University Teachers’ Knowledge of- and about- Action Research: The Case of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at Two Ethiopian Public Universities

Abstract

Conceptual and Theoretical Background of the StudyWith the purpose to investigate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' knowledge of and about action research at two Ethiopian public universities, the study had two assumptions. First, the teachers' knowledge and perceptions serve as a surface symptom for their actual practices. Second, in today's dynamic environments, EFL teachers are expected to: a) do the right things right-to be alive in changing EFL classroom practices for better quality; b) continually reexamine taken for granted assumptions against evidences and interpretations related to teaching rather than longing for one approach as an attainable ideal; c) de-absolutize accustomed traditions and rituals; and d) take a fallibilist view of truth. By implication, EFL teachers need to possess adequate Knowledge about-and-of Action Research. Knowledge about action research deals with theoretical knowledge (knowing that) and the information, theoretical reasoning, and understanding about action research, which EFL teachers think they possessed implicitly /tacitly or explicitly. Knowledge of action research, on the other hand has two connotative meanings. In the first place, it refers to practical, procedural (know how) knowledge, competence and skills that EFL teachers claimed that they possessed for conducting action research. Second, it also stands as a generic phrase for the sake of simplicity, where there is no need to differently indicate EFL teachers' theoretical and the practical knowledge of action research, mainly in the current dynamic world.The dynamism implies a pragmatic and critical reflection of the teachers upon their practices and contexts guided by some explicit and implicit aspects of teaching as a profession. The explicit aspect refers to the teachers' professional actions in line with their profiles embedded in their training and career specifications. The implicit dimension, on the other hand, implies the teachers' 'tacit knowing' which contains their values inherent in their professional lives and practices. It implies qualities, and dispositions of the teachers not objectified, but are simply inherent in the already embedded ones-informing their practices and entailing the independence of the world of objective mind (Habermas, 1986; McNiff, 2002).The case demands empowerment, which in turn entails moral, epistemological, ontological, and methodical positions of the teachers to invest much effort and many talents for the betterment of their classroom practices. These positions demand professional autonomy to think and act rationally and consensually as opposed to a forced or manipulated one-entailing the close relationship between rationality and knowledge (Kemmis, 1995;Habermas, 1986). This line of though: a) qualifies EFL teachers as logical, sensible and capable professionals to make prudent decisions and take wise actions to bring change based on intelligent thinking and understanding rather than on emotion or on established norms and rituals; and b) challenges the notion th...