What is the impact of the Libyan study abroad scholarship programme on returning university-level English teachers ? [Ressource électronique] / Nwara Abdulhamid

Master of Arts : Applied linguistics and discourse studies : Carleton University : 2011

Bibliogr. p. 166-184

Since 1972, Libya has made considerable efforts to improve teacher standards and to attend to the needs of Libyan public institutions and academia, by funding students to pursue graduate and post-graduate studies abroad. However, since the introduction of the Libyan Study Abroad Scholarship Programme the impact of such programme on returning university-level English teachers has not been examined. By using questionnaires, followed by semi-structured interviews this study investigates the impact of the Libyan Study Abroad Scholarship Programme on teachers' beliefs and classroom practices of three returning university-level English teachers. It examines the teachers' accounts of whether it changed their approaches to teaching, and the nature of those changes. Analyses of the data provide a promising indication that this programme for professional development has had an impact on teachers and their classroom practices. In addition, the analyses found that teacher' beliefs and perception of effective instruction is an important predictor of these outcomes. It also highlighted factors such as student culture, the prevalent Libyan culture of learning, and the lack of supporting resources , which may impede the implementation of teachers' innovative classroom practices. Suggestions are offered in relation to these findings in order to support returning university level teachers after the completion of their degrees abroad. The relationships uncovered in this study between the Libyan Study Abroad Scholarship Programme and future classroom practices of returning university teachers have implications for curriculum innovation, teacher enhancement programmes, and for language classroom research.