NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM

Educational Philosophies of Teachers
NICHOLAS BRADLEY
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies

Abstract
Every year the research produced in education is vast and has the positive effect of advancing theprofession in ever more innovative, sophisticated, and humanitarian ways. However, although
there is this vast array of work showcasing new approaches, activities and providing academic
discussion, it can sometimes be beneficial to reflect on the more fundamental aspects of what wedo and why we do it.
This paper presents the results of a small-scale examination of the educational
philosophies of 18 teachers. The results reveal the elements of education that are seen as
paramount by teachers along with those which are less common. From these, a clear image of
how teachers view the profession, and their role can be seen. Additionally, the aspects identified
as important within teachers’ educational philosophies were presented to students. The elements
given importance by students are also presented and contrasted with the previous results.

Introduction
What type of teacher are you? What would your students describe you as? What would yourcolleagues describe you as? Is there consistency among these views? There is likely to be a great
deal of variance in the answers to these questions quite simply due to the ubiquitous nature oflabels describing teachers. A simple search reveals a whole host of labels used to describe
different types of teacher, such as activist teacher, modern teacher, buddy teacher, entertainer
teacher and traditional teacher (Helplineph, 2022; Unicheck, 2017). Although many of theselabels are fairly self-explanatory, the labels are often provided with explanations that attempt tooffer detail. The “modern teacher”, for example, is a teacher that is very open to the use of thelatest technology in education and operates under the belief that technological development runsin parallel with pedagogical advancement (Helplinph, 2022). Other examples can be that of the

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM“activist teacher” who possesses a fervour for specific social issues and uses class time to presenta certain social agenda, or the “buddy teacher” who aims to occupy a role akin to that of a big
brother or big sister (Unicheck, 2017).
Such labelling may seem extremely reductionist and two dimensional, but it is consistent
with much discourse outside of education where complex social realities are neatly divided up
into easily digestible chunks. Yet, as a form of human interaction involving multiple people ofvarious backgrounds and within a variety of settings, the reality is infinitely greyer and more
complex. As such, it is likely that all these labels exist within each of us as teachers with certain
ones coming to the forefront at different times and as a result of different conditions.
English Language Teachers
If we look specifically at the English language teaching literature, different authors offerdifferent types of teacher (Harmer, 2015; Scrivener, 2011) and a great deal of overlap exists
between the categories of teacher put forward. Scrivener (2011), for example, puts forward thethree teacher labels of explainer, involver and enabler. The explainer teacher occupies the role ofa giver of information in a classroom that is highly teacher centred. Classes often involve theteacher explaining the subject or lecturing with students occupying a largely passive role.
Although students are not personally involved or challenged and practice is often throughindividual exercises, lessons can be entertaining when delivered with enthusiasm and energy by
the teacher. The explainer role described by Scrivener would seem to closely correspond withwhat might be a commonly held view in much of society of what a teacher does and how aclassroom is, perhaps as a result of people’s own experiences in education. In this sense, theexplainer teacher represents what might be considered the default or traditional view of teaching
and the teacher.
The involver loosens control in the classroom due to a belief in a greater need to focus on
students and to allow them more practice and experimentation. According to Scrivener, due tothe enabler teacher’s greater familiarity with teaching methodology, the teacher involves students
more by using a variety of engaging activities while still maintaining control of the classroom.
The final label offered by Scrivener, the enabler, represents a confident teacher equippedwith a variety of methodologies who is confident enough to share or even give full control of theclassroom with students. In an enabler’s class, decisions are often shared or negotiated, and theteacher takes direction from the students. It is under this label that we get educational metaphors

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM
such as a teacher being a “guide”, “counsellor” or “resource” (Scrivener, 2011, p.18). In addition
to a strong knowledge of methodology, the enabler is also aware of the interpersonal dynamics ofa classroom as well as the feelings and thinking of individuals within.
Scrivener makes the point that all teachers are explainers, involvers and enablers at
different times and in different circumstances. However, my own observations of teachers overmany years suggests that the teachers do not occupy the roles of explainer, involver or enabler
for the same amount of time. Teachers have their own preferences, whether they are conscious ofthem or not. Some teachers, for example, will occupy the role of explainer almost exclusively,
while others may more frequently adopt the role of engager, despite the circumstances being
extremely similar. The difference in the likelihood of teachers occupying the different roles may
well be due to their familiarity with different methodologies, as Scrivener suggests, and whichsets his labels apart from the more personality-based labels presented at the start of this paper.
Yet, teachers who hold similar teaching qualifications, experience and teach the same classes
still do not occupy explainer, involver and enabler roles in the same amount nor teach in thesame way. Something more would seem to be at play.
Educational Philosophy
A teacher’s personality, familiarity with methodology, other education, age, experience, amongst
other variables, are likely to influence how they teach. So too are their fundamental beliefs
regarding education, what can be called their educational philosophy. It can be said that aperson’s educational philosophy represents a gestalt to which a teacher’s education, age,personality, experience and other variables contribute.
All teachers have an educational philosophy whether they are conscious of it or not. For
the purposes of this paper, focus will be on two areas of teachers’ educational philosophies. The
first are the epistemic aims of education; the question of what we are there to do and whatknowledge we are there to give. Of course, at its most basic level, an English teacher is there toteach English, but many would suggest that education has a socio-political function in helping tocultivate moral citizens who have characteristics and attributes that align with the needs andexpectations of the society in which the education takes place (Siegel, 2009). On the other hand,rather cultivating “acceptable” characteristics and belief sets, some highlight that rather thanbeing a provider of knowledge, the purpose of education should focus on the ability of theindividual to process information, this is, the development of their cognitive abilities. This view

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM
is clearly evident in popular education quotes such as “Education is what remains once one has
forgotten what one has learned in school” and “The purpose of education is to replace an empty
mind with an open one” from Einstein and Malcolm Forbes respectively. For thesecommentators and many academics, education is much more than the provision of information as“educators have a responsibility to help individuals think for themselves” (Robertson, 2009,p.13).
Whatever someone holds as the epistemic aims of education, the second area or nextquestion will likely be concerned with how to go about achieving them. In an educational
philosophy, this is not yet a matter of methodology, but more fundamentally it is a question of
how one should be as a teacher, what one’s purpose and roles are in education. As means ofillustration, an example can be seen in the work of Rogers and Frelberg (1994) who suggest three
qualities as being of fundamental importance for teachers:•

Respect – Being positive and non-judgemental.

•

Empathy – Seeing things through the eyes of the learner.

•

Authenticity – Being yourself and not being afraid to be vulnerable.

Rogers and Frelberg (1994) suggest that all of these are vital to establish rapport between teacher
and students. The importance of rapport in language education is suggestive of the belief that thedevelopment of knowledge is best achieved as a collective endeavour. Ultimately though, thework of Rogers and Frelberg (1994) shows that how a teacher should be focuses not on which
particular methodology they choose, but more fundamentally on how they put themselves
forward, interact with others and see their role in education.
Methods
What do teachers believe as being of fundamental importance in education and being a teacher?
To attempt to answer these questions and examine teachers’ educational philosophies in moredetail, 19 language teachers wrote a paragraph under the simple title of “My educational
philosophy”. There was no set word limit and paragraphs differed greatly in length with theaverage being 108 words. Emergent thematic coding was used to analyse the paragraphs with thefrequency of the emergent items also being recorded.
Following emergent thematic coding, emergent items were presented to students via asurvey in Japanese and English. Students were asked to identify the two most important items

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM
when considering the role of an English teacher, the two least important items for a teacher, andto rank each item individually in terms of importance via a Likert scale. A total of 257 responses
were received.
Results
Although expressed in different terms across the paragraphs, common themes were emergent inteachers’ paragraphs. For ease of presentation Table 1 below shows the emergent items
expressed as things teachers should do or be.
Table 1
Emergent Items and Their Frequency
Frequency

A teacher should…

8…motivate learners.

8…act as a guide / mentor for students.

7…encourage collaboration.

6…create a comfortable atmosphere that allows students to bethemselves and open up.

5…be pedagogically flexible.

4…develop critical thinking.

4…develop intellectual curiosity.

3…create a comfortable atmosphere for ideas.

2…be a reflective practitioner and learner.

A total of nine items that constituted separate beliefs within an educational philosophy
were found in the paragraphs. None of these were only found in a single teacher though somewere much more common than others, as can be seen by the frequency column above. Here wecan see that the teacher’s role as an educational motivator and as a guide or mentor for students
were common aspects of teachers’ philosophies, whereas the importance of teachers reflecting
on and learning from their practice was not. Additionally, some items, while separate, do sharesimilar conceptual terrain. The need to develop critical thinking and the need to develop
intellectual curiosity, for example, though focusing on different elements can coexist within a

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM
category of cognitive development. The same can be true of creating a comfortable environment
within in which different ideas can coexist, and a comfortable environment within which
students can be themselves and open up.
With some items sharing similar conceptual terrain, these items were merged, and areduced seven items were presented to students via a survey. Though presented in Japanese andEnglish, for the sake of space, only the English version is shown below in Table 2. The numbers
following each item represents the frequency with which the concept appeared in teachers’
philosophies. As can be seen, the first two on the list are an amalgamation of two different items.
Table 2
Survey Items Presented to Students
A teacher should create a comfortable atmosphere for students that allows them tobe themselves freely and share their true opinions. 9 (3+6)
A teacher should encourage students to think critically and develop theirintellectual curiosity. 8(4+4)
A teacher should motivate students by being supportive, friendly and using
interesting content in class. 8
A teacher should be a guide / mentor and help students to become better and moreautonomous learners. 8
A teacher should encourage collaboration and create an atmosphere where allmembers of the class (including the teacher) are teaching and learning from eachother. 7
A teacher should be able to switch to different teaching methods depending on
the context, subject or needs of the class. 5
A teacher should always be learning and reflecting on how he/she teaches andwhy he/she teaches in that way. 2

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The results of the survey showed that creating a comfortable atmosphere and motivating
students were overwhelmingly identified as the two most important aspects for an English
teacher (Figure 1).
Figure 1
Most Important Aspects for an English Teacher

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM

Most Important for an English Teacher
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Create a
Enourage
Motivatecomfortable critical thinking students
atmosphere / intellectual
throught
curiosity
personality
and content

Be a guide /mentorEncourage
collaboration

Pedagogicalflexibility

Reflective
teacher

When looking at the least important aspects, we can see that the distribution is less clear
cut. However, being a reflective teacher, being pedagogically flexible and encouraging criticalthinking and intellectual curiosity were strongly identified as aspects that were of the least
importance for an English teacher.
Table 3Distribution of Responses for Different Items
Not important at all

Extremely important

1

2

3

4

5

Create a comfortable
atmosphere

0

3

18

84

150

Encourage criticalthinking

7

29

75

91

52

Motivate students

0

9

31

67

147

Be a guide / mentor

1

15

54

115

70

Encourage collaboration

0

9

45

91

110

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM

Pedagogical flexibility

2

27

68

105

53

Be reflective on his/herteaching

9

18

89

97

52

The individual items ranked on a Likert scale can be seen above in Table 3. The
distribution of scores is consistent with previous results and can be divided into two types. The
first is a distribution of scores similar to that shown in Figure 2 below. Here a large majority of
responses being found in the “extremely important” column and then cascading down throughthe other columns with no responses in the final column. This distribution was found for creating
a comfortable atmosphere in class, motivating students, and encouraging collaboration.
Figure 2
Student Endorsement of Teachers Creating a Comfortable Atmosphere

A teacher should create a comfortable atmosphere forstudents that allows them to be themselves freely andshare their true opinions
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1 Not important at
all

2

3

4

5 Extremely
important

The distribution of other items is similar to that of developing critical thinking, shown in
Table 6. While students overall see it as important, it is to a much lesser degree than those above.
Additionally, the large number of students that selected the middle option suggest that many
students are quite ambivalent to them. This distribution was typical for developing criticalthinking, being a guide/mentor, being pedagogically flexible, and being a reflective teacher.

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM
These items are also the only ones that registered a notable number of responses in the “notimportant” column, including some in the “not important at all” column.
Figure 3
Student Endorsement of Teachers Encouraging Critical Thinking Development

A teacher should encourage students to think critically anddevelop their intellectual curiosity
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 Not important at
all

2

3

4

5 Extremely
importantDiscussion
When examining the analysis of teachers’ educational philosophies, we can see that the emergent
items are overwhelmingly focused on their role as a teacher. Of the nine emergent items only
two featured what might be considered the epistemic aims of education: developing criticalthinking and encouraging intellectual curiosity. This suggests that teachers attach greater
importance to their role in the classroom than to the nature of the knowledge they are there todevelop. The educational philosophies of teachers would most closely align with the enabler
view of a teacher. Teachers highlighting the vital nature of motivating students, creating a
comfortable atmosphere, encouraging collaboration, being pedagogically flexible, reflecting on
their own practice, and being a “guide”, “mentor” or “facilitator”, shows a focus on teacher
performance rather than musings on the nature of the subject or the cognitive development of

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM
students. Despite this, however, it may be the case that consideration of the nature of the subject
is implied in the highlighting of these classroom-based performative items. Identifying with theenabler type of teacher is suggestive of a belief in the nature of the subject in that English is askill that requires practice, variety, making mistakes and so on, and that a teacher needs to adopt
a role that is conducive to creating an environment that allows these to occur so that learning andcognitive development can take place. Of course, whether teachers make these connections is notevident from a simple examination of their paragraphs, it can just be said that in their paragraphs
teachers are more cognizant of and place more importance on philosophical questions of them asa teacher, their role and how they should be in the classroom, rather than epistemic concerns andaims.
When looking at the results of the student survey, it is perhaps no surprise that they give
greatest endorsement to educational philosophy items that have a clear connection to them as
students, such as motivating them, creating a positive atmosphere, and encouraging
collaboration. The results of the individual scores of items reinforce this point and shows thatstudents expect to be active in the classroom and desire a teacher that helps them to be so. As
with the teachers’ ideal which is suggested through their paragraphs, so too do students see theenabler type of teacher as being most desirable. Ultimately, there is a great deal of agreement
between teachers and students as elements of teaching philosophies that involve greaterinteraction between classroom members and elements that focus on developing the conditions
that allow these are given greatest weight.
Not all is in agreement between teachers and students, though. The idea that education
involves some form of cognitive development beyond the simple acquisition of subject
knowledge was a recurrent theme in teachers’ educational philosophies, albeit one that was muchless frequent than themes relating to performative concerns. Although the development ofstudents’ critical thinking and intellectual curiosity have long been considered by many to be apart of what education is, it has only much more recently been seen by many in the profession to
be an important goal of language education. This is especially evident in the common use of theterm “critical thinking” on many EFL textbooks used today. Two examples of global textbooks
using the term, In Focus (Browne et al., 2021) and Pathways (Fetig & Najafi, 2018) are shownon the following page.

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM

Though the inclusion of critical thinking development would seem to be prudent,
especially given that such textbooks follow a largely content-based approach, the value of criticalthinking as part of the language teaching profession is a debate separate to that of this paper. It is
raised here simply because the results of the study point to a gulf between teachers’ and students’
thinking regarding it. The critical thinking labels that adorn many textbooks would seem to be
there to attract the teacher rather than the student; a reflection of the reality that teachers are theones overwhelmingly in charge of textbook selection for courses. Of course, one may argue thatstudents not giving a strong endorsement of critical thinking development is precisely a reason
for its inclusion and that, ultimately, the teacher knows best. However, as the results would seemto suggest that critical thinking development is not viewed by students as something of great
relevance to language education, mention of it in class, on the cover of textbooks or on course
syllabi is likely to have very little impact on students’ desire to take a course.
Directions for future researchThis small-scale study began as a means of satisfying my own curiosity about the fundamental
beliefs that teachers have about language education. The results proved to be illuminating andoffered future avenues for research to paint a much deeper and more complete picture of

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teachers’ educational philosophies. The following questions arose which may be best answered
through follow up interviews and other qualitative means:
How have these teachers arrived at these philosophies?
What influenced them? When? Where? How?
Is their educational philosophy consistent across their teaching of different subjects?
To what degree is their philosophy mitigated by contextual features?
Is it possible to ‘view’ their philosophy in their teaching?
Do national educational needs / preferences / differences influence the educational philosophiesthat are espoused?

BIO DATA

Nicholas Bradley is currently an associate professor within the Department of British
and American Studies at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. He holds a PhD in
Applied Linguistics and MAs in TESOL and History. His research interests focus
around cultural issues in education.
References
Brown, C., Culligan, B. and Phillips, J. (2021). In focus: A vocabulary reading andcritical thinking skills course. Cambridge: CUP
Fetig, C., Najafi, K. (2018). Pathways: Listening, speaking and critical thinking. Heinle& Heinle: Boston.
Harmer, J. (2015). The practice of English language teaching. London: Pearson.
Helplineph (2021) Different types of teachers in public schools. Helpline PH.
https://helplineph.com/opinion/different-types-of-teachers/
Rogers, C., & Frelberg, H.J. (1994). Freedom to learn. Harlow: Prentice Hall.

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Robertson, E. (2009) The epistemic aims of education. In H. Siegel (Ed). Philosophy ofeducation. Oxford: OUP
Scrivener, J (2011) Learning teaching. London: Macmillan
Siegel, H (2009) Philosophy of education and philosophy. In H. Siegel (Ed)., Philosophyof education. Oxford: OUP
Unicheck (2017) 17 Types of teachers everyone knows. Unicheck.
https://unicheck.com/blog/type