English Language Teaching BA program students´ research skills: a divorce between content and professional knowledge

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Tuesday III)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Teacher preparation and professional development in the Chilean context

Proposal

Several studies show the impact of a research skills-based component on the quality of newly certified teachers and the need to foster their professional immersion (Burns & Westmacott, 2018; Aliaga-Salas, 2017; Burns, Westmacott & Hidalgo, 2016; Smith, 2014), but few instances are offered to develop trainees` content knowledge and professional knowledge research skills (Barahona, 2016, 2014; Darwin & Barahona, 2018; De Florio, 2016; Vivanco-Torres, 2016).
Within the understanding that English Language Teacher Preparation (ELT) Programs should foster systems thinking, problem/issue-based inquiry, solving and decision making, and critical pedagogy through the broad core content knowledge and professional knowledge research skills (Bürgener & Barth, 2018; Evans et al., 2017; Ávalos, 2016; UNESCO, 2014), we examine the extent to which Chilean English Teacher Education approaches education for sustainability (Bürgener & Barth, 2018) in teaching content knowledge and professional knowledge research skills (CNA CHILE, 2018, 2017, 2016). Recent studies show that research skills contribute to diminish the theory-practice divorce encompassed in teacher education curriculum by developing the ability of teachers in training for reflective inquiry. Thus, initial teacher education trainees develop skills to not only understand the constraints school-based contexts pose but also to take tailored-to-context-actions (Darwin & Barahona, 2018; De Florio, 2016).
Generalized agreement and understanding points out that ELT preparation programs should be addressing teaching and learning issues through research, specially, given the recommendations raised by the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment of BA degrees (CNA CHILE, 2018). The CNA Accreditation report states that teacher education programs should include/offer research skills. Thus, the English Open Doors Program (PIAP, 2015) has pointed out the need to examine the ELT curriculum structure in an attempt to guarantee research-based courses by either during the regular program´s training or through the continuing education programs (PIAP, 2015).
One of the weaknesses observed during the accreditation processes of Teacher Education programs carried out in 2016 and 2017 lies on the research /based skills component, i.e., there are no courses offered that either promote or guarantee research skills among trainees, theoretically and/or professionally (CNA CHILE, 2018). Thus, the Teacher Education policy on teacher education programs mandates Teacher Education to offer research preparation, within which action-research has arisen as the main trend (CNA CHILE, 2018; CPEIP, 2018).
Through a systematic review and critical appraisal methods (Zhu, Sari, Miyoung Lee, 2018) of the syllabi of ELT programs offered nationwide, we show (i) what rationale approaches are being used to develop sustainability education (Evans et al., 2017) and (ii) how the core content knowledge and professional knowledge research skills are offered across the curriculum areas and courses. We also examined the objectives, theoretical and pedagogical approaches of research skills courses offered by two local southern ELT programs to identify how they contribute to diminish the theory-practice divorce and develop trainees´ ability for reflective inquiry.

Findings show that core research skills courses foster trainees` progressive understanding of content knowledge research skills, but there exists a divorce between content and professional knowledge. Thus, teacher preparation graduates would be unable to reach coherent understanding between a generalist and English Language Teaching type of research training, which might not guarantee that the research skills-based component engages trainees into ELT research.

Author

• José Gabriel Brauchy, Universidad del Bío-Bío