Empowering teachers of English to understand their teaching
Document Type
Book Chapter
ISBN
9781443801447
Editor
Nasreen Hussain, Azra Ahmed, and Mohammad Zafar
Publication (Name of Journal)
English and empowerment in the developing world
Department
Professional Development Centre, Karachi
Publisher
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
City
Newcastle upon Tyne
Abstract
This paper reports on a research study in which two experienced teachers of English in Karachi, Pakistan from two diverse contexts were empowered to understand their teaching through narrative inquiry, which rests on the teacher's "personal practical knowledge" (Connelly & Clandinin, 1994, 1990, 1988). This paper enumerates the experiences of the teachers as research participants. Initially, the two teachers were very skeptical about the importance of their own teaching, but during the process they came to realise that they are knowledgeable and that their teaching matters. After the completion of the research study, they appreciated the research process because they realised the importance of looking into their own practices. This experience gave them insights into their teaching and they gained confidence to reflect on and understand their teaching. The findings show that engaging them in the research was a powerful means of giving them autonomy to study their own teaching because they were approached as individuals having their own knowledge of teaching, which they had developed as a result of their day-to-day experiences in their respective contexts (Beattie, 1995, 2001; Johnson, 1990; Mattice, 2002).
Recommended Citation
Bashiruddin, A.
(2009). Empowering teachers of English to understand their teaching. English and empowerment in the developing world, 62-76.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/book_chapters/198