Exploring Changes in Teachers Pedagogic Habitus: Case Studies of English Language Teacher Self-Evaluation as a Mediational Activity

Abstract

Teacher evaluation is an issue in a range of international contexts and is linked to growing global concerns with quality and accountability in education. In Indonesian universities, evaluations of teacher performance are typically conducted through student questionnaires. However, this mode of evaluation does not help teachers to improve their teaching practice, as it is usually brief, lacks specific suggestions for improvements, and ignores the provision of resources needed to improve (Airasian & Gullickson, 1997). As an alternative, this study explored the potential of teacher self-evaluation, to assist teachers in improving their instructional practice. Specifically, this study investigated teachers pedagogic habitus and the extent to which those pedagogic habitus capable of change following engagement in self-evaluation as a mediational activity. The study was framed using Bourdieu s sociological and Vygotsky s sociocultural theories. A holistic multi-case study, which drew on multiple data sources including interviews, classroom observations, and documentation in the form of journals was employed. Ten English teachers, from which I select three case studies, employed by Kanjuruhan University of Malang (KUM) volunteered to engage in a series of teacher self-evaluation activities. The pedagogic habitus of the three case study teachers were analyzed in terms of their actions in the class including lesson delivery, use of language, interactions with students, and the management of the class and of themselves as teachers. The findings of this study suggested that self-evaluation involving teacher's self-reflection on their teaching in Indonesian university contexts had significant potential for mediating changes in professional habitus. More specifically, the findings indicated that awareness of the need for change, commitment to change, action to change, and visualization of possible selves, all had the potential to contribute to any change in teacher s pedagogic habitus. The findings also revealed that teacher self-evaluation led to heightened self-reflection through which teachers understood themselves and their instructional practice more deeply in terms of their strengths and areas for development. This suggests that teacher self-evaluation contributes to professional learning by empowering teachers to transform their practice.