Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Iowa, 2009. / Thesis supervisor: Leslie L. Schrier. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 328-336).

Submitted by Cássia Santos (cassia.bcufg@gmail.com) on 2017-04-17T11:42:34Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Tatiana Diello Borges - 2017.pdf: 2153806 bytes, checksum: fa1752b077fb1d1d1154781be12be116 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2017-04-17T11:52:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Tatiana Diello Borges - 2017.pdf: 2153806 bytes, checksum: fa1752b077fb1d1d1154781be12be116 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-17T11:52:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Tatiana Diello Borges - 2017.pdf: 2153806 bytes, checksum: fa1752b077fb1d1d1154781be12be116 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-31 / This research was carried out in a Modern Language Course at a federal university in central western Brazil and aimed at investigating the beliefs of an English language teacher educator about what it means to be a good English language teacher educator in the process of teaching and learning, and also at verifying the reflections of the English language teacher educator’s students, pre-service English teachers, about her beliefs. The theoretical framework was based on the field of language teachers’ education (PERRENOUD, 1999; CELANI, 2001, 2003; ALARCÃO, 2002, 2011; MATEUS, 2002; VIEIRA-ABRAHÃO, 2002; ARAÚJO, 2004; MIZUKAMI, 2005; OLIVEIRA, 2008; MAZZA; ALVAREZ, 2011; NASCIMENTO, 2011; VIANA, 2011; HALU, 2014) and beliefs about foreign language teaching/learning (PAJARES, 1992; GIMENEZ, 1994; JOHNSON, 1994; BARCELOS, 1995; HORWITZ, 1999; SILVA, 2005; SOARES; BEJARANO, 2008; PERINE, 2012; MARQUES DE OLIVEIRA, 2013; HAYASHI, 2015). The case study methodology was employed and the following data collection instruments were used: questionnaires, narrative, interviews, class observations (supported by field notes and audio recordings), and group discussion. Regarding the teacher educator’s beliefs, results suggest that she believes that the good teacher educator makes use of pair/group work, employs ludic activities in classes, values continuous education, uses technological resources, works not only with intellectuality, but also with emotions/feelings, and can influence the adoption of postures throughout pre-service teacher’s academic education and teaching practice. The data obtained also reveal the existence of a central belief in which the other beliefs of the English language teacher educator are held: the good teacher educator must pay careful attention to the learning environment so that the learner can feel comfortable to learn. It is also verified that there is congruence between the teacher educator’s beliefs and her pedagogical actions. As for the reflections of students, pre-service teachers, concerning their teacher educator’s beliefs, results indicate that they share her beliefs and understand that they influence in a positive way both their academic education and teaching practices, since they already work as English language teachers. The analysis of the students’ reflections also suggests that the teacher educator’s central belief - the good teacher educator must pay careful attention to the learning environment so that the learner can feel comfortable to learn - seems to be understood in a positive way by the students, once they demonstrate a more humanized posture because they acknowledge that the learners’ emotional framework must be taken into consideration. This study indicates the importance of seriously considering the possibility of teacher educator’s influence in relation to their undergraduate students. It is imperative to keep this in mind when dealing with teachers’ education, since teacher educator’s beliefs and actions can influence both positively and negatively. / Esta pesquisa, realizada em um curso de Letras Inglês de uma universidade pública da região centro-oeste do Brasil, teve como objetivo investigar as crenças de uma professora formadora de língua inglesa acerca do que significa ser um bom professor formador de inglês ao longo do processo de se ensinar/aprender, além de verificar as reflexões de seus alunos, professores em formação, acerca de suas crenças. O referencial teórico apoiou-se na área de formação de professores de línguas (PERRENOUD, 1999; CELANI, 2001, 2003; ALARCÃO, 2002, 2011; MATEUS, 2002; VIEIRA-ABRAHÃO, 2002; ARAÚJO, 2004; MIZUKAMI, 2005; OLIVEIRA, 2008; MAZZA; ALVAREZ, 2011; NASCIMENTO, 2011; VIANA, 2011; HALU, 2014) e de crenças no campo de ensino/aprendizagem de línguas (PAJARES, 1992; GIMENEZ, 1994; JOHNSON, 1994; BARCELOS, 1995; HORWITZ, 1999; SILVA, 2005; SOARES; BEJARANO, 2008; PERINE, 2012; MARQUES DE OLIVEIRA, 2013; HAYASHI, 2015). A metodologia escolhida foi o estudo de caso, e os seguintes instrumentos de coleta de dados foram utilizados: questionários, narrativa, entrevistas, observações de aulas, acompanhadas de anotações de campo e gravações em áudio, e grupo de discussão. Quanto às crenças da professora formadora, os resultados sugerem que ela acredita que o bom professor formador faz uso de trabalho em pares/grupos, emprega atividades lúdicas em suas aulas, preza pela formação contínua, utiliza recursos tecnológicos, não trabalha apenas com intelectualidade, mas também com emoções/sentimentos, e pode influenciar a adoção de posturas ao longo da formação e prática docente do professor em formação. Os dados obtidos também revelam a existência de uma crença central na qual se sustentam as demais crenças da professora formadora: o bom professor formador deve estar atento ao ambiente para que o aprendiz se sinta confortável para aprender. Verifica-se ainda que há congruência entre as crenças da formadora e suas ações pedagógicas. No tocante às reflexões dos alunos, professores em formação, em relação às crenças de sua docente formadora, os resultados indicam que eles compartilham de suas crenças e percebem que influenciam de modo positivo tanto em sua formação acadêmica quanto em suas práticas docentes, uma vez que já atuam como professores de língua inglesa. A análise das reflexões dos acadêmicos sugere também que a crença central da docente formadora de que o bom docente formador se preocupa em tornar o contexto de aprendizagem o mais favorável possível parece ser entendida por seus alunos positivamente, uma vez que demonstram uma postura mais humanizadora porque reconhecem que os aspectos emocionais dos aprendizes devem ser levados em consideração. Este estudo evidencia a importância de considerarmos seriamente a possibilidade de influência do docente formador em relação a seus formandos. É imprescindível ter isso em mente ao se formar professores, pois as crenças e ações dos formadores podem influenciar tanto de modo positivo quanto negativo.

In the past 30 years there has been a steady and growing appreciation in the literature of the importance and value of teachers' practical wisdom (TPW) - or phronesis as it is also known - to further an understanding of classroom practice and of the need to find ways to help teachers generate and share their perspectives with others. Nevertheless, the potential of this kind of knowledge (understood by Aristotle to be both practical and moral in its orientation) to contribute valuable insights to educational debates has still to be realised. Rather, educational decisions about policy and practice in many contexts (whether at a national or institutional level) are still largely driven by theoretical and technical knowledge perspectives and teacher practical wisdom perspectives are still often under-valued and remain under-represented in educational literature. One of the main reasons for this put forward in this thesis is the tendency in much of the literature to see this form of knowledge as classroom bound rather than to realise the ways in which it can inform broader pedagogical discussions. Bearing all of the above in mind, the aim of the study reported in this thesis into the TPW of 14 experienced expatriate English as a foreign language teachers (EEEFLTs) working in English language centres (ELCs) across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is threefold. Its first aim is to provide a platform for the EEEFLTs to demonstrate the contribution their TPW can potentially make in addressing syllabus related issues in the KSA ELCs they have worked and, in doing so, show how the use of TPW is not confined to the classroom. Its second aim is to increase the visibility of the participants' TPW and thus raise awareness of the importance of research into TPW and to provide a model for how this can be conducted. The study's final aim is to provide a deeper understanding of the nature of TPW. Located in the interpretive paradigm, this study uses a TPW-friendly methodology to investigate TPW: interpretive phronetic educational research (IPER), which approaches and conducts educational research through a moral and practical problem-driven lens. This understanding drives the study's methodology and all stages of its data collection and analysis and the methods used in both. The goal of such methods is an epistemological one to generate TPW whilst empowering it also by highlighting its validity and how it is easily articulated - and thus captured - and not confined to the classroom. To assist with its articulation and capture, the study employs a process defined as Problematisation: a four-stage process consisting of reflection, problematisation, deliberation and articulation which drives and shapes the semi-structured interviews the study employs and the secondary research questions that inform the primary research question. The study concludes that the EEEFLTs use their TPW as a lens (that has 12 qualities) through which to view KSA ELC syllabi and, in doing so, identify many problems with the syllabi and subsequent consequences and suggest solutions to address both. These problems, consequences and solutions have been organised under six prominent categories that represent six main problem areas to emerge from the data that suggest the syllabi are teacher, textbook and test-centred, top-down, teacher-proof and time-driven. These categories represent six problem areas that in turn reflect the problematic, negative and disempowering context from which the data informing such categories and themes have been drawn. In this study, TPW is considered disempowered knowledge as a result of the disempowering context within which it has been acquired and is used. Previous TPW studies have been conducted in more positive settings and have perhaps for this reason not focused on TPW's disempowerment. In contrast, this study takes on a much more political role as it explores TPW's disempowerment in the KSA ELC context as well as in the broader context of academia and the literature. TPW's lack of visibility in TESOL and education has several implications because unless TPW achieves greater visibility, it may fade into extinction and its potential may never be realised. This study has been conducted in an attempt to prevent this happening.