An investigation into english teachers practices of using individual development plan as a tool for their professional development at tien giang university

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES --- NGUYEN THI ANH THU AN INVESTIGATION INTO ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PRACTICES OF USING INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMEN

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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NGUYEN THI ANH THU

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PRACTICES OF USING

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN AS A TOOL FOR THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

AT TIEN GIANG UNIVERSITY

MA THESIS IN EDUCATION

SUPERVISOR:

HUE, 2013

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

-

NGUYEN THI ANH THU

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PRACTICES OF USING INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN AS A TOOL FOR THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT TIEN GIANG UNIVERSITY

FIELD OF STUDY: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY

OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

CODE: 60.14.10

MA THESIS IN EDUCATION

SUPERVISOR: ASSOC PROF DR TRUONG VIEN

HUE, 2013

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

-

NGUYEN THI ANH THU

NGHIÊN CỨU THỰC TẾ SỬ DỤNG

KẾ HOẠCH PHÁT TRIỂN CÁ NHÂN NHƯ LÀ MỘT CÔNG

CỤ PHÁT TRIỂN NGHIỆP VỤ CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG

ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC TIỀN GIANG

CHUYÊN NGÀNH:

LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY - HỌC MÔN TIẾNG ANH

MÃ SỐ: 60.14.10

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ GIÁO DỤC HỌC

NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC:

PGS TS TRUONG VIEN

HUẾ, 2013

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and the findings discussed in the thesis are true, and have not been published elsewhere

Author Nguyen Thi Anh Thu

ABSTRACT

In the Vietnam EFL context, there are various activities English teachers may consider for their professional development Each teacher has his/her own tools to improve their professional competence and to pursue their lifelong professional development The Individual development plan (IDP) may be considered as one of the most effective, practical tools for teachers‟ professional development among the others such as action research, reflective teaching, teaching portfolios, workshops, collaborative work and classroom observation, etc., This thesis aims to explore the perceptions and reality of employing the IDP as a professional development tool of teachers of English at Tien Giang University

The participants are twenty-five teachers of English at Tien Giang University To conduct this investigation, Questionnaire and Interviews were used The received data was converted into percentage and analyzed by SPSS program (Version 17.0) The results indicated that most English teachers feel the IDP in fact a useful tool They held positive perceptions and highly appreciated the significance of using the IDP as a professional development tool However, there still existed some difficulties hindering their growth such as time constraint due to excessive workload and demanding teacher life

Based on the findings, suggestions are drawn out not only for teachers to carry out the IDP effectively but also for administrators as a concrete support for the progress

of fulfilling the teachers‟ plans

of this thesis Additionally, the useful references he provided a long with his enthusiastic instruction and valuable feedback throughout the entire work helped raise my thesis to its present standard

Second, I am particularly grateful for the assistance given by

Dr Annie Priest for spending her valuable time giving comments and editing my writing

Third, I would like to offer my special thanks to Assoc Prof Dr Tran Van Phuoc, Assoc Prof Dr Le Pham Hoai Huong, Dr Pham Hoa Hiep, Dr Pham Thi Hong Nhung, Dr Truong Bach Le, and Dr Ton Nu Nhu Huong for their devotion during the post-graduate course in the academic year 2011-2013

My colleagues from Tien Giang University participated in my research I want to thank them for all their help, support, interest and valuable hints

I wish to send my last expression of greatest gratitude to my husband who shared me all the difficulties and housework to create

me the most favorable conditions to take the MA course as well as to fulfill this thesis.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pages Contents

SUB COVER PAGE i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iii

ABSTRACT iv

ACKOWLEDGEMENTS v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Rationale 2

1.3 Research aims 4

1.4 Research questions 4

1.5 Research Significance 4

1.6 Research Scope 4

1.7 Thesis Structure 4

CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Teacher Professional Development (PD) 6

2.1.1 Definition of Professional Development 6

2.1.2 The importance of Teacher Professional Development 8

2.2 Individual Development Plan (IDP) as an effective tool for PD 9

2.2.1 Definition of Individual Development Plan 9

2.2.2 Purpose of Individual Development Plan 11

2.2.3 Common PD tools/activities for teachers to employ in their IDP 12

2.2.3.1 IDP as a general personal professional development tools 13

2.2.3.1.1 Knowledge 13

2.2.3.1.2 Conference/Workshop 13

2.2.3.1.3 Action research 14

2.2.3.1.4 Diaries /Journals 14

2.2.3.1.5 Field notes 14

2.2.3.1.6 Portfolios 15

2.2.3.1.7 Reflective Teaching 15

2.2.3.1.8 Individual Development Plan 15

2.2.3.2 Group Professional Development tools 15

2.2.3.2.1 Collaborative Study Groups 16

2.2.3.2.2 Class Observation 16

2.2.3.2.3 Mentoring 17

2.2.3.2.4 Collaborative or Team Teaching 17

2.3 Previous studies 18

2.4 Conducting IDP at Tien Giang University 22

2.5 Summary 23

CHAPTER 3 - METHODOLOGY 24

3.1 Research design: 24

3.2 Participants and research site 24

3.3 Method of data analysis 25

3.4 Research Procedures 25

3.5 The research instrument for data collection 26

3.5.1 Questionnaires 26

3.5.2 Interviews 27

3.6 Conclusion 28

CHAPTER 4 - FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 30

4.1 English teachers‟ perceptions and reality of adopting individual development plan for their professional development 31

4.1.1 General perceptions of English teachers about professional development 32

4.1.2 English teachers‟ perceptions about individual development plan 34

4.1.3 The IDP activities that English teachers find beneficial to their career 36

4.1.4 The IDP activities that English teachers frequently use 38

4.2 The advantages and disadvantages of using IDP for PD 44

4.2.1 The advantages of using IDP for professional development 44

4.2.2 The disadvantages of using IDP for professional development 45

4.3 The suggestions of the English teachers for effective IDP practice 48

4.3.1 The suggestions for section of English 48

4.3.2 The suggestions for Tien Giang University 48

4.3.3 The suggestions for Tien Giang Department of Education and Training 49

4.4 Summary of the findings 49

4.5 Discussion on the findings 50

4.5.1 Teachers‟ perceptions of professional development and IDP tool 50

4.5.2 Teachers‟ perceptions and their actual use of some most common IDP activities 51

4.5.3 The advantages and disadvantages that the teachers face in IDP implementation 52

CHAPTER 5 - CONCLUSSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 54

5.1 Summary of the findings 54

5.1.1 Findings on the teachers‟ perceptions about doing IDP for PD 54

5.1.2 Findings on the reality of adopting individual development plan by EFL teachers for professional development 55

5.2 Pedagogical implications 55

5.2.1 Implications for teachers 55

5.2.2 Implications for administrators 57

5.3 Limitation of the study 59

5.4 Suggestion for further research 59

REFERENCES 60

APPENDICES 68

APPENDIX 1: Individual Development Plan Form 68

APPENDIX 2: Questionnaire 69

APPENDIX 3: Interview questions 74

APPENDIX 4: Raw calculations of the questionnaire 75

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES

LISTS OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Profile of Participants 26

Table 3.2 The six clusters of the questionnaire 27

Table 4.1 Reliability Statistics of the questionnaire 31

Table 4.2 The mean score of six clusters 32

Table 4.3 The One Sample T-Test result of six clusters 33

Table 4.4 The mean score and percentage of English teachers‟ perception toward the importance of professional development 33

Table 4.5 The mean score and percentage of English teachers‟ perceptions toward the importance of IDP 36

Table 4.6 Summary of English teachers‟ responses to each item in cluster 3 38

Table 4.7 The mean score and percentage of the advantages using IDP 46

Table 4.8 The mean score and percentage of the disadvantages using IDP 47

LISTS OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Using the Internet of English teachers 39

Figure 4.2 Using Reflective teaching of English teachers 41

Figure 4.3 English teachers‟ Class Observation 42

Figure 4.4 English teacher‟ conference /workshop attendance 43

Figure 4.5 Diary/journal using of English teachers 44

LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 EFL: English as a Foreign Language

2 IDP: Individual Development Plan

3 IDPs: Individual Development Plans

4 PD: Professional Development

5 PDP: Personal Development Plan

6 TPD: Teacher Professional Development

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Nowadays, no one can deny the fact that English is a means of international communication in most of the fields from daily life to politics, science, healthcare, etc (Pham, 2006) The demand to study English is therefore more and more increasing It urges English teachers to pursue non-stop learning to become qualified teachers

It is said that studies are like the drift boats that go upstream, if they do not move forward; surely they will be swept backward This statement uses the simile to image the learning process of people with boats floating upstream, they do not stand

at ease, but they come either forward or backward Being teachers, it does not mean

we can stop our learning because knowledge is infinite, so vivid and changing, evolving Every minute passes, so much new knowledge emerges into society; if we

do not study, we will lag behind Brown (1994, as cited in Pham, 2001, p.1) remarks: “[o]ne of the most interesting things about teaching is that you never stop learning” Besides, there is a common saying that compares knowledge with the horizon, the more we go to it, the wider it becomes Accordingly, continuing professional development is considered as the task which any teacher, under any circumstance and condition, cannot ignore The education and professional development of every teacher needs to be seen as a lifelong task It is a key tool that keeps teachers abreast of current issues in education, helps them implement innovations, and refines their practice (Cook and Fine, 1996) According to Pham (2001, p.1), “teacher development is the process of lifelong learning in the teaching profession; it involves any activities aiming to achieve personal and professional growth for teachers”

The importance of professional development was also discussed by many educators and linguists such as Guskey (2000), Head and Taylor (1997), Ur (1999) Studies of effective tools for teachers to use for their professional development are mentioned

in Nunan (1989), Hopkins (1993), Freeman (1998), Diaz-Maggioli (2004), Bastida (1996) In Vietnam, Pham (2001) examines teacher training and teacher development and indicates that although “teacher development has been a familiar notion in the ELT profession for the last few decades; it is relatively new and receives insufficient attention in Vietnam.”(p.1)

Among the tools that teachers can use for their professional development such as action research, reflective teaching, teaching portfolios, workshops, collaborative work and classroom observation, etc., individual development plan (IDP) or personal development plan (PDP) is considered as one of effective tools, a best practice for teachers‟ professional development (Noro and Charlotte, 2005) The IDP maps out the general path you want to take and helps match skills and strengths

to your career choices Pohl (2010) asserts that the IDP “provides an opportunity for individuals to take responsibility for their own learning, professional development and growth” (p.4)

However, documents of using individual plan as a professional tool, to my knowledge, have not still been found It is also the motivation for me to do this

investigation: An Investigation into English Teachers’ Practices of Using

Individual Development Plan as a Tool for Their Professional Development at Tien Giang University

1.2 Rationale

This study was carried out for the following reasons:

First, professional development of teachers is a lifelong process which should begin with the individual development plan Whenever a teacher has a positive awareness

of the importance of professional development, he will think of a development plan for himself It is without doubt that every task will be done smoothly if it is carefully planned in advance An individual development plan can outline what

career goals a teacher wants to accomplish and what steps he can take to meet those goals An IDP can be a useful tool to guide development and assess progress toward career goals and objectives

Second, anecdotal evidence indicates that most teachers have done individual development plan at least once in their life through a variety of ways such as: thinking for some minutes about the goals they want to achieve at sometime beginning of a year or a new school year, doing the lesson plans that are suitable to new methods and to their proficiency, mapping out a teaching strategy for a specific group of students However, the IDP that the teachers have done is quite unprompted and informal It has not got much attention from the school-based administrators This thesis offers an opportunity for participants to outline for themselves the professional development plans that are more concrete and precise – the plans with specific goals, ways to conduct, expected results In this study, I would like to explore the benefits as well as the difficulties that the teachers meet to implement their own development plan Moreover, I hope this study will attract the attention from the administrators to see the real value of having the IDP as a useful tool for teachers‟ professional development and to establish and approve individual professional development plans for all instructional staff Because the IDP process

is a “continuing cycle of planning, implementation and evaluation between an employee and supervisor, for the mutual benefit of both the employee and the organization”

(http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/hrdapp?area=home&subject=trai&topic=idp)

Third, as an English teacher, I find individual development plan has a significant meaning in my teaching career I hope to benefit from doing this study in investigating teachers‟ perceptions and practice of using IDP as a professional development tool I do hope to get more insights into the use of this tool from my colleagues on their way of professional development Thanks to that I can improve

my teaching experience

1.3 Research aims

This study aims at investigating our college teachers‟ perceptions of using IDP as a tool for their professional development; seeing how they understand and use IDP in reality as well as raising their awareness of the importance of using IDP as a professional development tool; identifying the advantages as well as difficulties that they face in IDP implementation; and providing suggestions for teachers and administrators doing IDP effectively at Tien Giang University

1.4 Research questions

The research aims to answer the following questions:

1 What are the teachers‟ perceptions of using the individual development plan?

2 What is the reality of adopting the IDP for professional development by the English teachers?

3 What are suggestions for doing the individual development plan effectively?

1.5 Research Significance

It is expected that the findings will help English teachers sense their perceptions of the effectiveness of professional development tool, help them create better individual development plans for the purpose of professional development From this, we can learn from each other how to implement individual development plan

for our lifelong professional development

1.6 Research Scope

The study will be carried out at Tien Giang University with 25 teachers from the Foreign Language Faculty and the Foreign Language Centre

1.7 Thesis structure

This thesis consists of five chapters:

Chapter One introduces the background, the rationale, the purposes and research questions, the significance and scope of the study, and the thesis structure

Chapter Two presents a Literature Review with the definitions of professional development and individual development plan as well as their importance

Chapter Three presents the research methodology

Chapter Four shows and discusses the findings of the study

Chapter Five offers the conclusion, implications and limitations as well as the suggestions for the further studies

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents some definitions of Professional Development, discusses its importance, and mentions some common effective tools for teacher professional development It also clarifies the meaning and significance of Individual Development Plan (IDP) with the purposes and benefits of adopting the IDP as a tool for Professional Development

2.1 Teacher Professional Development

2.1.1 Definition of Professional Development

Many researchers such as Underhill (1988), Head and Taylor (1997), Castellano and Datnow (2000), Pham (2001) have defined and mentioned Teacher Professional Development under the term Teacher Development or Professional Development Pham‟s definition focuses on both personal and professional aspects of the purposes

of teacher development:

“Teacher development is the process of lifelong learning in the teaching profession; it involves any activities aiming to achieve personal and professional growth for teachers” (p.31)

According to Diaz-Maggioli (2003), professional development is an ongoing learning process in which teachers engage voluntarily to learn how best to adjust their teaching to the learning needs of their students This definition asserts professional development is not a one-shot but a long-term process of professional reflection and growth Nunan and Richards (1990) share the same idea when they discuss about the long-lasting process of teacher development It is also theorized

by Underhill (cited in Head & Taylor, 1997) that professional development was a continuous process of transforming human potential into human performance, a process that is never finished

In education systems, Teacher Professional Development is described as a process embracing all activities that enhance professional career growth (Rogan & Grayson 2003; Tecle 2006) or as formal and informal experiences throughout the teacher‟s career (Hargreaves & Fullan, 1992; Arends et al 1998)

Fiorentino (2010) gives a more detailed definition of professional development as follows:

Professional Development is an organized system for providing opportunities for staff members to improve the skills and knowledge needed to effectively teach students the curriculum, provide a supportive and nurturing environment, understand and motivate students with varying needs, and successfully communicate with parents and guardians This system also offers opportunities for all personnel to develop their capacities to perform specific job responsibilities at optimal levels and provides for the development of leadership skills (p.11)

This definition reveals many tasks that the teachers have to undertake for their professional development It not only focuses on the career or the classroom environment, but also on the other related activities such as improvement subject-matter knowledge, understanding of learners, the relationship between teachers and students, between teachers and parents and guardians, etc

In her research in 2003, Duong pointed out the difference between the terms

“Teacher Development” and “Professional Development” In her view, these two terms are not necessarily the same Professional development has a career focus whereas teacher development has a classroom focus However, in this thesis, they are all used to refer to the professional activities teachers carry out to improve classroom practices and develop their profession

A teacher, according to his/her ability and interest, can choose for himself/herself a suitable way to improve his/her profession Richards and Farrell (2005) suggest that the teachers should have short-term as well as long-term objectives for their professional development They also emphasize the responsibility of the schools

and administrators is “to provide opportunities for continued professional education and to encourage teachers to participate in them” (p.3)

2.1.2 The importance of Teacher Professional Development

Vietnam, in the integrated period to the world, pays special attention to the importance of teaching and learning English Training teachers with high professional competence is the duty of great significance However, the training course itself, according to Pham‟s research (2001), is not the end of a career After the course there is still life and trainees must face reality at home Hence, along with teacher training, teacher development must be a vital component in teacher education

After university graduation, some language teachers seem to be complacent about their hard-won positions, some do not have sufficient awareness of teacher development or favorable conditions to improve their quality of teaching As a result, they are not as qualified as others who have an insight of the importance of teacher development

The importance of teachers and their competence in the teaching-learning process has also been discussed by many scholars (Komba & Nkumbi, 2008; Mosha, 2004; Rogan, 2004) It is believed that the teacher is the heart of classroom instruction (Hawes 1979; Galabawa 2001) Teacher professional development provides opportunities for teachers to explore new roles, develop new instructional techniques, refine their practice and broaden themselves both as educators and as individuals Thus, according to Richards and Renandya (2002, p.385) “it is imperative that professional growth become a top priority”

Moreover, the process of professional development has a significant impact on teacher‟s beliefs and practices and on the implementation of education reforms (Young, 2001; Falk, 2001; Tatto, 1999) With regard to the effect of teachers‟ professional development on students‟ learning, Diaz-Maggioli (2003) supports the fact that professional development has become increasingly important as a way to

ensure that teachers succeed in matching their teaching goals with their students‟ learning needs

In summary, the significance of professional development to teachers‟ classroom practice and student learning has been affirmed by many educators and linguists

PD is believed to be a common and necessary approach to improving not only teacher quality but also student learning outcomes It can be concluded that teachers

in the new paradigm should be active and capable Their teaching needs to be improved and developed in accordance with social changes, academic growth, and the needs of the learners

2.2 The Individual Development Plan as an effective tool for Professional Development

2.2.1 Definitions of Individual Development Plan (IDP)

In the booklet called “Individual Development Plan User Guide” (2008) for NOAA Corps Officers, IDP is thought of as a tool to help individuals reach career goals within the context of organizational objectives It is a developmental "action" plan

to move the individual from where they are to where they want to go It provides the systematic steps to build on strengths and overcome weaknesses as individuals improve job performance and pursue career goals It is also a tool for all teaching

staff regardless of status or performance

Diaz-Maggioli (2003) makes a point to consider that IDP as “a structured series of actions aimed at enhancing teacher performance”(p.8) This option is best suited for professionals who do not have any major problems in their performance It can also help novice teachers and professionals at other stages of the career cycle improve their teaching repertoire Moreover, Reyna and Sims (1995) share the same idea to assume that the IDP is a tool to help “facilitate career development and enhance the quality of training” (p.1)

Rama Rao (2009) states that IDP focuses on the strengths and developmental areas

of an employee, it encourages the employee to look at ways to leverage his/her strengths, document the same and write out action steps.

Burmaster (2005) confirms that a professional development plan addresses the needs of the individual educator by enhancing his or her knowledge and skills and thus the quality of student learning She emphasizes the professional development plan as “part of a cycle of professional growth”

An individual development plan, according to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, is

“a document completed by individual for the plan of self development over the next period, usually one year” This plan is then reviewed and discussed by supervision

to match the individual goals with company goals Various options and approaches

to achieve the plan are also discussed The plans can be reviewed to see to what extent the goal is fulfilled and then what the new goals and plans are for the next year

The Higher Education Academy (2012) considered the IDP as a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development The IDP embraces a range of approaches to learning that connect planning (an individual's goals and intentions for learning or achievement), doing (aligning actions to intentions), recording (thoughts, ideas, experiences, in order to understand and evidence the process and results of learning) and reflection (reviewing and evaluating experiences and the results of learning)

Jacobson (cited in Polh, 2010) recognizes that IDP should be used as a tool to leverage employee strengths/talents and provide new skills and knowledge to help employees perform better in their jobs

Polh (2010) highlights the role of the supervisors in implementing IDP He asserts that IDP is a key element in the effective management and development of employees The core of the IDP is goal development, goal achievement and career planning

However, without a coaching relationship it is nearly impossible for employees

to establish personal and professional goals and steps to achieve them; supervisor support is critical in this process Coaching facilitates the IDP

process; with a good communication process and the utilization of best coaching practices, it is possible to utilize the IDP to achieve effective performance management and employee development (p.36)

In short, according to Burmaster (2005), the professional development plan should include:

1 goal(s) and objectives

2 identified activities related to the professional development goal(s) with evidence of application to the classroom or learning community;

3 a timeline for achieving the professional development goals with evidence

of annual review of the objectives and activities;

4 evidence of collaboration with others; and

5 an assessment plan that specifies indicators of professional growth and how meeting the goal(s) will improve the educator‟s professional knowledge and have an effect on student learning (p.11)

An IDP form from US Department of Commerce (2001) can be a good reference (see Appendix 1, p.70)

2.2.2 Purposes of Individual Development Plan

Noro and Charlotte (2005) identify the purposes of the IDP, which are to assist with:

(1) identifying professional goals and objectives;

(2) assessing an individual‟s skill set relative to their career goals;

(3) developing a plan to acquire the skills and competencies needed to achieve short and long-term career objectives (p.1)

Additionally, IDPs are excellent tools that supervisors can use to develop and motivate their staff (Jacobson, cited in Polh, 2010)

Rama Rao (2009) also shows some other purposes of having an IDP He mentions IDPs to provide direction to career development as they are not generic, but based

on assessment of areas for improvement given the employee‟s current role and perhaps the immediate future role Also, they are prepared jointly by the employees

and their managers Hence, to realize the plans is a commitment on both sides IDPs normally state what competencies are attempted to be built or what gaps are aimed

to be closed and therefore, they help employees to build competence, confidence and comfort with their roles

In general, IDP gives people the opportunity to think about what they want to achieve and makes them conscious about their goals either in the short or in the long term Through this process they can monitor their progress, keep themselves motivated and gain a positive attitude towards a lifelong learning culture which strives to improve their talents (Brodie, 2007)

2.2.3 Common PD tools/activities for teachers to employ in their IDP

Language teachers may find it beneficial to include various tools for professional development in their individual development plan Another alternative, which is the focus of this thesis, is that they may set up their own individual development plan that includes their favourite PD activities with clear goals and schedules

Teachers need to be aware of which PD tools are the most appropriate for their ability and their own context These tools can be categorized into two groups The first can be practiced by individual teachers such as improving knowledge, attending conference or workshop, doing action research, keeping diaries or journals, designing an IDP and so on The next can be practiced in collaboration with colleagues, for example, class observation, mentoring, and team teaching

2.2.3.1 IDP as a general personal professional development tools

IDP may act as a general professional development plan that includes a number of professional development tools/activities teachers are interested in for their PD The following personal PD tools/activities may be among the IDP of a language teacher

Shulman et al (in Diaz-Maggioli, 2004) that the professional knowledge which the language teachers should focus on consists of three types: content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge and contextual knowledge The first type, content knowledge, as defined by Day and Conklin (1992), is the knowledge of subject matter such as syntax, semantics, phonology, pragmatics and so on General pedagogical knowledge refers to teaching methodology, generic teaching strategies and classroom management Gerges (2001) supports this, saying that pedagogical knowledge can be understood as “the content, skills, and strategies required for effective teaching” Contextual knowledge is the kind of knowledge that mentions

to learning environment of the learners as well as the community

2.2.3.1.2 Conference/Workshop

Workshops are one of the most common and useful forms of professional development activities for teachers (Richards et al., 2001) According to Richards‟ definition (2005), a workshop is an intensive, short-term learning activity that is designed to provide an opportunity to acquire specific knowledge and skills It can also provide opportunities for participants to examine their beliefs or perspectives

on teaching and learning, and use this process to reflect on their own teaching practices During these events, the teachers can consolidate, learn and share their teaching experiences with the others A well-conducted workshop can have a lasting impact on its participants and workshops can plan a key role in achieving a school‟s institutional goals as well as meeting some of the individual needs of its teachers

2.2.3.1.3 Action research

Action research is the process by which teachers carefully examine their own teaching practice Mcniff et al., (1996) define action research as the way of doing research to improve one‟s own profession Diaz-Maggioli (2003) stresses that action research is a powerful development tool for professionals who are exploring their role as effectiveness It can help teachers reflect their classroom practice, improve teaching experiences, develop their research skills, and acquire growth in their professions Richard & Farrell (2005) analyses action research into two dimensions:

“action” and “research” “Action” refers to taking practical action to resolve

classroom problems “Research” refers to a systematic approach to carrying out investigations and collecting information that is designed to illuminate an issue or

problem and to improve classroom practice

2.2.3.1.4 Diaries /Journals

A teaching journal is an ongoing written account of observations, reflections, and other thoughts about teaching in a form of notebook or electronic mode which serves as a record of incidents, problems or insights that occurred during lessons (Richard & Farrell, 2005) Journal writing can also be carried out alone in the form

of a diary Keeping diaries or journals can be seen as a common way for teachers to develop their profession Diaz-Maggioli (2003b) believes that journal writing helps extend interaction time between colleagues and is particularly suitable with teachers who have different levels of expertise or different need.

2.2.3.1.5 Field notes

For language teachers, using field notes is an effective way to improve their profession Field notes are brief documents that remind both learners and teachers that observations have been made and feedback has been provided They are designed to be generic for convenience and versatility They contain the overheard comments, observations and discussions with colleagues and learners Field notes should be shared among teachers to make the most of effectiveness

2.2.3.1.6 Portfolios

Richard & Farrell (2005) define teaching portfolio as a collection of documents and other items that provides information about different aspects of a teacher‟s work The three purposes of creating a portfolio are: a) to provide a demonstration of how

a teacher approaches his work and presents evidence of his thinking, creativity, resourcefulness, and effectiveness; b) to serves as a source of review and reflection; c) to promote collaboration with other teachers (p.98)

Diaz-Maggioli (2004) divides portfolio into four main factors: a specific purpose, a

specific audience, work sample or evidence, and teacher reflection

2.2.3.1.7 Reflective Teaching

The term “reflective practice” coined by Schon (1987), focuses on the ways people think about their experiences and formulate responses as the experiences happen Reflection refers to thinking about teaching, which involves the thoughts teachers have during (reflection-in-teaching), before, and after (reflection-on-teaching) the actual enactment of a lesson (Krause, 2004, cited in Clarke, 2010) Richards (1990) finds reflection as a key component of teacher development because it is a response

to a past experience and involves conscious recall and examination of the experience as a basic for evaluation and decision-making and as a source for planning and action

2.2.3.1.8 Individual Development Plan

Diaz-Maggioli (2003) uses this term to refer to a structured series of actions that individual teachers do to enhance their performance Nevertheless, when adopting this plan as a professional development tool, the teachers should include clear goals and objectives, a schedule of activities for the academic term, a budget if necessary, specification of learning outcomes, and an evaluation

Burmaster (2005) adds the idea that writing an IDP allows the educator to direct his

or her own professional growth and determine how that growth will have an effect

on student learning

To be successful in PD, teachers need to adopt the most appropriate IDP activities for their own context Pettis (2002) suggests that the teachers should make many

professional development activities their personal plan because it is the teachers‟

responsibility to continuously undertake a wide range of activities to improve their teaching competence The present study only reviews the activities that significantly foster the PD of English language teachers By IDP activities, this study means tools that teachers choose for their professional purposes

2.2.3.2 Group Professional Development Tools

In addition to the individual professional development tools that teachers may practice by themselves, the following activities, which need the collaboration among teachers, can also be useful for the teachers‟ IDP

2.2.3.2.1 Collaborative Study Groups

A collaborative study group or a teacher support group is defined by Richard & Farrell (2005) as two or more teachers collaborating to achieve either their individual or shared goals or both on the assumption that working with a group is usually more effective than working on one‟s own From this collaboration, Diaz-Maggioli (2003) adds, the teachers support each other at the personal and

professional levels and create opportunities from within the profession

Okwen (2003) suggests three phases of classroom observation model: observation meetings, observation of the lesson itself and post-observation meetings

pre Prepre observation meetings: Devoted to setting targets for observation

- Observation proper: Devoted to collecting data on set target

- Post-observation meetings: Looking back at the lessons taught through data collected and planning for future action

2.2.3.2.3 Mentoring

Mentoring, as defined by Diaz-Maggolio (2004) is a process of mutual growth, during which the mentor, usually an experienced and highly successful teacher, and the mentee, usually a less experienced colleague, engage in cycles of active learning that result in improvement of practice of those involved Mentors provide advice,

support, encouragement, and modeling for their mentees Conversely, the mentees can provide mentors with opportunities to use and reflect on their expertise Mentoring can get the success in case both mentors and mentees have to be

responsible and willing to allocated sufficient time for collaborative work

2.2.3.2.4 Collaborative or Team Teaching

Richard & Farrell (2005) describe team teaching as a process in which two or more teachers share the responsibility for teaching a class Team teaching is an effective means of teacher development and also helps to develop creativity because when team teaching, both teachers know they are teaching for their colleague as well as for their learners In addition, the learners also benefit from having two teachers present in the class They experience two different styles of teaching and have more opportunity for individual interaction with a teacher

In summary, to successfully pursue their career, teachers of English can adopt a number of PD activities and tools depending on their own situations Ideally, all of these PD tools should be part of their IDP, so that they find it both obligatory and encouraging to constantly pursue the short-term and long-term plans for their professional development

Although there exist multiple IDP activities that can foster the PD of English language teachers in the literature, this paper choose to study some popular activities that are appropriate for English teachers in context of Tien Giang University, includes using internet, keeping teaching diaries, reflective teaching, workshops or conferences and class observation Accordingly, all teachers should

be aware of IPD activities that provide them with opportunities to find out their own teaching quality and purify their teaching practices by employing new techniques, widening knowledge Internet is chosen because with the development of technology, it can be seen as a useful tool that helps to acquire knowledge in various fields and has strong effects on all aspects of the public life (Warschauer, 2000)

2.3 Previous studies

Teacher professional development has been a popular term in English language

teaching There have been a considerable number of studies in the world as well as

in Vietnam in the field of perceptions about professional development (PD) and PD

tools practice Some researchers (Carpe, 2001; Karaaslan, 2003; Komba & Nkumbi, 2008) have done some researches on teachers‟ attitudes toward

professional development The results of these studies showed that most English

teachers were aware of the importance of professional development for their

growth Numerous studies on TPD for Vietnamese teachers of English are also

discussed (Tran & Ho, 2000; Le, 2001; Pham, 2001; Truong, 2011) The findings

revealed that Vietnamese teachers held positive perceptions about TPD

IDP and its importance, its benefit as a systematic plan to achieve teachers‟ career

objectives are studied in Pohl (2010), NOAA Corps (2008), and Brodie (2007) In

his study in 2011, Truong indicated that most senior high school teachers of English

were in favor of using IDP for their growth

Jacobson (cited in Polh, 2010) offers the following questions for an employee to ask

himself in order to accurately prepare an IDP before reviewing with his supervisor

coach:

1 What direction is my organization going and what will the organization need

from its employees in the future?

2 What are my goals over the next three or five years?

3 What are my greatest strengths and how can I build on them more

effectively?

4 Do I have any serious weaknesses that make it difficult to do my job or will

prevent me from achieving my goals? (p.25)

Professional development plan is a useful way to drive people through the definition

to the achievement of their goals, with significant benefits either for individuals or

employing organisations (Angelo, 2011) Writing about the framework for

individual management development in the public sector, Reyna and Sims (1995)

list several of these benefits, including:

- Employee retention and moral development Those public sector organizations which fail to provide such individualized development efforts often lose their most promising employees Frustrated with the lack of opportunity, achievement-oriented employees often seek employment with other agencies outside of government that provide more incentive with individual development and training for career enhancement

- [IDP] efforts can increase an employee‟s level of commitment to the agency and improve perceptions that the agency is a good place to work By developing and promoting trained employees, public sector organizations create a competent, motivated and satisfied work force

- [IDPs] provide the employer and employee with a systematic long-term plan for employee development…Improvement areas are outlined in advance with the employee as they relate to increasing the employee‟s ability (p.2)

Brodie (2007) also contributes an article about this subject with 5 key benefits of approaching personal development plan

Benefit 1: Self reflection

The first benefit for people when developing a PDP is that they are called to reflect

on themselves in order to gain self-awareness on their real skills, goals and needs

To do this, you need to reflect on your skills, knowledge, experience and personal attributes and consider:

o What you do well

o What you don't do so well

o What would make you even more effective

This self reflection is not only powerful in terms of planning your personal development but also in raising your self awareness

Benefit 2: Clarity

Personal development planning has two key aspects to it The first is deciding what activities and areas you want to focus on in the short term The second is about getting clarity on where you want to take your career in the long term Personal development planning helps you to get that clarity

Benefit 3: Decision making

We are continually faced with a number of choices in our work and our life Being clear on your priorities for your career, the type of experience that you need to acquire and the skills and attributes that you need to develop helps you to take informed decisions, quickly

Benefit 4: Long term view

We all have come across colleagues who took a promotion or job change that offered something exceptional in the short term but turned out to be a bad long term choice While a large pay rise might look attractive, ask yourself whether the role will help you to achieve your longer term career goals

Benefit 5: Wise investment

There is certainly no shortage of options available to spend either your own or your organization‟s cash on training and development On the other hand you want to make sure that you make the most appropriate investment If you have a clear goal

or destination, this becomes much easier to do

Essential IPD activities such as class observation, conference attendance, reflective teaching, using internet, and writing dialogue journals are also explored

To (2010) and Card et al (2010) conduct the studies on class observation with the conclusion that teachers have positive attitudes toward class observation and they are willing to use class observation as a “learning” instrument

Conference or workshop attendance is mentioned by Phan (2010) and Trương (2011) with the result that the majority of the English teachers found it beneficial to their PD

However, the two authors found that writing teaching journals was not adopted by most of the teachers though its benefits were acknowledged Samraiya (2009) studies this tool as a means of professional development in ESL classroom and shares the same finding He claims that though journal writing was found with evidence to be worth emulating for language teachers professional development, it was hardly found adopted by Indian English teachers at all levels

Nguyen (2011) investigates teachers‟ perceptions and practice of reflective teaching for their professional development at Hue University College of Foreign Languages The conclusion from her investigation revealed that most teachers had positive attitudes towards doing reflection, and they saw reflective teaching as a good way to find better strategies and solutions to the classroom

Researches on the role internet plays in teaching English have been explored by Shayeb (2001), AL-Mekhlafi (2004), and Madden et al (2005)

Al-Al-Shayeb (2001) conducts a study aimed at recognizing the reality of internet use

by the faculty members at Jordanian universities The study revealed the high degree of internet usage in teaching by teachers AL-Mekhlafi (2004) investigates the current status of using the Internet in UAE secondary schools, the English language teachers' beliefs of the benefits of the Internet in EFL teaching It was found from the findings that using internet in teaching English was limited to individual and unplanned personal efforts though many believed that internet could

be a real asset for teachers and students as well as could improve the FL teachers‟ performance and research skills Madden (2005) studies the degree of internet use

of school teachers and supervisors in Sheffield city, UK Survey has demonstrated that only 33% of teachers have used internet as a teaching tool in their classes Multiple previous studies (Karasslan, 2003; Boutsiouki, 2010; Pham, 2001) also uncovered some factors hindering teachers‟ PD The result from Karasslan (2003) revealed institutional support and self-motivation as the important factors in teachers‟ professional growth Boutsiouki (2010), in his survey carried out on post graduate students in social and economic sciences in a Greek university to explore their perceptions regarding lifelong learning, indicates that lack of free time and the cost of lifelong learning are the most important impediments to teachers‟ development She also adds that lack of motives is a serious cause of reduced participation dynamics; this tendency can be attributed to the uncertain effectiveness of the learning concept and content in social and professional settings Pham (2001) claims that teachers‟ life and career with the heavy workload is a

2.4 Conducting IDP at Tien Giang University

Tien Giang University was founded in 2005 from the re-organisation of Tien Giang Teacher Training College and Tien Giang Community College Upgrading the skills and quality of the teaching to meet the standard of established universities is considered a priority for both the growth and status of Tien Giang University in Vietnam Like other universities, Tien Giang University especially aspires to a high quality education system, and teaching English is highly valued by both general teachers and administrators

The Faculty of Foreign Language, formed in 2010, is step by step stabilizing the organization and effectuating a policy to teacher professional development Besides facilitating and encouraging the English teachers to follow M.A or Ph.D study, the Faculty of Foreign Language frequently arranges the conferences/workshops, class observations, exchanges about experience between teachers and the professors from other universities as well as foreign English lecturers

From May 2012, Tien Giang University began asking every teacher to carry out the working plan of a year with the specific jobs, deadline and methods to conduct It is

a form of IDP which is valued by the university administrators The question is what the teachers‟ perceptions and practice of using IDP for their professional development are

Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the use of IDP in the light of teacher professional development to get more insights into the use of this effective tool at Tien Giang University Based on the findings of the investigation, the realities of using IDP for English teachers‟ professional development at Tien Giang University can be seen In addition, this investigation can support Tien Giang University with related information and solutions to help teachers conduct IDP effectively Some suggestions and implications can be withdrawn as a reference source for better doing IDP

2.5 Summary

This chapter reviews the key concepts of the terms Teacher Professional Development and Individual Development Plan The theories and arguments about the purposes, the benefits of IDP to Teacher professional development have also been reviewed In this respect, some effective professional development tools such

as teacher dialogue journal, reflective teaching, study groups, mentoring, class observation and so on are discussed From the critical review of the relevant literature, it can be recognized that a number of researchers have studied professional development tools in the context of Vietnam such as Truong (2011), Pham (2001), Le (2002), Doan (2011) In those studies, the importance of professional development is highlighted They reveal the roles of professional development tools to improve teachers‟ professional competence To successfully pursue their career, teachers can adopt a number of tools depending on their own situations Among them, IDP can be seen as a common and effective tool that teachers should consider as a means for their professional development However, there are very few studies to be found in general circulation on using IDP tool for teacher professional development in the Vietnam context Therefore, an investigation into this topic should be conducted to gain more insights into the English teachers‟ attitude toward IDP as a useful professional development tool

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

The study aims to investigate English teacher‟s perceptions towards the IDP as a professional development tool as well as the reality of adopting this tool This chapter will describe the research methodology utilized to collect data seeking the answers for the research questions mentioned in Chapter One It includes the research design, the participants and research site, method of data analysis, research procedures and the research instruments for data collection of the study

3.1 Research design

This research is based on descriptive study in which the perceptions and practice of the IDP implementation of English teachers at Tien Giang University were investigated In addition, their perceptions of the significance of professional development were also explored

To conduct this investigation, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used Mixed-method approach enables the researchers to draw on all possibilities (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998) and provides a broader perspective to the study as the qualitative data helps describe aspects the quantitative data cannot address (Creswell, 2003) In addition, as mentioned by Larsen- Freeman and Long (1991), these two approaches can supplement each other to strengthen the validity and reliability of the study

Questionnaires and Interviews were chosen as the data collection methods The quantitative method used one questionnaire; the qualitative method used interview questions for teachers

3.2 Participants and research site

The participants in this research included 25 teachers from the Foreign Language Faculty and the Foreign Language Centre at Tien Giang University The following Table 3.1 shows a detailed profile of the participants in this study

Table 3.1 Profile of Participants

Foreign Language Faculty 22

Foreign Language Centre 3

3.3 Method of data analysis

The research attempted to analyze the data based on both qualitative and quantitative approach The received data was converted into percentage and analyzed by Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) SPSS is highly reputable software used to analyze the survey results in all areas in a large scale On the other hand, it can check the reliability of the questionnaires which was the main tool of this research

3.4 Research Procedures

 Collecting data related previous research

 Designing and piloting questionnaires

 Collecting data from questionnaires and preliminary analyzing by SPSS program

 Designing interview questions and conducting interviews

 Analyzing questionnaires and interviews

 Reporting findings and discussion

 Drawing conclusion and implications

3.5 The research instruments for data collection

3.5.1 Questionnaires

The questionnaire was chosen as the main method to collect information from the participants because it is considered the best tool for obtaining data that can be easily categorized (Mc Millan & Schumacher, 1993) A well-designed questionnaire can help gather effective and relevant data Moreover, the strengths of questionnaires generally include accuracy, generalizability, and convenience (Marshall & Rossman, 1999)

The questionnaire (see Appendix 2, p.71) was in English and it was divided into three main parts:

1 Participants‟ personal information: gender, age, years of teaching English, office, and qualification

2 Closed-ended questions using Likert scale from 1 to 5, from strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), neutral (3), agree (4), to strongly agree (5) As Newman (2000) judges, the closed-ended questions are quicker and easier for both respondents and researchers relative to open-ended questions

The 27 questionnaire items were classified into six clusters in Table 3.2

Table 3.2 The six clusters of the questionnaire

Clusters Items

1 General perceptions of English teachers

about professional development

1, 2, 3, 4

2 Perceptions of Teachers about IDP 5, 6, 7, 8,9

3 The IDP activities are beneficial to

English teachers‟ career

10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e

4 The IDP activities that English teachers

frequently use

11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e

5 Advantages of using IDP for PD 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d

6 Disadvantages of using IDP for PD 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d

3 Open-ended questions: Some open-ended questions are used to gather more details on the IDP activities the teachers frequently use and favour (items 10f, 11f), their benefits as well as their difficulties in their IDP implementation (12e, 13e), and the suggestions for bettering the IDP for professional development (item 14)

According to DeVellis (2003, cited in Pallant, 2007, p.95), if a questionnaire is reliable, its Cronbach‟s Alpha (α) should be above 70 The pilot questionnaire was used for 10 teachers to test the reliability and achieved the Cronbach‟s Alpha =

.872 The amplitude of Cronbach’s Alpha if Item Deleted was from 857 to 881

(see Appendix 4, p.77) This result revealed that each question had been carefully designed and the reliability score indicated that the questionnaire could remain unchanged

The questionnaire was written in English, with clear explanation about what the IDP

is, in the belief that the language would not create a problem for English teachers

3.5.2 Interviews

The quantitative information is important, but the qualitative information is not less significant Both methods were combined with the hope that the accuracy of the overall conclusions is strengthened

Family Health International describes qualitative research as “especially effective in obtaining culturally specific information about the value, opinion, behaviors, and

social contexts of particular populations” (p.1) In this specific study, it was important to use a qualitative research approach to clarify and elaborate on individual perceptions of a particular situation The interview aimed at verifying, evaluating and clarifying the information collected from the questionnaires to gain deeper insights into teacher‟s perceptions and reality of carrying out an IDP for professional development Moreover, this instrument is considered an appropriate method to gain access to the individual‟s words and interpretations (Minichiello et al., 1990) For those reasons, interview was chosen to conduct after the preliminary analysis of the questionnaire

The ten teachers participating in this study, comprising seven females and three males, are from the two offices: Foreign Language Faculty and Foreign Language Centre The interview consisted of four clusters of questions to (1) clarify the information collected in the questionnaires about teachers‟ perceptions into professional development and (2) individual development plan , (3) to gain further practice of using IDP as well as (4) to determine some of the advantages and disadvantages during their professional development (see Appendix 3, p.76) All the interview questions were in English and the outline was sent to the participants in advance for these two following reasons:

(1) Sharing the questions with the participants before the interview will give them time to reflect on their answers

(2) The participant's answers are likely to be clear, thoughtful, and better focused (Aimee, 2012)

The individual appointments with the participants were made in a comfortable environment to get honest and heartfelt responses The interviews were MP3-recorded to ensure that responses would be accurately reported

3.6 Conclusion

In short, this chapter has presented the research methodology with the combination

of quantitative and qualitative analysis to guarantee the validity and reliability of the collected data The data collected from open-ended questions, and interviews were