English Teachers’ Perceptions Regarding Their Profession

In successful education systems, teachers’ professional performance plays a great role. Moreover, the quality of teaching is closely related to teachers’ perceptions of their profession. In this respect, this study aims to present a comprehensive picture of English teachers’ perceptions of their profession, their perceived self-value, their perceived value by others and teachers’ career motivations and (dis)contentment factors. Accordingly, 123 English teachers working in state or private schools in Bursa participated in this study, and both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through a scale designed by the researchers. The results displayed that English teachers have positive perceptions of their professional status even though the majority feel unhappy with their working conditions. Nearly half of the participants chose to be an English teacher because of social utility values, and they seem content with their career choice. However, they seem to suffer from a status deficit owing to the undervaluing of their profession by society. In this case, the present study may have implications for policy makers who aim to improve the quality of education by considering the teachers’ undeniable role in learning processes.

İngilizce Öğretmenlerinin Mesleki Algıları

Başarılı eğitim sistemlerinde, öğretmenler profesyonel başarılarıyla büyük rol oynarlar. Bu sebeple eğitimin kalitesi eğitim sisteminin önemli yapı taşı olan öğretmenlerle yakından ilgilidir ve öğretmenlerin verimlilikleri de mesleğe yönelik algılardan hayli etkilenmektedir. Bu bağlamda öğretmenlerin mesleki algılarına dair kapsamlı bir çalışma sunma ihtiyacıyla, bu çalışma İngilizce öğretmenlerinin mesleklerine dair algılarını araştırıp kendi öz algıları ile başkalarının onları nasıl algıladığını karşılaştırmayı ve öğretmenlerin kariyer motivasyonları ile onları mutlu ve mutsuz eden faktörleri incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu doğrultuda Bursa’da devlet okullarında veya özel okullarda görev yapmakta olan 123 İngilizce öğretmeni bu çalışmaya katılmış olup niceliksel ve niteliksel veriler araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen bir ölçek ile toplanmıştır. Sonuçlar göstermiştir ki çoğunluğu çalışma şartlarından mutlu olmasa da İngilizce öğretmenleri mesleki statülerine dair genel olarak olumlu algılara sahiptir. Neredeyse katılımcıların yarısı topluma fayda sağlamak amacıyla İngilizce öğretmeni olmayı tercih etmiştir ve kariyer tercihlerinden memnun görünmektedirler. Ancak toplumun mesleklerinin önemini azımsaması sebebiyle itibar eksikliğine uğradıklarını düşünmektedirler. Bu takdirde mevcut çalışma bulguları öğretmenlerin öğrenme süreçlerindeki vazgeçilemez rolünü göz önünde bulundurarak eğitimin kalitesini arttırmak isteyen karar verici mekanizmalar için katkı sağlayabilir.

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