to immediate practice and application” (Burns, 2009, p. 114). In my case, the research addresses preschool teachers’ developing English teaching competences in the framework of a teacher education model, which is primarily concerned to accommodate both participating teachers’ individual needs and the demands of their preschool context. Both teachers’ needs and contextual demands have a tremendous influence on teachers’ disposition to introduce English into preschool (→ chapter 3). We know from research in ways language teachers develop that teacher education is “the sum of experiences and activities through which individuals learn to be language teachers” (Freeman, 2001, p. 72). During the process of developing their teaching competences, preschool teachers need to become active and reflective so that they will “think for themselves and reach their own conclusions about their professional practice” (Allwright & Hanks, 2009, p. 141; referring to Giroux 1988). Action research is an approach that supports these processes. A further distinctive feature of the study presented here is that teacher education is based on the idea of teacher development rather than teacher training: while “in teacher training content is generally defined externally and transmitted to the teacher-learner through various processes …, in teacher development the content generally stems from the teacher-learners who generate it from their experience” (Freeman, 2001, p. 76). In this sense, action research is expected to contribute to teachers’ knowledge development through teachers exploring and analysing their own practice in this study. Following the same line of thought, Burns describes action research as empowering the teachers to become ‘agents’ rather than ‘recipients’ of knowledge (Burns, 2009, p. 116).
As has been mentioned in the introduction, action research is considered to be an appropriate tool for teacher development but is equally recognised as an approach for qualitative research in general (Burns, 2007, p. 987). It has been widely used as a qualitative research approach in applied linguistics (Carr & Kemmis, 1986; McTaggart, 1997; Wallace, 1998; Burns, 1999, 2010; Edge, 2000). Qualitative researchers explore contexts of which there is little or no knowledge available yet. Therefore, they need to focus “on understanding the process of what is going on in a setting. … It is exploratory – its purpose is to discover new ideas and insights, or … [to] generate new theories” (Croker 2009, pp. 7-9; italics in original) so that first contextually grounded insights are available for further scrutiny with larger populations. Burns describes the focus of this research approach aptly as follows: “Action researchers are interested in understanding what their explorations reveal, so developing personal practitioner knowledge and ‘practical theories’ is a central focus of this type of research” (Burns, 2009, p. 114). Research practitioners (in this case preschool teachers) need to gain particular understandings that precisely relate to and are suitable for their individual situations – a process that is referred to as Exploratory Practice (Müller-Hartmann and Schocker, 2018a, p. 108; referring to Allwright & Hanks, 2009, pp. 172,173). The preschool teachers first need to gain an understanding of what it means to introduce English into their context (how the children respond to it, for example). At the same time, they need to develop a concept of the teaching processes that are appropriate for their context which involve an approach to teaching languages through tasks (→ chapter 5.8). In the research literature a distinction between action research and exploratory practice (EP) is made, depending on the intention the teacher-researcher pursues with his or her research (Hartman Müller & Schocker, 2018a, p. 108). But two conceptually distinct processes, “taking action for understanding, and taking action for change” are simultaneously involved in practitioner research, with AR focusing on taking action for change and EP focusing more on action for understanding” (Allwright & Hanks, 2009, p. 172; italics in original). The research of this study aligns both concerns: exploratory practice and action research.
After these introductory comments as regards the general research and teacher education approach of the study, the following chapters will describe the features, components and content of the teacher education project. This will be preceded by an illustrating model of the teacher education project, which I have developed to meet the particular demands of the preschool context (→ diagram 4: ‘Preschool English teacher education model through participatory action research’ in the next chapter).
5.3 An outline of the preschool English teacher education model as support system
The English teacher education model is based on the concept of participatory action research, which includes reflective practice through its investigative and exploratory nature (→ chapters 5.4.2 and 5.4.3). It involves teachers directly in the processes of researching and reflecting on the teaching and the way it affects their children’s early foreign language learning. These processes are expected to promote professional development by encouraging the teachers to be responsible for their own learning. From the aspect of accommodating demanding contextual factors (→ chapter 3), researching the effects of introducing English in their groups of children can be the initial motivating factor for the teachers to become involved in the teaching process.
Wallace’s ‘Reflective Practice Model of Professional Development’ fundamentally informed the design of my model (→ diagram 3). His central focus is on the practice element that supports teachers to develop their professional competence by reflecting on their practical experiences through which their initial ideas and concepts are challenged and developed. Theoretical knowledge is integrated in the process of reflection (Wallace, 199, p. 56).
Diagram 3: ‘Reflective Practice Model of Professional Development’ (Wallace 1991: 49)
This diagram is included again for further discussion in chapter 5.4.3.
My teacher education model is more comprehensive than Wallace’s because it needs to accommodate the specifically challenging context of a preschool learning environment. It would need to be tailored to meet the particular needs of preschool teachers and their learners in an interdependent process by providing a comprehensive support structure. Otherwise, teachers’ initial concerns and contextual constraints might have impeded the implementation of the project. Consequently, the model integrates three central features and provides a number of components that are expected to support participating teachers’ development. Features and components will be discussed below.
Diagram 4: Preschool English teacher education model through participatory action research
NB: The numbering in the model is there for the convenience of referring to the corresponding features.
The English teacher education is situated at the workplace of participating preschool teachers throughout duration of the project, in other words, it takes place in situ (→ # 1) (→ chapter 5.4.1). The advantages of this basic feature are obvious: it allows participating teachers to explore their own teaching context and it provides a familiar environment for teachers to work in. Through this, the teachers are able to gain credible first-hand experience of the potential of introducing English within their contexts and it provides vivid and trustworthy insights into the teaching processes. While in situ education offers practical opportunities for the teachers to develop their English teaching competences, looking at it from the aspect of accommodating the contextual factors, it aims at providing the teachers with opportunities to reassess their reservations about introducing English in their context so that they become involved and motivated to participate in the teacher research project.
Stage 1 of the model indicates what the participating teachers and the teacher educator contribute to the teaching and learning situation. Participating teachers are qualified preschool teachers. Often the term ‘second or foreign language teacher education’ is used to refer to “how beginning language teachers acquire knowledge and skills and begin to build a working model of effective teaching” (Wright, 2010, p. 260; referring to Burns & Richards, 2009) – but in the study that is presented here participants are experienced preschool teachers in-service who are to be educated to teach English as