teachers is related to their self-efficacy level and hence to explore if work experience is a determining factor in teachers’ efficacy and reflection. An additional aim of the study was to investigate if teachers’ self-efficacy components and their reflection levels are related.  Two instruments were employed to quantify the two constructs. To measure teacher’s reflection levels, English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory (ELTRI) (2010) was used and the participants’ self-efficacy was measured by Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) (2009). First the subjects were divided into novice and experienced groups. ELTRI and TSES were distributed in both groups to measure their reflection and self-efficacy levels. The participants were 721 EFL teachers teaching in private language schools, mainly in Safir Language Academy. As the case is for the students, the majority of Safir English teachers are female. As a result, not only did the findings of this study confirm a positive relationship between EFL teachers’ reflection and their self-efficacy, but also the same result among novice and experienced EFL teachers could be investigated. In addition, a significant relationship among reflection and components of self-efficacy of EFL teachers and that of novice and experienced teachers could be detected. Investigation of relationship between reflective teaching on one hand and self-efficacy on the other, allows teacher educators to select and train more efficacious and effective teachers in which not only the students benefit from their experience and effective teaching through their instructions but also more awareness will be injected in their teaching pattern. Book developers and policy makers can also benefit from this research to include more reflective tasks in their teachers’ guides in order to incline employment of action research based on reflection in their classrooms and set new standards in English teacher education.

 

1.1     Introduction. 8

 

1.2     Statement of the Problem.. 10

 

1.3     Statement of the Research Questions. 15

 

1.4     Statement of the Research Hypotheses. 16

 

1.5   Definition of the Key Terms. 18

 

1.6 Significance of the Study. 20

 

2.1     Introduction. 25

 

2.2     Teachers’ Self-efficacy. 26

 

2.2.1     Theories of Teacher Self-Efficacy. 27

 

2.2.2     Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Constructs. 31

 

2.2.3     Teacher Self-Efficacy Inventories. 36

 

2.3    Reflective Teaching. 40

 

2.3.1     Definition. 40

 

 

2.3.2     Background of Reflective Teaching. 42

 

2.3.3     Models of Reflection. 43

 

2.3.4     Reflective Teaching Inventories. 62

 

2.3.5     Literature Related to Self-Efficacy and Reflective Teaching. 66

 

2.5    Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks. 86

 

2.6    Summary. 87

 

3.1     Introduction. 89

 

3.2    The Participants. 89

 

3.3     Instrumentation. 90

 

3.3.1     Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) 90

 

3.3.2     English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory (ELTRI) 92

 

3.5     Design. 97

 

3.6     Statistical Analysis. 98

 

4.1 Introduction. 100

 

4.2 Testing Assumptions. 100

 

4.3 Analysis of Outliers. 101

 

4.4 Testing Assumptions. 101

 

4.5 The First Null Hypothesis. 102

 

4.6 The Second Null Hypothesis. 104

 

4.7 The Third Null Hypothesis. 105

 

4.8 The Fourth Null Hypothesis. 106

 

4.9 The Fifth Null Hypothesis. 109

 

4.10 The Sixth Null Hypothesis. 111

 

4.11 The Seventh Null Hypothesis. 114

 

4.12 The Eighth Null Hypothesis. 116

 

4.13 The Ninth Null Hypothesis. 118

 

4.14 The Tenth Null Hypothesis. 120

 

4.15 The Eleventh Null Hypothesis. 122

 

4.16 The Twelfth Null Hypothesis. 124

 

4.17 The Thirteenth Null Hypothesis. 127

 

4.17.1 Predicting EFL Teachers’ Self-Efficacy by Experience. 127

 

4.17.2 Predicting EFL Teachers’ Reflection by Experience. 129

 

4.18 Reliability Indices. 131

 

4.19 Construct Validity of Reflection Questionnaire. 132

 

4.20 Construct Validity of Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. 135

 

4.21   The Fourteenth Null Hypothesis. 137

 

4.22 The Fifteenth Null Hypothesis. 139

 

4.23 Discussion. 140

 

5.1     Introduction. 145

 

5.2 Conclusion. 147

 

5.3     Implications of the Study. 149

 

5.3.1   Pedagogical Implications for English Teachers. 150

 

5.3.2    Implications for English Teacher Educators. 150

 

5.3.3     Implications for English Language Schools. 151

 

5.3.4     Implications for Policy Makers. 152

 

5.3.5     Implications for Book Developers. 152

 

5.4     Suggestions for Further Research. 152

 

Appendix A: 169

 

Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) 169

 

Appendix B: 172

 

English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory (ELTRI) 172