EFL Teachers' Reflective Practices: A Holistic Approach To Reflective Practice Perception and Implementing Tools of EFL Teachers

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative study is to find out the level of EFL teachers' awareness of reflective practices, the obstacles preventing reflecting on oneself and differences of perception and level of reflective practices between private sector teachers and state school teachers. In this respect, the study explored 8 EFL teachers who volunteered from private sector and 8 from state schools in … province. The interviews were held through zoom software because of Covid19. The data was collected through a semi-structured interview form. All the qualitative data gathered through interviews was transcribed and analyzed according to thematic analysis. Data analysis was conducted manually. At the end of the study, the results revealed a relatively low level of reflection with the teachers under study tending to rely more on their own rationality in teaching and evaluating. Teachers are evaluating themselves or their classes mostly by taking the students in the center and they don't have a systematic approach. On the other hand there is a slightly meaningful result showing private sector teachers are more careful about reflective practice because of other dynamics like parents and management and they do more to evaluate and improve themselves. The tools both groups us for reflective practice are variable and there are challenges related with teacher, education system and students that teachers show as an excuse for not implementing reflective practice. It is argued that teachers to develop desirable levels of pedagogic integrity, they should involve themselves more in exploring themselves, their students' learning styles and critical aspects of the teaching context.