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Article
Publication date: 2 August 2021

Milad Sheikhbanooie and Majid Farahian

Since reflectivity has a crucial role in education, it has attracted researchers’ attention in the last decades. As such, the present study aimed to construct and validate a…

98

Abstract

Purpose

Since reflectivity has a crucial role in education, it has attracted researchers’ attention in the last decades. As such, the present study aimed to construct and validate a questionnaire to assess the barriers to reflective practices of Iranian ESP (English for Specific Purposes) instructors. Furthermore, this study aimed to investigate the reliability of the scale.

Design/methodology/approach

To attain the purpose of the study, the researchers developed the first item pool of the questionnaire which included 67 items. Then, 4 experts were asked to pass their judgments on the items. Accordingly, 37 items were excluded and the next draft of the questionnaire that included 30 items remained. After their feedback, the revised scale was piloted with 10 ESP instructors to check the clarity of items. Then, the scale was administered to 210 ESP instructors. At the next stage, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was run to assess the construct validity of the questionnaire. Based on the results, three items were removed. To investigate the internal consistency of the scale, a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was employed.

Findings

The final version of the scale included 27 items with three subscales, namely, learners, instructors and institutions’ issues. The results revealed that the questionnaire enjoyed an acceptable level of validity and reliability.

Originality/value

Apart from a few studies, no other study has scrutinized barriers to EFL teachers’ reflectivity. In addition, in the realm of ESP, no study has developed a scale to measure barriers to ESP teachers’ reflective practice.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

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Article
Publication date: 22 November 2022

Maryam Salari and Majid Farahian

A significant research base has increasingly shown that one of the most important factors affecting student achievement in second language classrooms is the teacher. Consequently…

303

Abstract

Purpose

A significant research base has increasingly shown that one of the most important factors affecting student achievement in second language classrooms is the teacher. Consequently, over the recent decades, much attention has been paid to teacher-related variables in research. Nevertheless, few studies have dealt with the relationship between teachers' self-efficacy, metacognitive awareness and their professional development in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL). As such, the objective of this study is to test a path analysis model of the variables and specifically to examine the hypothesis that metacognitive awareness mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and professional development.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative correlational design was utilized to validate the research hypothesis. Then, data from 200 EFL teachers who were selected through available sampling was obtained using three questionnaires, namely metacognitive inventory by Cem Balcikanli, self-efficacy scale by Tschannen-Moran and Hoy and teachers' professional development inventory by Soodmand Afshar et al. The Pearson correlation coefficient of self-efficacy (r = 757, p < 0.000) revealed a significant positive relationship with metacognitive awareness, and the Pearson correlation coefficient of metacognitive awareness (r = 0.848, p < 0.000) showed a significant positive relationship with professional development.

Findings

The results showed the hypothetical model of the relationship among the research variables as well as verifying the mediator role of metacognitive awareness by multiple regression and path analysis. Then, the implications of metacognitive awareness, self-efficacy and professional development were put forward.

Originality/value

The majority of research on teacher professional development has focused appropriately on its relationship with components such as management training, teacher practice, reflective practice and academic achievement. In this line of research, the investigation of the potential links among self-efficacy, professional development and metacognitive awareness as interacting variables is scarce. More substantially, no prior exploration has been conducted concerning the mediating effect of metacognitive awareness in association with English teachers' self-efficacy and professional development.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 15 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

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Article
Publication date: 26 February 2021

Majid Farahian and Farshad Parhamnia

Reflective practice can greatly improve teachers' professional development, and various studies have demonstrated that teachers' knowledge sharing has a positive impact on their…

482

Abstract

Purpose

Reflective practice can greatly improve teachers' professional development, and various studies have demonstrated that teachers' knowledge sharing has a positive impact on their reflection. Accordingly, the present study was conducted to examine the effect of knowledge sharing in a popular online forum – WhatsApp – on English as foreign language (EFL) teachers' reflective practice. It was also aimed to probe the challenges the teachers faced to share information in their daily practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The experimental study was pretest and posttest. To do so, 60 available EFL teachers were chosen as the participants. They were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Both groups received the English language teaching (ELT) reflection inventory as the pretest and posttest. In addition, to find the difficulties EFL teachers encounter to share information in their daily practice, a week after the treatment, a semi-structured interview with 21 volunteer EFL teachers from the experimental group was carried out. As the treatment, the online discussion among the teachers regarding their daily practice took around 1 h and lasted two weeks.

Findings

The result of the posttest revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in their reflective practice. The results of the interview revealed that among other factors, the EFL teachers' lack of awareness regarding the importance of knowledge sharing, sticking to conventional methods of teaching and considering authorities' views as more trustworthy were the barriers which impede their knowledge sharing.

Social implications

The findings could inspire reconsideration of the role social media plays in Iranian EFL teacher education and its role in contributing to teachers' professional development as well as their social interaction with colleagues. The results also call for taking measures to eliminate barriers to EFL teachers' knowledge sharing, which are partly rooted in the socio-educational context.

Originality/value

Some studies have argued that knowledge sharing may contribute to the promotion of EFL teachers' reflectivity. There are also studies that have reported that teachers' involvement in sharing of knowledge does not have a significant effect on their reflective practice. Accordingly, contradictory results have been reported regarding the effectiveness of knowledge sharing in promoting teachers' reflection. In addition, exploring the impact of knowledge sharing on EFL teachers' reflectivity via WhatsApp deserves more attention.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

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Article
Publication date: 15 February 2021

Majid Farahian, Farnaz Avarzamani and Mehrdad Rezaee

Many scholars have recognized the cultural dependency of the concept of plagiarism and have investigated the influence of cultural attitude on university students' plagiarism;…

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Abstract

Purpose

Many scholars have recognized the cultural dependency of the concept of plagiarism and have investigated the influence of cultural attitude on university students' plagiarism; however, since the findings are inconsistent and because plagiarism is a major concern in academic institutions in Asia, we were motivated to examine the understanding and prevalence of plagiarism among Canadian and some Asian language students.

Design/methodology/approach

To elicit the data, the questionnaire developed by Maxwell et al. (2008) was adapted for this study. The scale included three sections. In the initial section, the students' background information was inquired. Section two included 10 scenarios, all of which consisted of two levels; understanding and experience. Section three of the scale consisted of five open-ended questions. In fact, the questions intended to complement the survey findings. Finally, in the fourth section, five yes/no questions were asked. Because the respondents could evade answering some open-ended questions, we developed five questions with yes/no answers in order to probe deeper into the participants' answers.

Findings

The results showed significant differences among the participants concerning both understanding and prevalence of plagiarism. Most of the differences were between Canadian and Asian students in that Canadians had a higher level of understanding. They also enjoyed a lower rate of incidence of plagiarism. Nevertheless, further analyses revealed that the students' academic misconduct is probably influenced by other factors including lack of proper education rather than cultural differences.

Social implications

The findings lead us to argue that cultural differences may not be the main source of the prevalence of plagiarism across nations and that Asian language university students plagiarize mainly due to a lack of understanding of the principles of plagiarism. Therefore, Asian universities should take measures to make sure that they promote language students' understanding regarding the misconduct.

Originality/value

Apart from a few studies, no other study has scrutinized plagiarism across cultures. As such, our study attempted to shed more light on the student, especially language students' plagiarism across different nations.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

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Article
Publication date: 30 July 2021

Farshad Parhamnia, Majid Farahian and Yusef Rajabi

As demonstrated in the literature, teachers’ knowledge sharing, self-efficacy and creativity display certain levels of cause-and-effect and correlational connections from…

618

Abstract

Purpose

As demonstrated in the literature, teachers’ knowledge sharing, self-efficacy and creativity display certain levels of cause-and-effect and correlational connections from different perspectives. Nonetheless, few studies, if any, have been reported on the interplay of these three concepts in the context of the language classroom. As such, this study aims to test a structural model of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ knowledge sharing, self-efficacy and creativity and specifically to examine the hypothesis that creativity mediates the relationship between EFL teachers’ knowledge sharing and self-efficacy.

Design/methodology/approach

The participants were 384 EFL teachers from different language institutes across Iran. The EFL teachers were selected based on random stratified sampling method. To verify the research hypotheses, a quantitative correlational design was used in the present study. The quantitative data was collected using three questionnaires, and then descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Therefore, we used the EFL teachers’ creativity questionnaire developed by Khany and Boghayeri (2014), knowledge sharing behavior scale by Ramayah et al. (2014) and teachers’ self-efficacy questionnaire by Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2001). To analyze the data, Pearson correlation and multiple regression were run.

Findings

The findings revealed the hypothesized model of relationships among the study variables. The results also confirmed the mediator role of creativity. The implications of the findings in relation to creativity, knowledge sharing and self-efficacy are discussed.

Originality/value

The bulk of research on teacher self-efficacy has concentrated fairly adequately on its relationship with factors such as teachers’ reflective practice, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, personality and student achievement. What seems to be rather missing in this line of research has to do with the exploration of the possible links among knowledge sharing, self-efficacy and creativity as interacting variables, especially in the context of Iran where teachers’ knowledge sharing is lower than expected. More importantly, no previous investigation has tapped into the mediating effect of creativity on the connection between English teachers’ knowledge sharing and self-efficacy.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. 71 no. 4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 7 December 2020

Mehrdad Rezaee, Majid Farahian and Hani Mansooji

The present study focused on examining the effects of a multimedia-based Internet extensive reading program on promoting the receptive skills of Iranian university students.

408

Abstract

Purpose

The present study focused on examining the effects of a multimedia-based Internet extensive reading program on promoting the receptive skills of Iranian university students.

Design/methodology/approach

In the quantitative section of this explanatory sequential mixed-method study, a pretest-posttest design was used to compare the performance of three groups of Iranian university students in terms of their degrees of improvement in receptive proficiency. Besides, the differences in the levels of motivation among the learners were sought. The three classes under study included linear text extensive reading for the first experimental group, a multimedia-based Internet extensive reading group for the other and a control group. The qualitative phase of this study included a semi-structured interview and an open-ended questionnaire.

Findings

Analysis of the results revealed that the multimedia-based Internet extensive reading group outperformed the two other groups in terms of proficiency in receptive skills. They also had a higher level of motivation for reading. The findings of the qualitative phase showed that the participants preferred working with multimedia material rather than working with linear texts, or, in other words, printed books. University EFL instructors may be the most beneficiaries of the present study, as they can gain insights into applying Internet-based extensive reading programs into their courses.

Originality/value

Although some studies have been carried out in this area, the paper provides its readers with a new procedure and methodology.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 13 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

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