According to Swaine (2012:107) the word autonomy originates from ancient Greek and is interpreted as “giving laws to oneself”. In his view, autonomy has to do with a rational assessment of personal beliefs, aims, attachments, desires and interests. It thus refers to the use of a certain degree of freedom, which with regards to this study can be said to be the degree of freedom in relation to
educational practices. Jimenez (2009:1) describes autonomy as a much needed aim in education. This suggests the need for educational practices to focus on the use of autonomy in educational programmes. To Lynch (2001, 390-391), autonomy can be practised within and outside institutional boundaries. Nataka (2011:900) sees autonomy as deeply interwoven into what she refers to as the fabric of social and cultural practices. This view apparently tallies with that of Lynch (2001) as it invariably implies that autonomous practices, especially within the educational setting, are subject to change as they tend to vary from one social/cultural context to another. Given that this research evaluates the same English Language teacher education programme in two Colleges of Education located in different settings, it will be interesting to see how their respective autonomous practices affect the running of the programme and the effect this has on the programme design.
The literature is teeming with articles on autonomy in language education programmes (see Swaine, 2012; Adamson and Sert, 2012; Nakata, 2011; Jimenez, 2009 and Little, 2004). There is, however, particular interest devoted to the concept of teacher autonomy and learner autonomy in language education. In fact Nataka (2011:900) refers to teacher autonomy and learner autonomy as the buzzwords in language education programmes. This view is shared by Smith (2003:3) who also believes that learner autonomy and teacher autonomy have gained prominence in second language education discourse. Learner autonomy and teacher autonomy are generally regarded as two concepts that are inter-related (see Jimenez, 2009:1 and Adamson and Sert, 2012:24). In other words they more or less feed off each other, and the
promotion of one inadvertently leads to the development and promotion of the other (Smith, 2001:43-44). Little (2004:2) aptly describes them as mirror images of each other.
As stated by Smith (2003:5), teacher autonomy can be viewed from three different dimensions which include the ability to self-direct teaching, freedom from control and the ability to self-direct teacher-learning. Adamson and Sert (2012:24) also hold the same view as they believe that with teacher autonomy teachers are required to be self-directed and reflective in their practice. From the definition given above, it is clear to see that autonomous teachers work using their own initiative. Al-Mansoori (2008:36-37) takes this a step further as he describes the autonomous teacher as one who is not only reflective and self- directed, but also collaborative both in and outside the work environment. It will be interesting to see what the research findings unfold in this aspect and if the lecturers in the programme under study are reflective, self-directed and collaborative in their teaching practices in Colleges of Education.
According to Little (2004:1) it is necessary for teachers to exploit their professional skills autonomously especially in the area of pedagogical actions in order to create and maintain a learning community. This is because teacher autonomy and learner autonomy are seen as competence and reflect the knowledge and ability of both the teachers and learners respectively (Jimenez, 2009:3). Adamson and Sert (2012:23) acknowledge the crucial part played by teachers in the development of learner autonomy; however, they also point out the need for teachers to be autonomous in both their teaching and learning.
This point is further reiterated by Jimenez (2009:4) as he emphasises the need for teachers to be engaged in a journey of self-discovery as it is necessary for them to also learn how to learn autonomously in order to be able to promote it amongst their students. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the classroom practices of both the lecturers and student teachers in both Colleges of Education involved in the study.
This research is first an evaluation research which is focused on an English Language teacher education programme in a second language context. As such it contributes to the literature on the evaluation of language teacher education programme. The literature reviewed has examined not only topics or issues related to evaluation in language programmes, but it has equally examined literature related to practice in Language teacher education (LTE).
CHAPTER THREE- METHODOLOGY 3.1. INTRODUCTION
With the ever growing challenge of the constant failure of students in English Language in Nigeria (Ezekoli, 2002:374, Nta, et al, 2008:97 and Osagie, 2012:1), the researcher has chosen a topic which is vital for the improvement and enhancement of the teaching and learning of the English Language in particular and for the improvement of education in general within the Nigerian context. As such, the choice of this research topic can be said to be in line with the belief upheld by Holliday (2002:30) that the need to write research papers indirectly compels researchers to view critically the realities and occurrences around them.
The present study is an evaluation research project on the English Language teacher education programme in two Colleges of Education in Nigeria. In Holliday’s view (2002:28), the choice of a research topic may be related to previous interests or concerns. It may also grow from the lives and professional experience of those in the academic field. The researcher is a member of one of the Colleges of Education under investigation and as such, the study is of intrinsic interest to the researcher.
The research fosters an understanding of the Nigerian education context as it focuses on the study of human activities which relate to the actual teaching and learning experiences of teacher educators and their students in the real world. It should be noted here that although both English Language and Literature courses are taught in this programme, for the purpose of this research, the
focus is on the language component of the programme as this is the area which is of primary concern and interest to the researcher. This interest has grown out of a genuine and ever increasing concern over the falling standard of the English Language and the persistent failure of students in the subject within the Nigerian context as discussed earlier in Chapter One of this thesis.
As stated by Bennett (2003:11), evaluations are very often carried out with major attention centred on specific aspects of the programme. The focus of this research is on the objectives of the English Language teacher education programme at the NCE level. As already stated in Chapter One, the research has the following as its aims:
1) to critically analyse the objectives of the English Language teacher education programme as it pertains to the teaching and learning of the English Language Courses in the programme.
2) to identify the teaching needs of the student teachers from the two Colleges of Education under study.
3) to examine if and how the stated objectives are interpreted through their realisation by the lecturers in the classes of Colleges of Education.
4) to examine if and how the objectives reflect the teaching needs of the student teachers.
This study is focused on the evaluation of the English Language teacher education programme at the NCE level in two Colleges of Education in Nigeria. Using the case study approach, it seeks to find answers to the research questions by drawing on evidence that can be found only within the context of
the study (Gillham, 2000:1). To this end therefore, the study is based on the following research questions:
1. What are the stated objectives of the English Language teachers’ education programme in Nigeria?
2. What are the teaching needs of the student teachers in the two Colleges of Education under study?
3. How are the objectives interpreted and applied in the classes of Colleges of Education in Nigeria?
4. To what extent do the objectives reflect the teaching needs of student teachers in the programme?
The discussion in this chapter will be centred on evaluation research and evaluation studies, the research paradigm, project research design, research participants, research instruments, pilot study, data collection and the method of analysis.
3.2. EVALUATION RESEARCH, RESEARCH AND EVALUATION STUDIES