The interplay between teachers engaged in action research (AR) and the educational ecosystem invo... more The interplay between teachers engaged in action research (AR) and the educational ecosystem involving the other teachers who did not conduct AR and administrators has been an issue unexplored in the English Language Teaching (ELT) field. In the current study, we explore how teachers' engagement in AR within a Teacher Study Group (TSG) at a state university in Türkiye interacted with each layer of the ecosystem from an Ecological Systems Theory (EST) perspective. Inductive analysis of data from semi-structured interviews with the teachers who actively participated in the project (n = 6), the other teachers who peripherally observed the action researchers (n = 10), and the administrators (n = 3), revealed that AR processes including collaborative professional learning and disseminating research findings significantly impacted the four layers of the educational ecological system (micro-, meso-, exo-and macrosystems). We discuss how AR as a collaborative professional development practice impacted each layer of the ecosystem, together with implications for its sustainability.
This systematic literature review aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities... more This systematic literature review aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities that action research (AR) provides for initial teacher education and the challenges that teacher educators and pre-service teachers (PSTs) may experience during the AR process. We analyzed 20 empirical studies on AR conducted in initial teacher education programs, adopting a hybrid approach to thematic analysis. The findings indicate that AR is a promising practice that helps PSTs to reflect critically, (re)construct their teacher identity, see students as partners, value collaboration, and (re)conceptualize their understanding of research. However, it is also important to consider the challenges faced during the AR process, such as practicum restrictions, assessment demands, weak communication between partners, and time constraints. Therefore, it is essential to consider AR within initial teacher education as distinct from in-service AR practices since the needs and concerns of PSTs might be different in this transitional period of their lives. Implications are included for initial teacher education programs which are planning to use AR as a tool for teacher learning and development.
Practicum is a potential opportunity which acquaints pre-service English language teachers with t... more Practicum is a potential opportunity which acquaints pre-service English language teachers with the real world of teaching in a way that textbooks cannot capture. That is why it is of importance to provide better understanding into practicum, and attempt to improve its quality. This study reports the results of a metasynthesis of qualitative studies on the ELT practicum published in academic journals for the period 2008-2017. A comprehensive search of five electronic databases (university library, Academic Search Complete, Academic Social Sciences Index (ASOS), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) and ULAKBIM Turkish National Databases) was done to identify qualitative studies investigating the practicum experiences of pre-service English language teachers in Turkey and 13 studies were included. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and report overarching themes within data. Implications for English language teacher education in Turkey are addressed.
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, Aug 1, 2020
Pre-service English language teachers' school practicum is key to their learning to become a teac... more Pre-service English language teachers' school practicum is key to their learning to become a teacher. However, a number of challenges are observed in its implementation. This paper addresses this issue by investigating how engaging in practicum as peers can function as mentoring support and how this process can influence their selves. A cohort of 16 senior pre-service English teachers was invited to participate in the study from a state university in the west of Turkey. We collected qualitative data through dialogic verbal records and post-practicum interviews. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The results show that pre-service teachers provided for each other different forms of sustained psychosocial support in discovering knowledge about teaching and developing a sense of self as a teacher through dialogic interaction with peers. The paper discusses the implications of peer practicum for reconstructing practicum models already in practice in the research context and beyond.
Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, Mar 31, 2023
Contemporary approaches to professional development (PD) involve investigating ways of bottom-up,... more Contemporary approaches to professional development (PD) involve investigating ways of bottom-up, self-directed practices while addressing various needs of teachers. Yet, utilized as a tool in such practices, classroom observation (CO) is not considered to promote teacher professional learning since it is generally regarded as part of the appraisal process. Thus, this exploratory case study aims to explore the insights of four EFL teachers about CO tailored by teachers themselves for their professional growth in a higher education context in Türkiye. Focusing on a bottom-up practice, the teachers pursued a collaborative act on their PD in this specific context. Based on the participants’ previous and current experiences of CO, the data were collected through semi-structured interviews and teacher educator notes. The inductive thematic analysis of the data revealed three major interconnected themes providing pathways toward CO as a PD tool with special emphasis on the generic features of the teacher-tailored CO process. The discussion of findings highlights the importance of empowering, collaborative, and sustainable practices in teachers’ professional growth. Implications are included for English language teacher development programs.
The literacy trek: Refereed journal of literacy and language studies, Dec 25, 2020
This qualitative cross-case study explores and reflects on the insights of six English language t... more This qualitative cross-case study explores and reflects on the insights of six English language teachers working at one secondary school and one tertiary level institution in Turkey regarding the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) practices offered by their institutions respectively. It also investigates what contextual factors interact with these teachers' insights and experiences about CPD as part of teacher education regarding within-case and cross-case differences. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, written reflections and program documents and analysed using a descriptive coding strategy. The findings reveal that the participant teachers consider CPD as a customized, practice-focused, collaborative and reflective endeavour. Implications for future continuous professional development programs are also discussed.
European Journal of Teacher Education, Jul 17, 2022
ABSTRACT This paper investigates how reading and reflecting upon research published by other teac... more ABSTRACT This paper investigates how reading and reflecting upon research published by other teachers could impact pre-service teachers in a language teacher education programme at a university in the west of Turkey. Adopting a holistic single case as the qualitative research approach, the study involved 53 first-year pre-service English teachers who were taking the course Reading Skills at the time for the current research and used data collected through written reflections and think-aloud protocols. We analysed the data through thematic analysis which revealed two major impact-based themes including conceptions of being a teacher and exploring teacher self. These helped us qualify the dimensions of the impact of reading and discussing stories of exploratory action research on the process of learning and development of pre-service language teachers. Drawing on our study, we offer implications for English language teachers and educators in pre-service language teacher education programmes.
This systematic literature review aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities... more This systematic literature review aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities that action research (AR) provides for initial teacher education and the challenges that teacher educators and pre-service teachers (PSTs) may experience during the AR process. We analyzed 20 empirical studies on AR conducted in initial teacher education programs, adopting a hybrid approach to thematic analysis. The findings indicate that AR is a promising practice that helps PSTs to reflect critically, (re)construct their teacher identity, see students as partners, value collaboration, and (re)conceptualize their understanding of research. However, it is also important to consider the challenges faced during the AR process, such as practicum restrictions, assessment demands, weak communication between partners, and time constraints. Therefore, it is essential to consider AR within initial teacher education as distinct from in-service AR practices since the needs and concerns of PSTs might be different in this transitional period of their lives. Implications are included for initial teacher education programs which are planning to use AR as a tool for teacher learning and development.
This study aims to design of the two activities "introducing an innovation" and "role playing" in... more This study aims to design of the two activities "introducing an innovation" and "role playing" in Second Life (SL) and to evaluate qualitatively Turkish foreign language learner's roles and outputs before, while, and after the implementation of the activities. The study used community of inquiry model consisting of cognitive presence and social presence as a theoretical frame to discuss the roles and outputs. The participants were twelve students and two English teachers from two different high schools. Teaching and learning in SL took six weeks. The first activity "introducing an innovation" let students develop an innovation and introduce it in English at a congress hall. The second activity "role playing" had four different scenarios in which students would be involved in; travel agency, get permission from family to go out, restaurant, and renting a car. It was found that the two activities in Second Life had various requirements in terms of the teacher, the student and the social environment and that they differed in pre-activity, while-activity and post-activity phases in terms of outputs. When the learning contexts created in this study are considered in terms of cognitive presence, the outcomes of the interaction effect between the teacher, the student, and the social environment were higher in the role-playing activity than in the second activity. Written preparations done before the activity in both teaching activities had positive effects on students' performance during the activity. The fact that students responded to the questions spontaneously without following the scenario and that they found the correct answer through discussion affected their cognitive presence positively. For social presence, the role-play activity resulted in higher social presence than introducing an innovation since the students studied individually in the introduction of an innovation.
International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, Apr 29, 2021
PurposeIn response to the top-down professional development (PD) practice, this study conceptuali... more PurposeIn response to the top-down professional development (PD) practice, this study conceptualizes lesson study (LS) as a bottom-up approach to foreign language teacher PD in the Turkish context. Relatedly, the authors seek to empower teachers so that they can engage in reflexive PD and claim voice over their practices.Design/methodology/approachAn LS project including four teachers was implemented at a higher education language centre and conducted as a critical ethnographic study. Using ethnographic research qualitative data collection methods such as field notes, interviews and artefacts, the data were analysed with a thematic analytic approach.FindingsDrawing on cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), findings revealed that LS was a meta-activity that allowed teachers to be agents of the PD practices. More significantly, LS empowers teachers to have a situated impact on their development activities in addition to the meta-activity's impact on them.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few that goes beyond the reflective value of LS and gives contextual evidence of how reflexive PD can occur in LS. The reflexive relationship between the agent (participant–teachers) and the process (LS practice) provides a strong implication revealing the transformative impact of bottom-up PD activit(ies).
Bu calismanin amaci, Turkiye ve Polonya’daki Ingilizce ogretmen yetistirme sistemlerini tartisara... more Bu calismanin amaci, Turkiye ve Polonya’daki Ingilizce ogretmen yetistirme sistemlerini tartisarak, benzerlik ve farkliliklari ortaya cikarmaktir. Bu amacla, Turkiye ve Polonya’da Ingilizce ogretmeni yetistiren iki universitede hâlihazirda uygulanmakta olan ders programlari karsilastirmali olarak ele alinmistir. Bu incelemenin, iyi uygulamalari ortaya cikarmak ve her iki ulkenin Ingilizce ogretmen yetistirme politikalarini gelistirmesine yardimci olacagi dusunulmektedir.
Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, 2019
Even though various professional development practices are provided for language teachers worldwi... more Even though various professional development practices are provided for language teachers worldwide, these practices are still considered ineffective in addressing teachers' needs in their classrooms. The effectiveness of these practices is stalled when teachers do not actively engage in their professional development processes. When language teachers are not involved as active decision makers regarding their own professional development practices, the outcomes may not be as desirable as policymakers plan. Considering the deficiencies of the current language teacher professional development practices in Turkey, this paper provides a systematic review of lesson study as a professional development model for language teachers which promotes agency and reflective practice. Comparing the current practice of lesson study in Turkey to the international practices reported in the literature, this review suggests that lesson study has potential to support teacher professional development in the country in alignment with the educational visions of decision makers. Given the empowering dimension of lesson study model both in terms of content and form, it can be adopted as a model for effective and sustainable language teacher professional development.
International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, 2021
PurposeIn response to the top-down professional development (PD) practice, this study conceptuali... more PurposeIn response to the top-down professional development (PD) practice, this study conceptualizes lesson study (LS) as a bottom-up approach to foreign language teacher PD in the Turkish context. Relatedly, the authors seek to empower teachers so that they can engage in reflexive PD and claim voice over their practices.Design/methodology/approachAn LS project including four teachers was implemented at a higher education language centre and conducted as a critical ethnographic study. Using ethnographic research qualitative data collection methods such as field notes, interviews and artefacts, the data were analysed with a thematic analytic approach.FindingsDrawing on cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), findings revealed that LS was a meta-activity that allowed teachers to be agents of the PD practices. More significantly, LS empowers teachers to have a situated impact on their development activities in addition to the meta-activity's impact on them.Originality/valueThis...
Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, 2019
Even though various professional development practices are provided for language teachers worldwi... more Even though various professional development practices are provided for language teachers worldwide, these practices are still considered ineffective in addressing teachers' needs in their classrooms. The effectiveness of these practices is stalled when teachers do not actively engage in their professional development processes. When language teachers are not involved as active decision makers regarding their own professional development practices, the outcomes may not be as desirable as policymakers plan. Considering the deficiencies of the current language teacher professional development practices in Turkey, this paper provides a systematic review of lesson study as a professional development model for language teachers which promotes agency and reflective practice. Comparing the current practice of lesson study in Turkey to the international practices reported in the literature, this review suggests that lesson study has potential to support teacher professional development in the country in alignment with the educational visions of decision makers. Given the empowering dimension of lesson study model both in terms of content and form, it can be adopted as a model for effective and sustainable language teacher professional development.
In today’s world, the English language has secured its role as a lingua franca. Yet, it is hard t... more In today’s world, the English language has secured its role as a lingua franca. Yet, it is hard to claim that the English proficiency level in Turkey has reached the international standards. It is clear that some weaknesses of English language teacher education programs in the country have a role in these low levels of English proficiency. The aim of the current study is to discuss English language teacher education programs in Turkey and Poland, with a focus on the similarities and differences of the educational systems. The first part of the study discusses the social and historical background of the status of the English language in society and in the educational system in both countries. In the second part of the study, the current English language teacher education programs at Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir, Turkey and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland are presented. The objective of the third part of the study is to compare and contrast the main differences and similarities between the programs and define the potential factors influencing the programs in both countries. It is expected that the best practices identified will lead to better English language teacher education programs for both countries, especially for Turkey.
In book: Exploring the Principles of Reflective Practice in ELT Publisher: Equinox, 2023
This is a meta-synthesis exploring the implementation of reflective practice studies in ELT in Tu... more This is a meta-synthesis exploring the implementation of reflective practice studies in ELT in Turkey. In this study, Başar, Kuzu and Çomoğlu review 24 RP studies carried out in Turkey between 2010 and 2021. The results of their inductive thematic analysis indicate clear implications for the pre-service education practicum programs, in-service education of tertiary-level teachers, as well as the reflective practices for EFL teacher educators.
The interplay between teachers engaged in action research (AR) and the educational ecosystem invo... more The interplay between teachers engaged in action research (AR) and the educational ecosystem involving the other teachers who did not conduct AR and administrators has been an issue unexplored in the English Language Teaching (ELT) field. In the current study, we explore how teachers' engagement in AR within a Teacher Study Group (TSG) at a state university in Türkiye interacted with each layer of the ecosystem from an Ecological Systems Theory (EST) perspective. Inductive analysis of data from semi-structured interviews with the teachers who actively participated in the project (n = 6), the other teachers who peripherally observed the action researchers (n = 10), and the administrators (n = 3), revealed that AR processes including collaborative professional learning and disseminating research findings significantly impacted the four layers of the educational ecological system (micro-, meso-, exo-and macrosystems). We discuss how AR as a collaborative professional development practice impacted each layer of the ecosystem, together with implications for its sustainability.
This systematic literature review aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities... more This systematic literature review aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities that action research (AR) provides for initial teacher education and the challenges that teacher educators and pre-service teachers (PSTs) may experience during the AR process. We analyzed 20 empirical studies on AR conducted in initial teacher education programs, adopting a hybrid approach to thematic analysis. The findings indicate that AR is a promising practice that helps PSTs to reflect critically, (re)construct their teacher identity, see students as partners, value collaboration, and (re)conceptualize their understanding of research. However, it is also important to consider the challenges faced during the AR process, such as practicum restrictions, assessment demands, weak communication between partners, and time constraints. Therefore, it is essential to consider AR within initial teacher education as distinct from in-service AR practices since the needs and concerns of PSTs might be different in this transitional period of their lives. Implications are included for initial teacher education programs which are planning to use AR as a tool for teacher learning and development.
Practicum is a potential opportunity which acquaints pre-service English language teachers with t... more Practicum is a potential opportunity which acquaints pre-service English language teachers with the real world of teaching in a way that textbooks cannot capture. That is why it is of importance to provide better understanding into practicum, and attempt to improve its quality. This study reports the results of a metasynthesis of qualitative studies on the ELT practicum published in academic journals for the period 2008-2017. A comprehensive search of five electronic databases (university library, Academic Search Complete, Academic Social Sciences Index (ASOS), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) and ULAKBIM Turkish National Databases) was done to identify qualitative studies investigating the practicum experiences of pre-service English language teachers in Turkey and 13 studies were included. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and report overarching themes within data. Implications for English language teacher education in Turkey are addressed.
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, Aug 1, 2020
Pre-service English language teachers' school practicum is key to their learning to become a teac... more Pre-service English language teachers' school practicum is key to their learning to become a teacher. However, a number of challenges are observed in its implementation. This paper addresses this issue by investigating how engaging in practicum as peers can function as mentoring support and how this process can influence their selves. A cohort of 16 senior pre-service English teachers was invited to participate in the study from a state university in the west of Turkey. We collected qualitative data through dialogic verbal records and post-practicum interviews. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The results show that pre-service teachers provided for each other different forms of sustained psychosocial support in discovering knowledge about teaching and developing a sense of self as a teacher through dialogic interaction with peers. The paper discusses the implications of peer practicum for reconstructing practicum models already in practice in the research context and beyond.
Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, Mar 31, 2023
Contemporary approaches to professional development (PD) involve investigating ways of bottom-up,... more Contemporary approaches to professional development (PD) involve investigating ways of bottom-up, self-directed practices while addressing various needs of teachers. Yet, utilized as a tool in such practices, classroom observation (CO) is not considered to promote teacher professional learning since it is generally regarded as part of the appraisal process. Thus, this exploratory case study aims to explore the insights of four EFL teachers about CO tailored by teachers themselves for their professional growth in a higher education context in Türkiye. Focusing on a bottom-up practice, the teachers pursued a collaborative act on their PD in this specific context. Based on the participants’ previous and current experiences of CO, the data were collected through semi-structured interviews and teacher educator notes. The inductive thematic analysis of the data revealed three major interconnected themes providing pathways toward CO as a PD tool with special emphasis on the generic features of the teacher-tailored CO process. The discussion of findings highlights the importance of empowering, collaborative, and sustainable practices in teachers’ professional growth. Implications are included for English language teacher development programs.
The literacy trek: Refereed journal of literacy and language studies, Dec 25, 2020
This qualitative cross-case study explores and reflects on the insights of six English language t... more This qualitative cross-case study explores and reflects on the insights of six English language teachers working at one secondary school and one tertiary level institution in Turkey regarding the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) practices offered by their institutions respectively. It also investigates what contextual factors interact with these teachers' insights and experiences about CPD as part of teacher education regarding within-case and cross-case differences. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, written reflections and program documents and analysed using a descriptive coding strategy. The findings reveal that the participant teachers consider CPD as a customized, practice-focused, collaborative and reflective endeavour. Implications for future continuous professional development programs are also discussed.
European Journal of Teacher Education, Jul 17, 2022
ABSTRACT This paper investigates how reading and reflecting upon research published by other teac... more ABSTRACT This paper investigates how reading and reflecting upon research published by other teachers could impact pre-service teachers in a language teacher education programme at a university in the west of Turkey. Adopting a holistic single case as the qualitative research approach, the study involved 53 first-year pre-service English teachers who were taking the course Reading Skills at the time for the current research and used data collected through written reflections and think-aloud protocols. We analysed the data through thematic analysis which revealed two major impact-based themes including conceptions of being a teacher and exploring teacher self. These helped us qualify the dimensions of the impact of reading and discussing stories of exploratory action research on the process of learning and development of pre-service language teachers. Drawing on our study, we offer implications for English language teachers and educators in pre-service language teacher education programmes.
This systematic literature review aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities... more This systematic literature review aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities that action research (AR) provides for initial teacher education and the challenges that teacher educators and pre-service teachers (PSTs) may experience during the AR process. We analyzed 20 empirical studies on AR conducted in initial teacher education programs, adopting a hybrid approach to thematic analysis. The findings indicate that AR is a promising practice that helps PSTs to reflect critically, (re)construct their teacher identity, see students as partners, value collaboration, and (re)conceptualize their understanding of research. However, it is also important to consider the challenges faced during the AR process, such as practicum restrictions, assessment demands, weak communication between partners, and time constraints. Therefore, it is essential to consider AR within initial teacher education as distinct from in-service AR practices since the needs and concerns of PSTs might be different in this transitional period of their lives. Implications are included for initial teacher education programs which are planning to use AR as a tool for teacher learning and development.
This study aims to design of the two activities "introducing an innovation" and "role playing" in... more This study aims to design of the two activities "introducing an innovation" and "role playing" in Second Life (SL) and to evaluate qualitatively Turkish foreign language learner's roles and outputs before, while, and after the implementation of the activities. The study used community of inquiry model consisting of cognitive presence and social presence as a theoretical frame to discuss the roles and outputs. The participants were twelve students and two English teachers from two different high schools. Teaching and learning in SL took six weeks. The first activity "introducing an innovation" let students develop an innovation and introduce it in English at a congress hall. The second activity "role playing" had four different scenarios in which students would be involved in; travel agency, get permission from family to go out, restaurant, and renting a car. It was found that the two activities in Second Life had various requirements in terms of the teacher, the student and the social environment and that they differed in pre-activity, while-activity and post-activity phases in terms of outputs. When the learning contexts created in this study are considered in terms of cognitive presence, the outcomes of the interaction effect between the teacher, the student, and the social environment were higher in the role-playing activity than in the second activity. Written preparations done before the activity in both teaching activities had positive effects on students' performance during the activity. The fact that students responded to the questions spontaneously without following the scenario and that they found the correct answer through discussion affected their cognitive presence positively. For social presence, the role-play activity resulted in higher social presence than introducing an innovation since the students studied individually in the introduction of an innovation.
International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, Apr 29, 2021
PurposeIn response to the top-down professional development (PD) practice, this study conceptuali... more PurposeIn response to the top-down professional development (PD) practice, this study conceptualizes lesson study (LS) as a bottom-up approach to foreign language teacher PD in the Turkish context. Relatedly, the authors seek to empower teachers so that they can engage in reflexive PD and claim voice over their practices.Design/methodology/approachAn LS project including four teachers was implemented at a higher education language centre and conducted as a critical ethnographic study. Using ethnographic research qualitative data collection methods such as field notes, interviews and artefacts, the data were analysed with a thematic analytic approach.FindingsDrawing on cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), findings revealed that LS was a meta-activity that allowed teachers to be agents of the PD practices. More significantly, LS empowers teachers to have a situated impact on their development activities in addition to the meta-activity's impact on them.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few that goes beyond the reflective value of LS and gives contextual evidence of how reflexive PD can occur in LS. The reflexive relationship between the agent (participant–teachers) and the process (LS practice) provides a strong implication revealing the transformative impact of bottom-up PD activit(ies).
Bu calismanin amaci, Turkiye ve Polonya’daki Ingilizce ogretmen yetistirme sistemlerini tartisara... more Bu calismanin amaci, Turkiye ve Polonya’daki Ingilizce ogretmen yetistirme sistemlerini tartisarak, benzerlik ve farkliliklari ortaya cikarmaktir. Bu amacla, Turkiye ve Polonya’da Ingilizce ogretmeni yetistiren iki universitede hâlihazirda uygulanmakta olan ders programlari karsilastirmali olarak ele alinmistir. Bu incelemenin, iyi uygulamalari ortaya cikarmak ve her iki ulkenin Ingilizce ogretmen yetistirme politikalarini gelistirmesine yardimci olacagi dusunulmektedir.
Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, 2019
Even though various professional development practices are provided for language teachers worldwi... more Even though various professional development practices are provided for language teachers worldwide, these practices are still considered ineffective in addressing teachers' needs in their classrooms. The effectiveness of these practices is stalled when teachers do not actively engage in their professional development processes. When language teachers are not involved as active decision makers regarding their own professional development practices, the outcomes may not be as desirable as policymakers plan. Considering the deficiencies of the current language teacher professional development practices in Turkey, this paper provides a systematic review of lesson study as a professional development model for language teachers which promotes agency and reflective practice. Comparing the current practice of lesson study in Turkey to the international practices reported in the literature, this review suggests that lesson study has potential to support teacher professional development in the country in alignment with the educational visions of decision makers. Given the empowering dimension of lesson study model both in terms of content and form, it can be adopted as a model for effective and sustainable language teacher professional development.
International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, 2021
PurposeIn response to the top-down professional development (PD) practice, this study conceptuali... more PurposeIn response to the top-down professional development (PD) practice, this study conceptualizes lesson study (LS) as a bottom-up approach to foreign language teacher PD in the Turkish context. Relatedly, the authors seek to empower teachers so that they can engage in reflexive PD and claim voice over their practices.Design/methodology/approachAn LS project including four teachers was implemented at a higher education language centre and conducted as a critical ethnographic study. Using ethnographic research qualitative data collection methods such as field notes, interviews and artefacts, the data were analysed with a thematic analytic approach.FindingsDrawing on cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), findings revealed that LS was a meta-activity that allowed teachers to be agents of the PD practices. More significantly, LS empowers teachers to have a situated impact on their development activities in addition to the meta-activity's impact on them.Originality/valueThis...
Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, 2019
Even though various professional development practices are provided for language teachers worldwi... more Even though various professional development practices are provided for language teachers worldwide, these practices are still considered ineffective in addressing teachers' needs in their classrooms. The effectiveness of these practices is stalled when teachers do not actively engage in their professional development processes. When language teachers are not involved as active decision makers regarding their own professional development practices, the outcomes may not be as desirable as policymakers plan. Considering the deficiencies of the current language teacher professional development practices in Turkey, this paper provides a systematic review of lesson study as a professional development model for language teachers which promotes agency and reflective practice. Comparing the current practice of lesson study in Turkey to the international practices reported in the literature, this review suggests that lesson study has potential to support teacher professional development in the country in alignment with the educational visions of decision makers. Given the empowering dimension of lesson study model both in terms of content and form, it can be adopted as a model for effective and sustainable language teacher professional development.
In today’s world, the English language has secured its role as a lingua franca. Yet, it is hard t... more In today’s world, the English language has secured its role as a lingua franca. Yet, it is hard to claim that the English proficiency level in Turkey has reached the international standards. It is clear that some weaknesses of English language teacher education programs in the country have a role in these low levels of English proficiency. The aim of the current study is to discuss English language teacher education programs in Turkey and Poland, with a focus on the similarities and differences of the educational systems. The first part of the study discusses the social and historical background of the status of the English language in society and in the educational system in both countries. In the second part of the study, the current English language teacher education programs at Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir, Turkey and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland are presented. The objective of the third part of the study is to compare and contrast the main differences and similarities between the programs and define the potential factors influencing the programs in both countries. It is expected that the best practices identified will lead to better English language teacher education programs for both countries, especially for Turkey.
In book: Exploring the Principles of Reflective Practice in ELT Publisher: Equinox, 2023
This is a meta-synthesis exploring the implementation of reflective practice studies in ELT in Tu... more This is a meta-synthesis exploring the implementation of reflective practice studies in ELT in Turkey. In this study, Başar, Kuzu and Çomoğlu review 24 RP studies carried out in Turkey between 2010 and 2021. The results of their inductive thematic analysis indicate clear implications for the pre-service education practicum programs, in-service education of tertiary-level teachers, as well as the reflective practices for EFL teacher educators.
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