Research Information System
TEPE Conference on Enhancing the value of teacher education research: Implications for policy and practice , Graz, Austria, 11 - 13 April 2022, pp.26, (Summary Text)
Many educational institutions were to switch to remote teaching with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has had a dramatic effect on teaching all around the world. Yet little is known about EFL university teachers’ beliefs at a global scale. This meta-synthesis study aimed at synthesizing and interpreting findings from research on EFL university teachers’ experiences, challenges and beliefs about the abrupt transition to remote teaching. For this purpose, a systematic review and meta-synthesis was conducted. Accordingly, twelve articles were screened and were subject to inductive qualitative data analysis. The criteria for inclusion included peer-reviewed, published, qualitative, and empirical studies on EFL teachers’ experiences, challenges and beliefs on the transition to remote teaching. The selected articles were subjected to inductive qualitative data analysis and were double-coded. Four interrelated themes emerged from the analysis of research on EFL teachers’ experiences, challenges and beliefs about the transition to remote teaching: having a low projection of oneself (e.g. inexperienced, digitally challenged, insecure, overloaded); feeling challenged by students (e.g. low proficiency level, lack of motivation, little digital literacy); feeling challenged by their context (e.g. internet disruptions, universities lack of LMS); the perceived need for professional development (e.g. wanting to update their technological pedagogical content knowledge). This meta-synthesis highlights EFL teachers' need for external support. They sought solidarity among all stakeholders (e.g. university administrations and IT providers). Results further indicated that they tried to build their professional identity through an ongoing exploration of how to be and act: EFL self-educated themselves into digital literacy and/or sought unconventional ways (e.g. using WhatsApp to deliver content) to reach out to their students, and further discussed these steps with their colleagues. Moreover, the experience, knowledge, and in-class feedback they gained seemed to have expanded but not necessarily changed EFL teachers’ core beliefs. The findings are considered to be significant as they offer insights into similar future emergencies, suggest guidelines for effective planning and practice to ensure more sustainable education in EFL and highlight the necessity of reflective practices to better understand and respond to teachers’ needs. Keywords: Teachers’ beliefs, emergency remote teaching, meta-synthesis, technological pedagogical content knowledge