iafor

journal of education
studies in education
Volume 8 – Issue 4 – 2020
Editor: Tony Yeigh
Editor-in-Chief: Yvonne Masters

ISSN: 2187-0594

iafor
IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education
Volume 8 – Issue 4 – 2020

IAFOR Publications
The International Academic ForumIAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education
EditorTony Yeigh
Southern Cross University, Australia

Editor-in-Chief
Yvonne Masters, Australia

Published by The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Japan
IAFOR Publications, Sakae 1-16-26-201, Naka-ward, Aichi, Japan 460-0008

Executive Editor: Joseph Haldane
Publications Manager: Nick Potts
IAFOR Journal of Education: Undergraduate Education
Volume 8 – Issue 4 – 2020
Published November, 2020
IAFOR Publications © Copyright 2020
ISSN: 2187-0594
ije.iafor.org

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education
Volume 8 – Issue 4 – 2020
Edited by Tony Yeigh
Associate Editors: William Frick and Anemona PeresForeword(Musings from the Editor-in-Chief)
In what can only be described as an “annus horribilis” it is a pleasure to be able to write that
the IAFOR Journal of Education has continued to grow and bring articles to you from aroundthe globe. This issue, the first of our Studies in Education issues, completes our four issues for2020. The issue’s editorial team have worked hard to bring this issue to publication despite thecontinuing worries in the world. Many thanks go to the Editor, Tony Yeigh, and his Associate
Editors, William Frick and Anemona Peres. We also thank those reviewers who find time to
go above and beyond.
Reflecting on the overarching theme of our journal, education, I immediately thought of oneof my favourite quotations:
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
(T. S. Eliot, Little Gidding, 1942)
Through education, we undoubtedly grow and change, but there is also that aspect of it thatassists us to know ourselves and our world better, bringing us back to where we started, butwith greater insights. I realised that, if I include my own school years, I have now been ineducation for over six decades: and I am still learning and changing and returning to things I
thought I knew and finding different perspectives.
Our authors over the four issues this year have written from a range of viewpoints and we canlearn from all of them. They have represented 20 countries from most regions of the world,
providing local perspectives on global themes. As so many of us have been removed this year
from travel, I am pleased that we have windows into global education concerns.
2020 has been shadowed by COVID-19 and its dreadful effects on countries around the world.
It has also had its effect on education and I take this opportunity to promote our special issue
for 2021 which is dedicated to the educational responses to the pandemic. Please read our
website and the blog for more information about this issue.
As we approach what will undoubtedly be a very different Christmas season, my thanks to theauthors, the editors, the associate editors, the publications manager, Nick Potts, and to all thereviewers for bringing not only this issue, but all the issues of 2020, to you the readers. Season’s
Greetings to you all and best wishes for a brighter 2021.
Enjoy,
Yvonne Masters
Editor-in-Chief, IAFOR Journal of Education

Editorial Advice
Preparing a submission to the IAFOR Journal of Education is more than writing about yourresearch study: it involves paying careful attention to our submission requirements. Different
journals have different requirements in terms of format, structure and referencing style, among
other things. There are also some common expectations between all journals such as the use ofgood academic language and lack of plagiarism. To assist you in reaching the review stage forthis or any other peer-reviewed journal, we provide the following advice which you should
check carefully and ensure that you adhere to.
1. Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a practice that is not acceptable in any journal. Avoiding plagiarism is the cardinalrule of academic integrity because plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, ispresenting someone else’s work as your own. The IAFOR Journal of Education immediately
rejects any submission with evidence of plagiarism.
There are three common forms of plagiarism, none of which are acceptable:
1. Plagiarism with no referencing. This is copying the words from another source (article,
book, website, etc.) without any form of referencing.
2. Plagiarism with incorrect referencing. This involves using the words from anothersource and only putting the name of the author and/or date as a reference. Whilst not as
grave as the plagiarism just mentioned, it is still not acceptable academic practice.
Direct quoting requires quotation marks and a page number in the reference. This isbest avoided by paraphrasing rather than copying.
3. Self-plagiarism. It is not acceptable academic practice to use material that you havealready had published (which includes in conference proceedings) in a new submission.
You should not use your previously published words and you should not submit about
the same data unless it is used in a completely new way.
2. Meeting the Journal Aims and Scope
Different journals have different aims and scope, and papers submitted should fit the specificjournal. A “scattergun” approach (where you submit anywhere in the hope of being published)
is not sound practice. Like in darts, your article needs to hit the journal’s “bullseye”, it needs
to fit within the journal’s interest area. For example, a submission that is about building bridges,
will not be acceptable in a journal dedicated to education. Ensure that your paper is clearly
about education.
3. Follow the Author Guidelines
Most journals will supply a template to be followed for formatting your paper. Often, there will
also be a list of style requirements on the website (font, word length, title length, page layout,
and referencing style, among other things). There may also be suggestions about the preferred
structure of the paper. For the IAFOR Journal of Education these can all be found here:
https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-education/author-guidelines/

4. Use Academic Language
The IAFOR Journal of Education only accepts papers written in correct and fluent English ata high academic standard. Any use of another language (whether in the paper or the referencelist) requires the inclusion of an English translation.
The style of expression must serve to articulate the complex ideas and concepts being presented,
conveying explicit, coherent, unambiguous meaning to scholarly readers. Moreover,manuscripts must have a formal tone and quality, employing third-person rather than firstperson standpoint (when feasible), placing emphasis on the research and not on unsubstantiatedsubjective impressions.
Contributors whose command of English is not at the level outlined above are responsible forhaving their manuscript corrected by a native-level, English-speaking academic prior to
submitting their paper for publication.
5. Literature Reviews
Any paper should have reference to the corpus of scholarly literature on the topic. A review ofthe literature should:
•
•
•
•
•

Predominantly be about contemporary literature (the last 5 years) unless you are
discussing a seminal piece of work.
Make explicit international connections for relevant ideas.
Analyse published papers in the related field rather than describe them.
Outline the gaps in the literature.
Highlight your contribution to the field.

Referencing
Referencing is the main way to avoid allegations of plagiarism. The IAFOR Journal of
Education uses the APA referencing style for both in-text citations and the reference list. If
you are unsure of the correct use of APA please use the Purdue Online Writing Lab (Purdue
OWL), – https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ – which has excellent examples
of all forms of APA referencing. Please note APA is used for referencing not for the generalformat of the paper. Your reference list should be alphabetical by author surname and include
DOIs whenever possible.
This short guide to getting published should assist you to move beyond the first editorial review.
Failure to follow the guidelines will result in your paper being immediately rejected.
Good luck in your publishing endeavours,
Dr Yvonne Masters
Editor-in-Chief, IAFOR Journal of Education

Table of Contents
From the Editor
Tony Yeigh1

Notes on Contributors

3

Study of NIS Teachers’ Perceptions of Teacher Professionalism in Kazakhstan
Bakyt Amirova

7

A Perception-Based Curricular Review on the K to 12 HUMSS
Strand Curriculum
Edwin Estrera

25

Empowering Adult Immigrant Learners Through Systematic
Motivation Work in the Classroom
May Olaug Horverak
Gerd Martina Langeland
Kedir Diary45

EFL Teachers’ Autonomy Supportive Practices for Out-of Class
Language Learning
Tuba Işık
Cem Balçıkanlı

63

Academic Failure: Unspoken Experiences by International Postgraduate
Students in a Malaysian University
Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh79

An Issue of Urban/Rural Division? Examining Mongolian Language Educationin the IMAR
Qi Zhang

95

Pedagogical Praxis: Muslim-Filipino Madrasah Teachers’ Conceptualityof Instructional Process
Abdul Haiy A. Sali

115

How do Principals of High Performing Schools Achieve Sustained
Improvement Results?
Lewes PeddellDavid Lynch
Richard Waters
Wendy Boyd
Royce Willis

133

Recreating Discourse Community for Appropriating HOCs in Law
Undergraduates’ Academic Writing
Suman Luhach151Maṇḍala in Architecture: Symbolism and Significance for Contemporary
Design Education in India
Navin Piplani
Tejwant Singh Brar

171

Introducing Animal-Assisted Intervention for Special Educationin Integrated Farming System
Teh Xian Zhi
Zalena Abdul Aziz
Nooriati Taib

193

Reviewers

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IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 8 – Issue 4 – 2020

From the Editor
Welcome to the first issue of the IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education. This isan exciting time for the journal, as this issue represents a particular focus relating to the
exploration of significant themes and ideas in education, alternative and exceptional programsfor teaching and learning, and the investigation of promising practices in education. In thisissue, the international “flavour” of the journal is evident, with articles and authors from a wide
range of different countries and cultures reporting on research that involves distinctive learning
experiences, progressive teaching approaches, matters of educational policy, school leadership,
and professional training. In this respect Studies in Education supports the larger mission of
the IAFOR Journal of Education to promote the exchange of research and ideas internationally,
facilitate inter-cultural awareness, encourage discussion across discipline areas and share newknowledge and information globally.
You will find the scope of coverage for this particular issue is quite broad and innovative, witharticles reporting on research that ranges from primary and secondary school studies throughto tertiary learning, policy guidance, dissertations and religious influence. These articles also
involve a wide range of methods, including narrative and discourse analysis, case studies,
phenomenological inquiry, quantitative statistical analysis and mixed methods.
To give you an idea of the breadth of research foci for this issue, there is an investigation into
the use of animals to support special or “additional” needs education, an analysis of specificconcepts about community within Islamic teaching and learning, a report on the characteristics
of successful school principals, a model proposed for supporting autonomous learning, aconcept paper proposing analytical indicators to help transition traditional concepts in design
education, an examination of linguistic capital, evaluation of a national curriculum, and an
exploration of the impact of postgraduate academic failure – plus more!
I wish to thank everyone who submitted to this issue. We received a great many submissions
and the excellence of these was generally very good. To those whose submission was not
accepted for this issue, I encourage you to use the feedback you have received to revise, oreven rewrite, your article and submit again - either to the next issue of Studies in Education, adifferent, IAFOR Journal of Education issue, or to another Scopus listed journal, as appropriate
to the focus of your work. The point is to share your research collegially with other researchers,in order to promote your specific ideas and contributions, and to receive feedback from peers.
Together we fill the “gaps”, as well as support one another along the way.
It is also important to acknowledge the time and effort of the people who helped make thisissue a reality. It takes a team of capable and professionally-minded individuals to bring ajournal to the point of publication, and I am deeply thankful to all those who contributed to the
preparation of this issue by giving of their time, effort and capabilities to undertake the many
reviews required. In some cases, this involved reviewing multiple submissions even while thereviewer themself was working and researching as a full-time academic. Please know this is
greatly appreciated. A special thanks to Bill Frick and Anemona Peres, who as associate editors
provided valuable assistance and feedback to me.

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I trust you enjoy this issue of Studies in Education, finding in it novel ideas and perspectives
that assist your own thinking and “doing” when it comes to research. When we share ideas
together, we build collaborative understanding.
Best Wishes,
Tony Yeigh
Editor: Studies in Education

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Notes on Contributors
Article 1: Study of NIS Teachers’ Perceptions of Teacher Professionalism in Kazakhstan
Bakyt Amirova is a teacher of English at Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Chemistry andBiology in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan. Bakyt obtained a Master of Science in Educational
Leadership, Nazarbayev University. She promotes teacher leadership and provides
professional support to novice teachers in her school.
Email: amirov_b@pvl.nis.edu.kz
Article 2: A Perception-Based Curricular Review on the K to 12 HUMSS Strand
Curriculum
Edwin Estrera is full-time Assistant Professor 1 at the University of the Philippines, Cebu,
teaching in multiple Social Science areas. His research interests include curriculum andinstruction, Social Studies teaching, and the public-school system.
Email: ebestrera@up.edu.phArticle 3: Empowering Adult Immigrant Learners Through Systematic Motivation
Work in the Classroom
May Olaug Horverak is headmistress at an adult learning centre and runs an inter-municipal
project on working with life skills in school. She has a PhD in English, and a background asa teacher and a child welfare worker.
Email: may.olaug.horverak@birkenes.kommune.no
Gerd Martina Langeland is an upper secondary school teacher and runs a project in the
county on working with life skills in upper secondary school. She has a master’s degree in
Norwegian literature.
Kedir Diary is a social worker at an adult learning centre and works in an inter-municipal
project on working with life skills in adult learning contexts. He also has experience fromhealth care work and from running a transportation business.
Article 4: EFL Teachers’ Autonomy Supportive Practices for Out-of-Class Language
Learning
Tuba Isik (PhD student, Cukurova University) works as a research assistant in the ELT
Department at Erzincan Binali Yildirim University, Turkey. Currently, she is involved inprojects investigating teacher autonomy support and autonomous language learning withtechnology beyond the classroom.
Email: tuba.turkel@erzincan.edu.tr
Cem Balçikanli (PhD, Gazi University) is a professor in the Department of English
Language, Teaching at Gazi University, Turkey. His primary research interests concern
learner autonomy, and language learning with technology.

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Article 5: Academic Failure: Unspoken Experiences by International Postgraduate
Students in a Malaysian University
Jasvir Singh’s expertise is in higher education with a particular interest in exploring
international students’ current issues such as their academic success lived experiences,
employability and career aspirations as well as learning experiences in a blended learning
environment.
Email: j.nachatarsingh@latrobe.edu.au
Article 6: An Issue of Urban/Rural Division? Examining Mongolian Language
Education in the IMAR
Qi Zhang is an assistant professor in School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies,
Dublin City University, Ireland. Her recent research interests include applied Chinese
linguistics, language attitudes and pedagogy, and Chinese language education among ethnic
minorities in China.
Email: qi.zhang@dcu.ie
Article 7: Pedagogical Praxis: Muslim-Filipino Madrasah Teachers’ Conceptuality of
Instructional Process
Abdul Haiy A. Sali holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. He is also a Master ofArts in Education specializing in Curriculum and Instruction candidate. His publication andresearch areas include madrasah education, comparative education, pedagogic theory,
curriculum development, and public policy.
Email: abdulhaiysali@gmail.com
Article 8: How do Principals of High Performing Schools Achieve Sustained
Improvement Results?
Lewes Peddell is a lecturer in the School of Education at Southern Cross University(Australia). His current research interests are school improvement, professional education
associations and teacher identity.
Email: lewes.peddell@scu.edu.au
David Lynch is Professor of Education in the School of Education at Southern Cross
University. David’s research focuses on whole school teaching improvement, rethinking
teaching and teacher education, and the role and skills required of school leaders to effectwhole school teaching improvement.
Richard Waters works in the Masters of Education program at Southern Cross University.
His main interests are educational leadership, parent involvement, student engagement andalternative schooling practices.
Wendy Boyd is Senior Lecturer in education at Southern Cross University, Australia. Her
research focuses on the quality of education programs to support the optimal learning of allchildren.

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Royce Willis has a background in Psychological Science and is currently working as a
Research Officer and Casual Academic at Southern Cross University. His research spans
psychology and education, with his education-specific research including Blended Learning,
School Improvement, Teacher Identity, and teacher and student retention.
Article 9: Recreating Discourse Community for Appropriating HOCs in Law
Undergraduates’ Academic Writing
Suman Luhach is an Assistant Professor of English at the School of Law, Bennett University,
India. Her research and interest areas include academic and advanced writing skills of college
students, online collaborative language learning, ELT, legal English, and literary theories.
Email: kulhari.suman87@gmail.com
Article 10: Maṇḍala in Architecture: Symbolism and Significance for Contemporary
Design Education in India
Navin Piplani is an architect, educator and researcher working in India. His research interests
lie in the areas of traditional knowledge systems, design thinking and practice, architecture
education, building craft traditions and cultural heritage studies.
Email: navin.piplani@gmail.com
Tejwant Singh Brar is a Professor in Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Sushant
University (erstwhile Ansal University), India. He is an architect and urban planner withresearch interests in architecture pedagogy, design thinking, urban design and planning, water
resource management, GIS and remote sensing.
Article 11: Introducing Animal-Assisted Intervention for Special Education in
Integrated Farming System
Teh Xian Zhi is a postgraduate student in Master of Architecture in the School of Housing,
Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia. He received his
Bachelor of Science (Hons) Architecture (LAM Part 1) in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
in 2018.
Zalena Abdul Aziz is a lecturer and a researcher in the Universiti Sains Malaysia. Her areasof interest are sustainable architecture, fire safety, indoor air quality, and Heritage andConservation. She has more than 20 years experience in the construction industry and has
experience designing public halls, high courts, apartments, schools, hotels and resorts.
Email: zalena@usm.my
Nooriati Taib is a lecturer and a researcher in the Universiti Sains Malaysia. Her areas ofresearch include thermal comfort and landscape in architecture, highlighting the effects ofplants and thermal comfort in transitional spaces.

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Study of NIS Teachers’ Perceptions of Teacher Professionalism in Kazakhstan
Bakyt Amirova
Nazarbayev University
Kazakhstan

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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to understand the central phenomenon of teacher professionalism,
identify the perceptions of teacher professionalism and what factors contribute to or inhibit
teacher professionalism. The main research question of this study is how do Nazarbayev
Intellectual Schools teachers perceive teacher professionalism in the school? Subsidiary
research questions were addressed in order to reach the purpose of the study: what are theteachers’ perceptions of the factors that contribute to teacher professionalism at school?andwhat are their perceptions of the factors that inhibit teacher professionalism? Semi-structured
interviews were conducted with ten participants and analyzed with the help of thematic coding
and interpretation. The researcher used purposeful sampling. The study is significant because
it voices teachers’ perceptions of how teacher professionalism is defined in the educational
system of independent Kazakhstan as well as in the Central Asia region. The research findings
revealed that teacher professionalism in Kazakhstan is a complex notion that comprises various
aspects of teaching and learning including commitment to the profession, school-based courses,
professional learning communities, and supportive work environment. There are also certain
factors that inhibit professionalism including lack of time-management skills, lack ofmotivation, burnout and paperwork. The study has limitations as only ten participants shared
their perspectives on teacher professionalism. Future studies could extend the research by
conducting a similar study in other Kazakhstani school contexts, or other schools in Central
Asia, to explore other teachers’ perceptions regarding professionalism involving teachers ofdifferent subjects teaching in rural and urban areas.
Keywords: Kazakhstan, Intellectual Schools, Nazarbayev, perception, teacher professionalism

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Teacher professionalism has been explored in many countries at different times. However,there have been no empirical studies on teacher professionalism in Kazakhstan. To address
the gap, the following study has been conducted at the site of Nazarbayev Intellectual
School. The network of Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS) was launched in 2008 withthe mission to reform both teaching and learning in secondary schools. NIS schools havebecome a platform for innovative education in collaboration with international staff. NIS
students study in a trilingual learning environment and have an intensive school curriculum
which allows the learners to think critically and creatively as students take part in various
project work and competitions. School educators prepare integrated cross-curricular lessons,use criteria-based assessment to assess student’s progress, and focus on their professional
development through participation in professional learning communities such as Lesson
Study or Action Research. The current research aims at voicing teachers’ perceptions onteacher professionalism, as well as identifying the factors that contribute to or inhibit
professionalism in schools.
The main purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate in-depth the perceptions ofteacher professionalism by NIS teachers, concerning the factors that inhibit or contribute toteacher professionalism at school. The main research question of this study is: How do NIS
teachers perceive teacher professionalism in the school? The following subsidiary researchquestions will also be addressed: 1.What are the NIS teachers’ perceptions of the factors that
contribute to teacher professionalism at school? 2.What are the NIS teachers’ perceptions of
the factors that inhibit teacher professionalism at school? In view of the above researchquestions, a qualitative research design was employed for the study.
Literature Review
The concept of professionalism in teaching is mostly discussed in sociological, educational
and ideological contexts in the literature. It is significant to define teacher professionalism
in relation to changing political, historical and social contexts, as the notion of teacher
professionalism is influenced by the context and time that define it (Demirkasimoglu, 2010;
Hargreaves, 2000; Mockler, 2005). The researchers have identified a variety of definitionsof teacher professionalism in the last two decades. An analysis of some definitions found in
the research is presented below.
Helsby and McCulloch (1996) define the concept of professionalism as “teachers’
responsibilities to control and develop their own knowledge and actions for the benefits of
their clients” (as cited in Webb et al., 2004, p.83). According to this definition, children )or“clients” as the researchers name them) and their progress in learning should be the crucialpart of teaching. Student-oriented or student-centered teaching approach has become
dominant in modern pedagogy and this approach enables learners to develop their potential,
collaborate with other peers, and contribute to class discussions and projects.
Torres and Weiner (2018) emphasize the importance of knowledge when defining teacher
professionalism. The researchers state that professional bodies (colleges and universities)
and key stakeholders (practitioners, scholars) determine what counts as “knowledge” which
is mostly gained via formal education.
Hanlon (1998) argues that “professionalism is a shifting rather than a concrete phenomenon”
and states:

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…when I discuss professionals I am talking about groups such as
doctors, academics, teachers, accountants, lawyers, engineers,civil servants, etc., that is those groups commonly thought of as
professional by the lay public, academics, the professionals
themselves and so on. (as cited in Whitty, 2000, p. 282).
A study by Wardoyo et al. (2017) emphasizes that the government plays a crucial role whenit comes to defining teacher professionalism. As the researchers state, professionalism isdefined as four main competencies that a qualified teacher should have. They are“pedagogical competence, personal competence, social competence, and professional
competence” (p. 90). The outlined competnces are connected with the performance ofteachers at work, their effectiveness as educators and leaders through teaching andinteracting with other colleagues.
Webb et al. (2004), in their comparative analysis of teacher professionalism, claim thatmodern educational reforms become the reason for transforming the roles andresponsibilities of school staff, and this transforming nature of teachers’ work has influenced
the perceptions of the teacher’s role as a professional. These researchers emphasize that thenotion of teacher professionalism is defined by two opposing conceptions. According to thefirst concept, there is a “traditional ‘social service’ view of professionalism” whereas thesecond conception emphasizes “a ‘commercialized’ view of professionalism, with its
emphasis on managerial and financial skills” (p. 83) Many researchers discuss two
discourses that prevail in defining teacher professionalism, which might be considered in adifferent way.
Evans (2008) defines professionalism as “new” or “modified” professionalism. This author
explains that new professionalism can be analyzed in the light of a reform and standards
agenda (pp. 20–29). “New” professionalism, as Evans states, has three conceptions:demanded, prescribed and enacted. Demanded or requested professionalism is connectedwith certain demands or requests that are expected from employers. Prescribed
professionalism reflects proposed performance measures by analysts. Enacted
professionalism means your professional practice is observed and analyzed by a specialist
from a related sphere. The current researcher postulates that only the latter can be consideredas the “only meaningful conception of professionalism” (Evans, 2008, p. 29), since it mirrors“the reality of daily practices” (p. 29). The researcher concludes with the following
definition of professionalism:
Professionality-influenced practice that is consistent with commonly-held consensual
delineations of a specific profession and that both contributes to and reflects perceptions of
the profession’s purpose and status and the specific nature, range and levels of service
provided by, and expertise prevalent within, the profession, as well as the general ethicalcode underpinning this practice (Evans, 2008, p. 29).
Factors Contributing to Teacher Professionalism
Many researchers agree that continuing professional development helps teachers to stayprofessional in their sphere, emphasizing that professional development is closely connectedwith teacher professionalism (Ifanti & Fotopoulopou, 2011; Sachs, 1997; Swann et al., 2010;
Webb et al., 2004). Researchers have a similar view regarding the interconnection between
professionalism and professional development, emphasizing the importance of continuous
professional development for teachers (Evans, 2008; Ifanti & Fotopoulopou, 2011; Mockler,

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2005; Wardoyo et al., 2017). The findings of these researchers suggest that school
practitioners are interested in being informed about current educational research findings.
Trends in international research and teaching experience contribute to professional
development of school educators. Finally, many researchers point out that opportunities for
professional development enable teachers to be retained in the profession (Day & Smethem,2009).
In other research works, lifelong learning has also been mentioned as an important factor
that contributes to teacher professionalism (Ifanti & Fotopoulopou, 2011; Webb et. al, 2004).
These studies reveal that educators are enthusiastic to learn and upgrade their skills sinceteachers consider continual learning as one of the key characteristics of teacher
professionalism. Other researchers, while discussing teacher professionalism, have become
interested in developing research skills, as they consider this skill necessary for their own
development as well as for student learning (Davies & Ferguson, 2010).
Another factor that contributes to teacher professionalism is collaboration with colleagues.
There is much research emphasizing that collaboration with colleagues plays a significant
role in defining professionalism at school sites (Hargreaves, 2000; Ifanti & Fotopoulopou,
2011; Kennedy, 1997; Sachs, 1997; Tschannen-Moran, 2009; Webb et al., 2004). This
research points out that a collaborative atmosphere in school enables teachers to join forces
with the purpose to negotiate, reflect and solve the challenges of a teaching practice.
Working in a supportive environment increases a teacher’s morale, confidence andemotional well-being (Day, 2002; Webb et al, 2004).
Commitment to teaching has also been identified as a factor that contributes to teacher
professionalism in school (Day, 2002; Ifanti & Fotopoulopou, 2011; Locke et. al, 2005; Okas
et al., 2014; Webb et al, 2004;). These studies reveal that such intrinsic factors as
commitment and motivation also define teachers’ professional identities. Despite the factthat there is accountability and control dominating in the educational systems of many
countries, commitment to teaching is considered to be a cornerstone of modern teaching by
many teachers. Making a difference in students’ lives has always been a core element of theteaching profession, and commitment to better teaching and learning has been pointed out
as a significant part of teacher professionalism.
Factors Inhibiting Teacher Professionalism
Ifanti and Fotopoulopou (2011) indicate that bureaucracy decreases teachers’ motivation towork. In this respect the current research participants expressed concerns regarding
paperwork, leading to an expression of dissatisfaction about this. Unnecessary paperwork
was also mentioned as a factor that inhibits teacher professionalism in the cross-country
study by English and Finnish researchers (Webb et. al, 2004) and in other studies set invarious contexts (Day & Smethem, 2009; Locke et al., 2005). It was mentioned in the latter
research that paperwork too often stems from accountability, which makes teachers
responsible for students’ exam scores and test results. Indeed, the age of accountability has
put much pressure and work intensification on teachers’ practices around the world (Day &Smethem, 2009; Hargreaves, 2000; Locke et al., 2005). Another issue that concerns manyteachers is the fact that they have turned into technicians rather than educators. Suchtransformation is rooted in national testing systems, league tables and school monitoring
systems (Locke et al., 2005; Webb et al., 2004). There is an increasing recent trend in the
education systems of many countries that teachers teach for tests, making students memorize
instead of developing such skills as critical thinking and problem solving.

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Lack of autonomy has also been identified as a factor that negatively affects teacher
professionalism (Pearson & Moomaw, 2005; Swann et al., 2010; Torres & Weiner, 2018;
Webb et al., 2004 ). These researchers state that a prescribed curriculum is considered bymany teachers as a negative aspect of current teaching (Swann et al., 2010; Webb et al.,2004). Their research findings indicate that teachers lack flexibility and autonomy in theirworkplace which often leads to job dissatisfaction (Pearson & Moomaw, 2005), loss of
spontaneity in teaching (Webb et al., 2004) and experiencing pressure (Locke et al., 2005).
To date, with the increase of workload, accountability and government interventions,teachers in many countries feel deskilled, pressured and not trusted (Day & Smethem, 2009;
Locke et al., 2005; Webb et al, 2004 ). There is much evidence that most educational reforms
have resulted in more paperwork, increased challenges of everyday teaching practice, andtemporary instability in their work (Day, 2002). Teachers often feel inundated withworkloads that prevent them from teaching, leading to guilt (Hargreaves, 1994),
deprofessionalization (Webb et al., 2004), burnout (Mustafa, 2013; Pearson & Moomaw,2005) and stress (Day & Smethem, 2009). Such negative consequences result in teachers’
lack of motivation towards their work, making school educators feel confused about theirroles (Mustafa, 2013).
Methods
A qualitative research method was used to gain insight into the nature of teacher
professionalism. Teachers’ perceptions of professionalism were viewed as the central
phenomenon of the study, exploring the main research question: How do NIS teachers
perceive teacher professionalism in the school? Face-to-face interviews for collecting data
were carried out. For the study, we were interested in obtaining more data from theinterviews for further in-depth analysis and interpretations regarding teacher
professionalism. The qualitative design allowed us to set interviews with the research
participants and explore their perceptions on teacher professionalism. As well, we were able
to find out factors that contribute to and inhibit teacher professionalism in each school
context. Thus, a qualitative research design helped to create conditions that allowed teachers
to share their experience and reflections about what professionalism is to them.
Research Sampling and Participants
Purposeful sampling was used for this research. This type of sampling allowed us to choose
the participants for the study and explore the phenomenon of the study in-depth. The main
sampling criteria were teaching different subjects and having a variety of years teachingexperience for the sample. “To develop many perspectives” in our study, (Creswell, 2002,
p. 207), we used maximal variation sampling to understand better the perception of teacher
professionalism with NIS teachers. Creswell (2002) states that “qualitative research relies
more on the views of participants in the study and less on the direction identified in theliterature by the researcher” (p. 17). Therefore, it was crucial to obtain the data from different
perspectives. We intended to understand how NIS teachers of various subjects andeducational backgrounds viewed professionalism.
Before conducting the research, we asked permission from the school principal of NIS. The
purpose of the study was explained and we received permission for further research work in
the field. An official letter from Nazarbayev University was also provided to explain thestages of the research.

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Ten NIS teachers from different subject departments were selected with the help of apurposeful sampling strategy. About 100 teachers work at the site of NIS school, mostly
females. Being limited by time scope and availability of the participants, only ten
participants were selected for the study. The participants were of different ages, nationalities
and professional backgrounds. The selected interview candidates were teachers of physicaleducation, English language, biology, chemistry, physics, math, art, history, and Kazakh andRussian languages. We talked individually to each interview participant to schedule asuitable time and place for organizing an interview. The summary of the research
participants is presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Summary of the research participantsParticipant
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
P8
P9
P10

Subject
EnglishRussianHistory
Biology
Art
Maths
Chemistry
Physical
education
KazakhPhysics

Teaching
experience
3 years
26 years
4 years
21 years
15 years
4 years
14 years
17 years

GenderFemaleFemaleMale
FemaleFemaleFemaleMale
Female20 years
19 years

FemaleFemaleData Collection-Interviews
One-on-one interviews with open-ended questions were chosen as the main tool for datacollection. As Creswell (2002) states, one-on-one interviews are a good tool for interviewing
participants who are open to speak and who can “share ideas clearly”. Although suchinterviews are a “time-consuming and costly approach” (p. 218), they also provide an
opportunity for the participants to reflect, analyze and delve into the issue of the research.
Semi-structured interviews provided greater flexibility and precision for the study, whileinterviewing the participants using this type of interview also offered the ability to change
the pace of the interview process when needed, adding extra questions for clarification or
skipping some of them if a prior answer had already addressed the issue. Another advantageof these semi-structured interviews was that respondents were allowed to reflect and mullover ideas before they answered, deepening the topic they discuss. It is significant toencourage interviewees to voice their opinions and perceptions.
Thus, using a semi-structured interview appeared appropriate for the current study, as it
offered participants an opportunity to express their ideas about the concept of teacher
professionalism in school openly. Asking open-ended questions in qualitative researchallows participants to “best voice their experiences unconstrained by any perspectives of theresearcher or past research findings” (Creswell, 2002, p. 218).
Ethical Considerations
At the very beginning of the interview, all the participants signed an informed consent form.

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In the informed consent form, we stated that the name, occupation, and other information
concerning the participant would remain anonymous. We also mentioned that theparticipants’ answers would be recorded for further analysis. The data would be kept in a
password-protected computer, which had limited access. It was indicated to each participantthat only the researcher would have access to the data and might have to show some part ofthe data to the research supervisor for her guidance in data collection and analysis. When thedata analysis was complete and final paper approved, all data would be destroyed. The
participants were told about the purpose of the research, their rights and benefits of the study.
Since many of the participants had been interviewed for the research purpose for the firsttime, some of them asked questions regarding the nature of the study, and all their questions
were answered. All participants agreed to participate in the research, and there was no one
who rejected taking part in the interview.
Data Analysis and Findings
As the interviews revealed, teacher professionalism cannot be considered as something rigid
and static; on the contrary, professionalism is quite a dynamic and flexible phenomenon. The
majority of literature in this area suggests that teacher professionalism is a changing notionof which teachers should be aware. A history teacher provides his definition of teacher
professionalism:
For me, teacher professionalism means to have certain skills for better
teaching and more effective learning. Professionalism is associated with aconstant strive for further professional development which should be inaccordance with the time context and learners’ needs.
Seven teachers perceived professionalism as a dynamic phenomenon, which enables
teachers to revise and improve both teaching and learning. Professional teachers stay focusedon recent innovations and changes in education, as they realize there is no effective teaching
without constant development and improvement.
Another striking characteristic of teacher professionalism is ongoing professional
development. The vast majority, nine out of ten interviewees, believed that professional
development plays an integral role in becoming and being a professional teacher. As one ofthe participants, who teaches Russian, admits:
Teacher professionalism is highly competitive today and to stay afloat in theprofession, modern teachers have to improve their practice through reading
about teaching methods and recent educational research areas. Teachers
should know their subjects efficiently as well as take part in various local,
republic and international events, like workshops or conferences.
Nine interview participants stated a conviction that professional development is a significant
part of teacher professionalism that enriches teaching and learning in school. These teachers
agreed that professional development is an ongoing process that improves teaching practiceand their skills for the better.
Seven respondents mention meeting learners’ needs as a key characteristic of teacher
professionalism. During interviews, these teachers pointed out that they spend much time14

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preparing for the lessons and finding the relevant materials for learners’ needs. A physics
teacher talks about her preparation for the lessons:
To prepare good lessons, I spend much time looking for appropriate classmaterials. It is really time-consuming as the learners have different language
abilities but it is really rewarding. For me, it is important to make my lessons
useful for each learner.
Among the research participants were teachers with three years of teaching experience, as
well as teachers who have been in their profession for more than twenty years. Despite thelevel of experience however, both young and mature teachers were convinced thatprofessionalism is defined by a deep knowledge of the subject an educator teaches, and how
successfully a teacher can motivate students for in-depth learning. Ten interview participants
explain that it is vital for professional teachers to know their subject very well.
For example, an art teacher voices her opinion about the significance of deep subject
knowledge for teachers:
It is important for teachers to know their subject well: how to teach it in an
effective way, how to motivate students for their class engagement andcontribution. Every teacher chooses his way to students’ hearts and with indepth knowledge (of their subject matter) the way is much easier.
Professional competencies include not only the subject knowledge but also good knowledgeof children’s psychology and their age-related differences. During the interviews, six
participants emphasized that knowing child psychology and age-related differences is crucial
for a professional teacher. As a biology teacher explains:
A professional teacher, in my opinion, should strive for professional growthin his/her subject as well as in pedagogical and psychological aspects.
Having sufficient knowledge and skills will result in the effectiveness of thework and the quality of education.
Eight participants noted that ICT skills have become a significant “must-have” forcontemporary teachers. Teachers should be confident IT users to lead a lesson in the 21st
century. A math teacher emphasizes the shift in the demand of skills in a teaching profession:
Nowadays teachers are not only expected to teach but to do many other things
as well. One of them is to use IT very well: teachers create presentations,tables, create online documents, use Edmodo for learning and do many othertasks or projects that require sufficient ICT skill. Teachers with good ICT
skills are considered to be leading professionals now.
Factors Contributing to Teacher Professionalism
Eight respondents mention that commitment to the teaching profession and strive forprofessional development play a crucial role in becoming a professional teacher. A chemistryteacher believes that commitment to the profession is significant saying that:
I think, it is important for teachers to have that inner desire to be aprofessional educator since our job requires constant development and15

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learning. We cannot just stop and teach the same things for years. Our
knowledge and teaching approaches should be revised and improved. If ateacher does not have a desire to learn, he or she cannot be considered as ateacher anymore.
This quote reveals that professional commitment is an essential quality for school teachers.
Eight teachers agreed that commitment and motivation to the profession contribute toprofessionalism; it is a driving force of school improvement, especially in terms ofprofessional development for teachers.
All ten participants believe that having a variety of opportunities for professional
development sustains teacher professionalism at school. A teacher of physical education
describes how opportunities for development improve her teaching practice:
For me, it does not matter if it is an online course or a course at the schoolsite. I always try to take more from my participation. For example, I attended
a course dedicated to develop critical thinking skill. I found it very useful as
I learnt some techniques and tasks that will help me to develop students’critical thinking ability. Such courses make me more professional in mysubject, I feel more confident during the lessons.
This teacher’s response reveals that opportunities for professional development enable
teachers to improve their teaching practices, which appear to result in more effective student
learning (Ifanti & Fotopoulopou, 2011; Webb et. al, 2004). There is a common pattern interms of attitude towards having a variety of opportunities for professional development,
wherein most interview respondents feel motivated and enthusiastic to gain more knowledge
and methodological support from the opportunities the school provides.
During interviews, eight participants mention a ‘2+1’ school project as an activity that
contributes to teacher professionalism. Teachers with little experience pointed out that theschool project ‘2+1’ helps them in becoming more professional. The ‘2+1’ project allows
teachers to attend and observe each other’s lessons on an agreed time. Every teacher is
supposed to attend 2 lessons by other teachers who teach the same subject as the attendee,plus 1 lesson by a different subject teacher. These professional visits help beginning teachers
to learn more about teaching methods and learning strategies that they can apply later in theirlessons. Moreover, a ‘2+1’ project contributes to better collaboration among teachers at
school, as they discuss the lesson stages and share their views together. As a teacher ofEnglish says about the advantages of this project:
When I have a chance to visit my colleagues’ lessons, I learn more about
using interesting teaching techniques that I can apply in my lessons. I findlesson observations very useful as I can see my students working in anotherlesson and the observations help to be a more effective teacher. I do not have
many years of teaching experience so such observations give me an
opportunity to improve my teaching style and understand children’s
psychology better.
Four participants said that a mentoring program in school contributes to teacher
professionalism. Three of the four respondents are beginning teachers. According to theparticipants with less than five years of teaching experience, the school offers good16

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opportunities for enhancing teaching practice through a mentoring program. The mentoring
program creates conditions for a professional collaboration between a beginning teacher anda teacher with a rich teaching practice, wherein teachers plan lessons together, observe eachother’s lessons and provide constructive feedback regarding teaching and learning. Youngteachers stated that this program contributes to their professional development and thegaining of useful teaching experience. A teacher of history describes how the mentoring
program helped him address challenges in the classroom:
I had problems with some naughty students in my class who teased otherstudents and (I) didn’t know what to do with them. I explained the situation
to my mentor and asked for advice…She suggested some useful tips that I
started applying in the lessons. Later, to my excitement, their behavior
changed and the relationships became better…Her help was a relief to me.
This response reveals that the mentoring program nurtures teaching practices, especially for
beginning teachers. This program, as younger teachers state, is a key initiative for becoming
a professional teacher.
Eight interview participants defined their participation in professional learning communities(PLC) at school as a factor that has a positive influence on their professionalism. A PLC isa group of educators who meet regularly, share expertise, and work collaboratively to
improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students. There are three main
PLCs in the schools that these participants attend for their professional development: “action
research”, “lesson study” and “teaching talented and gifted children”. Eight interview
participants mentioned that such PLCs enrich their teaching and student learning. A Kazakh
language teacher shares her experience regarding the effectiveness of being part of a lesson
study project on her practice:
I am part of Lesson study group. I think that working with colleagues in suchprofessional communities makes me feel I am not alone with the challenges
or issues that emerge in the class or school. My colleagues from lesson study
group help me explore my practice through observations, class projects anddiscussions.
Consequently, it should be emphasized that participation in a school PLC can have a positive
influence on teachers’ practices. Indeed, eight participants identified PLCs as a factor that
contributes to teacher professionalism, stating that participation in a school PLC has enrichedboth their teaching and student learning. According to the responses of these eightparticipants, PLCs help teachers to reflect on their practices and discuss classroom
challenges.
Another factor that contributes to teacher professionalism is school-based courses thatteachers attend to improve their language skills (Kazakh and English) and ICT competencies.
The courses are intended to provide support and assistance to school teachers, despite theirteaching experience or subject. Seven interview participants claimed that these school-based
language courses are beneficial for teaching in a trilingual learning environment, and ICT
courses increase teachers’ confidence while creating presentations or online documents forlessons. Some teachers attended courses because they have a language or technology goal.
Teachers are enthusiastic to attend Kazakh or English language courses, because they workin a trilingual environment. Teachers and students are expected to have sufficient skills in

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three languages. As a consequence, during their lessons, teachers of the school organize
activities that improve students’ language skills. A physical education teacher describes how
a school language course enhanced her level of Kazakh language:
I attend Kazakh lessons for teachers twice a week. This is a very unusualexperience for me as in my previous work we didn’t have such opportunities.
I often try to use Kazakh and English languages during my lessons with mystudents, especially for setting tasks and giving instructions. There is muchprogress in my Kazakh, I should admit.
The final factor mentioned during the interviews was work environment. Nine respondents
consider a friendly and trustworthy environment at school as one of the key factors that
contribute to teacher professionalism. Teachers’ responses reveal that working in a friendly
place makes them feel safe and confident. A teacher of Russian explains how a friendly
school environment keeps her enthusiastic during the day:This is my third year in this school and I have found some good friends here.
I realize I work more efficiently if I have breakfast or lunch with school
colleagues whom I can trust and talk openly. In general, I don’t want to saythat everyone on board is friendly and nice as I do not know some of theteachers, especially who came last year. Anyway, there are some teachers,
who can make my working day brighter even when I have so many things to
do at work.
According to the majority of the participants, a supportive work environment promotes
collaboration and trust among schoolteachers. Nine participants imply that in such working
environments they are open for building rapport as well as feel motivated to work andcollaborate by learning and sharing with other teachers. Knowing that you are trusted as a
specialist increases teachers’ morale and self-esteem. Therefore, it is vital to create a
supportive work environment where teachers will feel comfortable to teach and collaborate.
Factors Inhibiting Teacher Professionalism
Seven participants believed that if teachers are not motivated to develop professionally, suchan attitude can be a hindrance to better teaching and learning. What is more, more than a halfof the participants claim that lack of motivation can prevent school improvement. A teacherof biology describes how lack of teachers’ motivation might affect school improvement:
I am afraid (of) what might happen if all teachers became not interested intheir professional development. As one of the Kazakh poets said, “teacher isthe heart of the school” and these words emphasize the significance ofteachers’ contribution to learning, teaching and school improvement ingeneral. Therefore, if the teachers lack motivation to increase theirprofessional potential, the students’ academic achievement will decrease andthe school will not be able to develop in a sustainable way.
Nine respondents considered lack of time-management skills as another important factor that
inhibits teacher professionalism. According to the participants, this factor can prevent themfrom effective planning and prioritizing tasks. A teacher of English shares her opinion
regarding poor time-management skills:

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In this rapid pace of life and constant flow of information, it is quite
challenging to organize your day and stick to the things that you haveplanned. I want to do certain things during the day, like checking and marking
the students’ assignments, attend the meeting, plan the lessons and go toschool courses but the plans turn out to be half done at the end of the working
day. This makes me even more stressful. I even don’t have time to read andlearn something new for myself.
Eight participants mentioned burnout as a factor that inhibits professionalism at school. In
most cases, burnout is associated with being exhausted, stressful and emotionallydeteriorated. This is quite a common phenomenon for many professions, including teachers.
A science teacher explains how burnout has affected her at times:
I teach five or six lessons a day and I also have extra lessons for weaker
students. My schedule is pretty tough as I spend most of my time teaching theclass or grading the students’ work. I feel so tired at the end of the day thatat home I just relax. I do not read or learn something and that is very
frustrating for me. There are days when I have not so many lessons and it iswhen I can learn and reflect my own practice.
It can be noticed that burnout at work does not allow teachers to find spare time for readingor learning, as they have to prepare for or teach classes. If teachers feel too stressful or too
tired, they are not likely to be able to dedicate time to increase their teaching potential
through reading research or learning more about recent innovations in education. Therefore,burnout inhibits teacher professionalism in school.
Seven interview participants complained that too much paperwork is a hindrance to theirteaching practice and professional development. The participants believe that teaching has
become more of a bureaucracy: new reports and forms need to be completed on a regularbasis. A teacher of Kazakh shared the following view regarding school paperwork:
About fifteen years ago, I did not have so much paperwork. Basically, I waschecking and grading students’ work; you know, a normal routine forteachers. I would say that in the last five-six years teaching has transformed
in a significant way and for me, this change is not for the better. Teachinghas become more of clerical work than a learning process. Writing reports,
letters and different forms takes most of my time. After that, I feel uninspired…and do not want to do anything, just want to rest for some time.
The interview participants point out the final factor inhibiting professionalism is a lack ofautonomy for teachers. Seven out of ten participants claim that they have limited
opportunities for exercising flexibility at school. A language teacher shared her view on thelimited opportunities for teachers’ autonomy during lessons as follows:
I like our school program as it develops all four main skills of our students:
they listen,
read, write and speak in Russian during the lessons. However,I have some concerns. The problem I have is that my lessons are focused moreon doing the tasks to achieve learning objectives rather than practicing
language skills. For example, there are about seventeen learning objectives
in the term. Since the terms are not long, that means we are short of time. The

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students have to achieve all the objectives, and there is not enough time fordoing some extra activities that I would like to do with the students. We juststick to the learning objectives.
Conclusion and Discussion
These interview findings reveal that teachers perceive professionalism as a flexible anddynamic phenomenon. Both young and mature teachers admit that professionalism is achanging notion that enables teachers to stay focused on their practices.
During the interviews, nine teachers emphasized that professionalism is closely connectedwith professional development explaining the significance of ongoing development andlearning for professional teachers. Hargreaves & Cunningham (2010) as well as otherresearchers (Ifanti & Fotopoulopou, 2011; Sachs, 1997; Wardoyo et al., 2017; Webb et al.,
2004;) have also found teachers indicating professional development as one of the mostimportant factor of professionalism.
We found that it is crucial for teachers to meet learners’ needs and make the lessons
encouraging and supportive for all learners. Most teachers consider giving learners the besteducation and making a difference to students’ lives as the core elements of teaching andlearning. Webb et al. (2004) also identified a similar finding in their research, stating thatchildren and their learning is consistently a priority for teachers from different backgrounds.
Furthermore, these teachers perceive professionalism as deep subject knowledge that enables
teachers to motivate students for better learning. This finding is notable in that all ten
participants were convinced that sufficient subject knowledge is an essential part of teacher
professionalism. This finding is also in line with Locke et al. (2005), who found that teachers
view the knowledge and skills necessary for a teaching career as considerably important in
identifying professional school educators.
During the interviews, the participants named information and communication technology(ICT) skills as a crucial must-have for a modern classroom. Teachers highlighted that ICT
skills enrich their lessons and engage learners in an effective way. Similar findings are alsopresented in Ifanti and Fotopoulopou’s (2011) study. Equally, Okas et al. (2014) haveindicated that such skills enhance teacher professionalism in school.
Overall, teachers’ answers are in line with the research findings of other studies. Thesesimilarities reveal that teachers share common understanding and perceptions about
professionalism. The educators of Kazakhstan also share generally similar perceptions about
factors that contribute and inhibit teacher professionalism.
Implications
School Administration
Schools may create good conditions for increasing professional collaboration among its
teachers by promoting a supportive and trustworthy environment at school. Teachers may
meet with school administration and share the issues they face in their daily teaching or they
can complete surveys about the challenges that inhibit their work in school. Together
teachers and school administration can discuss and solve the issues. Such constructive

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cooperation can be reasonably expected to result in more effective teaching, higher student
academic achievement and school improvement.
Schools can also provide a certain amount of time that is systematically dedicated to teacher
professional development. During this time, teachers may read articles, learn Kazakh or
English languages and focus on their research or projects. Spending time in this manner may
help teachers to reduce their stress, take a break from their routine work and reflect on theirteaching practice. Time for professional development should contribute to teacher
professionalism and also promote one of the main values of modern education - lifelong
learning.
Educational Policy Implications
The study findings also suggest policy implications for teacher professionalism at NIS
schools. The successful initiatives of NIS network schools may be also implemented in otherKazakhstani schools. Such school projects as “2+1” mentoring program, action research andlesson study should become widespread within the country’s schools to support
professionalism among early career and more experienced teachers alike. Common school
projects may enable teachers to build professional learning communities to share theirchallenges in their teaching practices and address issues together. Such collaborations islikely to increase teacher morale and commitment to the profession.
Key policy makers may also provide a variety of opportunities for teacher professional
development by initiating trainings and workshops that will address the needs of school
teachers. It is crucial to keep teachers updated with recent reforms and innovations and suchprofessional trainings and workshops should enhance teaching and learning. Therefore, theimplementation of professional development programs should sustain teacher
professionalism in the school context.
The final implication of the study for educational policy makers is to reduce paperwork forschool teachers. There has been too much accountability placed on teachers over the last
decade, not only in our country but in others as well. Accountability requires teachers towrite various reports and forms to prove that they do what they are supposed to do.
Bureaucracy has become a dominant part of teaching and this is not a change for the better.
It is significant for stakeholders, parents and other members of the community to ensure thatteachers teach and students learn in an efficient way. However paperwork should be reduced
to a minimum, and the reduction should seek to allow teachers to prepare interesting andengaging lessons, collaborate with other school colleagues, and find time for professional
development.
These suggested implications can be expected to contribute to sustaining teacher
professionalism in Kazakhstani schools. It is important to provide conditions for teacher
professional development and continuous learning, especially in today’s fast-paced world,
where teachers are expected to be competent, vibrant and flexible in their workplace. To
sustain professionalism means there should be an overall emphasis on effective teaching andlearning through the professional development of school educators.

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https://doi.org/10.5539/IES.V10N4P90
Webb, R., Vulliamy, G., Hämäläinen, S., Sarja, A., Kimonen, E., & Nevalainen, R. (2004).
A comparative analysis of primary teacher professionalism in England and Finland.
Comparative Education, 40(1), 83–107.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0305006042000184890
Whitty, G. (2000). Teacher pProfessionalism in new times. Journal of In-Service
Education, 26(2), 281–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674580000200121
Yin, R. K. (2013). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage Publications.
Correponding Author: Bakyt Amirova
Email: amirov_b@pvl.nis.edu.kz

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A Perception-Based Curricular Review on the K to 12 HUMSS Strand Curriculum
Edwin B. Estrera
University of the Philippines Cebu
Philippines

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Abstract
This study examines the perception of Humanities and Social Science teachers among public
Senior High Schools in the Department of Education’s Humanities and Social Sciences strand
in the Philippines. It uses Erden’s element-based model of evaluation by considering thealignment to the goals of the Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines, the purpose, and core
courses of the program, and the teaching-learning process. It also uses Tyler’s Rationale asframeworks in assessing the curriculum. Likewise, the study examines the problems anddifficulties in curricular implementation. Upon administering a survey to 25 Humanities andSocial Science teachers among four public senior high schools, data revealed that the
respondents perceived the curriculum goals, and the purpose of the program as highly
observed, while the core courses of the program and teaching-learning process weresatisfactorily observed in the curriculum. Also, sex and age were not factors in their level ofassessment of Humanities and Social Science goals. The problems and difficulties encounteredby teachers included unbalanced time allocation of learning competencies, lack of available
learning materials, and lack of specialized teachers. Based on the findings, it is suggested thatthe government provide stronger teacher support programs to address the gap in curriculum
implementation. The K to 12 program also needs a full review, as the study only provides apresurvey to more significant institutional issues. While the Humanities and Social Sciencecurriculum appears aligned with the goals of their disciplines, and to the country’s educational
goals, its realization still depends upon the teachers’ implementation in the classroom level.
Keywords: basic education, HUMSS, basic education, educational reform, teacher perception

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Introduction
The Philippines overhauled its 10-year basic education curriculum following theimplementation of the Republic Act 10533 or “The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013”.
The said law aimed at improving the curriculum and raising the number of years of basic
education. This educational reform resulted in the addition of the two-year Senior High School(SHS) program and the mandatory kindergarten year. The new curriculum generally aimed atproviding Filipino students with enough time to master the skills and concepts for a college
education with the addition of two exit points: work and entrepreneurship (International
Consultants for Education and Fairs Monitor, 2013).
These two years of SHS encompass Specialized and Applied Subjects for skills development
and Core Subjects for college readiness. It also facilitates four career paths which are theAcademic, Technical-Vocational Livelihood, Sports, and Arts and Design Tracks (Shahani,2015). Among the strands under the Academic Track is the Humanities and Social Sciences(HUMSS). This curriculum generally seeks to produce critical thinking, socially responsible,and globally aware citizens. These include skills development on logical reasoning, creativity,
appreciation of one’s culture, research and communication skills, responsibility, productivity,
environmental consciousness, and global visioning (Southeast Asian Minister of Education,
Organization, Innovation and Technology, 2012).
While the goals of the new curriculum are promising, the K to 12 program allegedly lacks
systematic conceptualization and implementation (Umil, 2014). Ridon, the nationalist
Kabataan party-list representative, viewed the K to 12 program as haphazardly implemented(Umil, 2014). While teachers are always ready to teach the students, the curriculum support is
not sufficient to equip them with K to 12 competencies. Additionally, the League of Filipino
Students, a progressive youth group, viewed the new curriculum to be not for the Filipinos, but
for the capitalists who need already-trained workers for their companies. They saw it as only
producing semi-skilled laborers and peddling graduates to foreign capitalists, and suggest thatthe whole education sector is fast becoming a large exploitative machine (Umil, 2014).
Anakbayan, another progressive youth activist group, has affirmed this issue by highlighting
the flawed, problematic framework of the K to 12 program. Crisostomo, the group chairperson,
said that this will only create cheaper, more exploitative labor and will only further subject
Filipino youths to foreign monopolies. Thus, the K to 12 program may well be problem-ridden
rather than solution-oriented (Education Crisis Worsened Under Aquino, 2012, as cited in
Calderon, 2014, p. 546).
Additionally, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), a nationalist organization ofteachers, has also expressed the need to suspend the K to 12 program, citing its lack of
preparation for classroom facilities and qualified teachers. Valbuena, the ACT chairperson,
identified a backlog in the construction of classrooms and laboratories, in the deliveries ofreferences, and in the hiring of competitive and qualified teachers to teach SHS (Human Rights
Philippines, 2015, as cited in Abulencia, 2015, p. 234).
Teacher-interest lobbyists such as the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) and Ating Guro
Partylist affirm these concerns. They rated the Department of Education (DepEd) with a B(74%-below) regarding its K to 12 program implementation. Basas, the TDC chairperson,
similarly cited a shortage of essential resources such as seats, classrooms, learning and teaching

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materials, and other facilities, and teacher readiness (Malipot, 2014, as cited in Abulencia,
2015, p. 233).
Senator Cayetano and Senator Gatchalian’s positions confirm these issues further. Senator
Cayetano, who is the current Lower House Speaker, recently asked the Legislative Branch toreview the K to 12 program as it is not fulfilling its purpose in preparing the SHS graduates forcollege and work (Diaz, 2019). Graduates of the new curriculum cannot find jobs nor exhibit
college readiness skills. These problems add to the existing institutional issues on the lack ofclassrooms, facilities, and teaching personnel. Senator Gatchalian, who leads the committee on
K to 12 program implementation, even expressed the need to assess the government’s readinessin implementing the K to 12 program citing insufficient preparation and declining student
performance (Terrazola, 2019).
Thus, it has become essential to evaluate the K to 12 program, especially the SHS curriculum
implementation. In particular, the HUMSS strand needs curricular assessment if the curriculum
is to comply with the goals of the Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines, which are thedevelopment of critical thinking skills, and the development of socially responsible andglobally aware citizens (Kallendorf, 2002; Southeast Asian Minister of Education,
Organization, Innovation and Technology, 2012). These are the same skills needed for one to
examine the perceived problem-ridden nature of the K to 12 program.
Literature Review
Tyler (1949) stated that a curriculum should be a program of constant evaluation and revision.
A good curriculum must be dynamic as it looks into the nature and structure of knowledge, thelearners’ needs, and the society’s needs. Referred to as Tyler’s Rationale, it explores
curriculum perspectives such as educational objectives, selection of learning experiences andits organization, and method of assessment. Thus, most curricular reviews employ thisparadigm. For Tyler, the identification of educational objectives will set the content and typeof student learning. It will be the basis for the selection and organization of contents andmaterials, the development of instructional procedures, and the preparation of tests andexaminations. More importantly, the curriculum must adhere to the philosophy of the discipline
and the country’s educational system. Lastly, the results of the evaluation will be the basis for
improving or adjusting the curriculum to attain the educational objectives. However, Tyler’s
Rationale is a linear model and lacks a feedback mechanism that could place importance on
the opinions of teachers.
Erden (1998) developed the element-based model of evaluation, by looking into the opinions
and viewpoints of participants regarding program components. With specific curriculum
elements set, fundamental flaws and deficiencies in the curriculum quickly emerge. This model
explicitly seeks to evaluate the extent of meeting the objectives and the underlying defects andproblems of a curriculum. Erden (1998), as cited in Aslan and Günay (2016), said this modelanswers evaluations on general and specific objectives, conditions of learning and testing, andrelationships between curricular elements. The said curricular elements help in identifying
potential problems that may emerge during the design and implementation. Thus, byconsidering program components on targets, content, education, contexts, and evaluation as
curricular elements, Erden’s element-based model allows for a holistic approach in curriculum
evaluation (Aslan & Günay, 2016). This model is also best evaluated using teachers’ andstudents’ opinions, who are the interpreters and receivers of the curriculum.

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While the two curricular evaluation models allow for a broader perspective of the curriculum,
Bilbao et al. (2015) highlighted the principles of scope, sequence, continuity, integration,
articulation, and balance as specific elements of a good curriculum. By considering thesecurricular principles, the educational system would respond to the goals of the discipline, theneeds of the students and teachers, and the goals of education.
Generally, curriculum evaluation occurs via four different phases: curriculum planning, which
considers the school’s vision-mission and goals; curriculum designing, which includes theselection and organization of learning activities; curriculum implementation, which is theactual application of the design or plan in the classroom to produce the intended learning
outcomes; and curriculum evaluation, which determines the extent of achievement ofeducational goals (Bilbao et al., 2015; Erden, 1998; Tyler, 1949). Thus, the analysis of data forthe current study will revolve around these theories.
Related Studies
Curriculum reviews aim to evaluate academic programs by highlighting its processes,
effectivity, relevance, and deficiencies (Erden, 1998; Tyler, 1949). It is a critical examination
involving curriculum implementers and receivers. Results and recommendations of different
curriculum reviews are thematically grouped, based on the following problem areas:
Problem of Educational Goals and Purpose. The study of Muhammad et al. (2019)suggested a need to review curricular outcomes to align the country’s demand towards
Education 5.0, Industry 4.0, and Sustainable Development Goals. Similarly, Gallagher et al.
(2013) saw a need to revisit Westwood Public Schools’ mission-vision statements and the needfor content and skills continuity. On the other hand, Leduc (2010) observed the alignment of
Natick Public Schools’ K-12 Social Studies curriculum to the Massachusetts Department ofElementary and Secondary Social Studies Frameworks. However, the development of sharedresources was still needed.
Problem of Content and Continuity. Aside from Gallagher et al. (2013), this is also sharedby Shin (2017), citing insufficient theoretical grounds and unclear achievement standards, aswell as a gap between classroom and practical learnings. Similarly, Khoza (2015) revealed thatin-service teachers’ lack of familiarity with learning theories underpinning curriculum resulted
in implementation problems. Using Tyler’s Rationale, Fozoni et al. (2016) showed the need toemphasize the concepts and skills of citizenship learning and the creation of appropriate
activities. Jaca et al. (2018) also saw the difficulty in actual classroom implementation, which
was partly caused by a lack of specific criteria brought by a poorly articulated content standard.
Correspondingly, the absence of a proper framework defining the inclusion and organizationof learning competencies was shown by Bernardo and Mendoza (2009), following the 2002
Philippine Basic Education reform. This reform included problems with unsuitable suggested
time allotment, lack of teaching-learning materials, and creation of additional tasks forteachers. Additionally, the curriculum review by Roy (2015) highlighted a “loaded
curriculum”, where the emphasis on state standards resulted in the inclusion of an
overwhelming number of subject content areas. There was also a need for integration between
the classroom and external realities.
Problem of Moderate to Negative Perception. Aside from the issue of content due tounbalanced curriculum courses and undefined content standards, Alghazo (2015) determinedthat respondents only had positive regard on core courses but not on majors. Using the elementbased model of evaluation, Aslan and Günay (2016) revealed the moderate opinions of teachers

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Volume 8 – Issue 4 – 2020and students on curricular elements. However, respondents were more likely to answer the“disagree” choices. Correspondingly, a negative teachers’ view was seen by Taole (2013)
following a curricular change, and highlighted that teacher support was still the basis for every
curricular reform. Teacher support is an essential component as teachers’ presumptions affectcurriculum interpretation and implementation.
Problem of Implementation. The need for teacher support is most common in different
curricular reviews. Yusof et al. (2017) showed teachers’ positive regard on curricular change.
However, there were problems such as inappropriate competencies on modules, time
constraints, lack of teacher training, and extra efforts leading to teacher burden. Similarly,
Thompson et al. (2011) revealed a lack of teaching-learning resources and unfamiliarity withthe topics as problems; and Kilinc (2016) on curriculum deficiencies such as lack of learningmaterials and insufficient curriculum content though there was generally a positive view. In
the local study of Rivera (2017), there seems to be complacency of Filipino teachers in the K
to 12 program implementation. This study revealed that teachers’ pedagogy deviates from thelearner-centered aims of the program. Additionally, the study of Calderon (2014) emphasized
the critical role of teachers, given that the curriculum is new but old problems such as the lackof facilities and declining performance still exist.
Focusing on the ideas and issues discussed about curriculum, this study identifies the gap
between standard classroom education and actual classroom implementation. It will do this byassessing the alignment of the K to 12 HUMSS curriculum, based on the identified curricularelements and the problems and difficulties encountered by the teachers of this curriculum.
Methodology
Research Questions
This study aimed to answer the following research questions:
1. What is the respondents’ level of perception on the Humanities and Social Science
goals as observed in the HUMSS curriculum?
2. Is there a significant relationship between the overall level of perception of the
Humanities and Social Sciences Goals, and the respondents’ sex and age?
3. What is the respondents’ level of perception on the HUMSS curriculum regarding:
3.1 Purposes of the Program;
3.2 Core Courses of the Program; and3.3 Teaching-Learning Processes?
4. What problems and difficulties do teachers encounter in the implementation of the
HUMSS curriculum?
Research Locale, Research Design, Respondents
This study focused on determining the perception of SHS teachers among four public HighSchools offering the HUMSS strand in Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines. This study followed
the descriptive research design. It aimed at gaining the respondents’ perceptions on how well
were the curricular elements namely, the alignment to (1) Humanities goals, and (2) Social
Sciences goals; (3) purpose of the program; (4) core courses of the program; and the (5)teaching-learning process, were observed in the HUMSS curriculum. Each of the sub-questions
therein was rated using a five-point scale where 1 was Not Observed at All (NO), 2 was Fairly
Observed (FO), 3 was Satisfactorily Observed (SO), 4 was Highly Observed (HO), and 5 was30

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Very Highly Observed (VHO). The last part of the questionnaire contained three semi-open
ended questions, asking the respondents to provide additional information on the problems anddifficulties they had identified.
The respondents were chosen based on their teaching positions and subjects handled. First, therespondent must be an appointed Senior High School teacher from the Civil Service
Commission. Second, the respondent has taught any of the Specialized HUMSS subjects:
Community Engagement, Solidarity and Citizenship;, Creative Non-fiction; Creative Writing;Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences; Disciplines and Ideas in the Applied Social
Sciences; Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems; Philippine Politics andGovernance; and Trends, Networks, and Critical Thinking in the 21st Century (Academic
Track, n.d.). A total of 25 teachers qualified, which represented the respondents’ entire
population.
Limitations
The study focused on the first two years of SHS program implementation (2016-2017; 20172018). It considered all four public schools offering the HUMSS strand in Mandaue City,
assuming that private schools have substantial administrative support while public schools do
not because they depend on government support. More importantly, the study examinedteachers’ perceptions of their curriculum-related experiences, therefore providing primarily aqualitative description of these experiences.
Data Gathering Procedure
Data were collected using a structured survey questionnaire composed of 44 questions
including the profile in terms of age, sex, and educational background; the curriculum; and the
problems and difficulties. The sets of questions considered the available literature and thecurricular elements previously studied. The instrument was pilot-tested with a Cronbach alphareliability of 0.945. The study complied with ethical research standards by getting permission
from the Schools Division Superintendent and the school principals, ensuring respondents’
confidentiality, and getting the respondents’ consent before survey administration.
For the descriptive measures, the study used descriptive statistical treatments, such as
frequency and percentage distribution, mean, and standard deviation, in presenting andanalyzing the data. For correlational statistical treatment, a chi-square test determined the
independence of the level of assessment concerning gender. In contrast, a Pearson-r test
determined the level of significance of the level of assessment concerning age.
Findings
On the Goals of the Humanities and Social Sciences Disciplines
Generally, respondents viewed the goals of the Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines as
highly observed in the HUMSS curriculum. As to the Humanities goals, respondents highly
observed “tolerance” while “sense of local and national history” was least observed. Thisdifference in perception means that some components of the Humanities goals require greater
emphasis. However, the respondents generally perceived this curricular element as highly
observed.

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Table 1. Respondents’ Perception of the Goals of Humanities in the HUMSS Curriculum
HUMANITIES GOALS

Weighted Average

Qualitative Description*

3.48

HO

3.52

HO

3.50

HO

3.48

HO

3.48

HO

3.40

SO

3.45

HO

3.88

HO

4.04

HO

3.72

HO

3.88

HO

3.72

HO

3.40

SO

3.56

HO

1.1 An inquiring mind:
a. The HUMSS curriculum allows
students to think uniquely.
b. The HUMSS curriculum allows
students to think logically.
Mean
1.2 A sense of history - local and national:
a. The HUMSS curriculum promotes local
history.
b. The HUMSS curriculum promotes
national history from the perspective of
one’s locality.
c. The HUMSS curriculum promotes
understanding of world history from theperspective of local/national history.
Mean
1.3 Tolerance:a. The HUMSS curriculum helps students
to respect others’ points of view.
b. The HUMSS curriculum promotes
appreciation and recognition of humandiversity.
c. The HUMSS curriculum provides anavenue for inclusivity.
Mean
1.4 A sense of internationalism:
a. The HUMSS curriculum recognizes the
emerging world community to whichpeople can identify.
b. The HUMSS curriculum advocates for
greater cooperation among nations.
Mean*Legend used in subsequent tables:
4.21-5.00 - Very Highly Observed (VHO)
3.41-4.20 - Highly Observed (HO)2.61-3.40 - Satisfactorily Observed (SO)1.81-2.60 - Fairly Observed (FO)1.00-1.80 - Not Observed At All (NO)In relation to the Social Sciences goals, respondents highly observed “integrating ideas andmaking connections from other disciplines” while “civic responsibility and active civic
participation” were least observed. These differences in perception means that there arecomponents of the Social Science goals that also need greater emphasis. However, therespondents generally perceived this curricular element as highly observed.

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Table 2. Respondents’ Perception of the Goals of Social Sciences in the HUMSS Curriculum
SOCIAL SCIENCES GOALS

Weighted Average

Qualitative Description*

2.1 Civic responsibility and active civic participation:a. The HUMSS curriculum promotes
attitudes needed in nation-building.
3.80
b. The HUMSS curriculum provides
avenues for students to participate in civic
3.72
work.
Mean
3.76
2.2 Critical thinking skills:
a. The HUMSS curriculum promotes
3.92
reflective and reasonable thinking.
b. The HUMSS curriculum helps students
in problem-solving or decision-making.
3.72
c. The HUMSS curriculum develops
students’ strategies and skills in decision3.76
making.
Mean
3.80
2.3 Integrating ideas and making connections from other disciplines:
a. The HUMSS curriculum promotes aninterdisciplinary understanding of human
4.00
society and the natural world.
b. The HUMSS curriculum helps students
4.08
connect ideas from various disciplines.
Mean
4.04
2.4 Developing awareness and understanding of contemporary social issues:a. The HUMSS curriculum promotes
awareness of different social issues.
3.84
b. The HUMSS curriculum promotes aholistic understanding of different social
3.92
issues facing the world today.
Mean
3.88

HO
HO
HO
HO
HO
HO
HO
HO
HO
HO
HO
HO
HO

On the Respondents’ Age and Sex and their Perception of HUMSS Goals
Generally, the respondents’ sex and age were not factors in their perception of the alignmentof the HUMSS curriculum with the Humanities and Social Sciences Goals. The computed chisquare of 1.85 and a p-value of 0.1736, which was greater than α=.05, means that sex was not
related to their perception of Humanities goals. Similarly, the computed chi-square of 1.10 anda p-value of 0.2936, which was greater than α=.05, means that sex was also not a factor towards
their perception of the Social Science goals.

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Table 3. Relationship between Respondents’ Sex and their Perception of the Humanities andSocial Sciences Goals

Group
Humanities
Goals
Social Sciences
Goals

Male
FemaleMale
FemaleTeachers’ Perception
Not Observed at All/
HighlyFairly Observed/
Observed/ Very
Satisfactorily Observed Highly Observed
2
8
7
8
2
8
6
9

c2

p

1.85ns0.1736

1.10ns0.2936*ns = not significant
Age was not a factor in their perception of the Humanities as indicated by the computed
Pearson r of 0.056 and a p-value of 0.78, which was greater than α=.05. Similarly, age was nota determinant towards their perception of the Social Science goals with the computed Pearsonr of 0.305 and a p-value of 0.14, which was greater than α=.05. As to the Social Sciences, thecalculated r-value of 0.056, which was <0.2, means that there was a very weak relationshipbetween age and their perception, thus, a negligible correlation exited for this relationship.
Table 4. Relationship between Respondents’ Age and their Perception of the Humanities andSocial Sciences Goals

Humanities
Goals
Social Sciences
Goals

Variables
Age
Level of
Assessment
Age
Level of
Assessment

N
25
25

Mean
37.48

SD
8.25

3.61

0.67

37.48

8.25

3.73

0.68

r

p

0.056ns0.78

0.305ns0.14*ns = not significant
On the Purpose of the Program
Generally, respondents perceived the purpose of the program as highly observed with a generalweighted average of 4.01. Respondents highly observed that the curriculum “prepares students
for a college education” while “promotion of the country’s national interest” as the least.
However, the respondents perceived all elements as highly observed. This high perceptionmeans that respondents viewed the educational goals to be well-articulated in the HUMSS
curriculum.

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Table 5. Respondents’ Perception of the HUMSS Curriculum’s Purpose of the Program
PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM
Weighted Average
Qualitative Description*
3.1 Adherence to the Department of Education’s Mission and Vision
a. The HUMSS curriculum follows
DepEd’s Vision to “create Filipinos who
passionately love their country and whose
4.04
HO
values and competencies enable them torealize their full potential and contributemeaningfully to nation-building”(Department of Education, n.d.).
b. The HUMSS curriculum follows
DepEd’s Mission to “protect and promote
4.04
HO
the right of every Filipino to quality,
equitable, culture-based, and complete
basic education” (Department of
Education, n.d.).
Mean
4.04
HO
3.2 Promotion of the country’s national interest:
a. The HUMSS curriculum adheres tonational state policies such as pursuing theright to self-determination, social justice,
the dignity of every human person and3.92
HO
guarantees full respect for human rights,
etc.
b. The HUMSS curriculum discusses
contemporary international issues that are
3.80
HO
significant to the country.
Mean
3.86
HO
3.3 Preparation of students for college education:a. The HUMSS curriculum prepares
students with needed knowledge for a
4.16
HO
college education.
b. The HUMSS curriculum prepares
students with the required skills needed
4.08
HO
for a college education.
Mean
4.12
HO
General Weighted Mean
4.01
HO
On the Core Courses of the Program
Generally, respondents perceived the core courses of the program as only satisfactorily
observed, with a general weighted mean of 3.35. Interestingly, respondents perceived thesequence of contents and theories as highly observed. At the same time, they only had
satisfactory observation of the number of subjects that were either over-represented or underrepresented. This difference means that while the HUMSS curriculum contains enough content
and theories, there is a problem with the allotted time.

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Table 6. Respondents’ Perception of the Core Courses of the HUMSS Curriculum
CORE COURSES OF THE PROGRAM
Weighted Average
4.1 The sequence of contents and theories in core courses:
a. The HUMSS curriculum contains the
3.60
right content needed for Humanities.
b. The HUMSS curriculum contains the
3.56
right content needed for Social Sciences.
c. The curricular design for HUMSS
subjects is progressive such that one
3.44
subject becomes a prerequisite to a higher
subject.
Mean
3.53
4.2 The number of over-represented subjects:
a. The HUMSS curriculum contains topics
with too much number of hours required
per curriculum guide (CG). For example, a
3.08
topic has two-week coverage in CG, but
the topic should only be for one week.
4.3 The number of under-represented subjects:
a. The HUMSS curriculum contains topics
with less number of hours required per
curriculum guide (CG). For example, a
3.08
topic only has one-week coverage in CG,
but the topic should go for two weeks.
General Weighted Mean
3.35

Qualitative Description*
HO
HO
HO
HO

SO

SO
SO

On the Teaching-Learning Process
Generally, respondents perceived the teaching-learning process as satisfactorily observed witha general weighted average of 2.96. Respondents had a moderate opinion on teacher readinessand availability of teaching-learning resources. However, respondents assessed “the manner of
implementation” as highly observed while the “availability of teaching guides and references”
as fairly observed. These differences in perception mean that while teachers are ready to teach,they lack the tools needed to deliver the curriculum.

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Table 7. Respondents’ Perception of the Teaching-Learning Process of the HUMSSCurriculum
TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS
Weighted Average
5.1 The manner of implementation by teachers of the curriculum:a. HUMSS teachers are equipped withthe knowledge and skills to teach the
3.72
curriculum.
b. HUMSS teachers use various
strategies that resulted in higher student
3.68
performance.
Mean
3.70
5.2 The availability of teaching guides and references:a. DepEd teaching guides available forteachers’ use.
2.92
b. DepEd learning materials are available
for students’ use.
2.28
c. DepEd books, references, and otherresources are available for teachers’ and2.20
students’ use.
Mean
2.47
2.96
General Weighted Mean

Qualitative Description*

HO
HO
HO
SO
FO
FO
FO
SO

On Problems and Difficulties in the Implementation
Table 8 confirms the results in the core courses and teaching-learning process. Fourteen (14)respondents said that there were too many learning competencies for a short period. Seventeen(17) respondents also identified the lack of books or references, which forced them to use theirmoney to purchase resource materials. Additionally, three respondents said that there was alack of specialized teachers to teach HUMSS. On the other hand, respondents identified least
on learning competency being too general, lack of teaching equipment, non-cooperation of
external stakeholders, and excessive extra-curricular activities. These issues only mean that
there is a problem in the implementation of the HUMSS curriculum in the actual classroom
setting.
Table 8. Respondents’ Opinions on the Problems and Difficulties in the Implementation of
the HUMSS Curriculum
Problems and Difficulties
1. HUMSS Curriculum• there are too many learning competencies for a shortperiod• the topics are repetitive/overlapping• the curriculum is too crowded• the sequence is disorganized• learning competencies are too general
2. Resource Materials• there are no DepEd books or references provided

37

f

Rank

14
8
4
4
3

1
2
3
4
5

17

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the teacher uses personal money to purchase resource
materials• the school does not have the equipment needed for21st-century learning
3. Others• lack of specialized teachers in HUMSS• extra-curricular activities affect classes• non-cooperation of external stakeholders

16

2

4

3

3
1
1

1
2
3

Discussion
The results of these analyses suggest that, overall, teachers had high perceptions of the HUMSS
curriculum. This level of perception means that, generally, teachers have a favorable view ofthe K to 12 program. This positive view is in contrast to Taole (2013), where teachers had anegative view following a curricular change. However, a detailed analysis of the curricularelements also revealed flaws and deficiencies of the HUMSS curriculum of the K to 12
program.
Alignment to Humanities and Social Sciences Disciplines
The teachers highly observed the alignment of the HUMSS curriculum to the goals of the
Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines. This high perception means that the specific goalsof these disciplines were well-articulated and well-observed in the curriculum. In contrast toAslan and Günay (2016), teachers only had a moderate level of opinions on curricular elements.
For Kallendorf (2002), this alignment of the HUMSS curriculum may produce literate citizens
who can speak and write with clarity, who are active in the community, and who can makesensible decisions. Thus, the HUMSS curriculum is viewed as an effective curriculum inmolding and delivering the social skills and values needed to create socially responsible andglobally aware Filipinos.
Factors of Perception. The respondents’ age and sex were not factors in their perception of
the HUMSS curriculum. These two variables were likely not associated because teachers,
regardless of sex and age, freely determine the content of learning and the manner of classroom
delivery. The National Research Council (2012) also supports the view that the teacher
ultimately decides how and what to teach in the classroom. Correspondingly, teachers are theones who finally decide the fate of any educational enterprise (Ndlovu, 2017). Thus, the
HUMSS teachers’ perception of the HUMSS curriculum is not affected by their sex and age.
Purposes of the Program
Results indicated that teachers highly observed the integration of national goals and the
DepEd’s Mission and Vision in the HUMSS curriculum. This result is consistent with Leduc(2010), however it was again in contrast to Aslan and Günay (2016), where teachers only
viewed these elements as moderately observed. Similarly, Gallagher et al. (2013) and
Muhammad et al. (2019) also saw the need to reassess prescribed educational goals with thecurrent needs of their countries. The recent implementation of the SHS program in 2016
probably explains this contrasting view. Thus, the revised HUMSS curriculum remains
relevant to the needs of society.
The highly observed perception on the adherence of the HUMSS curriculum to the DepEd’s
Mission and Vision, and the promotion of the country’s national interest, means that theeducational philosophy and the goals of the nation were well-represented in the HUMSS38

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curriculum and its teaching-learning process. Using Tyler’s Rationale, the educational purposeof the school to create nationalistic, law-abiding, and productive citizens was well-articulated
in the curriculum, and the ability of these goals to produce educational experiences thatstudents need to undertake was evident. Thus, the perceived strong relevance of the HUMSS
curriculum contrasts with the perception of many youth activists, who suggest that the K to 12
program only produces semi-skilled laborers.
Core Courses of the Program
Results also indicated that teachers only viewed the sequence and organization of thecurriculum as satisfactorily observed. The moderate observation of curricular elements is
consistent with Aslan and Günay (2016). Alghazo (2015) had the same results where core
courses were positively regarded but still needs additional resources to other subject areas.
Balantic (2014), Fozoni et al. (2016), Gallagher et al. (2013), and Roy (2015) also had similar
results where they identified problems on clear scope and sequence; concepts, skills, andlearning activities; and curriculum continuity. However, teachers highly observed the sequenceof contents and theories. As per Bilbao et al. (2015), an effective curriculum follows theprinciples of scope, sequence, continuity, integration, articulation, and balance, and these wereperceived as well-articulated in the HUMSS curriculum.
Conversely, respondents only satisfactorily observed the number of subjects that were either
over-represented or under-represented. Following the suggested time allocation in the
curriculum guide, there are topics that “take more time” to discuss while some are “toodragging.” This unbalanced time allocation was also consistent with the studies of Balantic(2014), Bernardo and Mendoza (2009), Gallagher et al. (2013), Jaca et al. (2018), Roy (2015),
and Shin (2017), which identified curricular problems in criteria, scope, and continuity. Thus,
although the HUMSS curriculum contains the right topics, its existing suggested time allotment
and topic organization appear problematic.
Teaching-Learning Process
Results also indicated that teachers viewed the HUMSS curriculum as only satisfactorily
observed. While teachers had the required knowledge and skills to be able to teach thecurriculum, it missed out on teaching tools. As to the manner of implementation, the readinessof teachers to teach HUMSS subjects was probably because of the series of regional training
before the SHS implementation (Department of Education Region VII, 2016). This readinessto teach contrasts with the lack of teaching guides and learning materials, which only had afairly observed rating. Perhaps this was due to the tight implementation timeline of the K to 12
program which left the government with a limited period to acquire learning materials (Umil,2014). These problems echo the concerns of Anakbayan (Calderon, 2014), ACT, TDC, andAting Guro Partylist (Abulencia, 2015). These same issues were also identified in the studies
of Bernardo and Mendoza (2009), Kilinc (2016), Thompson et al. (2013), and Yusof et al.
(2017), where there is a lack of materials and teaching tools to attain the learning competencies.
Using Tyler’s Rationale, the lack of learning resources and teaching guides were indicatorsthat there is a problem in meeting the educational purpose of the HUMSS curriculum.
Problems and Difficulties
The responses to the problems and difficulties provide a better understanding of the teachers’
perceptions. Generally, the number of learning competencies and time allocation were
problems encountered by teachers. This concern is consistent in the studies of Balantic (2014),
Bernardo and Mendoza (2009), Kilinc (2016), Roy (2015), and Yusof et al. (2017) of a loaded
curriculum, and where subjects were either dragged or contracted.

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As to the learning competencies, one teacher noted that the learning contents and skills were“very heavy” yet teachers have only one semester to deliver it. This same teacher said that somesubjects must be implemented for one year to be “fully internalized by the students whileemphasizing the practical application”. Another respondent also noted that the content
standard did not relate to the learning competencies, for example, on the topic of migration.
As to the time allocation, topics were repetitive or overlapping such that there were topics thatcan go with another subject. Teachers also highlighted the problem of a disorganized sequenceof subjects with prerequisites yet were offered in the same semester. Perhaps this was becauseof the limited number of HUMSS teachers in each school, which forced them to provide
cognate subjects at the same time.
As to the resource materials, DepEd did not provide books and learning materials. Thus,
teachers had to use their money to buy teaching resources in addition to more preparation time.
Another problem was the lack of qualified teachers handling HUMSS subjects wherein three
respondents were Mathematics teachers yet were assigned to teach HUMSS subjects. Anotherissue involved work immersion as students were still underage, and the excessive number ofextra-curricular activities that affected the delivery of instruction.
These were the same issues highlighted by Bernardo and Mendoza (2009), Taole (2013), andThompson et al. (2013) where major educational reforms resulted in problems in content,
implementation, and support. Though the respondents perceived the HUMSS curriculum as
highly aligned to the Humanities and Social Sciences goals, it still had issues in the actual
implementation by the teachers.
Overall, it seems evident that, regardless of country and type of curriculum, teacher support isstill the basis for every curricular reform (Calderon, 2014; Taole, 2013), which the Philippines
falls short in its implementation of the HUMSS strand of the K to 12 program. The concerns
expressed by different activist groups and government officials confirm that the K to 12
program needs an institutional review following a lack of support at the classroom
implementation level.
Recommendations
The national government is advised to take a more proactive role in the monitoring andimplementation of the K to 12 program. Years after the law’s passage, it still needs strong
support at the grassroots level. The government should establish strong teacher support
programs to address the problems encountered by the primary implementers of the curriculum.
This program refers to creating feedback mechanisms where teachers can voice their ideas, andwhere they can participate in the decision-making process. Also, the Department of Educationneeds provision to address the backlog of school buildings, teaching equipment, and facilities.
The hiring of more qualified teachers would fundamentally address the issue of teachers
teaching subjects outside their field of expertise. Lastly, there is a need for a curriculum reviewof the whole K to 12 program, aimed at investigating curriculum deficiencies and problems interms of content, target, context, time allocation, and evaluation. This study only provided a
glimpse of what could be more significant problems for the rest of the program.

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Conclusion
Generally, this study has revealed that the HUMSS curriculum of the K to 12 program provides
a systematic learning experience for the students to grow academically and socially competent.
The new curriculum embodied the principles of a good curriculum as it follows the principles
of scope, sequence, continuity, integration, articulation, and balance. Using Erden’s elementbased model of evaluation, the current study revealed that the respondents positively observed
the alignment of the Humanities and Social Sciences goals, the purpose of the curriculum, thecore courses, and the teaching-learning process of the HUMSS curriculum. By then using
Tyler’s Rationale, the study revealed that these teachers highly perceived the articulation of thecountry’s educational purpose and its organization in the HUMSS curriculum.
However, problems and difficulties in implementing the said curriculum appear to hinder theachievement of its educational purpose. Although the K to 12 program as associated with the
HUMSS curriculum remains a good concept, it still lacks sufficient support at the level ofclassroom implementation. This seems to stem from perennial problems involving the lack ofclassrooms and teaching-learning facilities, as well as inadequate government support for theteachers who ultimately decide the fate of all educational endeavors. In turn, this has created a
gap between the formal standards for classroom education and actual classroom
implementation. Thus, because of insufficient support being provided, the K to 12 program
appears unable to implement the country’s major educational reform at an adequate level.

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Department of Education Region VII. (2016). Region VII–rm.0346 s.2016-senior high school
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Erden, M. (1998). Eğitimde program değerlendirme [Program Evaluation in Education]. Anı
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Jaca, C., Bacus, R., Anova, M., & Labarrete, R. (2018). Thematic analysis of selectedpublished researches in curriculum and instruction. International Journal of
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Shahani, L. (2015, June 15). The challenges of basic education. The Philippine Star.
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Taole, M. (2013). Teachers’ conceptions of the curriculum review process. International
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The Enhanced Basic Education Act, RA 10533 (2013).
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Umil, A. (2014, June 7). Four years into the K to12 program, implementation still haphazard- teachers. Bulatlat. https://www.bulatlat.com/2014/06/07/three-years-into-the-k-to12-program-implementation-still-haphazard-teachers/
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Corresponding author: Edwin B. Estrera
Email: ebestrera@up.edu.ph44

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Empowering Adult Immigrant Learners Through Systematic Motivation Workin the Classroom
May Olaug Horverak
Birkenes Adult Learning Centre
NorwayGerd Martina Langeland
Lillesand Upper Secondary School
NorwayKedir Diary
Lillesand Adult Learning Centre
Norway45

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Abstract
This is an action research study investigating how one can work systematically in adult learning
centres to support adult immigrant learners to increase their intrinsic motivation and develop
strategies to take responsibility for their own development and learning. We have applied what
we call a five-step motivation method, where the adult students define and write down what is
important to them, their success factors and their obstacles, and choose focus areas andstrategies to apply to achieve what is important to them. As part of the process, the students
also reflect on these elements in class discussions led by the teacher, which means that thestudents support each other to find solutions to their obstacles and to find strategies to work
towards their goals. The student reflections from the sessions are part of the data collected inthis study, and these are complemented by students’ self-reports on the usefulness of theapproach. The project was carried out in several groups at three adult learning centres, and thefindings show that the majority of the participants were satisfied with the approach. They reportthat they became better at planning and more motivated to work towards their goals. An
element that was emphasised by the teachers was the importance of letting the students use
their native language when needed. We conclude that the method we present here may be auseful tool to assist adult immigrant learners to experience intrinsic motivation and develop
strategies for mastering learning and life.
Keywords: adult learning, learning strategies, motivation, self-determination theory, selfregulated learning

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The year is 1987, and the place is Northern Iraq. I’m stationed at a militaryhospital because of my health care educational background. One day I wascommanded to go to the war arena, and I was assigned the task to check on
medical equipment. Every day I had to stay in my refuge, which was a small
hole in the ground; 1 meter deep, 1 meter long and 50 centimeter in breadth. I
had to stay in the hole the whole day not to be shot by the enemy. I could only
leave it during night to work and to collect food and drink. In this hole, I
experienced both mental and physical obstacles, but if I wanted to come homeand see my family again, I had to focus on my own goal and my own plan, andmanage to keep myself alive and fight death. I survived this horrible situation
using the same type of strategy that the motivation method presents; I asked
myself what my goal is, what the obstacles are, and what type of effort I have to
make to survive. (Quote from an immigrant)This story illustrates the essence of the five-step motivation method presented in this article, amethod that challenges people to identify their own goals, strengths and weaknesses in order
to find solutions to possible obstacles. Many immigrants who come to a new culture with aforeign language, perhaps without official documentation on education and work experience,
have difficulties succeeding in their new lives as the obstacles may be overwhelming. This
study, carried out in three adult learning centres in Norway, presents an approach that may
facilitate motivating and empowering immigrants by providing them with a strategy formastering learning and life in general. The five-step approach applied builds on selfdetermination theory, stating that in order to be intrinsically motivated the three basic needs ofautonomy, competence and relatedness must be met (Deci & Ryan, 2000). When applying thefive-step motivation method, the teacher facilitates learners to take control of their own
development and learning and lets learners choose goals according to their own values andambitions, in order to meet the needs of competence and autonomy. The learners also discusspossible solutions to obstacles in a community of peers, which facilitates meeting the basic
need of relatedness.
One essential element that influences whether immigrants succeed in being integrated in
Norwegian society is their ability to learn the Norwegian language. We have an immigration
law in Norway stating that people with status as immigrants have the right and duty to attend
600 hours of Norwegian and social science teaching (Introduksjonsloven, 2003, § 17), and ifthey need more Norwegian teaching, they have the right to receive up to 2400 extra hours(§18). Most immigrants who come as refugees enter into what is called an “introduction
programme”, where they get a salary for attending classes for two or three years. Many refugees
lack school certificates and they need to take classes to prepare for upper secondary school orhigher education. Many do this while they are in the introduction programme, in addition tolearning Norwegian. The latest trend in Norway is that more and more immigrants prepare forupper secondary school, regardless of whether they have an education from before or very little
educational background, as it is becoming more and more difficult to get a job without
documentation of some type of formal education.
In spite of comprehensive programmes, many immigrants experience that learning a new
language and succeeding in a new society is a challenge. The purpose of the before-mentioned
introduction programme is to “strengthen newly arrived immigrants” opportunities forparticipation in occupations and society, and gain economic independence” (2003, §1, own
translation). Still, statistical numbers reveal that immigrants struggle to achieve this. While theunemployment rate for the total population generally has been low in Norway, (2.7% in 2018;

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Statistics Norway, 2018), the unemployment rate among immigrants is normally higher (6.4%
in 2018; Statistics Norway, 2018). This makes one ask the question as to whether the
integration efforts we make in Norway have the effect that we wish for, or whether there is aneed to search for new methods and approaches.
A recent research report on the Norwegian introduction programme for immigrants shows that
it is difficult to prove a correlation between single efforts and results for participants in the
introduction programme, and the conclusion of the report is that there are too few reallyqualifying measures in the programme as it is now (FAFO, 2017, p.31). This indicates a needfor innovation in this field, something our study presents. The research question of this study
is: Can a systematic approach, identifying goals, strengths and obstacles and deciding on focus
and action, support adult immigrant learners to achieve increased motivation and strategies that
help them take responsibility for their own learning and life? In the following, we present issues
being debated currently in research in this field, the research methodology applied, the results
and findings, and a discussion of these.
Literature Review
For several decades, the idea of multiculturalism has been prominent in many liberal, Western
nations, a concept that refers to the existence of cultural plurality in societies (Mitchell, 2017).
However, there has been a significant political backlash to this idea of states that successfully
can accommodate a diversity of cultures and religions. There have been several reactions in
Europe against multiculturalism, claiming that it has failed as the celebration of culturaldifference has been at the expense of community cohesion (Vertovec & Wessendorf, 2010).
This criticism has been countered by adult educators emphasising the importance of culturaldialogue and open educative spaces for different cultural groups (Morrice, 2018; Roets et al.,2011; Wildemeersch, 2011). Still, it is a much-debated issue in research on adult education of
immigrants whether practices build on the idea of multiculturalism, or rather on an idea that
immigrants need an intervention to successfully be included or integrated in society (Morrice
et al., 2017).
In their critical work on discourse of adult education in Sweden, Fejes et. al. (2018), point out
that the role of adult education is helping citizens adapt to a constantly changing society in linewith normative assumptions concerning how citizens should be. They refer to this process as
shaping neo-liberal subjectivities. In an earlier publication, the same authors claim that
underlying this practice, there is a notion that the adult learners are not yet “full” citizens, andthat adult learning is a place for abnormal citizens to be shaped and molded into desirable
subjects, or into an employable workforce (Sandberg et al., 2016). In spite of positive notions
and ambition to empower, Sandberg et.al claim that the adult learners appear to be failed
citizens who need motivation and goals in life. In another study based on interviews with adultlearners and teachers of adult education, the same researchers describe the Swedish municipal
adult education as a place “for the individual to create a goal-oriented future” (Fejes et al.,2018, p. 471), with a focus on the labour market. This is described as an instrumental and nonrelational process with little interaction among peers.
In line with the more recent research studies conducted in a Swedish context, a study conducted
more than a decade ago by Morrice (2007), investigating lifelong learning and social
integration of refugees in the UK, concluded that the discourse of inclusion leads to narrowlearning opportunities for immigrants. She argues that there is a need to recognise thesignificance of the social capital the immigrants hold, and more informal and social learning

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opportunities (2007). Also in German and Austrian contexts, research presents the same
criticism (Heinemann, 2017), that the adult learning programmes for immigrants focus on
economy and submission, making the learners employable and polite, as many of them later
will hold badly paid positions with little independence.
A recent study from England and Scotland also shows efforts to create alternatives to theeconomy-driven programmes focused on labour markets (Duckworth & Tett, 2019). The
alternative approach presented in this study facilitates learners to reclaim identities of successby giving them opportunities to recognise the discourses that shape them and how these
discourses impact their lives. The learners were given space to explain their own life andlearning narratives, and through this understand events that had held them back. By doing so,
negativity was removed, and academic progress and personal fulfilment was achieved. An
important element mentioned in this study is that the results were especially positive when thetutors engaged with the learners in an egalitarian way.
Research on adult learning for immigrants is limited in a Norwegian context (Monsen, 2015).
However, one interesting finding from research on basic reading and writing training is that,very often, this type of instruction is seen as little relevant or useful, and it does not consider
the adult learners’ previous knowledge and experience (Alver & Dregelid, 2001; Monsen,2015). A recent qualitative study shows that identity, self-feeling and motivation may beaffected if one is not allowed to show who one is and what one is able to do (Alver & Dregelid,2016). Research has shown that for students with less education, it is particularly importantthat their life- and language-experiences are not excluded (Auerbach, 1993, p. 18). Collier &Thomas’ (2002) research on bilingual models concludes that it is important that cognitive,
emotional and social needs are met in a developing language learning situation.
In Nortons’s investigation of diverse aspects in relation to identity and language learning, she
problematizes that learners can be defined as either motivated or unmotivated (2000). She also
problemizes the dichotomous distinctions between the language learner and the language
learning context and the learner’s identity related to the world and the future. The learner’s
investment in English must be understood in the context of their changing identity across timeand space, and the opportunities they have, meaning what situations they have access toparticipate in. Important aspects in second language learning which must be understood arelearners’ desire for friendship and social integrity (Spolsky, 1989), for feeling worthy andcomfortable, for the possibilities for work – preferably in their professions – (Norton, 2000),
and for the understanding of possibilities for the future (West, 1992). These aspects are taken
into consideration in the approach applied in the current study on how to empower immigrants.
The approach applied here, which will be more thoroughly described below, does not only
focus on individuals’ possibilities for the future, but also on individuals’ past, their dreams andqualities, and how the social capital they hold can help them learn in the present, as well as
shape their future.
Methodology
This study is part of a larger action research study (cf. Postholm, 2007), where we havedeveloped and adjusted a five-step motivation method for different contexts in order to meetthe need for increased motivation for learning in school in general. The current study is aqualitative case-study (Creswell, 2013, p. 99), where we examine how the five-step method wehave developed may support adult students with immigrant background to become more
motivated and take control of their own lives and learning. The analysis is based on students’49

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Volume 8 – Issue 4 – 2020reflections from the implementation of the method, as well as students’ and teachers’
evaluations of the method.
The five-Step Approach
The five-step motivation method applied in this study consisted of the following steps (figure 1):1) What is important to succeed with in life? What is important in the near future?
2) What skills do you have? What are you satisfied with in your present situation?
3) Is there something in yourself or in your situation that stops you from reaching yourgoals? 4) What do you choose to work on the next month to reach the goals you have?
4) What will you do to manage to carry this out?
These questions were repeated several times throughout the school year, partly focused on
general issues in life, and partly focused on language learning and other subjects in school.
Some groups participated only one semester, and in these groups the method was applied only
once.

Figure 1: A five-step motivation method (previously published in Horverak, Langeland &Fagerhaug, 2018; Horverak & Aanensen, 2019; Horverak, 2020)
The students discussed the questions in class and then wrote individual answers in books withallocated random numbers. Only the students knew their own numbers, so they could retrieve
their own books the next session. The teachers collected the books after each session and started
every following session with a summary of what the students in the group had written. Then,the class discussed what could be done to reach the different goals and to overcome the
obstacles mentioned. In most of the sessions, the students were allowed to discuss using theirnative language, and interpreters were used for some of the students with very little Norwegianlanguage competence. Students who had very weak Norwegian skills were also allowed towrite in their native language, and the text was translated into Norwegian.

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Some of the groups had a “focus week”, where the motivation method was applied in different
contexts. In two of the groups preparing for upper secondary school, the method was appliedin the disciplines Norwegian, mathematics, English, religion and social sciences. In two of thegroups learning Norwegian, the method was applied in a student business project carried out
as part of the Norwegian teaching. A tool we use in the project called “the Focus Model” wasalso applied in these groups, where the students defined together what they found important.
Following this, they sorted out what was urgent, what was distracting and what was wasted.
Data Collection and Analysis
The reflections the students wrote during the motivation sessions are part of the material in thisstudy, as well as observations from the sessions in classes. An inductive thematic analysis(Braun & Clark, 2006) of the students’ reflections was carried out. At the end of the firstsemester, the students also filled in evaluations with questions concerning how they had
experienced the motivation sessions and whether they experienced increased motivation tolearn. The evaluation form used after the first semester was translated to Arabic and Tigrinja,
the dominant native languages in the groups. The students were allowed to choose what
language to use in their evaluations.
At the end of the second semester, a new evaluation was carried out. As most of the students
had improved their language skills at this point, the evaluation form was not translated to otherlanguages, and the students were encouraged to write in Norwegian. The groups who
participated only one semester also filled in this evaluation form. The teachers also evaluated
how the motivation method worked, what was positive and what was challenging, and some of
the teachers’ reflections are included at the end of the analysis.
The following questions were included in the student evaluation given the second semester:
1) Give examples of something you have managed to focus on as a result of the motivation
sessions.
2) How have you worked with the obstacles you have in yourself or in your life?
3) How will you consider your own efforts to follow your plans?
4) Do you feel that the work with the motivation method has affected the learning
environment or how you view your fellow students? How?
5) Has the motivation method given you increased motivation to work towards your own
goals? (Options: yes, no, I don’t know).
6) Have you become better at planning and focusing on what is important to you (Options:
yes, no, I don’t know).
7) How satisfied have you been with the motivation method? (Options: Not satisfied,somewhat satisfied, very satisfied, I don’t know).
The students’ answers are partly presented qualitatively through examples of themes in thematerial and partly quantitatively through percentages of different answers.
Participants
Most immigrant student groups at two adult learning centres participated in the school year
2018/2019. This included five student groups who attended a preparatory programme for upper
secondary school, following the curricula for lower secondary school, and four student groups
who learnt Norwegian according to the curriculum for Norwegian and social sciences
obligatory to immigrants in Norway. In addition, two groups from a third adult learning centre

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participated in the autumn semester 2019. These two groups were attending the final year of
the preparatory programme for upper secondary school.
Student groups at adult learning centres are dynamic and change during the year, so it isdifficult to find exact numbers on how many students were exposed to the intervention. We
therefore count as participants all students who filled in evaluation forms and accepted that
their reflections could be used for research and calculate a response rate based on the total
number of students in the group at the end of the semesters. In the total school year 2018-2019,46 of 89 students participated in the first semester (response rate: 52%), and 45 students
participated in the second semester out of 61 students (response rate: 74%). In autumn 2019,23 students participated out of a total number of 34 students (response rate: 68%) The majorityof the students had Arabic as their first language, and the second most common native language
was Tigrinya. Details about the participants are not included as this may compromiseanonymity.
Reliability and Validity
There are different challenges with the reliability and validity of the findings in this study –whether we can trust the findings and whether we can generalise (Jacobsen, 2005, p. 345). One
challenge with an intervention study in an adult learning context is that people from othercultures may have norms that interfere with how they respond to the type of evaluation applied
here. For example, not all cultures accept criticism of authorities, and perhaps the students
respond positively out of respect for the teachers. Another challenge is that they may give apositive response at one point, because they feel optimistic when working with the method inclass, but at another later point, they may feel more negative as they do not feel things havechanged. The obstacles are still there, but they felt perhaps more optimistic at the time theyevaluated the method. Some students may also have had problems understanding the questionsin the evaluation form due to limited competence in Norwegian. These are all threats to thereliability of the findings in this study.
To respond to some of these challenges, we analyse the students’ reflections from themotivation sessions, to see how the method actually works. We have also included open
questions in the evaluation and asked the students to give some reflections on how they
perceive the method, which may yield more accurate answers than choosing either “yes” or“no”. We also let the students use their native language when needed and supported them inthe process with translations.
Another challenge with this study is that the sample is limited, and it may be difficult togeneralise based on the findings. This is a threat to the validity of the study. Still, we argue thatthe experiences and examples we present may be transferrable to other, similar contexts(Lincoln & Guba, 1985). However, more long-term studies with more extensive measuring
instruments are needed in order to investigate possible effects of the five-step method in adultlearning contexts.
Results and Findings
This study investigates whether a five-step motivation method may facilitate increased intrinsic
motivation and development of strategies for learning and developing in life. The analysis
presents tendencies in the students’ reflections on what is important in life, what success factors
and obstacles they experience they have, what they need to focus on and how they are to carry

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this out. The results also include summaries of students’ evaluations of how they perceive themethod and their own development. Finally, teachers’ reflections are presented.
Students’ Reflections
Most of the students consider education and work to be important in life, and that they need tolearn Norwegian in order to succeed with getting a job. Several of the students also emphasisethat they want to become independent and contribute in society. One of the students writes “Ifthere is something I am interested in and want in life, it is to take care of myself throughworking like everyone else do”. Another student writes “I want to pay taxes and be an active
participant in the Norwegian society”. The aspect of wanting to contribute is repeated byseveral of the students: “Through work, I want to give as much as possible to the Norwegiansociety”. More of the students’ report that they want to start a business, for example as a tailor
or a hairdresser, or they want to open a shop or a restaurant. Many of the students are also
concerned with having good health, and this is related to working and contributing to society:“I want to achieve mental calmness, wellness and safety in my life, and to achieve this, I must
work and make an effort to contribute”.
Another theme in the students’ reflections on what is important is relations, both within thefamily and in society in general. Many of them are concerned about whether their family isokay, for example, one of the students wrote “That my child is healthy”. Others are concerned
about getting news from relatives that are not in Norway. A wish to understanding Norwegian
culture and becoming integrated is another central theme in the students’ reflections, and thisalso concerns building relations. As one of the students expresses: “I wish to find Norwegianfriends”. Again, the issue of learning Norwegian is reported as important to become integrated.
Also getting a driver’s license is mentioned as important for being integrated, and forsucceeding with getting a job.
When it comes to success factors, many of the students mention previous work experience.
Others write that they are good at handling children or people in general. Another successfactor revealed in the students’ reflections is hope - they have a hope and a wish to become
integrated and to learn Norwegian. Others write that they have motivation, and some write thatthey are fast learners. Having children is also mentioned as a success factor, as this may help
them learn Norwegian and become integrated in a new society.
When reflecting on obstacles, most of the students point out the challenge of learning
Norwegian and becoming integrated in Norwegian society. One student writes “Nothing
without language”. More of them write that they easily forget because they do not haveanybody to practice with during their spare time, as they find it difficult to get in touch with
Norwegians and get Norwegian friends. One example of a specific challenge mentioned isarranging children’s birthdays, as misunderstandings easily appear: “Therefore, there arealmost always conflicts after birthdays, as I cannot understand what Norwegians like”. Other
challenges mentioned are uncertainty concerning their financial situation and their status in
Norway, for example whether they will receive citizenship.
One theme that is clear when it comes to obstacles is time. The fact that immigrants have alimited period to finish what is called “the introduction programme” is a challenge. They needto learn Norwegian and become prepared for upper secondary school in two or three years, andthis is a rather short period of time to many. This is what is often referred to when they writethat time is a challenge. Others emphasise the problem of finding time to schoolwork andlearning Norwegian in a hectic life with family obligations and other challenges: “I cannot do

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more than I do now. I am exhausted because I do not have any Norwegian friends […] I am
tired in my heart because the whole family depends on me as my husband is sick”. More of thestudents mention health issues - both physical pains and mental problems as depression andstress. Others have problems studying enough because of children’s illnesses or because they
think about family members in other countries. One student reflects:
I am mostly lonely and have no one that can motivate me, and this has to acertain degree removed me from my goals, and I am not satisfied with mysituation currently, but I hope I can take some steps to improve my life.
The most recurring themes in the reflections on what the students are to focus on are language
learning and schoolwork. The students write that they want to improve their Norwegian bytalking to friends and contact neighbours. Some specify that they will talk Norwegian to fellow
students during the breaks, others that they will walk in parks and talk to other parents. They
write that they will practice reading different texts, and many of them write that they will learn
new words by watching Norwegian television: “I will watch television and write down somedifficult words”. More of them express that they will work on grammar, and some of them are
more specific, as this example shows: “Do grammar exercises from Norsk Start every Friday
from 21.00 to 22.00”. More of them express that they will do homework, for example “Do
homework 1½ hour a day”, and others write that they will learn a certain number of words eachday. Others write that they will go to the library and borrow books. In the different subjects inschool, the students report that they need to focus on learning Norwegian terms specific foreach subject.
In the material from the student business, different goals are listed: to experience and carry out
a project, to learn about business and finances, to learn Norwegian and get to know
Norwegians, to contribute with making food, to contribute with sewing and to work together
as a group. Some mention skills such as being able to sew, to paint, to clean, to do carpentry,
to sell, to bake and make food and to use social media. Others mention more personal skills
such as being systematic, being social and liking to help others. Of obstacles, language ismentioned, and some write that they are not good with numbers or finances. In the reflections
on what they need to focus on, several of them mention that they need to practice Norwegian,both by reading and by meeting with others in the afternoons and in breaks. Some of thestudents report that they will focus on learning words they need when working with sewing. In
material from the second round, the students are more specific about their role in the business:
one will lead the sewing team, one will lead the party committee, which is to organise a
multicultural buffet for the local community, some of them will focus on planning and making
food for the planned party, some will focus on making advertisement and advertise on
Facebook, and other relevant webpages, and some will focus on sewing.
Students’ Reflections on the Five-Step Method and Their Own Development
In the evaluation after the first semester, 78%, report that they have increased their motivation
to learn and 72% report that they feel the method was good for them (table 1).
Table 1: Students’ responses to the evaluation after the first semester (n =46)
Question
Increased motivation
Method felt as good for them

Yes
78%
72%

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No
11%
11%

I do not know
11%
17%

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One of the students writes that the method is good «Because I learnt how to motivate myself».
Another student writes “I organised my time and felt that I had to study and learn as quickly
as possible”. A third student writes “It gave me energy to learn more”. More of the students
express that the motivation method helped them plan their future.
The results at the end of the second semester confirm the positive responses from the firstsemester (table 2). 78% report that they experience increased motivation to work towards theirown goals, and 80% report that they have become better at planning and keeping focus.
Table 2: Students’ responses to evaluation after second semester (n =45)
Question
Increased motivation to work towards goals
Better at planning and keeping focus

Yes
78%
80%

No
13%
7%

I do not know
9%13%

When asked about how satisfied they are with the method, 44% report that they are verysatisfied and 49% that they are somewhat satisfied, whereas only 7% report that they either do
not know or are not satisfied.
The results from the third school, where the students only took part in the project for a shortperiod during the autumn semester, also show that the method helps them (see table 3). 91%
report that they experience increased motivation to work towards goals, and 96% report thatthey have become better at planning and keeping focus.
Table 3: Students’ responses to evaluation in school 3, after one semester (n =23)
Question
Increased motivation to work towards goals
Better at planning and keeping focus

Yes
91%
96%

No
0%
0%

I do not know
9%4%

22% report that they are very satisfied with the method, 48% are satisfied, and 17% somewhat
satisfied, whereas only 13% either do not answer or report that they do not know. In this round,
the option “satisfied” was added to the evaluation form.
One of the students write that in order to deal with obstacles “I try to focus on what is positive.
I take care of my health. I use my good mood as a weapon”. Many of the students write thatthey make plans and they succeed with following their own plans. Most of the students reportthat the learning environment has not been influenced, but one student writes that they motivate
each other by using the motivation method. Another student writes “It became easy for us totalk to the students in the group and ask how we can practice on difficult subjects”. Some ofthe students also emphasise that the method creates a better dialogue between the teachers andthe students, and that they appreciate receiving advice from the group.
Teachers’ Reflections
The participating teachers emphasise that the motivation work gives the students a place toexpress what they are concerned with, and a place where they can complain and get out
frustration without this having any consequences as everything is anonymous. Some teachers
also point out that it is a relief to think that it is not only the teachers’ responsibility that students
learn, the students also have a responsibility to work with their own learning process. As

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pointed out by the students, the teachers also say that they get a better dialogue in the classroom
as they get to know each other better and build relations through working with the method.
One topic the teachers reflect on is the use of mother tongue. There is a preference for letting
the students use their mother tongue when talking about such personal issues as how to master
life, and what is good and what is challenging. One teacher says:
I think it is good that they can use their mother tongue, as this concerns so muchthat they do not have enough words. The mother tongue is their heart language,
and since this is about mastering life, they should be allowed to use it, at leastin the beginning.
At the same time, it is mentioned that it could also be a problem if the students just continue
writing in their mother tongue when they could manage to write in Norwegian as they needwriting practice.
Another aspect the teachers mention is that when they apply the method in all disciplines, they
see that the students develop a set of common concepts for talking about their learning process.
One teacher describes how a student reminded another student about how they had worked
with the same approach in another lecture. Before applying the method across disciplines, theteachers feared that it would perhaps bee too much, and that the students would be tired ofhearing the same questions in all contexts. However, when reflecting on this afterwards, theyagree that it is positive as it supports the students to developing a common framework fortalking about learning. They also mention the need to repeat the process so that the students
integrate this way of thinking. One of the teachers emphasises the value of developing this typeof strategy for learning in all disciplines before moving on to upper secondary school.
Discussion
This study investigates how teachers of adult immigrant learners can support their students indeveloping a strategy for mastering life and learning. The main findings show that the fivestep method as described here, where students define what is important to them, success factors
and obstacles, and make plans on what to focus on and how to do it, may contribute to students
experiencing increased motivation and improved planning skills. Applying the method also led
to a better dialogue in school between teachers and students, and a common framework forlearning. These findings comply with Ryan and Deci’s self-determination theory (2000), that
if students experience autonomy, competence and relatedness, they will be intrinsicallymotivated to learn. The students had the opportunity to be autonomous through making theirown plans, they felt competent as they set the goals themselves and managed to follow theirplans, and they worked with finding solutions to obstacles in a supportive community of peers,
and through this they could experience relatedness.
One of the most important contributions of this study is a methodology that allows one to takethe students’ knowledge and experience as a starting point. This is needed in the field of adultlearning, as research shows that teaching in this context is often considered as little relevant or
little useful (Alver & Dregelid, 2001). By starting with the students’ own lives and theirprevious experience, it is easier to meet the students on their premises in teaching. This is inline with the approach advocated in Duckworth and Tett’s recent study from the UK (2019),
where it is reported that adult learners reclaimed their identities through their personal
narratives. The most important aspect of the five-step approach applied in the current study is56

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perhaps that it takes the whole person into account, so that cognitive, emotional and social
needs are considered, as pointed out as important needs to be met in a language learning context(Collier & Thomas, 2002). This way of working also contrasts the neo-liberal governancemindset, critiqued in much recent research on adult education for immigrants (Fejes et al.,2018; Heinemann, 2017; Morrice, 2007).
Neoliberalism means that individuals are structured to obtain a certain behaviour and individual
freedom is transformed into the instrument through which individuals are directed (Lorenzini,2018). By applying the five-step method, we aim at focusing more on the learners’ narratives
and competences, what is called success factors in the method, and not only on what they needto prepare for a future occupation, or to be successfully integrated. There is, however, a danger
that the method may become too instrumental, and fall in the category of neoliberalism if there
is too much focus on future goals and what is realistic to achieve in the future. To avoid this, it
is important to dwell on question two in the approach, what competences, or success factors,
do the adult immigrant learners have, what have they experienced before, and what in theirsituation is positive? Individuals’ understanding of the world and possibilities for the future areinfluenced by what range of resources they have access to (West, 1992), and for immigrants,
it may be challenging to identify resources in a new and foreign context, where previous
experience is perhaps dismissed due to lack of documentation. It is therefore important tosupport immigrants to retrieve their narratives, and reidentify their skills and resources.
It is also important to let immigrants identify the obstacles they themselves experience, as
asked about in question three of the five-step method, and not let others define their obstacles
for them, as there may be different views here. Still, it is a challenging balance to keep focus
on adult immigrants’ needs and dreams, and at the same time, help them succeed in a society
where it is required that they adapt. It is perhaps the society that really needs to change, andnot the immigrants. Perhaps the whole concept of integration needs to be reinterpreted andadjusted in the Western world in order to achieve a true multicultural society where different
cultures coexist and diversity is appreciated.
Conclusion
Based on the findings presented in this study, we conclude that the five-step motivation method
presented here can facilitate adult learners to develop a strategy for mastering life and learning.
Both the teachers’ and the students’ reflections show that the method may be a useful tool that
contributes to increased motivation and improved planning skills. Some of the essence of themethod is that it takes the students’ individual lives, goals and obstacles as a starting point. To
get the chance to express oneself about personal issues is something the students appreciatedand something that made the teachers have a better understanding of what the students wereconcerned with and considered important.
Even though this study shows good results, there is a need for more research on the method to
see if the findings presented here can be supported by more extensive studies carried out overlonger time and with a larger sample. Another aspect that may be further explored is how
working with the motivation method could be transferred to making and adjusting individual
plans in cooperation with the refugee services, plans that are obligatory for all immigrants in
Norway who are part of the introduction programme. This could lead to increased cooperationin addition to supporting the immigrants’ role in making plans for their future.

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Acknowledgements
The project has been supported by Sørlandet Hospital (ABUP) and the Norwegian Directorate
of Health and the Agder county through the programme Healthpromoting Kindergartens andSchools (HBS).

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Corresponding author: May Olaug Horverak
Email: may.olaug.horverak@birkenes.kommune.no61

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EFL Teachers’ Autonomy Supportive Practices for Out-of-Class Language Learning
Tuba Işık
Erzincan Binali Yildirim University
TurkeyCem Balçıkanlı
Gazi University
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Abstract
Autonomy support is a recently defined role for teachers, and they are expected to help learners
engage in autonomous out-of-class learning. With a focus on English language learning outside
the classroom, this study intended to uncover English as a foreign language teachers’ practices
related to autonomy support and to discuss the challenges faced by the teachers in this process.
Eleven teachers working at the tertiary level at a state university in Turkey were interviewed.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted in three sessions to find out the extent to which theteachers help their learners become autonomous. The findings revealed that the teachers
perform many autonomy-supportive behaviors which are feasible in language classrooms suchas motivating students, giving language advice and promoting peer collaboration. In doing this,the teachers utilize five different support mechanisms: affective, resource, capacity,
technology, and social support. On the other hand, the findings uncovered such constraints ascrowded classes, overloaded curriculum, and low learner motivation. These challenges wereperceived as barriers hampering teachers’ efforts for autonomy support. This study highlights
the feasibility of creating an autonomy-supportive language learning environment and provides
implications for teachers of English as a Foreign Language.
Keywords: autonomy support, learner autonomy, learning, out-of-class language, teacher,technology

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Introduction
Recent research has stressed the interconnectedness of technology use and out-of-classautonomous language learning and shed light on various qualifications required forautonomous language learning with technology (Lai, 2017; Reinders & Hubbard, 2013;
Reinders & White, 2016; Richards, 2015). With reference to these qualifications, a vast amountof research has investigated the nature of learners’ out-of-class learning experiences and theirreadiness for autonomous language learning with technology (for example Gonulal, 2019; Lai& Gu, 2011). The literature concluded that most language learners lack the required
qualifications, which are found to be best acquired with teacher support (Lai, 2015a, 2015b;
Lai, Yeung, & Hu, 2016). However, despite the importance of the teachers’ role in autonomy
support, to date relatively little work has focused on teachers’ practices supporting autonomous
learning out-of-the class. Previous research has provided invaluable insights about teacher
perceptions of and attitudes toward autonomy support, and about the challenges faced bylanguage teachers (e.g., Borg & Al-Busaidi, 2012; Nakata, 2011). One common conclusionfrom this prior research is that a wide gap exists between the desirability and feasibility of
autonomy support in language classrooms. However, the literature lacks focus on the feasibilityof autonomy support and is limited to provide a detailed account of teacher’ related practices.
To this end, the current study aimed to explore teachers’ autonomy-supportive practices at thetertiary level, and investigated the feasibility of autonomy support in language classrooms.
Literature Review
Learner autonomy refers to the learners’ capacity to take control of their learning (Benson,2011). According to Holec (1988, as cited in Huang & Benson, 2013), learners need to havethe ability, willingness, and freedom to be autonomous in their learning. Firstly, the ability
refers to metacognitive (learning management skills) and metalinguistic skills (the knowledgeof the target language to control the learning). Thus, autonomous learners create a personal
agenda “which sets up directions in the planning, pacing, monitoring, and evaluating thelearning process” (Chan, 2000, p.75). Secondly, autonomous learners should be motivatedintrinsically or instrumentally to take responsibility for their learning (Breen & Mann, 1997).
Lastly, they need to be permitted to act independently by the significant agents in this process
as teachers, and to have convenient learning situations in which learners have a degree of
independence to control their learning (Huang & Benson, 2013).
Out-of-class language learning is defined as an engagement in various language learning
activities undertaken beyond the confines of formal learning institutions (Benson, 2011;
Richards, 2015). This form of language learning is assumed to create a convenient learning
situation for language learners without teacher interference. Out-of-class learning
environments may have a potential for providing situational freedom in which willing language
learners can practice and develop their metacognitive abilities. Thus, it has often been related
to the development of learner autonomy and argued to be closely intertwined with autonomous
language learning (Benson & Reinders, 2011). In other words, out-of-class learning may serve
as a platform by which learners can take full control of their learning in a teacher-independent
environment, and thus be an autonomous language learner.
In this respect Benson’s autonomy definition (2011) focuses on capacity, and argues that
autonomy is not a personal attribute of a learner but rather a feature that can be developed in
the learning process. For the development of this capacity, there are several other features that
language learners also need to have. First and foremost, learners should be willing to take65

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responsibility for their learning (Chan et al., 2002; Lai & Gu, 2011). Secondly, they shouldhave independence and metacognitive skills to manage learning procedures (Lai, 2017).
Additionally, when learners use technology for their out-of-class language learning, they alsoneed to be aware of the potential of technology and know to how to locate, select, and use
appropriate technological resources (Castellano et al., 2011; Lai et al., 2016). Similarly, Bailly(2011) also proposes three conditions for language learners to display autonomous skills:
motivation (willingness), learning resources (appropriate language learning tools), and learning
skills (capacity for learning management).
Researchers have paid growing attention to the interconnectedness of learner autonomy andout-of-class language learning (Benson & Reinders, 2011). The research shows that technology
use is a significant predictor of autonomous out-of-class language learning (Reinders & White,
2016; Richards, 2015). In an influential work, Lai and Gu (2011) investigated 279 language
learners’ out-of-class language learning practices with technology. They found that out-ofclass language learning is much more complicated than expected. For example, while language
learners actively use technology for language learning, their technology use shows variations.
In other words, learners use technology selectively due to such reasons as language proficiency,
lack of knowledge about potential technological resources, and limited knowledge about how
to access technological learning materials. This study by Lai and Gu showed the significanceof the skills needed for autonomous language learning with technology such as making
informed learning decisions according to their learning styles, preferences, needs and goals(Chik, 2014), or knowing how to control “the time, the pace, the path to the goal, and themeasurement of success” (Healey, 1999, p.400). Reinders and Hubbard (2013) argued thatlearners need some skills to cope with the constraints of technology in the language learning
process. Autonomous language learners need to choose appropriate language learningmaterials in accordance with their levels and learning goals. In the same vein, they are supposed
to make informed decisions among a vast number of choices. Moreover, learners need to
distinguish the most useful forms of interaction on platforms that involve social interaction.
Lastly, learners are also supposed to have a critical capacity to identify what information isrelevant or not for their learning.
The work by Lai and Gu (2011) has led to further research intended to uncover the complex
nature of learners’ out-of-class language learning with technology (for example Çelik et al.,2012; Dincer, 2020; Şahin Kızıl & Savran, 2018; Trinder, 2017). One common conclusion ofthese studies is that most language learners are far from being autonomous since they lack therequired skills. Moreover, learners have a high expectancy of their teachers to guide them on
how to locate, select, and use technological resources for language learning purposes. Thus,
these learners need to be supported to manage their out-of-class language learning withtechnology (Lai et al., 2016). Importantly, teachers have been found to be a vital stakeholder
to provide this support, and a new role has consequently been assigned to the teachers:“autonomy-supportive teacher” (Lai et al., 2016; Lai et al., 2015; Reinders & Hubbard, 2013).
Given the research evidence about the importance of the teachers’ autonomy-supportive role,concerns have been raised about whether teachers can handle this prominent workload, and a
growing body of research has provided insights into teachers’ related perceptions and practices
for autonomy support (for example Alhaysony, 2016; Borg & Al-Busaidi, 2012; Nakata, 2011;
Wichayathian & Reinders, 2018). The most consistent finding from this research is thatteachers have indicated a strong preference for autonomous language learning and for
involving the learners in the decision-making process in their teaching since it is believed tobe conducive to their students’ language learning (Al Asmari, 2013; Borg & Al-Busaidi, 2012;66

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Wichayathian & Reinders, 2018). However, the teachers questioned the feasibility of
autonomy-support in their current teaching environments due to reasons such as learners’ lackof motivation, their dependence on teachers, their unwillingness to take responsibility, lack ofclass time and curriculum restrictions. These studies collectively indicated that there is a wide
gap between the desirability and feasibility of autonomy support even though teachers
expressed their desires for it and listed some autonomy-supportive practices in their classes
such as raising students’ awareness about the importance of autonomous out-of-class language
learning and encouraging independent work in and out-of-class (Haji-Othman & Wood, 2016;
Nakata, 2011; Yunus & Arshad, 2014). Some research studies also raised concerns aboutteachers’ readiness for their recently defined autonomy-supportive role. They argued thatteachers should be autonomous first and understand the pertaining pedagogy and skills before
autonomous learning initiatives are initiated in the classroom (for example Al Asmari, 2013;
Reinders & Balcikanli, 2011).
Previous work surveying teachers’ related perceptions and practices found that teachers areaware of the significance of learner autonomy and desire to promote it among their students;
however, they are skeptical about its feasibility in practice due to a range of challenges. Withreference to the gap between the desirability and feasibility of learner autonomy support, it isclear that despite significant progress in uncovering teachers’ perceptions of learner autonomy
and these challenges, the literature is still too limited to provide a clear picture of how feasible
teachers’ autonomy-support actually is. It is a fact that out-of-class language learning iscomplex in nature, and a bulk of research has been conducted to uncover the learners’ practices
so far. However, the investigation of teachers’ practices to support autonomous language
learning out-of-the class still lacks focus in research. Thus, it merits further investigation toenhance our understanding of the complex nature of autonomy support with technology, andthis current study has been designed to provide insights into the feasibility of autonomy supportand show how teachers support their students’ autonomous out-of-class language learning. To
this end, this study seeks to uncover English language teachers’ current practices pertinent toautonomy support and the challenges perceived by the teachers in this procedure.
MethodResearch Setting and Participants
The research setting of the study is a foreign languages school of a state university in Turkey.
The foreign languages school provides foundational English courses to English-based
departments such as civil aviation, engineering, and pharmacy. The classes are conducted
either face-to-face or online. It is also of importance for this study that the university has asmall library in which there is a limited number of language learning materials and has no selfaccess center. Thus, the language teachers serve as the only means of providing support forlearners’ out-of-class autonomous language learning.
Eleven EFL instructors (four females, seven males) participated in this study. While the least
experienced instructor worked for four years, the two most experienced instructors had 30years-experience in the field. Moreover, most of the participants continued their post-graduate
education in different departments related to English language such as English language
teaching (ELT), English language and literature, and translation and interpretation. Table 1
presents the details of the participants’ demographic information and interview durations.

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Table 1: Participant demographic details and interview durations
Participant

GenderAgeYears of
Experience

P1
P2

M
F

35
32

12
7

Graduation(Department
)
ELT
ELT

P3

F

29

6

ELT

P4

M

32

8

ELL

P5
P6

M
M

56
32

30
8

ELT
ELT

P7
P8

F
F

28
30

4
6

T&I
ELT

P9

M

32

8

ELT

P10
P11

M
M

31
54

6
30

ELL
ELT

The Highest
degreeMA
Ph.D.
(Student)
MA(Student)
Ph.D.
(Student)
Bachelor
MA(Student)
MA
Ph.D.
(Student)
MA(Student)
MA
MAInterview
Duration(In minutes)
43,12’
57,61’
53,03’
40,42’
80,04’
46,58
58,47’
52,23’
46,58
50,00’
26,37’

Note: F=Female; M=Male; T&I=Translation and Interpretation; ELL=English Language and Literature;
ELT=English Language and Teaching; MA=Master’s degree; PhD=Doctor of Philosophy, LTC=Language
Teaching Certificate.
*He was a visiting teacher from a foreign country.

Data Collection and Analysis
One-on-one semi-structured interviews were used as the primary data collection instrument inthis study. An interview guide was created based on the existing literature (Lai, 2015a; Lai etal., 2016; Nakata, 2011) to examine teachers’ autonomy-supportive practices. To ensure thecredibility of the guide, two experts in the field reviewed it. Then, the study was piloted with
one instructor, and later the guide was revised accordingly. The interviews were conducted ineither Turkish or English, depending on the participants’ preference. Signed informed consent
forms protected the rights of the participants. The interview sessions were organized in linewith the design of Dolbeare and Schuman’s three series of interviews (Schuman, 1982, as citedin Seidman, 2006). In the first session, the researchers aimed to become familiar with thecontext of the study and the participants, and to build a knowledge base for the followinginterview sessions. In the next session, the questions elicited the participants’ practices forpromoting learner autonomy. In the last session, the researchers intended to establish a link
between technology and learner autonomy and to induce the participants’ related experiences
and reflections on them. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed after each session toprepare additional follow-up questions for the following session. Thus, the researchers got the
chance to elicit more in-depth elaborations on the practices mentioned previously.
The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and then analyzed according to the steps oftheoretical thematical analysis proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). After iterative readingsof the data, the researchers listed the initial codes. In the first phase, they divided the codes into
two categories: autonomy-supportive and non-autonomy supportive teacher behaviors. Then,they focused on autonomy-supportive codes including motivation, language advising, learner
involvement, promoting cooperation, language learning strategies. Finally, they sorted thesecodes into five themes: affective, resource, capacity, technology, and social. Whileconstructing the themes, the existing literature was used to name the themes (Bailly, 2011;68

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Dörnyei, 2001; Lai et al., 2016). Later, two experts in the field coded 25% of the data toenhance the dependability and conformability of the study (Miles et al., 2014). Lastly, thecoding results of all the coders were compared and discussed. After the intercoder discussion,
the researchers revised the codes and finalized the themes. In the presentation of the analysis,
the themes and their contents were illustrated in tables. Sample excerpts were also provided tosupport the research findings. Each participant was distinguished with a number (for example,
P1=Participant 1) to protect their anonymity.
Findings
EFL Teachers’ Autonomy-Supportive Practices
Thematic analysis of interviews reveals that the participants perform a variety of autonomysupportive practices. Five themes related to teachers’ autonomy-supportive practices emerged
as a result of the data analysis. Table 2 illustrates the themes and summarizes the content ofeach theme.
Table 2: Description of the teachers’ autonomy-supportive practices
ThemesContent

Affective support

Increase language learning motivation and lower affective barriers forlanguage learning
Help learners find appropriate learning resources and suggestinglanguage materials
Help learners to manage and take the responsibility for their learning
Guide learners about how to use technology for language learning
Promote cooperation among the language learners

Resource support
Capacity support
Technology support
Social support

Affective support. All the participants consider learner motivation one of the primaryconditions for learner autonomy. Accordingly, they give affective support to the learners using
different strategies parallel with Dörnyei’s (2001) suggestions to generate, maintain and protect
motivation in language classrooms. They attempt to increase the learners’ goal-orientedness(establishing learning goals) by verbal encouragement, use of interesting technologicallanguage learning tools, and try to increase learners’ self-confidence.
In terms of motivation, almost all the participants claim that they try to increase the learners’
goal-orientedness by introducing study-abroad chances. For instance, P8 said that she
introduces mobility/study abroad programs at the beginning of each year. “Students realize
how important English learning is to be accepted for Erasmus Program”. P2 also uses study
abroad programs for the same purpose, and she claimed that “students set their learning goals
in this way”. Moreover, the participants not only motivate their students by verbal
encouragement, but also use technological tools to make language learning more attractive.
They believe technology encourages students to learn English and engages all the students inthe class. They usually make use of educational tools and games to enhance their instruction.
For example, many participants make use of Kahoot (a free game-based digital learning
platform) to liven up their classes.
Many participants also underscore the importance of self-confidence in foreign language
learning. Because the learners perceive English as too challenging to learn and get demotivatedby this case, the teachers attempt to boost their self-esteem using many strategies. For instance,

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P1 uses Simple Wikipedia on which the sentences are so simple that the learners think they canunderstand English very well and get motivated. In P1’s own words, “I just copy a text fromthere and give it to students as translation homework. Because it is simple English, they thinkthey can do it. It keeps them motivated”.
Resource support. The participants provide the learners with language resources and guidance
about how to use those materials. However, the willingness of learners qualifies how
effectively they use those resources. Almost all the participants were aware of this factor andstated that the learners’ willingness to learn English motivates them to put much more effort
into helping them. For instance, P3 indicated, “I do my best to help demanding learners, but I
can’t say I spend much time on those not interested in learning”.
Most of the participants take the role of a language advisor and provide learners with language
learning resources in line with their goals. Underlining the importance of the learners’ needs
and interests, P4 said, “If a student wants some techniques for getting a high score from anexam, I lead him to study on those techniques by recommending some resources”. P4 also
added that “But the others just want to learn spoken English, and I also lead them to speaking
clubs which are available at the university”.
Capacity support. Compared to the other two teacher autonomy-supportive practices,teachers’ efforts to help learners to manage their learning (for example identifying needs,
planning, monitoring, and evaluating the learning process) is more limited. Many participants
fall short of promoting learners’ capacity to maintain and sustain their learning. However, a
few participants perform some practices which can be considered potential feasible steps forcapacity support. For example, the teachers share learning strategies based on their own
learning experiences and pedagogical knowledge. P9 observes his role as a guide in the class.
He spends time on how to learn a foreign language, how to improve language learning skills
and how to speak English fluently. He thinks explaining all the alternatives to learn a language
helps learners become more independent in their learning.
The participants also expressed that setting goals is crucial for learners to be autonomous
language learners. They help their students to set their goals. Also, in some instances, they try
to persuade them English is vital. For example, P8 said that their students come to class without
any learning goals because they always fail through their language education. She noted, “Ishow something valuable to learn a foreign language in the first session of the semester andtry to persuade them to set learning goals accordingly”.
A few participants pointed out the importance of giving the syllabus beforehand to raiselearners’ awareness of monitoring and evaluating their learning. They expressed that thelearners know what they will learn and see throughout the semester. On this issue, P2 stated,“I believe whatever we [teachers] teach, we should tell them [students] ‘at the end of thislesson, you can gain these skills to help them monitor their learning”. P2 further noted theimportance of sharing responsibilities with the students. She let her students be responsible for
their learning with the flipped classroom method and helped students think, “I should study
this on my own rather than waiting for the teacher to expose these”.
Technology support. The findings showed that most participants support autonomous
language learning with technology in several ways. For this purpose, they use the technology
itself in class, teach how to use technology for language learning and verbally recommend
educational technology tools. The findings also suggest that teachers’ technology use in class70

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affects learners’ out-of-class technology use.
Most of the teachers expressed the importance of technology for language learning and listed
how they use different strategies to promote independent learning with technology. For
instance, P5 suggested some websites and mobile phone applications for self-study. Suggestingsome websites as well, P10 demonstrated how he uses websites (e.g., https://busyteacher.org/)
while preparing his lessons. Thus, he intends to raise the learners’ awareness about how to
select and use technological resources. Some participants also noted that they suggest somelanguage learning websites and mobile phone applications for specific language learning skills
such as Busuu and Duolingo. Another participant, P9, underlined the importance of needoriented guidance and said, “If a student’s pronunciation is not very good, I offer them to listen
to voice records or the TV or radio channels broadcasting in English”.
The participants also underscored the practicality of technology for language learning. Theyemphasized how easy to learn with technology in today’s technological conditions. “Everybody
now has smartphones in their pockets so they can easily download and install language
learning applications on their mobile phones and use them whenever and wherever they want”.
Furthermore, P6 highlighted the new role of a language teacher in this technology-richenvironment and stated, “I always encourage [my students] that we [as teachers] are notneeded anymore, because we have plenty of teachers on YouTube”. Therefore, he leads thelearners to technological tools, applications and websites, and transmits the responsibility oflearning to the learners themselves.
Many participants also claimed that their courses affect the learners’ digital literacy and theirtechnology use habits in a way. They gave several examples of their practices and how theyaffect the learners’ technology use. P2 said that even though her class was not a technology
teaching class, her tasks helped her students to learn a lot about computers and other digital
devices. Similarly, P3 shared her related experiences and stated that she was using a TV series
in her classes and said, “My students really liked to learn English from a TV series, and manyof them continued to English series and movies to learn English”. Thus, what she did in classaffected the learners’ out-of-class learning. P8 also added how the learners were affected by
way of her teaching. “Some students didn’t know what Blog is. Today they follow blogs in
English”.
Social support. Most of the participants promote cooperation among learners, both inside andoutside the class. They believe in the usefulness of peer/group learning and take advantage ofpeer feedback in class. For instance, P8 recounted that she makes use of peer feedback in thewriting sessions and indicated its effectiveness. “They may not be able to find their mistakes
but when they see the same mistake in their peers’ paper, they can easily see and correct it”.
While many participants claimed to support peer feedback/learning for in-class activities, someof them asserted their preference for out-of-class collaboration. They explained theeffectiveness of peer learning outside the class and why they make use of expert-novice
matching. P4 reported that low-achieving students getting help from high-achievers could gethigher scores because they learn different things from each friend before the exams. P10 also
further added that “I cannot help outside the classroom all the time and I match academicallyweak and successful students to complete out-of-school activities and assignments together”.
Besides this, he transfers the responsibility of the learning to the learners and encourages themto learn cooperatively.

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Perceived Constraints Faced by Autonomy-Supportive Teachers
The participants focused on a lot of constraints while describing how they support learners’
out-of-class autonomous language learning. The responses showed that the constraints are
based on two factors: institution and learner. Under the constraints theme, two sub-themes
emerged and Table 3 presents the sub-themes and summarizes their content.
Table 3: Description of the constraints perceived by teachers
Sub-themes

Content

Institution-based constraints

crowded classes, poor technological infrastructure,overloaded curriculum and limited class time
low motivation and teacher-directed learning culture

Learner-based constraints

Institution-based constraints. The most oft-repeated institutional problem was crowded
classes. The teachers stated that they fall short of providing enough support for identifying
learners’ strengths and weaknesses, promoting cooperation among learners, and involving
them in decision-making in crowded classes. For example, P7, who used to give attention toeach student in small classes, stated that she does not have enough time and energy to pay
attention to every learner anymore. “I do not have time to observe and help all my studentsnow”. Instead, she supports the enthusiastic students who demand help to continue study
English out-of-the class.
The findings, in general, suggest that the language teachers do integrate technology into theirclasses and support learners with technological tools for their out-of-class language learning.
However, the teachers have problems with the poor technological infrastructure of theclassrooms. P9 stated, “there is only one computer, and only the teacher can use it”. While thisproblem hampers technology integration to support learning in class, it also leads to a teacherdirected classroom atmosphere where all the responsibility of teaching is on teachers. Thus,
students become passive information receivers.
Another major issue was the challenge of getting the objectives of the curriculum done in time,
which is the workload of the teachers in a limited period. Three participants expressed that they
had so many other things to do in the class apart from helping students to be autonomous
language learners. Therefore, there should be another department, a language advising center,to help learners for their out-of-class language learning. P1 recounted that “because our job isto teach a foreign language, we need to do it. But I think there must be another department at
the university”. It seems evident from the responses that a fixed curriculum poses a problem
for the participants; either they mention it or not. The participants spend time helping learners
in their free time, but in class, they need to manage their time to complete the curriculum
requirements.
Learner-based constraints. The participants reported that few students wish to learn English,
and the rest only complete course requirements. For instance, P11 stated that “My students tellme they just want to pass the class, it doesn’t matter to learn English or not”. Some participantsalso face some discouraging students’ behaviors or statements, as can be seen in P4’s
experience: “The majority of students want me to add extra 5 points to their grades instead ofadvising about how to learn English better”.
The learners’ learning culture also affects their language learning habits, beliefs, dispositions,72

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Volume 8 – Issue 4 – 2020and values. Learners bring their past learning habits to the current system, and it becomes achallenge to change them. Even if the teachers try to establish a totally new language learning
environment, they have difficulty to adapt to the recent changes. For instance, P2 changed herteaching method by using a different approach, flipped learning. However, it was challenging
for her to make students motivated. “The students are used to teacher-directed and spoon-fed
way of learning and studying for only the exams not for their development since the very earlystages of their education”. So that she described her experience as a challenge and used theword “force” to define her efforts to make them study in a new way. She also expressed thateven if her students continuously complain about the conventional language teaching methods,
when they face some difficulties in the new way of learning, they want to go back to the pastsystem.
Discussion
This study investigated English language teachers’ autonomy-supportive practices andrevealed constraints underlying the barriers to autonomy-support. The data were collected
qualitatively with semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that the teachers utilized avariety of support mechanisms. Even though their individual practices look small steps, theircurrent practices create a promising picture for the feasibility of autonomy support in foreign
language classes.
In line with Bailly’s (2011) proposal for autonomous language learning with technology (i.e.,
willingness, learning resources, and learning skills), the teachers utilize affective, resource andcapacity support. Teachers attempt to increase their students’ language learning motivation;
help learners find appropriate learning resources and suggest language materials; help learners
manage and take the responsibility of their learning. The thematic analysis further revealed twoother autonomy-supportive practices, namely technology and social support, which are also
pivotal for learners’ autonomous language learning. In other words, teachers guide theirstudents about how to use technology for language learning and promote cooperation among
learners. However, teachers face institutional and learner-based constraints hampering theirefforts for autonomy support.
Lai et al. (2016) revealed that learners need teacher help for selecting appropriate language
learning materials for their out-of-class learning. Moreover, many language learners are notaware of the potentials of technology and cannot also use technology for language learning
even though they are digital natives (Çelik et al., 2012; Lai & Gu, 2011). Thus, teachers shouldtake the role of an advisor and a guide to help them (Wichayathian & Reinders, 2018).
Similarly, the teachers in this study believe they should take the role of a language advisor forlearners’ out-of-class language learning and a guide for resource selection (Gardner & Miller,
2011; Morrison, 2008). Parallel to this assertion, the teachers in this study expressed their
willingness to support learners’ autonomous learning and reported their practices for this aim.
They use and model various language learning technologies in their classes; give technicaltraining on how to use them for language learning purposes and recommend technological tools
for out-of-class language learning. On the other hand, they tend to help willing students interms of resource support, rather than wasting time and energy for unmotivated students. The
teachers’ in-class technology use also affects learners’ out-of-school technology use.
Concurring with various prior research studies (Lai, 2015a, 2015b; Lai & Gu, 2011), theparticipants’ efforts were claimed to enhance the quality of the learners’ technology use for
language learning and to increase their digital competence. Thus, those practices might have apositive impact on learners’ autonomous language learning with technology.

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It is widely argued in the literature that learners’ willingness to take the responsibility of theirlearning is of importance for out-of-class language learning and the development of autonomy(Dörnyei, 2001; Huang & Benson, 2013; Reinders, 2010; Zimmerman, 2011). In accordancewith this, the teachers in this study consider learner motivation one of the primary conditions
for successful language learning and the development of learner autonomy, as well. They
provide affective support using different strategies, as proposed by Dörnyei (2001). The
teachers attempt to increase learners’ goal-orientedness, raise their self-confidence in language
learning, and use technology to make language learning more enjoyable. However, the teachers
in this study expressed that many students are not entirely motivated to learn English
autonomously. This finding reflects various studies which conclude that the learners’
unwillingness is one of the challenges in the development of learner autonomy (for example
Alhaysony, 2016; Borg & Al-Busaidi, 2012; Okay & Balçıkanlı, 2017).
Another major finding of this study was that the teachers face many constraints, as found invarious studies from different contexts. The teachers addressed crowded classes (Alibakhshi,2015), poor technological infrastructure (Park & Son, 2009), and overloaded curriculum (Borg& Al-Busaidi, 2012; Wichayathian & Reinders, 2018) as the issues which hamper theirautonomy-supportive practices. Furthermore, the teachers identified their students as reluctant
to learn English autonomously (Al Asmari, 2013; Chan et al., 2002; Farahani, 2014; Yunus &Arshad, 2014). The teachers further indicated the learners’ teacher-centered learning culture,
which affects the learners’ learning habits, beliefs, dispositions, and values. This issue might
be connected to the Turkish education system in which “the authority is not shared;
individuality and creativity are less encouraged” (Balcikanli, 2010, p.99). Because of students’limited agency, they are expected to resist changing and taking control of their learning.
Conclusion
This current study has provided insights into how English language teachers working at thetertiary level in a state university in Turkey support their students’ out-of-class autonomous
language learning and the challenges in this procedure. The study revealed significant
implications for teachers. Given that teachers are supposed to create an autonomy-supportive
learning environment in their classes, they could initiate changes in their routines. One of thesechanges could be to learn more about the learners’ autonomy levels and technology
competence by conducting simple surveys at the beginning of each semester. Therefore, they
can redesign their classes and share their responsibilities based on the learners’ readiness forautonomous language learning. Another point is that teachers can inform learners of theprocedure of their material preparation and show how they find and prepare teaching materials
in line with their objectives in the classroom. In this way, learners could be more aware of how
they can select appropriate learning resources and manage their own learning out-of-the class.
What is more, the more teachers know about language learning technologies, the more theytune into supporting learners for out-of-class learning. Given that, teachers can participate in
in-service teacher training programs to keep up with the new technological advancements andcurrent pedagogical skills needed for teaching language learners of 21st century.
This study is not without limitations. The data were collected with a single data collection
instrument, semi-structured interviews, which is based on the participants’ self-report. Thissituation is potentially susceptible to “social desirability bias” (Grimm, 2010). Namely, theparticipants might have described their practices as better and more socially desirable than theiractual state. Observation and documentation would be useful to get a more comprehensible
overview of teachers’ related practices. Another limitation was that the study included a small

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cohort of teachers working at the tertiary level, and the findings may not apply to language
teachers in other contexts.
While discussing the findings, the teachers’ demographic details were not considered due tothe small sample size. However, some differences were observed in the perceptions andpractices of the teachers with different educational backgrounds and the lengths of teachingexperience. For example, the teachers who were Ph.D. candidates were more autonomysupportive. Also, the younger teachers were more inclined to integrate technology than theolder ones. As such, teachers’ demographic variables could be studied in relation to autonomy
support to see whether such variables make any significant differences in their pedagogicalpractices.
Acknowledgements
This article is a part of the first authors’ master’s thesis under the supervision of the second
author.

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Corresponding Author: Tuba IşikContact email: tuba.turkel@erzincan.edu.tr

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Academic Failure: Unspoken Experiences by International Postgraduate Students
in a Malaysian University
Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh
La Trobe University
Australia

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Abstract
Malaysia aspires to become a regional and international hub of higher education through aninternational student mobility initiative. Existing scholarly work on international students is
skewed towards understanding the general challenges faced by international students, but
limited work has been conducted in exploring the impact of severe supervision challenges oninternational postgraduate students’ experiences in a Malaysian research university. Hence,
this paper explores the evidence of academic failure experienced by international postgraduate
students by drawing on semi-structured interviews with 33 international postgraduate students.
Academic failure experiences were faced by international postgraduate students as a result of
two major challenges: supervision issues, and faculty mismanagement. The experience of
academic failure has impacted the students’ enthusiasm, motivation and inspiration inprogressing in their research work and has also impacted them psychologically. The
implications for developing significant and profound strategies to assist international
postgraduate students in achieving positive educational outcomes are also discussed.
Keywords: academic failure, International postgraduate students, Malaysia

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Malaysia has aspired to become a regional and international hub of higher education by 2020
and this aspiration has been supported through attracting international students from aroundthe globe. Singh et al. (2012) observed that the success of international education isstereotypically evaluated according to growth in international student numbers. Against thisindicator, according to the latest statistics in 2018, there were 170,898 international students(undergraduate and postgraduate) studying in public and private universities in Malaysia(Ministry of Education, 2019). In 2017, 32,042 were international postgraduate students, ofwhom 21,170 were enrolled at public universities and 10,872 enrolled at private universities(Ministry of Higher Education, 2018). A recent study by Singh et al. (2014) found thatinternational postgraduate students had chosen Malaysia for their studies because of its safe
environment (its political stability), shared cultural values and language (especially for students
from ASEAN countries such as Cambodia and Indonesia), its relatively low tuition fees andcost of living, “proximity to the students’ home country as well as access to culturally important
items such as halal and other dietary requirements” (p. 463). In strengthening the numbers ofsuch international students, Malaysian higher education institutions need to provide academic
and social support services to them so that they have a positive, engaging international
experience studying in Malaysia.
In the main, factors leading to academic success (Singh, 2018), as well as the academic andsocial adjustment challenges encountered by international students (Asgari & Borzooei, 2014;
Desa et al., 2012; Sidhu et al., 2014) have been widely studied. However, understanding how
severe supervision-related challenges contribute to academic failure experiences byinternational postgraduate students in Malaysia has received very little attention (da Silva &Ravindran, 2016). This paper therefore investigates several challenges that are involved inleading to academic failure experiences of international postgraduate students studying at oneof the top Malaysian research universities. The paper takes one of the first steps in offering acomplete picture of the academic experiences of international students in Malaysia.
Literature Review
Astin (1976) and other researchers (Ayán & García, 2008; Zhou et al., 2014) have generally
measured student outcomes by way of indicators such as completion of the degree andacademic grades. However, international postgraduate students in Singh and Jack’s (2018)
study understood their academic success as the development of personal and professional skills
as well as their contribution to their home country on return. Singh (2018) further revealed
institutional services, such as workshops, financial and library services, together withindividual characteristics, especially self-discipline attributes, and a quality supervision
process, were the main factors contributing to achieving academic success of international
postgraduate students. Other factors articulated by postgraduate students in Malaysia haveincluded supervisor commitment to the research project and supervisees, and the frequency of
consultations between supervisors and supervisees (Mohamed et al., 2012).
On the other side of the coin, scholars who have studied academic failure of undergraduate
students, such as Ajjawi et al, (2019a), have defined the “failure” concept as students obtaining
a fail grade for one or more subjects during their studies. Scholars such as Helfer and Drew
(2019), however, refer to academic failure experiences of postgraduate students as “unhappy,
discouraged or disappointed” (p. 512), stressed, exhausted and burn out (Cornér et al., 2017)or experiencing low satisfaction and engagement levels (Löfström & Pyhältö, 2014) due to an
ineffective supervision process and other related issues pertaining to international postgraduate
students. The most common challenge faced by international postgraduate students is limited

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English proficiency skills in writing, reading and speaking (Alsahafi & Shin, 2017; Li et al.,2018). Thus, international postgraduate students in Malaysia acknowledged that they mighttake up to three hours to read and understand one journal article because the vocabulary andterminologies used in some academic journals created complications for them incomprehending key arguments of the article (Kaur & Sidhu, 2009). Postgraduate students in
Malaysia have also reported that they were unable to write research papers effectively inEnglish because they had insufficient knowledge of discourse patterns common to academic
articles and this hindered their meaning-making process for writing purposes (Kaur & Sidhu,
2009).
Principally, international students experience difficulties in establishing good academic andsocial relationships with lecturers due to the inadequacy of their language skills (Kim, 2007).
This leads to communication tensions because English language limitations interfere with theirsocial and academic communication: a lack of grammar hinders them from articulating theirideas in English, thus impacting the relationship between students and lecturers/supervisors(Kim, 2007). In addition to language incompetence, Korean students in a United States-based
study by Kim (2007) acknowledged several interaction challenges, such as discrepancies
between the style of guidance or supervision from the supervisors or lecturers and the students’
expectations, student passivity in discussion and supervisor unavailability.
Critical to international postgraduate students’ academic success is their ability to use libraryservices for a variety of academic and research tasks of reading-to-writing, such as writing
research papers, theses, assignments and scientific papers (Mu, 2007). International students
mainly face challenges in using such services due to their low level of familiarity with librarysystems and resources (Mu, 2007), which may differ from those in their previous educational
background. As a result, international postgraduate students in a New Zealand-based study(Mu, 2007) expressed concerns about accessing online databases and catalogues for books,
journals and other reading materials, print indexes, library classification systems, locatingbooks, information retrieval skills and citing information (Harmon & Wales, 1999). These
challenging experiences then contribute to non-completion of the degree program or nontimely completion, as well as hindering the research growth of postgraduate students.
There are, too, multiple supervision challenges that contribute to research failure experiencesof international postgraduate students (Gao, 2019; Khozaei et al., 2015; Mohamed et al., 2012).
For example, one of the most common breakdowns in supervision is the supervisor’s varied
roles in the institution. The supervisor’s main role is to provide substantial time to guide a
student in the chosen research project. However, as they themselves are active researchers andhave other academic priorities, such as teaching and administrative loads, supervisors tend toneglect supervision time (Gao, 2019). In Gao’s (2019) study, an international postgraduate
student was excited to be associated with an internationally renowned scholar in his field;
however, by the time of enrolment the supervisor had started a collaborative research projectwith a university in the United States, leaving this student alone on the supervision journey,
which eventually impacted research progress severely. Alternatively, supervisor lack of
research expertise or knowledge (Khozaei et al., 2015) in a specific discipline has led students
experiencing research failure: for example, postgraduate students in Khozaei et al.’s (2015)
study pointed out that, by not having a supervisor who had in-depth knowledge on statisticalanalyses, understanding of the whole research proposal was jeopardised. Gube et al. (2017)
found that postgraduate students do value discipline-expert supervisors because the latter speed
up research progress by “connecting [students] with appropriate literature and contacts in thefield” (p. 7). As a result, “the role of supervisors has been often cited as an important82

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contributing factor to the success of graduate students” (Khozaei et al., 2015, p. 449) andsupervisors neglecting their responsibilities as supervisors can be a major interruption to theirstudents’ research progress.
Supervision issues mainly reported in Malaysia include individual behavior or personality
clashes between students and supervisors (Sidhu et al., 2014) due to differences in academic
culture. For instance, Al-Zubaidi and Rechards (2010) have explained how students from somecountries are taught to express their opinions directly and assertively and yet there are also
students who are educated to state their ideas indirectly in supervisory discussions. Both ofthese can result in offensive or unpleasant relationship outcomes for both parties. Sidhu et al.’s(2014) study further found that Malaysian supervisors may speak abruptly to international
students when they fail to comprehend a supervisor’s expectations. As a result, international
students felt discouraged, scared of supervisors and lacked confidence in timely completion(Sidhu et al., 2014). According to Ismail and Abiddin (2009), a high attrition rate is apparent
among PhD students in Malaysia and there are also many cases of non-timely completion of
PhD studies.
Other literature commonly relates supervision issues to a supervisor’s busy schedule (Abiddin& West, 2007), the differing levels of expectation between the supervisor and students (Ismail& Abiddin, 2009), communication issues (Ismail et al., 2013) and lack of clear guidance andfeedback (Wang & Li, 2008). International postgradaute students in Khozaei et al.’s (2015)
study also stated that repeated harsh feedback received from supervisors hampered theirresearch growth and contributed to their low confidence levels. When these supervision issues
reach severe levels, supervision ethical issues enter the discussion. According to Löfström and
Pyhältö (2020), “ethics is comprised of general, normative principles concerning what is
acceptable and what is not” (p. 537). Further, “ethics refers to expectations regarding moral
positions, integrity refers to acting upon those moral positions” (Löfström & Pyhältö, 2020, p.
537) and therefore the term “supervision ethics” is used in this paper to understand the degreeof moral behaviour of supervisors from the perspective of postgraduate students. As such,supervision ethical issues are seen as dereliction of a supervisor’s responsibility towards
supervisees (Löfström & Pyhältö, 2017). For instance, Middle Eastern postgraduate students
studying in one South East Asian university experienced research hindrance due to thesupervisor’s unavailability and the lack of commitment shown towards assisting students(Khozaei et al., 2015). Davis (2019) further posits that a supervisor’s hectic roster impacts on
students negatively, “leading to discomfort, loss of self-esteem and finally, all too often, peril”(p. 454). The extent of a supervisor’s busy schedule and lack of feedback provision have led to
fidelity issues in terms of supervision abandonment and inadequate supervision (Löfström &Pyhältö, 2017) and have huge negative implications for international students’ academic
success.
Although Davis (2019) argues that fundamental challenges of supervision include supervisory
expertise, time-related qualities and feedback, realistically these challenges are intertwined.
The challenges discussed in this section are entirely difficulties faced by international
postgraduate students without further understanding the impact of these obstacles oninternational students’ academic failure experiences in Malaysia. The research question of thispaper is therefore “What are the critical supervision challenges faced by international
postgraduate students that have significant influence on their academic failure experiences?”83

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Research Design and Methodology
The empirical data in this paper originated from a PhD project that explored academic successexperiences of international postgraduate students at a Malaysian research university.
Hermeneutic phenomenology was developed by Heidegger (1889-1976) and has both elementsof lived experiences (phenomenology) and of interpretation (hermeneutic) for understanding;here the research participants’ academic failure experiences (Ajjawi & Higgs, 2007).
Heidegger’s hermeneutic phenomenology is concerned with the lived human experience and“addresses experience from the perspectives of meanings, understandings and interpretations”(Pernecky & Jamal, 2010, p. 1056). Its main focus as a method is on understanding the meaningof experiences by searching for themes and engagement with the data interpretively with a lessimportance on the essence of the experience (Sloan & Bowe, 2013). It offers researchers theopportunity to explore, understand and interpret experiences.
Participants
Data were collected from 33 international postgraduate students (21 males, 12 females) at a
research university in Malaysia. Participants were invited using a purposive sampling method:
the author made an initial contact with the elected international postgraduate ambassadors
through their publicly available contact details via the Student Ambassador Program (SAP)
website. Participants were also selected using the snowball sampling technique when the initial
participants from the SAP identified further candidates (Minichiello et al., 2008). Notices torecruit participants were also posted on notice boards in the postgraduate lounge, library andInternational House (accommodation). Table 1 illustrates the demographic details ofinternational postgraduate students who participated.
Table 1: Demographic details of international postgraduate students
GenderNationality

Faculty

Information
Male
Female
India
Iraq
Iran
Yemen
Nigeria
China
Indonesia
Sri Lanka
Pakistan
Palestine
Cambodia
Bangladesh
Somalia
Pharmacy
Education
Communication
Humanities
Computer Science
Architecture
BiologyManagement

84

Number of IS
21
12
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
5
5
4
3
3
3
2
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DegreeLength of Candidature

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Language
Industrial Technology
Physics
Mathematics
Business
PhD
Masters0 – 11 months
1st year
2nd year
3rd year
4th year
5th year
Graduated

2
1
1
1
1
23
10
8
10
4
5
3
1
2

Pseudonyms are used to preserve the identity of participants. In reporting, qualitative
comments, the following convention is used: IS for international postgraduate student,
interview number (i.e. IS 1, IS 2, etc.).
Data Collection
Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted in English for between 30 and 60 minutes
at a Malaysian university and were audio-taped with a digital voice recorder with thepermission from the participants to ensure that all their perspectives were captured accurately.
The main ideas addressed in the interviews included experiences of academic success andfailure, challenges that contributed to these experiences, strategies employed to overcome
challenges, and factors that enhanced academic success. Interviews were subsequently
transcribed by the author. Students were mostly interviewed in the University Postgraduate
Lounge.
Data Analysis
This study sought to interpret the participants’ social lived experiences by analysing theinformation they provided using thematic analysis. Van Manen’s (1990) method was adopted
because it is one of the most complete and popular hermeneutic methods that focuses on“understanding the meaning of experience (by searching for themes) with greater interpretative
engagement with the data” (Langdridge, 2007, p. 109). Van Manen describes the method’sbase as built on three approaches: holistic reading to achieve a holistic understanding of thephenomenon; selective reading, highlighting significant statements to formulate meanings; anddetailed or line-by-line reading to consider every sentence. The author used holistic andselective reading to analyse the data, because this would “result in a good balance between partand whole reading and less likelihood of idiosyncratic interpretations that are beyond the data”(Langdridge, 2007, p. 124). Techniques proposed by Boyatzis (1998), Braun and Clarke (2006)
and Creswell (2008) were also adopted to complement van Manen’s hermeneutic
phenomenological approach, which is less prescriptive and guided more by the relationshipbetween the text and the researcher.
An inductive approach was adopted. Data analysis began with coding, collating codes into
possible themes and generating a thematic map (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The author manually
selected the shortest transcript and assigned key words or phrases that described whatparticipants meant (Tesch, 1990). At this stage, the author used van Manen’s second approach,selective reading or highlighting, to see which phrases represented the phenomenon underinvestigation. While doing the coding, the author asked “What statement(s) or phrases(s) seem85

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particularly essential or revealing about the phenomenon or experience being described?” (vanManen, 1990, p. 93) in order to formulate the meanings.
The next step was to group similar codes and redundant codes and reduce the list to a smaller,
more manageable number (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Creswell, 2008). The process of thematic
analysis is an iterative one (Braun & Clarke, 2006): the author revisited the list and data to see
if any new codes emerged (Creswell, 2008). Quotes that supported the codes were highlighted(Tesch, 1990) and the list reduced to establish themes that answered the research question.
Findings
Supervision Issues
The lack of support from the supervisor in terms of insufficient provision of feedback on
research work and communication breakdown due to the supervisor’s busy schedule were themain reasons for an Iranian Master’s student experiencing academic failure: the student fromthe Communication Faculty was left for months to find her own footing in her research work
due to her supervisor’s extreme busy schedule; working on her research proposal for nearly ayear on her own, she was deprived of constructive feedback. At this stage of candidature, she
is frustrated; she it yet to present her proposal to the panel so that she can move on to the nextstage of her project:
I really had difficulty finding my supervisor. He was really busy with different
things, inside or outside Malaysia. Most of the time he is not around. I haven’t
presented my proposal yet, and my proposal is completely ready, but he has notread it yet. I am waiting for his comments. I have sent more than 10 emails in
one week to him, trying to call him, even going to his office, but I cannot findhim. For example, when I want to meet him, I go to his office to set an
appointment. About 1 month later I get an appointment and in this one-month
period, he may postpone or cancel the meeting two or three times. And it willtake another two months to meet him. It should be our meeting but it won’t lastmore than 15 minutes, as he will be talking on the phone, talking to people. (IS10)
Several other PhD students indicated the same issues with their supervisors: they feel very tiredof “chasing after” their supervisors. An Indonesian student said her supervisor tended tomisplace her thesis chapters due to the supervisor’s busy schedule. As a result, she had to
reprint her chapters several times for comment:
My supervisor is very busy. I pass my chapters to her and then she needs a lotof time to read and to give the feedback. Sometimes I pass on the chapters, andthen she said, ‘I lost it somewhere, I don’t know where I put it’, so I need toreprint again, and pass it to her again… Sometimes I cry, but [there is] nothing
to be done [about it]. So that’s the big challenge for me. (IS 6)
Two PhD students and one Master’s student claimed that they had challenges in meeting
regularly with supervisors and receiving constructive feedback on draft chapters:
I submitted my third draft one and half months ago. I am still waiting forcomments. I emailed and I have given a printout copy, I am still waiting forcomments. It’s only 23 pages. (IS 21)

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He was very busy, and at the same time he doesn’t have time to edit or to see,to talk, [he was] travelling, meeting, lecturing in other places. (IS 23)
There is no communication between me and her. I feel very tired with her. Everytime I make contact to see her, she said “Ok”. I go and wait for her for 1-2
hours, [but] I couldn’t find her. Later I feel very sad. (IS 12)
As a result of these disappointments, a Master’s student said that she just wants to finish her
Masters and pursue her PhD degree in another Faculty or even in other countries such as
Australia or New Zealand. This student, however, went on to work with her supervisor:
I really want to get rid of it [the Masters]…But for sure I won’t start a PhD in
this [Faculty]… maybe in another [Faculty]… and maybe in another country…
[I am] thinking about Australia or New Zealand… I don’t want to have thischallenge again… It was not a good experience for me. (IS 10)
For other students, one of the main strategies adopted was to change supervisors because of bad
supervision experiences. For example, a Master’s student from Iraq decided to change hersupervisor due to limited support in the research project. Wisker and Robinson (2013) argue
that changing supervisors influences research progress because students then might take moretime to complete their research. However, this student was determined to change her supervisor
because she wanted to feel comfortable in completing her studies and found herself in an
unpleasant supervision situation:
I decided to change my supervisor. I found it is ok to be late, but it is better tofeel comfortable than just take the degree and don’t feel comfortable with it.
(IS 12)Another challenge experienced at this research university was the supervisor’s limited expert
knowledge on the topic. A Palestinian PhD student pointed out:
Sometimes supervisors are not very specialised in that field. Sometimes you feelyour supervisor is disconnected from your field or on what you are going to door what you are thinking. You feel you didn’t make progress or you fail inmaking progress. This makes me think that I didn’t make progress and I feeldepressed. (IS 8)
A PhD student from China claimed that his supervisors seem to lack knowledge relevant to his
research field. As a result, they were unable to provide meaningful guidance in his researchdiscipline and the student felt disconnected from his supervisors:
For the PhD level, sometimes I find the supervision is not very nice, because
my research is Chinese cinema, so all the supervisors here are mostly Malay,
and they have no such background. (IS 3)
These findings do not add to the list of supervision challenges widely acknowledged inscholarly research, but they are serious, authentic reports associated with the spectrum of
academic failure experiences felt by international students at this Malaysian university. Basedon these findings, supervision commitment is being clearly breached because supervisors are87

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too busy to provide feedback and this then has negative implications on the students’ research
work and their research success.
Faculty Mismanagement
Ajjawi et al. (2019b) argue that students generally want to be connected to and supported by
the university and academic staff members in order to excel in their studies. However, a fourthyear Management PhD student from Iran expressed his disbelief on the inappropriate treatment
he received from the Faculty’s management once his supervisor left the university:
My supervisor left and nobody wants to help me and [the faculty members] gave
me a lot of corrections based on my proposal defense. I haven’t had access to
the EG machine which was my main equipment to do my research. The
management sent the machine to [another branch campus]. (IS 24)
This particular student described his academic failure experience thus: “everything is reverse,
no happy life, boring life, no acknowledgement, no scholarship, no admiration by others” when
his supportive supervisor left the university. He received insufficient support from his Faculty’s
management in terms of accessibility to vital equipment. Other academics from the Faculty
were reluctant to supervise his research project because the research was different from thetypical management research conducted in the Faculty. He was asked to change his topic after
three years’ working on the initial research which he had been so passionate about. His grief iscaptured thus:
Writing a new proposal after three years, I have changed my lovely thesis anddo the stupid stuff in the field and do the questionnaire, typical management
research which I don’t like, but I am forced to do… [It is a] boring…boring
life… when you are forced to do this. It means you are forced to do… I don’t
have a choice right now… This is not my field, this is not my passion. (IS 24)
The student feels he has been left with no choice about his research change.
Discussion
The main purpose of this paper is to explore diagnostic supervision challenges experienced byinternational postgraduate students that significantly influenced their academic failure
experiences. The results have highlighted two main supervision challenges that contributed toacademic failure incidents in a Malaysian university. The first main challenge surrounds
supervision. Good supervision is essential in research students’ educational journeys but
students at this Malaysian university reported supervision issues arising from lack ofconstructive feedback by academic staff due to busy staff schedules and supervisor
unfamiliarity with the students’ research topics. Although et al. (2007) highlighted that apositive supervisory relationship is primary in ensuring that students are guided andempowered to be independent learners in gaining a Masters or PhD degree, lack of constructive
feedback and communication breakdown reported here influenced students’ research
performance because they were unable to revise their writing in good time without helpfulcomments from their supervisors. As a result, students experienced delay in completing theirresearch on time and in developing constructive communication on research work with theirsupervisors.

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Cornér et al. (2017) argue that frequency of supervision is a fundamental element of students’satisfaction with the supervision process and it reduces the risk of dropping out. However, forpostgruadate international students in this study, lack of timely guidance and feedback
discouraged them in move on in their projects. As a consequence, students experienced
academic failure in the sense that there was limited progress in their research. Postgraduate
students in Löfström and Pyhältö’s (2014) study also experienced inadequate supervisionbecause supervisors were to busy to provide research direction and had too many supervisees.
Such incompetent, abandonment and inadequate supervision is categorised as an ethical issue,
according to Goodyear, Crego and Johnston (1992).
Postgraduate students in Gube et al.’s (2017) study argued that discipline-expert supervisors
were appreciated because they were strongly connected with the discipline context andtherefore “provide[ed] support in relation to research direction and content-specific feedback”(p. 10). This is a sharp contrast to experiences reported here, where some students did notreceive positive or clear feedback from the supervisor because the supervisor lacked relevant
knowledge. This is a dishonest on the part of the supervisor and this then impacts not only
students’ research success but also students’ well-being in terms of their experiencing
psychological distress such as depression for not progressing in their research work. As aconsequence, lack of guidance does impede international students’ completion of research andstudies within a stipulated timeframe. Although the Malaysian Internationalisation Policy
document (Ministry of Higher Education, 2011) strongly recommends that is it the
responsibility of universities to provide positive learning experiences to international students,
these supervision challenges obstruct the national strategy that wishes to promote student
engagement and experience.
The second main challenge is mismanagement at Faculty level. The Faculty management failed
to acknowledge that postgraduate research program is indeed a vibrant body of research, asargued by Wisker et al. (2003). The management clearly neglected to accommodate, facilitate
and manage a student’s research when his supervisor suddenly left: the PhD student was left
“hanging” or an “orphan”, in Wisker and Robinson’s (2013) terms. As a consequence, thestudent was devastated by the whole situation, resulting in limited passion and enthusiasm tocarry on with his new research topic which to him was not challenging enough compared tohis first topic. Yet this student is resilient: he wants to persevere with his PhD studies (although
not within the completion timeline), which also aligns with established literature thatinternational students have an “edge” in striving, thriving and demonstrating resilience in theirstudies (Nguyen, 2013).
International postgraduate students in this study have adopted several varied strategies toovercome supervision challenges. Some had the mindset of going along with the supervisors’
timeline, because too much time and effort had been invested in the research and also in the
supervisory relationship – there was no turning back. Nonetheless, after these negative
experiences, students may not want to persevere or engage with the supervisors for further
educational opportunities. Others took a drastic step in changing their supervisors because they
were just uncomfortable with the situation.
Conclusion and Implications
The findings of this paper reveal not only new but unique findings on the international
postgraduate students’ academic failure experiences at one of the research universities in
Malaysia. A spectrum of academic failure experiences was experienced by international

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postgraduate students due to various supervision challenges. Students felt that they were notvalued or admired; they were unhappy, demotivated, depressed, disappointed, tired andfrustrated.
Two main supervision challenges that were themselves unethical were also observed. Firstly,
management at the Faculty level was unethical in “taking away” research equipment of aninternational student while this student was still collecting data for his PhD study. In addition,
due to his supervisor leaving the university, this student was asked to change his research topic
in his third year of study, which is wrong to do if the ground is that the research area is uniqueand yet no academic is interested in that topic. Ethically and morally, PhD students needspecific guidance and feedback in their research project, even though independent learning isvital and is asked for from students. But, in this situation, guidance was not provided nor was
genuine assistance offered to this student to pursue his research.
Secondly, inadequate supervision has contributed to international postgraduate students
experiencing not only academic failure but also undergoing psychological distress. In
particular, receiving unclear feedback or none at all from the supervisor due to the latter’s busy
schedule, lack of discipline expertise or lack of research support is unacceptable, because it hasbreached the supervision code of ethics. Students are left stressed, demotivated and unsure of
their research direction in their project, which subsequently impacts their research growth.
These findings contribute to the non-Western literature on academic failure experiences,
particularly for valuable and vulnerable stakeholders – the international students at thisprestigious research university. In practical terms, these findings have not only exposed serious
academic and research problems, they also have implications for students’ academic failure
experiences. Singh and Jack (2018) reported that international postgraduate students seekinternational education to achieve academic success, build knowledge and skills, andcontribute to their home country on return. However, if these benefits are abridged by researchor academic issues, international student numbers may dwindle in Malaysia.
Recent scholars (Brimble, 2016; Löfström et al., 2015; McCrohon & Nyland, 2016) havesuggested that there is a lack of institutional guidance and support in place for academic staff
members to adhere to research integrity practices and procedures. However, many Western
universities, particularly Australian universities, have taken initiatives to build online modules
on research integrity, informative websites on research integrity, and conduct training anddevelopment workshops and forums for faculty staff members (Devlin, 2006; East, 2016;
Zangenehmadar et al., 2015). Since Malaysia is a new contender in attracting international
students, such ethical guidelines and policy concerning supervision and management support
need to be put in place to minimise and then eradicate challenges experienced by international
postgraduate students. Such guidelines and policy will also generate positive experiences ofinternational students’ academic success in Malaysia.
Like many other research studies, this study has its limitations. This research was based onsemi-structured interviews from one single research university in Malaysia, which limits thegeneralizability of these findings. Further research could overcome this limitation by
conducting mix-methods research design with supervisors, as well as with domestic students,from public and private universities in Malaysia and beyond.

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An Issue of Urban/Rural Division? Examining Mongolian Language Educationin the IMAR
Qi Zhang
Dublin City University
Republic of Ireland

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Abstract
Against the backdrop of the increasing disparities in urban and rural areas in China nowadays,
this qualitative study explores trilingual education in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(IMAR), with a focus on the Mongolian language programme. Through a field trip to five
primary and secondary schools, interviews and class observations reveal that students arehighly motivated in conducting their primary and lower secondary schooling throughMongolian, due to the high utilitarian value associated with Mongolian. Preferential policies
make it possible to maximise the chance of academic advancement, career prospects andpossible social upward mobility for learners of Mongolian. However, the dominant positionsof Putonghua as the national common language, and English as a lingua franca in schools withadmirable academic quality, restrict the ability to convert the linguistic capital of Mongolian
into other forms of capital outside of Inner Mongolia. The study reveals that the problems anddifficulties of Mongolian language education in compact ethnic minority regions tend to be thesame as those faced by other Chinese rural schools. The marginalisation of a minority language
is examined in relation to fast-paced urbanisation; changes would require institutional support
to enhance the symbolic value of the ethnic minority language.
Keywords: ethnic minorities, language policy, Mongolian, trilingual education, urbanisation,96

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Trilingual education has been the de facto norm for ethnic minority schools in China since the2002 introduction of English in Year 3 of the elementary curriculum (Feng & Adamson, 2018).
Putonghua (the national common language, also known as Mandarin Chinese), the ethnic
minority language, and English co-exist in the schooling system. In the case of the Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR), the Mongolian language is offered together with
Putonghua and English.
The IMAR is a long, narrow strip in the northwest of China. It shares borders with Russia andMongolia (Dong et al., 2015). While Han is the dominant ethnicity in the region, the Mongols
are the main ethnic minority. According to the 2010 national census (National Bureau of
Statistics, 2012), in that year there were 19.65 million Han, an increase of 4.39% since 2000,
and 4.22 million Mongols, with a similar increase of 4.89%. More than 70% of the total numberof Mongols in the whole country (5.98 million; National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2011)
reside in the IMAR.
Despite this population growth, there seems to be a decrease in the level of interest in the
Mongolian language (Gao, 2011). Indeed, there is greater demand for Putonghua due to its
being “the language of power and access to economic well-being” (Tsung & Cruickshank,
2009, p. 550), as well as for English, owing to the forces of globalisation and future personal
development (Yi & Adamson, 2017a). The Outline of Mid- and Long-term Educational
Reforms and Developmental Plan for the IMAR (2010-2020) puts a joint emphasis on
Mongolian and Putonghua, in order to achieve the goal of bilingualism (Ministry of Educationof the PRC, 2011). This study sought to investigate whether Mongolian can survive and thrive,
bearing in mind the social and commercial advantages of Putonghua and English.
Against the backdrop of rapid economic development in China, there has also been fast-paced
urbanisation, leading to widening gaps between the urban and rural, as well as between largely
urbanised and less urbanised regions. The impact of regional economic disparities on trilingual
education has been pointed out in previous research (Feng & Adamson, 2018; Gao, 2011;
Zhang & Yang, 2017, 2018), which leads to the question of the role of these wide gaps inregional wealth in the implementation of trilingual education, especially for minority language
education, which faces declining interest among younger generations. In these circumstances,the current study entailed visiting five schools in Inner Mongolia in order to gain an in-depth
understanding of Mongolian language education against the backdrop of trilingual education
policies and China’s urbanisation.
Trilingual Education Movements in Inner Mongolia
Although Chinese official discourse in policies and documents still refers to bilingual
education, Mongol students have access to three languages: Putonghua, Mongolian andEnglish. Long before English was introduced to formal schooling in the early 2000s,
Mongolian and Putonghua bilingualism was practised in Inner Mongolia. Ma and Pan (1988)
conducted a survey of 2,089 households in 1985, involving both agricultural and pastoral
regions in Chifeng, the area where the field trip for this study was carried out. Over 90% of
Mongols spoke fluent Putonghua, while a substantial number of them no longer spoke
Mongolian. By comparison, around 47% of Han Chinese spoke at least some Mongolian, andmore than 70% of Mongols had mastered both languages (Ma & Pan, 1988).
The 1990s witnessed decreasing interest in Mongolian, particular in urban areas. The main
reason was economic reform and nationwide marketisation, which contributed to the superior

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status of Putonghua and English being overwhelmingly dominant in terms of social mobility(Burjgin & Bilik, 2015). Government financial support for Mongolian education was also
gradually withdrawn, since the education sector was to be managed according to market forces(Bilik, 1998).
By 1995, the number of Mongolian primary schools had been reduced by 1,409 and the numberof Mongolian secondary schools had been reduced by 142 (Jin & Chen, 2010). In 1996-1997,
the number of primary school pupils instructed in Mongolian fell by 23,256 (Jin & Chen, 2010).
This pattern of reduction extended from major cities and banners – an administrative unit in
IMAR – to small towns and pastureland (Tan & Jin, 2017). Statistics published by the IMAR
Education Bureau in 1997 show the decreasing number of Mongol students learning Mongolian(Su, 2005, see Figure 1).

Figure 1: The decline in the number of Mongol students learning Mongolian
Moving into the 2000s, and according to a survey of three secondary schools in Hohhot,
Chifeng and Tongliao, a large number of Mongol students reported code switching between
Mongolian and Putonghua, even when communicating with family members and among
themselves (Jin & Chen, 2010). A 2013 study confirmed that it was a common phenomenon
for Mongol students not to study Mongolian (Jin, 2014). The marginalisation of Mongolian
seemed to be underway across the IMAR (Yi & Adamson, 2017b).
Top-down measurements have been introduced to promote Putonghua and at the same timeencourage the study of Mongolian. The principle of separate schooling for Han and Mongol
children was adopted and promoted in the 1950s in order to allow Mongol students to benefit
from learning both their own language and Putonghua (Su, 2005, pp. 92–93). These schools
are named Mongolian National Schools (MNS).
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the elementary school curriculum was changed to bring
Putonghua education forward from Grade 5 to Grade 3 and increase teaching hours (Su, 2005,
pp. 92–94). The Mode of Instruction (MoI) was also shifted from Mongolian to Putonghua
from Year 3 of junior high school. Specifically, there were two modes of classes at elementarylevel and three modes at secondary level, according to the MoI they employed (ibid., pp. 95;
see Table 1).

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Table 1: Different modes of teaching according to MoI in late 1950s – early1960s(adapted from Su, 2005, p. 95)

Elementary
schools
Secondaryschools

Mode A
Mongolian as MoI
with Putonghua as a
subject
Except Putonghua,
all other subjects use
Mongolian as MoI

Mode B
Putonghua as MoI with
Mongolian as a subject

Mode C

Except Mongolian, allother subjects use
Putonghua as MoI

Some subjects (e.g.
Maths, Physics,
Chemistry) use
Putonghua as MoI,
some (e.g. History,
Geography,
Biology) use
Mongolian as MoI

N/A

Based on the modes of teaching in the 1950s, the Regulations of the IMAR for Ethnic
Education (The IMAR News, 2016) outlines that there are two modes of bilingual educationin the MNS nowadays. Mode A uses Mongolian as the MoI for all subjects, with Putonghua asa language subject from Grade 2 at elementary level. Mode B uses Putonghua as the MoI anddelivers Mongolian as a language subject. Therefore, Mode B differs from other Han Chinese
schools only in offering Mongolian as a subject. MNS usually adopt Mode A, while alsooffering classes in Mode B. Mode C in Table 1 is no longer in practice. Both modes introduce
English from Grade 3, as suggested by the central government.
Interestingly, Mode A schools are almost all Mongolian ethnic students from remote areas whoare boarders at the school, whereas Mode B schools are usually in cities and towns consistingof Mongol, Han Chinese and other ethnic students. The closer a school is to an urban city“where the geographical and living conditions are more influenced by the majority Chinese
culture” (Dong et al., 2015), the more likely that Mongolian is in a deteriorating position. In
other words, the urbanisation of a region seems to lead to the marginalisation of its ethnic
language (Dong et al., 2015; Yi & Adamson, 2017a, 2017b).
The current study entailed a field trip to five MNS in May 2018. Of the five schools, one is a
Mongolian ethnic primary school and one is a Mongolian secondary school. The other three
are MNS with Grade 1-6 at the elementary level and Grade 7-9 at the junior secondary level.
These schools offer nine different levels of teaching because of the nine years of compulsory
education in China. They are also called “nine-year education” schools.
Interviews with teachers, school leaders and local government officials, as well as classobservations, were carried out in the field study in order to scrutinise the motivations anddifficulties faced by students in the Mongolian language programme, with reference torural/urban division. The purpose of this data was to address the question as to whether
Mongolian can survive and thrive in light of the social and commercial advantages ofPutonghua and English and increased urbanisation.
Field Trip to Five Ethnic Minority Schools
The field trip took place in Chifeng, where previous research had been conducted (Jin & Chen,
2010; Ma & Pan, 1988), in order to answer the research question regarding the implementation

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Volume 8 – Issue 4 – 2020and development Mongolian language education in IMAR against the backdrop of urbanisation.
Chifeng is in the east of the IMAR, one of the twelve sub-divisions of the IMAR (see Figure2). With an area of around 90 thousand square kilometres, Chifeng consists of three districts,
seven banners and two towns (Chifeng Government website, 2018). It has the largest
population of all cities and banners (ibid.). Of its approximately 4.64 million people, 940,000
are Mongols (Chifeng Government website, 2018).

Figure 2: The location of Chifeng in the IMAR
The sheer size of Chifeng makes it impossible to visit all MNS. As a result, five Mongolian
ethnic schools were selected, including both elementary and secondary levels. Two schools,
Xianjin Primary and Secondary, are in developed urban areas, whereas the other three are in
remote small towns or villages.
Table 2 below shows the number of interview participants in the current study. “School leaders”
refers to staff who have a leading administrative role in a school, that is, headmaster. For the
purpose of strict anonymity, the term “school leader” is used rather than the exact job title. Allteachers interviewed are ethnic Mongols and native speakers of Mongolian. They wereeducated in Mongolian in Mode A or B in their childhood. They teach Mongolian, Putonghua
or other subjects including English, Maths and Physics. Their teaching experience ranges fromover four years to more than thirty years. Two officials from the local authorities were also
invited for interviews, in order to gain an understanding of the development of bilingual
education from a government perspective. Again, to protect anonymity, their job titles anddepartments are not specified.

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Table 2: Study participants and manner of participation
School name
Xianjin Primary
SchoolParticipants

NumberSchool leaders 1
Schoolteachers

3

School leaders 1
Xianjin
Secondary School School2
teachers
ShengliMongolian
National School
HongqiMongolian
National School

Schoolteachers

Interview andobservation ofteaching

2

School leaders 1
Schoolteachers

Interview
Interview andobservation ofteaching
Interview
Interview andobservation ofteaching

6

School leaders 1
MeihaoSecondary School School
6
teachers
Local government

Government
officials

Participation in the
study
Interview
Interview andobservation ofteaching
Interview
Interview andobservation ofteaching

2

Observation
Two classes(Mongolian in Mode
A & B)
Two classes(Mongolian in Mode
A & B)
One class(Mongolian in ModeB)

Two classes(Mongolian andEnglish in Mode A)
One class(Mongolian in Mode
A)

Interview

Since MNS differ from Han Chinese schools in teaching and learning Mongolian, the teachingobservations were mainly of Mongolian classes and an English class was observed in one
Secondary School. The visit to each school was carried out in a similar format, starting with ageneral conversation with the school leader followed by class observations, and thenconducting interviews with teachers, including those who had given classes earlier, followed
by interviews with school leaders. This paper focuses on the results from the interviews,
drawing information from in-class practice and language policies wherever necessary. Since
all MNS implement bilingual education in two modes, classes in both Mode A and B wereobserved. The data below mainly present the common findings from both modes of class, withthe differences between them highlighted later. In total, ten semi-structure interviews and fiveclass observations were conducted. The average length of each interview is 113.6 minutes,
which generates totally 135,921 words transcription. Each class lasted 40 minutes and therefore
200 minutes of classroom observations were also completed.
Data Analysis
This study employs Bourdieu’s concept of linguistic capital to explicate the study of Mongolian
in five MNS. As Bourdieu (1991) points out, linguistic utterances or expressions can possessa certain value which is endowed with the contexts or markets where these linguistic products
are used. Moreover, the value associated with linguistic products varies (Bourdieu, 1991). A

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person’s linguistic capital refers to their practical competence and ability to produce linguistic
expressions “which are highly valued on the markets concerned” (Bourdieu, 1991, p. 18).
Linguistic capital is associated with, and can be converted to, other forms of capital, such as
economic capital in the form of material wealth, cultural capital as exemplified by educational
qualifications, and social capital as defined as the aggregate of an individual’s groupmemberships and social connections (Bourdieu, 1986, 1991; Sunuodula & Cao, 2015). Finally,
symbolic capital, as in accumulated prestige or honour, is a credit that derives from other formsof capital as long as they are perceived and recognised as legitimate (Bourdieu, 1989). Eachform of capital has exchange value, and people may also participate in maintaining or altering
the distribution of different forms in the market. For instance, the mastery of a language(linguistic capital) may mean a good education (cultural capital) that can generate a well-paidjob (economic capital) and contribute to upward social mobility (social capital), in order togain prestige in the long term (symbolic capital). The current study examines the linguistic
capital associated with Mongolian, Putonghua and English. It probes the reasons for the fallinginterest in the minority language from the perspective of conversions of different forms ofcapital on the linguistic market.
Since Putonghua is the common language among all interviewees and researchers, it was
employed for the interviews. However, one of the researchers is a native Mongolian speakerand can communicate fluently in Mongolian with interviewees. Greetings were usually in
Mongolian and the Mongol researcher translated a few words and sentences for the researchteam when interviewees preferred to speak in their mother tongue.
The interviews were transcribed by one researcher and read in detail by two researchers
independently, to identify general themes across an entire set of interviews. Two researchers
later manually categorised and coded the interview transcriptions for thematic analysis. Insteadof frequency of occurrence, the occurrence of common themes was outlined and the themes
are discussed below. The quotations from interviewees presented were translated into English
by one researcher and then back-translated into Chinese by the second researcher, in order tomake sure the English translation accurately captures the meaning.
Academic advancement from learning Mongolian
Contrary to the decreasing interest in learning Mongolian discussed earlier, primary and juniorhigh school leaders and teachers said that parents liked their children to have Mongolian
language education, for the pursuit of academic advancement.
They [parents] are happy to send their children to our [MNS] school, since it will
be easier to get into university in the future [compared to attending a Han school].
Every student receives 10 extra points if their ethnicity is recorded as Mongol.
However, students [in Mode A and B] can enter a university with a lower mark[than Mongol students in Han schools with 10 extra points]. [Interviewee No. 7,
female, age 39]
This comment from a teacher exemplifies that students are apparently motivated to learn
Mongolian in order to gain better access to higher education. In fact, all teachers from Shengli
and Meihao schools sent their own children to attend an MSN, for this reason. There is afavourable admission policy for ethnic minorities, which entails adding 10 points to the overall
university entry exam score. However, this policy is applicable to all Mongol students,
regardless of whether they study through Mongolian or not. In contrast, lower entry mark102

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requirements and separate admission quotas are provided to students of Mongolian language(IMAR Government, 2016; IMAR Government Office, 2015). Each Chinese university has anadmission plan assigning different quotas to different regions for various majors. A separate
quota is usually set aside for students of Mongolian, making the university entry exam lesscompetitive for these students and with lower entry requirements based on exam results. Thismeans that an ethnic Mongol who studies through Mongolian can take advantage of both 10
extra points and lower entry point requirements.
Our Mongolian class has better teaching quality. Because the school values
Mongolian language education, very good and experienced teaching staff invarious subjects, like Maths and English, are assigned to our class. In addition,
the class size is relatively small, around 30 students compared to 40-plus students
in a normal Mandarin class. So each student can be better attended to. All thesecontribute to an overall good learning ambience. [Interviewee No. 6, female, age
38]This teacher mentioned that they promote the Mongolian language programme by outlining
these benefits to parents. In other words, aspirations for academic development throughMongolian language education are shown not only in the pursuit of a positive university entry
exam outcome, but also in the pursuit of better teaching and learning quality. Mongol students
and their parents are well aware of the conversion of linguistic capital into cultural capital in
the pursuit of good educational qualifications. Academic prospects, through either the highuniversity admission rate or the enhanced study experience, contribute to deciding between a
Mongolian or a Putonghua education.
Enhanced Job Prospects
Another main reason for learning through Mongolian that emerged in the interviews is
employment opportunity. Teachers, school leaders and government officials all repeatedly
mentioned one regulation – the IMAR government prescribes that 15% of staff must be
bilingual in Mongolian and Putonghua, a quota which applies to all public sector posts (seealso IMAR Government, 2016). Recruitment is not based merely on the ethnicity specified on
an individual’s official identity documents. There are written exams and oral interviews toensure that an applicant is indeed a fluent speaker of Mongolian (IMAR Government Office,2015). Interestingly, all the teachers we interviewed are beneficiaries of this policy.
… the regulation in the IMAR is that the ratio of ethnic minority civil servants to
Han civil servants should not fall below the overall ratio in the IMAR. Besides,
there are written exams and oral interviews to ensure that an applicant is indeed
a fluent speaker of Mongolian. In fact, IMAR government recruitment policies
specify that at least 15% of vacancies during annual public sector recruitment
should be reserved for university graduates taught through Mongolian.
[Interviewee No. 20, male, age 42]
Indeed, the 2010 census also shows that Mongols (N=4,933) ranked right below Han Chinese(N=1.21 million) as the second largest group of people with leading roles in the public sector,
public institutions and enterprises, Communist Party organisations and other parties (National
Bureau of Statistics of China, 2011). To some extent, Mongolian language education
guarantees job market value for graduates, demonstrating its social capital and the possibilityof converting it into economic capital.

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Difficulties of Mongolian Language Education
The above two sections seem to draw a different picture to that of a declining interest in
Mongolian. Therefore, questions were asked during interviews about the contradiction between
the decline in the number of students learning Mongolian and the pragmatic motivations tostudy it. The two reasons typically given are exemplified below:
When students progress to senior high school, they are assigned to different
schools based on their exam results. Those with Mongolian language can enter
prestigious schools if they perform well in the exam. These prestigious schools
usually do not offer Mongolian. So a number of high-achieving students ofMongolian have to drop the language at senior high school level. [Interviewee
No.4, female, age 48]
It is hard for Mongolian to compete with Putonghua and English, since parents
and students see little pragmatic value in it. There has been always a need to learn
Putonghua. Since English was introduced into Grade 3 at elementary level in
2003, English has received a lot of attention from parents and students. They tend
to think Mongolian is of ‘no use’ to their future career. [Interviewee No. 5, male,age 54]
There is an entry exam to progress to senior secondary school, at the end of Year 3 of juniorsecondary. Students are allocated to different schools according to their results. Obviously,
high-achieving students are assigned to prestigious schools – usually Han Chinese schools notoffering Mongolian language programme – with a much better university admission rate,
excellent teaching quality and good facilities. Although the pragmatic aspect of Mongolian
language education is employed to motivate language learning, it also affects the continuity ofMongolian language study. Students seem to have no hesitation about replacing Mongolian
with other languages strongly associated with convertible capital.
Furthermore, when the study of Mongolian is driven by good chances for academic excellence,
this also affects teaching content even if students stay in MNS. In order to lead to highachievement in the competitive university entry exam, class content tends to be exam-oriented,
either focusing on the grammar and vocabulary needed in the exam, or on studying questions
that have appeared on previous exam papers. Two of the classes we observed spent the entire
class explaining one or two grammatical concepts on an exam paper from the previous year.
Another difficulty of Mongolian language education is in relation to the differences between
Mode A and Mode B. A government official mentioned that there has been a decrease in thenumber of students enrolling in Mode B. As the following quote reveals, one of the main
reasons for this may be the method of calculating the Mongolian language score on theuniversity entry exam for Mode B (see also Table 3).
The scores of Mongolian and English have been combined and recognised as theresult of one subject in the university entry exam since English was introduced
into the curriculum in 2003. The split between Mongolian and English was
initially 8:2 and then 7:3. In 2007, the weighting of Mongolian was lowered
further and the split became 5:5. The consequence is a significant drop in interestin Mongolian. In 2017, the proportion of Mongolian was brought up with a splitof 7:3 [between Mongolian and English]. This may not be ideal, as we hope
Mongolian can be recognised as a stand-alone subject in the university entry

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exam. But hopefully the increased weighting of Mongolian will have a positive
impact on student intake. [Interviewee No. 20, male, age 42]
Consistent with the interview data, available official documents confirm that the weighting ofMongolian in the university exam has been changing since 2000 (IMAR Government, 2016;
The IMAR Education Bureau, 2000).
Table 3: The changing weighting of Mongolian in the university entry exam

Mode A
Mode B

2001-2004
The higherscore of thetwo
The higherscore of thetwo

2004-2005
2006-2007
2008-2016 2017A combination of Mandarin and English
8:2

7:3

5:5

7:3

A combination of Mongolian and English
8:2

7:3

5:5

7:3

Unlike Mode A, which combines two prestigious languages – Putonghua and English –students of Mode B study towards a subject combining two languages with significantly
different linguistic capital. When the split was 5:5 between Mongolian and English in Mode B,
students may have felt there was no need to work hard on Mongolian, as working hard on
English instead compensated for this in terms of the overall result – and English is a language
more useful for individual advancement, in terms of both academic performance at tertiarylevel and better employment opportunities. Comparing the benefits of learning English withthe efforts made to study both English and Mongolian, it is not surprising that students preferto devote their attention to English. In other words, minority language education seems to entail
prudent planning by students and parents, aimed at maximising the ability to convert linguistic
capital into other types of capital.
Differences Between Urban and Rural MNS Schools
The contrasting information received from urban and rural schools highlights one aspect of this:access to and availability of teaching resources.
There are a variety of training opportunities for us each year offered by the
Education Bureau of the IMAR, Chifeng city or the county. The training involves
class observations and reviews, studying the new curriculum standards, pedagogy,
etc. We are also required to write a short essay of 400-500 words after a training
session to reflect on what we have learned.
Interviewee in an urban MNS [Interviewee No. 12, female, age 30]
We look forward to training opportunities. There are indeed one or two chances[for training] each year provided by the IMAR or in Chifang city. However, there
are around twenty teachers in our school. Each teacher is given a heavy teachingload and so we can only afford to send one teacher per year for training. You canimagine, it takes more than twenty years for a person to get his/her turn.
Interviewee in a rural MNS [Interviewee No. 15, female, age 25]
Class observations indeed show that the teaching process is still predominantly the traditional“present, practise and produce”, which usually involves presenting a grammatical concept andshowing its usage to students, before asking them to produce it on their own. Previous research

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(Ma, 2009; Zhang & Yang, 2017) also finds poor training provision for rural schoolteachers as
a result of the heavy workload. In addition to their teaching responsibilities, rural teachers haveto take on a substantial amount of non-teaching duties, one of which is related to the large
number of “left-behind” children and the poor regional economy in rural areas.
There are a large number of left-behind children in our school. Their parents
migrate to work in cities and so they are left behind. There are generally at least
three to five children whose parents are not with them and so are looked after by
grandparents [or other relatives]. If we count children with either their father ormother not with them, that would be countless [too many to know the exact numberof children]. [Interviewee No. 13, male, age 36]
The left-behind children need extra attention from our teachers. These children
tend to have issues with academic study and in life, or even develop psychologicalproblems. When a teacher notices something not right or not normal, we need tolook into it. [Interviewee No. 14, female, age 37]
These comments indicate both the profile of left-behind children and the concerns surrounding
them. A few recent studies have revealed the problems resulting from children being left behind,and their well-being has become a pressing issue (Chang et al., 2017; Guo & Zhang, 2018;
Huang et al., 2018). In these circumstances, a government document – “Opinions towards
Strengthening the Care and Protection for the Left-behind Children in Rural Areas” – wasissued in 2016 to emphasise the roles of different entities, including schools, in the service
system providing care to left-behind children (State Council, 2016).
On the one hand, rural school teachers need to take on extra work in order to better observe thedevelopment of these children and offer help when needed. On the other hand, teacher
recruitment for rural schools may not be easy, for two reasons. One reason, mentioned byschool leaders and one government official, is the low quota for teaching staff, which is usually
set by the IMAR Education Bureau according to the ratio of students to teachers. It is difficult
to argue for a higher quota for teacher recruitment with the declining enrolment in Mongolian
language programmes. The other reason is that rural regions – being economically backward –are not an attractive destination for university graduates in Mongolian. Nowadays, “It is easy
to lose the language in the rapid urbanisation,” said one government official.
Discussion
It is generally evident in other studies that the main reason students partake in minority
language education is the “desire to maximise the benefits” they can gain from favourable
policies such as high university admission rates and enhanced job prospects (Zhang, 2018, p.
10). In relation to ethnic minority students in rural regions, there is indeed a generally low
university admission rate, as shown in the study of Huang (2018). In these circumstances, thepossibility of enhanced academic experience and high academic achievement underpins the
incentives for Mongolian language study. This also affects the approach to daily academic
practices, such as the course content.
The pragmatically oriented value of the minority language programme is associated not onlywith academic advancement in the short term, but also with upward social mobility in the longterm. Better access to higher education usually indicates better opportunities after graduation.
Importantly, an annual quota of at least 15% of civil servant vacancies is available for106

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university graduates in Mongolian. This preferential employment policy in the IMAR isemployed to encourage enrolment in Mongolian language education. Though not all learnersof Mongolian will be willing to apply for a job in the public sector, or be successful in doingso, bilingual education in Putonghua and Mongolian certainly increases their life opportunities
and provides a positive vision of a privileged position in society. This pragmatic aspect appears
to outweigh the symbolic importance of the minority language.
Nevertheless, the high utilitarian value of the Mongolian language programme is a doubleedged sword. Students seem to be motivated to study the Mongolian language when they areable to trade its linguistic capital for other forms of capital. As soon as there are other better
opportunities for enhanced learning experiences and life opportunities, students do not hesitate
to switch to the Putonghua programme or devalue the study of Mongolian. This can be seen in
the loss of high-achieving students in MNS schools at senior secondary level and the Mode B
drop-out rate. In other words, the pragmatic perception of Mongolian language education canbe easily deconstructed.
Favourable university admission policies have been used as a bargaining tool by schoolteachers
and leaders to encourage the study of Mongolian, and in this respect previous research hasprobed the low admission rate into top universities among minority schools in rural areas(Huang, 2018). The reasons for this include regional economic backwardness, shortage ofteaching staff, loss of high-achieving students, outdated teaching pedagogy and school
management, and poor quality of primary and junior secondary education.
In fact, these factors can be found in most rural schools, rather than specifically in rural
minority schools. Therefore, the obstacles and problems that minority language education faces
nowadays are de facto connected with the regional economy – a key contextual element
influencing the implementation of bilingual education (Feng & Adamson, 2018) – andessentially lie in the linguistic capital associated with the minority language. With growing
contact with Han Chinese and international society in real life and in the virtual world,
Putonghua and English undoubtedly represent strong linguistic capital that can be converted
into economic gain and/or symbolic power. There is also a diminishing need for the use ofMongolian in students’ immediate milieu, especially with the “changes in the way of life offormer nomadic herders” (Burjgin & Bilik, 2015) in the context of urbanisation. With theshrinking of rural or pastureland in the IMAR, the linguistic exchanges in Mongolian that cantake place have been significantly restricted.
Furthermore, a 2001 government document – “Decisions Regarding Basic Education Reforms
and Development” – proposed merging and reducing the number of rural schools (StateCouncil, 2001), in order to “optimise education resources” in terms of “school building
renovation, standardising the education system, urbanisation development, migration andrelocation” (Article 13 of State Council, 2001, paras. 33–34). Between 2001 and 2010,
approximately 220,000 rural schools in China were closed down, with the vast majority of theirstudents enrolled in urban boarding schools instead, and the IMAR is no exception (Li, 2006;
Yuan, 2014). Instead of sending urban children to pastureland for Mongolian language
improvement, as suggested by Su (2005), Mongol children from pastureland and rural regions
lost the opportunity to gain exposure to the ethnic language when they began attending urban
boarding schools. As Yi and Adamson (2017b, 2017a) point out, Mongolian is slowly giving
way to Putonghua and English, which may accelerate the pace of marginalisation.
Indeed, this study illustrates that favourable policies, including enhanced opportunities for107

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continued education and future career, make possible the conversion of Mongolian linguistic
capital into economic, cultural or social capital, at least within the IMAR. In return, different
types of capital transferred from the linguistic capital also stimulate minority language study.
There seems to be an ecological flow back and forth between the study of the language andpersonal development, motivated by regional preferential policies. Nonetheless, closer
examination reveals that this superficially healthy circulation in a restricted linguistic spacecannot be translated into a larger society, a fact which to a large extent limits the ability of thelanguage to “empower”.
As Wu and He (2018) state, two competing forces influence ethnic socio-economic disparities.
One is state preferential treatment policies aimed at reducing the gap between ethnic minorities
and Han Chinese; the other is that the market tends to enlarge this gap. Urbanisation can beperceived as “a manifestation of the capitalist mode of production in that cities areconstructions of capital accumulation that exacerbate existing inequalities” (Iossifova et al.,2018, p. 2). Linguistic capital should not be excluded from the interpretation of capital
accumulation and social disparities in the process of urbanisation. The urban/rural division
results in, for instance, large-scale migration, which pushes people to carry out linguistic
exchanges in a wider society and raises awareness of the poor economic significance of theminority language. That is to say, the lack of provision to convert the linguistic capital of theminority language into other forms of capital aggravates its marginal status.
In addition, the symbolic importance of Mongolian has not been fully exploited for thepromotion of minority language education. In the battle of capital accumulation, the symbolic
value of a language, or language variety or variation, competes with other forms of capital, andcan quickly give way to economic gain. Yi and Adamson (2017a) indicated that a sense of
pride in Mongolian ethnic identity should be nurtured and encouraged to be aligned with
Chinese citizenship. This needs institutional support from “mass media, [… and] social, legal
and administrative services in Mongolian” to “provide the language with status” (Yi &Adamson, 2017b, p. 161). However, the enrichment of the symbolic power of Mongolian
should not be left only to teaching staff, who already have limited access to teaching resourcesand extra workload. There is certainly an opportunity here for top-down policies to support the
spread of Mongolian traditions, culture, literature, history, etc., while maintaining a balance
between ethnolinguistic vitality and national integration.
Conclusion
The current study examines the development of trilingual education in the IMAR and reports
on a field trip to five minority schools in the IMAR, highlighting the current practices oftrilingual education and perceptions of the minority language programme in the region.
Through data from interviews and class observation, this article reports on the motivations forlearning Mongolian and the difficulties of student retention, as well as the impact of theurban/rural division on minority language education. In the context of fast-paced urbanisation,
the linguistic capital associated with a language can be quickly realised, examined andexchanged in the linguistic market. Although the ethnic affirmative policies in the IMAR
enhance the linguistic capital of Mongolian and highlight its pragmatic value, student interestin the minority language programme is still affected by the relatively poor provision forconverting the linguistic capital of Mongolian into other forms of capital. Importantly, the lackof economic significance of Mongolian is market-operated and thus difficult to change,
whereas the symbolic importance of the minority language can be underlined “throughcoordinated and coherent policies” (Yi & Adamson, 2017a, p. 334).

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Instead of analysing minority language education on its own, the current study has situated thisagainst the backdrop of urbanisation. This approach demonstrates that trilingual education inminority regions confronts the difficulties caused by urban/rural division, which may shed lighton the development of language programmes in China in general. It should be pointed out thatthe current study entailed a field trip to five schools in the Chifeng area, just one of twelve
regions within the IMAR. It is indeed difficult to travel to every part of Inner Mongolia, which
is vast. It is recommended that future research expand the field trip area, in order to gain abetter overview of trilingual education practice in the IMAR. In addition, the current study
focuses primarily on the school context. It would be worthwhile for future studies to also
examine the Mongolian language programme in higher education institutions in the IMAR, in
relation to the career prospects of Mongolian language graduates.

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Corresponding author: Qi Zhang
Email: qi.zhang@dcu.ie

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Pedagogical Praxis: Muslim-Filipino Madrasah Teachers’ Conceptuality of
Instructional Process
Abdul Haiy A. Sali
Philippine Normal University
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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyze the conceptuality of Muslim-Filipino
Madrasah teachers or the Asatidz on instructional processes anchored in their pedagogicalpraxis. This study employed a qualitative research design using a transcendental
phenomenological approach. In-depth interviews were initiated to understand the essence ofthe participants’ lived experiences. The author used purposive sampling with five research
participants who implement the Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education program in
selected schools in the Philippines. There were four major themes identified in the study:
pedagogical amalgamation of traditional and non-traditional teaching practices; collaborative
learning practices; effective classroom management; and reflective practice in teaching. The
results of the study provide a clear description of Madrasah teachers’ conceptualization of
instructional processes especially in teaching and learning. However, the study is limited to
five selected Asatidz. These results may be useful in guiding education stakeholders inevidence-based policymaking particularly, in the field of teacher development, which seeks tocreate comprehensive and well-thought pedagogical programs for the Asatidz. These programs
should better suit and complement Madrasah teachers’ pedagogical needs anchored to theirpedagogical praxis. The results provide baseline data for instructional and educational
enrichment among Filipino Madrasah teachers.
Keywords: ALIVE program, Filipino-Muslim, Madrasah education, Madrasah teacher,Philippines116

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Teacher’s pedagogical practice is one of the most important factors to consider in the teaching
and learning process. Teachers with a good grasp of instructional processes are able to improveand enrich educational experiences of their learners (Darling-Hammond, 2006). In this study,
instructional process refers to the interplay of the instructional model, strategies, methods,
techniques, and tactics as reflected in the pedagogical practices of the Madrasah teachers.
Praxis pedagogy provides the opportunities for educational issues to be shared and exploreddeeply (Arnold & Mundy, 2020) and through this approach teachers are able to reflect on thepractice of schools and the curriculum. In the Philippines, the Arabic Language and Islamic
Values Education (ALIVE) program of the Department of Education (DepEd) requires welltrained and competent Madrasah teachers or Asatidz to be the main implementers of the ALIVE
program (Sali & Marasigan, 2020).
The Asatidz are responsible for teaching an additional two subjects on top of the regular basic
education curriculum. However, most Asatidz implementing the ALIVE program are notregular teachers and are not necessarily graduates of a professional education course in higher
education. Conversely, the Asatidz are expected to be curriculum planners, designers,
implementers, and evaluators with awareness of pedagogical practices and content knowledge(Sali & Marasigan, 2020). In general, educators are products of completed educational
experiences who went through practical pedagogical training in their formative years. Theseexperiences helped shape pedagogical practices, especially their teaching styles andinstructional strategies. The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyze the conceptualityof Muslim-Filipino Madrasah teachers on instructional processes anchored in their pedagogicalpraxis. The concept of self-reflection among teachers provides realization in conceptualizing
effective pedagogical practices in teaching and learning.
Despite the extensive studies conducted on pedagogical practices of Madrasah teachers as
evident in the professional literature, there are few studies on Madrasah teachers’
conceptualization of instructional processes in the Philippines (Sali & Marasigan, 2020). The
results of this study will therefore benefit major educational stakeholders in understanding thepedagogical praxis underlying the various practices of Filipino-Muslim Madrasah teachers in
implementing the ALIVE program. This study provides evidence-based research that will
enrich the existing dearth of literature on pedagogical practices of Madrasah teachers in thePhilippines. In addition, Fang (1994) discussed the significance in understanding the “missing
paradigm” (p. 50) in line with teacher’s conceptualization that focuses on teacher’s perspective
in teaching and learning. Hence, this study sought to explore and analyze the conceptuality of
Asatidz’ instructional process in selected ALIVE schools in Metro Manila. More specifically,
it will answer the following question:
How do Filipino-Madrasah Teachers [Asatidz] conceptualize their pedagogicalpractices in the teaching and learning process?
Literature Review
According to Kemmis (2012), praxis is part of the self-formation of a person, as it gives
valuable benefit to one’s self at the same time that it purports good in the human community –“creating the good society by acting for the good of society” (p. 87). In the context of education,
Freire’s (1978) adoption of praxis as imperative to transforming the world as reflected inpedagogical practices became unprecedented (Mayo, 2016). In addition, the dialectical
relationship between consciousness and the world is inevitable in terms of understanding
various experiences, relationships, and complexities, including teachers’ conceptuality of117

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instructional processes. The word praxis has been defined and interpreted in many ways inprofessional literature. However, in this study, praxis is employed as the synthesis of theories
exploring the conceptuality of instructional processes through the relevant reflections ofMadrasah teachers in the teaching and learning process, particularly “on their material
surroundings and reflect upon them with a view to transforming them” (Mayo, 2016, p. 2).
Furthermore, teachers are “acting within an educational paradigm formed and differentiated byknowledge and dispositions which give rise to different kinds of actions and ethics” (EdwardsGroves et al., 2018, p. 141).
Edwards-Groves et al. (2018) note that educators should be concerned with pedagogical praxis
in their contemporary times. In understanding the pedagogical praxis of teaching and learning,
it is imperative for educators to examine actual instructional practices (Darling-Hammond, etal., 2017; Memon, 2011; Sali & Marasigan, 2020; Sirotová, 2016;) as well as the interplay of
pedagogical theories (Edwards-Groves et al., 2018; Freire, 1987; Kemmis, 2012). In practice,teachers are guided by their choices, knowledge, and dispositions “acting within an educational
paradigm” (Edwards-Groves et al., 2018, p. 141). With regard to this, several researchers haveinvestigated the effects of teachers’ beliefs in teaching and learning. Nespor (1987) highlighted
that beliefs are entrenched in one’s personal history, and thus unlearning is arduous. Moreover,beliefs influence the teacher’s thinking in creating sound pedagogical choices and guides their
behavior in actual practice. Within this praxis, Edwards-Groves et al. (2018) discussed four
disposition-action couplings (adapted from Kemmis, 2012) of praxis-oriented educators.
Primarily, these dispositions “directs us to the interplay, reciprocity, and delineation” (p. 142)
between the following classes of actions: theoretical perspective; technical perspective;
practical perspective; and critical perspective.
According to Miranda and Damico (2013), the relationship between belief and behavior makes
the study of teacher beliefs consequently critical. In addition, Schachter (2017) conductedphenomenological research aimed at understanding early childhood teachers’ pedagogicalreasoning or beliefs in language and literacy instruction. Their findings suggested the need forteachers to better understand how to prioritize their knowledge for use in practice. Furthermore,
Chikasanda et al. (2012) conducted a qualitative analysis of the teachers’ journey through thephases of professional development. They argued that teacher’s conceptualization of learningin technology is still fragile at this point. Several researchers have also acknowledged theimportance of teacher beliefs in the realization of education reform (Darling-Hammond, 2000;
Fang, 1996; Miranda & Damico, 2013). Lastly, Fang (1994) discussed the significance ofunderstanding the “missing paradigm” (p. 50) in line with a teacher’s conceptualization that
focuses on the teacher’s perspective in teaching and learning. Overall, it thus appears thatpedagogical reasoning from various sources of knowledge is pivotal for teachers in making
choices about their actions and practices in teaching (Schachter, 2017).
On the Pedagogical Praxis of Madrasah Teachers
Van Sledright (2010) proposes that there are two important factors which unify the course ofteaching and learning. The first one is the teacher’s cognitive understanding or simply thecontent knowledge, and the other is the pedagogical knowledge or the art of presenting
information through pedagogical skills. Moreover, by uniting these two vital factors,
pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is initiated. In 1986, Shulman and a group of
researchers introduced the concept of PCK which focuses on the broader perspective to further
understand teaching and learning. According to Shulman (1987), PCK included an“understanding of how particular topics, problems, or issues are organized, presented, andadapted to diverse interests and abilities of the learners and presented for instruction” (p.8).

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Teachers are expected to create meaningful and relevant experiences in the classroom. As
instructional leaders, the teacher should exemplify pedagogical competence (Pekkarinen &Hirtso, 2017). In practice, teachers execute different methods and strategies anchored todifferent instructional models to perform efficient academic tasks (Trigwell & Prosser, 2004):
for instance, how to effectively and efficiently translate competencies embedded in the
curriculum during actual teaching, execute classroom management, and incorporate studentcentered approach to learning among others. In general, pedagogical practices of Madrasah
teachers can be best understood when based on the different factors that influence their overall
practices to include the following: self-efficacy (Abdullah, 2018; Alotaibi, 2014; Amri et al.,2017; Barni et al., 2019; Faizuddin, 2016; Hussin et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2018); educational
background including Islamic education (Halstead, 2004; Hasyim, 2016; Memon, 2011; Sabki& Hardaker, 2013; 2015; 2018; Tengku Kasim & Abdurajak, 2018); trainings and seminars
attended during their pre-service or in-service (Alwadai, 2014; Sali & Marasigan, 2020); andeven peer mentoring (Solaiman, 2017). Pedagogical praxis as a form of experience-based
professional learning allows the teacher to improve their professional as well as personal
competencies (Sirotová, 2016).
Through the interplay of different factors during their formative years, and the progress of their
PCK through time, an amalgam is created for the development of teaching styles and the ability
to discern one’s pedagogical choices. This praxis enables the check and balance of the
Madrasah teacher’s awareness of self-knowledge and self-evaluation in understanding
pedagogical practices in a deeper sense. In addition, teachers’ self-reflection of instructional
processes is vital to assess themselves: it articulates their own inquiry based on the real issues
from teaching and learning experiences (Arnold & Mundy, 2020). The different factors
mentioned influence the conceptualization of the Madrasah teacher’s pedagogical orientationand foundation in actual practice. This translation of the teacher’s knowledge into practice andself-preparedness is crucial to the outcomes of classroom teaching. According to Faizuddin(2016), Islamic teachers who showed creative instructional strategies during the teaching andlearning process enabled students to experience a wider variety of classroom activities. In thisrespect a teacher’s creativity appears to serve as a crucial factor in translating competencies
through instruction.
Furthermore, a study by Amri et al. (2017) showed how the educational background of Islamicteachers can also affect the learning interests of students. In their study, Islamic teachers who
possessed intercultural competence showed greater awareness of their students’ diverse needsin the classroom. Thus, Islamic teachers are able to use intercultural competence to enrich theclassroom interaction, activities, and management of the class. Tengku Kasim and Abdurajak(2018), also explored, in a qualitative research study, the pedagogical practices of novice
Islamic education teachers, where the results showed diversity on their teaching
methodologies. The Islamic teachers employed 21st century teaching methods as opposed tothe traditional method of purely lecture. However, in a qualitative study conducted by
Ishomuddin and Bin Mokhtar (2017) that studied the teaching methods of Islamic teachers who
graduated from Middle Eastern countries, the results showed that the traditional method ofteaching such as lectures is a way to provide more knowledge than using other teaching
methods.
Lastly, Hussin et al. (2014) have shown that diversification of pedagogical approaches
identifies three significant themes regarding the teaching practices of Islamic teachers: amaterial-resource centered theme; a teacher-centered theme; and a student-centered teaching
method of religious subject. Significantly, Islamic teachers’ well-organized pedagogical

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practices spell difference in guiding the students’ learning. As such, mastery of the subject andwell-initiated classroom activities and teaching methodologies are sought. Therefore,
Madrasah teachers who aim to maximize their pedagogical practices will prepare themselves
efficiently through enriched classroom interaction and over-all management of the class.
The ALIVE Program: Madrasah teachers’ Pedagogical Practices
The DepEd Order (DO) No. 41, series of 2017 or “Policy Guidelines on Madrasah Educationin the K to 12 Basic Education Program” provides the latest implementation guidelines. The
program gives appropriate and relevant educational opportunities to the Muslim learners in thePhilippines. The DepEd order mentioned is enacted across accredited public schools in the
country. It adds two subjects to the regular basic education curriculum: Arabic Language, andIslamic Values. Significantly, the Asatidz play an important role in the over-all success of the
program (Sali & Marasigan, 2020). However, most Asatidz or Madrasah teachers are notregular teachers and are not necessarily graduates of an education course in higher educationand some Asatidz didn’t have significant teaching experiences before applying to the program.
However, the DepEd offers several programs before Asatidz are deployed as part of its
professionalization measures. The aspiring Asatidz must pass the Qualifying Exam in Arabic
Language and Islamic Studies (QEALIS) and undergo Language Enhancement and Pedagogy(LEaP). It is a training prototype provided to build English proficiency and the beginning ofmastery of lesson planning, teaching, and assessment for Madrasah teachers. LEaP becomes
one of the major first-hand pedagogical trainings of the accepted Asatidz, learning fundamental
concepts in teaching pedagogy before actual deployment (Sali & Marasigan, 2020). Albeit,
results of some related studies to Asatidz’ pedagogical practices indicated recurring challenges:
existing structures and support systems for effective pedagogy; further relevant training onteaching strategies; and translation of competencies into actual practice and assessment (Final
Report of Muslim Education Initiatives, 2014; Marasigan, 2019a; Review Report on the Three
Years Implementation of ALIVE Program, 2018; ). Also, Solaiman (2017) in his descriptive
research on the implementation of ALIVE in Marawi City, showed infrequent monitoring of
the program including classroom observation of the Asatidz were also noted.
Conversely, in an exploratory study of Sali and Marasigan (2020), the seminars and enrichment
activities attended by the Asatidz in ALIVE selected schools in Quezon City, “showed diversity
on their teaching strategies and understanding of the concepts in pedagogy” (p. 209) as
observed in their actual classroom teaching. This study serves as a clear indication of theinterplay of pedagogical theories and actual practices among Madrasah teachers. The Asatidz
narrated the importance of the training in teaching and learning process, specifically how to
use strategies and methods of teaching, how to create lesson plans and correct objectives, andhow to fill out promotional reports and forms among others.
Remarkably, the pedagogical practices of the Asatidz in the Philippines are both influenced by
secular and non-secular orientations. As part of the professional development of the Asatidz,
the Madrasah teachers are regularly invited to join different seminars and trainings conductedby DepEd and their respective schools. These different pedagogical trainings are congruent toPhilippine secular education orientation – a mix of philosophical tenets from realism(essentialism), progressivism (pragmatism), existentialist humanism and social
reconstructionism (Muslim Education Initiatives Final Report, 2014).

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Conceptual Framework
Primarily, the framework for the current investigation is anchored to Freire’s (1978) adoptionof praxis as reflected in the Asatidz’ conceptuality of instructional process being manifested intheir pedagogical practices, as seen in the teaching and learning process. This social lenspurports that self-reflection towards pedagogical practices is imperative to the teacher’s
understanding towards transformational education. This allows teachers to grasp theory into
practice in developing teaching styles that brings change in the school environment to include
learner’s relevant experiences in the educative process.
In this study, the conceptual flow as represented in Figure 1 will be analyzed to examine theimportant relationships among the different factors that affect and influence the conceptualityof a Madrasah teacher’s instructional process anchored to their pedagogical praxis. This isintended to identify a pedagogical praxis designed to create space for verifying the theoreticalknowledge, methods, and procedures in real conditions of an educational process (Sirotová,
2016). The three-way interaction that occurs in this space is viewed as influencing the practicesof the Asatidz that will be explored through their relevant pedagogical reflections, and will be
used to identify the relevant “essence” of the phenomenon.

Figure 1: The Conceptual Framework
Methodology
A qualitative transcendental phenomenological approach (Moustakas, 1994, as adapted fromHusserl, 1931), was employed in this study. The qualitative design gathered an in-depth
understanding of the participants’ description of their lived experiences to generate an“essence” (Merriam, 2009). In this study, the essence of the Asatidz’ conceptuality of
instructional processes, as manifested in their pedagogical practices during teaching andlearning, was explored based on their reflections. The study described the commonalities ofthe participants’ experience and explored relevant themes. In the Philippines, the study of the
Madrasah Education Program, especially in the implementation of the ALIVE program in
public schools, is unprecedented, thus highlighting the ability of this research to address arelevant gap in our understanding of teaching praxis. From this perspective Sali and Marasigan(2020) point out the current dearth of research outputs in the professional literature, especiallyon describing the lived experiences and understanding the nature of reality and knowledge ofthe grassroots implementers.
Therefore, a qualitative research design allowed the researcher to understand the meaning of acertain phenomenon of the participant’s perspective or emic (Merriam, 2009) in a naturalistic

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setting without any manipulation in the environment. This description suits the researcher’s
intention as it sought to explore and analyze the conceptuality of instructional process of the
Asatidz anchored in their pedagogical praxis. The participants were five Madrasah teachers or
Asatidz from selected ALIVE public schools in Metro Manila in National Capital Region. A
minimum size for phenomenological study is 5 to 25 individuals, as suggested by Creswell(1998).
The participants must have at least five years or beyond in service and teaching experience
who had attended various professional development of DepEd for at least three years. The
validated semi-structured interview method was employed and the interview questions had
undergone a pilot study for appropriateness prior to the actual data gathering. The participants’consent was secured and the participants were not coerced to participate in the study. The study
employed non-probability purposive sampling (Creswell, 1998), through a qualitative methodof analysis. The generalizability of these findings to the population is thus limited, because thesample size may not be the representative of the Asatidz in the entire Metro Manila orelsewhere. The sample is described more fully on Table 1.
Table 1: Basic Profile of the Sample
Characteristics
GenderAge

Length of Service

Professional Development

Indicators
Female
Male
21-30
31-40
41-50
>51
5 years
6-10 years
11-15 years
Attended DepEd
in-service teacher
workshops andseminars

No. of Participants
4
1
1
0
1
3
2
0
3
5

Furthermore, qualitative data gathered from the participants was initiated through their longinterviews ranged from one to two hours until data saturation (Creswell, 1998) were recorded
and were transcribed in verbatim. Horizontalization was then instigated to give equalconsideration to each statement of the participants, especially concerning how they experienced
the phenomenon. Thematic analysis was also conducted, employing interpretative
phenomenological analysis (IPA) of the data, to search for common themes of the interview
responses.
The transcriptions, after being coded, were run through Nvivo 12, considering the rich data
generated from the interviews. The most frequent words were considered in initial coding. A
validity assumption was made that each participant provided truthful answers to the questions
presented. To verify the accuracy of the participant’s responses, respondent validation was
made. The researcher’s role in the study was the observer.

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The Asatidz’ average years of service in the implementation of ALIVE program are ten years.
The participants underwent professional development including the DepEd pre-service and inservice workshop and training on pedagogy enrichment before and during deployment toschools as soon as they were employed. Furthermore, four out of five had attended formal
schooling for an education course and graduated with a degree and the remaining participant
didn’t. Also, all of the participants are proficient in Arabic language.
Results and Discussion
The findings of this study were used to explore and analyze the conceptuality of instructional
process of the Asatidz, as anchored in teachers’ pedagogical praxis. The study was limited,with five ALIVE schools and the sample size of five participants during the course of the study.
The study was conducted in three school divisions in major cities in the National Capital
Region. Thematic analysis was initiated employing interpretative phenomenological analysis(IPA) of the data. During the data analysis, four major themes emerged: pedagogicalamalgamation of traditional and non-traditional teaching practices; collaborative learning
practices; effective classroom management; and reflective practice in teaching. Each of thethemes is discussed below.
Pedagogical Amalgamation of Traditional and Non-Traditional Practices
Most of the participants understood the concept of teaching as a two-way process between
learners and a teacher in an actual classroom instruction. Remarkably, some Asatidz reflectedon the differences of the instruction employed by their former Islamic teachers or mentors
which were traditionalist in orientation as opposed to the current teaching strategies performed
in a contemporary classroom. The experiences based on their exposure to traditional teaching
methodologies such as rote learning and direct instruction support the study of Sabki andHardaker (2003) that a teacher’s pedagogical strategy “facilitates the interplay between orality,
memorisation and the sacred text in spiritually forming the human person” (p.77) with respect
to Islamic pedagogy. The conceptualization of the traditional teaching methodologies andpractices of their previous teachers provided them with clear distinctions between traditionaland contemporary pedagogical approaches. The findings suggested interplay in pedagogicaltheories and actual instructional practice which guides the Asatidz to choose what pedagogicalpractices to employ and how to better execute these practices in the classroom. In relation to
praxis-oriented educators as discussed in the four disposition-action couplings of EdwardsGroves et al. (2018, as adapted from Kemmis, 2012), these dispositions were evident in
Asatidz’ pedagogical amalgamation which directs them “to the interplay, reciprocity, anddelineation” (p. 142) of their pedagogical practices.
The participants adapt contemporary teaching as part of their pedagogical practices in enriching
relevant learning experiences in the classroom (Amri et al., 2017; Faizuddin, 2016; Tengku
Kasim & Abdurajak, 2018) with respect to the findings of Ishomuddin and Bin Mokhtar (2017),
demonstrating that the traditional method of teaching can provide more knowledge than using
other teaching methods. In the case of the selected Filipino-Muslim Madrasah teachers, theirconceptuality concerning instructional process indicated similar results with the 2014 Muslim
Education Initiatives Final Report. Most of the Asatidz’ pedagogical practices reflecteddifferent philosophical tenets anchored from realism, progressivism, existentialist humanismand social reconstructionism.
In contemporary education, a more socio-constructivist thinking anchored to differentiatedpractices are being employed in the classroom, and the traditional methodologies in teaching123

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provides support for the foundational concepts needed to understand complex concepts.
Significantly, the combination of these two practices is being implemented by the Asatidz.
Based on their reflections, the pedagogical practices they generally used are mostly a
combination of traditional and contemporary approaches to teaching and learning. With thesequalities and practices, an understanding of the essential interplay of these two pedagogicalapproaches (traditional and contemporary teaching strategies) is combined to suggest apedagogical amalgamation. This interplay shows distinction as shared pedagogic qualities andpractices of the Asatidz in the Philippines as part of the diverse sites of Islamic education
around the world (Alkouatli, 2018).
According to the participants, these pedagogical practices and employing various instructional
methods anchored to contemporary teaching (e.g. games, role playing, demonstration, using
technological devices for learning, and cooperative learning groups) are essential; especiallyon the actual implementation of learning competencies embedded in the Refined Elementary
Madrasah Curriculum (REMC). In addition, according to the participants, these different
practices are very much highlighted in the classroom, as evident in the following statements:“I usually group [for collaborative activity] my pupils. Grouping the pupils is very
important so that they can learn from each other. Also, they can mentor one
another” – P1.
“I employ visual aids [during classroom instruction]. I also let my pupils performdemonstration by group. For example, how to perform prayer…” – P2.
“There were times I used my laptop. Unfortunately, we don’t have projector. I
show some pictures and videos. […] I usually play videos from YouTube such as
the story of the Prophets” – P3.
“For example you also use show cards! Especially when you utilize laptop it will
be very effective for them [learners]” – P4.
“The learners should develop 21st century [skills]. They [learners] love games,group competition [as part of the pedagogical practices], and [movement] using
their psychomotor skills” – P5.
Collaborative Learning Practices
The Asatidz, agreed about the importance of collaborative learning practices being initiatedduring classroom instruction. There are two main reasons why interaction between learners
and teacher is imperative for the over-all learning of the pupils as explained by some of theparticipants: (development of learners’ social skills, and emotional support for shy learners
during classroom interaction. In support, according to Akdeniz (2016), interactive instruction
relies heavily on discussion and sharing among participants. This will develop social skills andabilities, to organize thoughts, and to develop rational arguments (p. 70). The Asatidz knewthat learners must be exposed to a variety of classroom interventions and opportunities to learn
from each other. Among the instructional methods the Asatidz mentioned that they used forlearners to interact during class discussion were small group conversation, and learner pairs.
Some of the Asatidz shared why they incorporate different collaborative activities in theirclassroom instruction:124

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“I always practice doing group activity. There are some learners who are too shy[to interact]. During the activity, they will join especially when there is a leader
assigned” – P5.
“By doing the group activity, the learners are encouraged to develop their [social]skills” – P3.
“The learners have different ideas. They may have better ideas to share. That iswhat grouping all about. Aside from that they have to perform [such as role play]in the class” – P1.
According to Hussin et al. (2014), there were three significant themes identified on teachingpractices of Islamic teachers: material-resource centered; teacher-centered; and studentcentered teaching method of religious subject. Similar to the results of Hussin et al. (2014), theAsatidz understood the importance of well-organized pedagogical practices in guiding thestudents to learn. Most of these participants preferred well-initiated collaborative classroom
activities and teaching methodologies. The selected Filipino-Muslim Madrasah teachers
anchored their teaching practices on a student-centered approach to enrich classroom
interaction and relevant experiences. The Asatidz’ pedagogical reasoning is guided with theirunderstanding on the importance of seeking various sources of knowledge in making choices
about their actions and practices in teaching.
In relation to Schachter’s (2017) findings, the knowledge that teachers hold about children’s
learning is imperative to teacher practices. Consistent with the findings of this study, Asatidz’
pedagogical practices are influenced by their pedagogical praxis in making sure the learners
are able to maximize relevant classroom experiences through collaborative learning practices.
In addition, according to Sirotová (2016), “the acquirement of professional competencies
begins during the pre-gradual preparation and they are further developed in a real educational
praxis” (p. 530). In the case of the participants, the influence of their formative years in teaching
and learning especially the involvements of their previous mentors was evident.
The participants shared that choosing instructional methods and materials suited for thelearners is a demanding task, yet an essential one nonetheless. Most of the Asatidz were awareof the concept of different learning styles, and some of them ascribed to do more interactive
and collaborative activities rather than to be complaisant in following traditional teachingpractices in their instruction. The Asatidz shared their beliefs in creating a conducive
environment for their learners by focusing on student-oriented practices such as establishing
instructional tactics in the classroom. Instructional tactic refers to a way on how to enhancelearning which has a narrower scope than instructional strategies (Akdeniz, 2016). Most of theparticipants were aware of their learners’ own learning styles and strategies to cope withdifferent subjects in the ALIVE program implementation. According to Bishop and Berryman(2009), “relationships and interactions between teachers and students in the classroom are keys
to effective teaching of students” (p. 27).
Effective Classroom Management
Most of the participants discussed the importance of establishing classroom management
especially with diverse learners enrolled in the ALIVE program. According to Akdeniz (2016),“effective teaching and learning cannot take place if classroom management is not applied
sufficiently” (p. 249). The classroom management according to the Asatidz helps provide
structure in order to create a non-threatening and a democratic learning environment where

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learners can freely share their ideas, beliefs, and opinions which are validated with respect(Marasigan, 2019b). The Asatidz shared their different classroom management in order tofacilitate meaningful learning. For the participants, gaining the attention of the learners throughclassroom management is crucial to the teaching and learning process. These pedagogicalreflections of the Asatidz emphasized the significance of pedagogical competence (Pekkarinen& Hirtso, 2017) in performing efficient academic tasks (Trigwell & Prosser, 2004). In thesefindings, the Asatidz create a space for verifying the theoretical knowledge, methods, andprocedures in real conditions of an educational process (Sirotová, 2016) based on theirconception that relevant learning with the learners emanates in a well-established classroom.
Some of the Asatidz established rules in the classroom by performing the following
instructional tactics: use of meta-cards to answer questions; assigning a student leader during
collaborative learning activities; teacher cues such as prayers, greetings and songs before
formally starting the class; positive reinforcement; raising of hands; and class segregation ofmale and female learners. Interestingly, for higher levels, Asatidz follows sex-based
segregation for male and female learners. This practice is mostly attributed to the religious
belief that males and females should maintain distance from members of the opposite sex who
are not immediate family members. According to the participants, these different classroom
management tactics are essential during the teaching and learning process, as evident in thefollowing statements:“First, we have to attend training and seminar on pedagogy […] especially on the
different [teaching] strategies and techniques and how to implement classroom
management.” – P1.
“In my part, my [teaching] style first the classroom management. If you don’t haveclassroom management inside your classroom you will not be able to concentrate[during classroom teaching]” – P4.
Most of the Asatidz teachers also discussed the particular importance of classroom management
in relation to diverse learners enrolled in the ALIVE program. According to Akdeniz (2016),“effective teaching and learning cannot take place if classroom management is not applied
sufficiently” (p. 249). The classroom management of the Asatidz helps provide structure to theclass in order to create a non-threatening democratic learning environment where learners canfeel that their ideas, beliefs, and opinions are validated with respect to each other.
Reflective Practice in Teaching
Motivation acts as a reflection of teachers’ condition and level for growth and improvement.
Most of the participants practice self-evaluation, especially on self-development in improving
their pedagogical practices in general. The Asatidz awareness for growth and development interms of enriching pedagogical practices is unprecedented. All of the participants agreed thattraining and development during their formative years and in-service seminars conducted by
DepEd and their respective schools helped them to improve their over-all performance as a
Madrasah teacher. These results confirmed the study conducted by Sali and Marasigan (2020)
on selected Asatidz in Quezon City where diversity on their teaching strategies and general
grasp of pedagogical concepts were evident. According to Liu et al. (2018), teachers’
motivation for self-development plays an important role in the formation process of theirprofessional autonomy.

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According to Kemmis (2012), praxis is part of self-formation of a person as it gives valuable
benefit to one’s self at the same time good in human community. The reflective practices of
the Asatidz as mirrored through their pedagogical practices Edwards-Groves et al., 2018 ;(Freire, 1978; Mayo, 2016) were bulwark in their pursuit for self-development to provide
relevant experiences to their learners, particularly “on their material surroundings and reflect
upon them with a view to transforming them” (Mayo, 2016, p. 2). However, self-development
is more than the result of teaching as what teachers are expected to perform.
The teacher’s conscientiousness and reflective practices allow the Asatidz to be aware of theirroles and obligations as expected of them being part of the school community and to theirlearners. As evident in these findings, pedagogical praxis enables Asatidz to constantly practiceself-evaluation for self-development particularly in the enrichment of their pedagogicalpractices. Thereby, reflective practice in teaching enables the Asatidz to develop and implement
new concepts relevant to teaching and learning. As supported by Kemmis (2012), educators
are guided by their praxis anchored to different dispositions to include theoretical, technical,
practical, and critical perspectives which were evident in this study.
More than the expectation, the participants explained the essence of understanding oneself tobe effective and efficient in teaching and learning process. Also, the reflective practice allows
teachers to understand the interplay of “what” (theories learned) and “how” (practice applied)in the teaching and learning process. Barni et al. (2019) argued that values under certain
motivational conditions are “precious resources to improve the quality of teaching experience
for teachers and indirectly for their students” (p. 5). Therefore, motivated teachers seem tomake teaching more meaningful, which can facilitate and create meaningful andtransformational educational experiences for their learners. The Asatidz explained theirreflective practices on self-development:“At first, I find it hard to teach. I thought to myself, this is how teaching work?
However, when I joined the in-service training, especially when we had attended the
LEaP training for 23 days [learned how to improve pedagogical practices]” – P4.
“The most important thing in teaching is sincerity. That should also be part of ourcommitment as a teacher. If you do things [self-improvement] seriously, thelearners will feel it [commitment to teaching]” – P1.
Limitations of the Study
This study was limited to five ALIVE schools and the sample size of five participants during
the course of the study conducted in three school divisions, including the cities of Manila,
Quezon, and Pasay in the National Capital Region. Other limitations are enumerated in the
succeeding discussion. First, the emergent themes may be applied only to selected ALIVE
schools in Metro Manila and not to any private or traditional madaris since the respondent
schools were all accredited as DepEd-affiliated schools. Second, ALIVE schools in the country
may have different program implementation and practices depending on the region, province,and district. In addition, Asatidz from different places in the country may have different
educational backgrounds, self-efficacy, professional development, and mentoring that affecttheir pedagogical practices compared to the selected participants. Third, the researcher usedpurely qualitative design and methods in data collection through in-depth interviews because
he believed that these methods are the best way to explore and analyze the conceptuality of
instructional process anchored in the participants’ pedagogical praxis.

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Conclusion, Implications, and Further Research
The results of the study identified salient themes of the Asatidz’ conceptuality of instructional
process as anchored to their pedagogical praxis. The generalizability of these findings to the
population was limited because the sample size is unlikely to be representative of the Asatidz
in the entire Metro Manila. Thematic analysis was initiated employing interpretative
phenomenological analysis (IPA) of the data. There were four major themes identified in the
study: pedagogical amalgamation of traditional and non-traditional teaching practices;collaborative learning practices; effective classroom management; and reflective practice inteaching. The pedagogical reflections of selected Madrasah teachers implementing the ALIVE
program in the Philippines are multifaceted and dynamic. The awareness of the participants on
the different aspects of instructional process including instructional models, methods,
strategies, techniques, and tactics are unprecedented. Therefore, it is imperative for teachers to
identify the interplay of theories and practice in their teaching and learning. As evident in the
results of the study, pedagogical praxis enables Asatidz to constantly practice self-evaluation
for self-development, particularly in the enrichment of their pedagogical practices. This, inturn, creates a space for verifying the theoretical knowledge, methods, and procedures within
the real conditions of a particular educational process (Sirotová, 2016).
Further studies are encouraged in exploring actual practices of the Asatidz in the classroom, in
relation to their pedagogical praxis and identify essential factors that influence their teaching
performance. However, the results of the current study are useful in guiding education
stakeholders in relation to evidence-based policymaking, to further improve theimplementation of the ALIVE program, particularly in terms of teacher development for
Madrasah teachers seeking to create comprehensive and well-thought pedagogical programs
that better suit and complement their pedagogical praxis – as a baseline for further instructionaland educational enrichment. In addition, the results could help ALIVE schools to provide moreenhancement programs toward quality education through teacher development, to ensure thecontinuity and relevance of Madrasah Education Program implementation. As mentioned, it isimperative to consider the significance of Asatidz as the prime implementers of Madrasah
education in ALIVE schools within their respective communities. Lastly, this study provides
additional knowledge and its enrichment to the existing literature on pedagogical practices, aswell as a general conceptualization of the instructional processes of selected Madrasah teachers
as grassroots implementers of the ALIVE program in the Philippines.

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Corresponding author: Abdul Haiy A. Sali
Email: abdulhaiysali@gmail.com

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How do Principals of High Performing Schools Achieve
Sustained Improvement Results?
Lewes Peddell
Southern Cross University
Australia
David Lynch
Southern Cross University
Australia
Richard Waters
Southern Cross University
Australia
Wendy Boyd
Southern Cross University
Australia
Royce Willis
Southern Cross University
Australia

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Abstract
Education systems across the globe have enacted national testing regimes to monitor and report
student achievement progress as an outcome of teaching performance. This paper reports on
an investigation of strategies that Principals of high achieving schools use to achieve school
results, based on NAPLAN reports (the National Assessment Program in Australia) andinterpreted via the Alignment, Capability and Engagement (ACE) model of organisational
readiness. Our findings identified specific Principal behaviours, actions and attitudes asnecessary for effective school-wide improvement programs, as well as the existence ofcommonly shared strategies and approaches that help to explain why these particular Principals
have been successful in their pursuit of school improvement. These include a shared vision forimprovement, use of data-driven decision making, and building positive, “transparent”
relationships to encourage teacher buy-in. Importantly, these findings identified“organisational readiness”, a foundational principle of the ACE model, as a fundamental
requisite to effective school improvement.
Keywords: ACE Model, organisational readiness, principal leadership, school achievement,
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Introduction
Education systems across the globe place a premium on the teaching performance of theirschools and have enacted various national testing regimes to monitor and report on student
achievement progress as an outcome of this performance (Organisation of Economic
Cooperation and Development [OECD], 2013; 2010a; 2010b; Hanushek & Woessmann, 2011).
In Australia this regime is known as the National Assessment Program – Literacy and
Numeracy (NAPLAN) (National Assessment Program [NAP], 2019), and school Principals are
required to respond to reported NAPLAN outcomes by enacting improvement programs(Buckingham, 2013). This paper reports on the behaviours of 16 Principals who madesignificant and sustained improvement in the NAPLAN results of their school when compared
to “similar schools” during the reporting period 2016 to 2018. The findings make an essential
contribution to our understanding of effective school improvement because the paper
documents a range of behaviours taken by these Principals to achieve such outcomes and aligns
them to a transformational model of leadership. We begin by providing an outline of NAPLAN.
Literature Review
NAPLANThe National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAP, 2019) is an annual testing
regime created by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).
NAPLAN is a set of standardised tests that evaluate competency in reading, writing, language
conventions and numeracy. These tests have been administered annually since 2008, to Years
3, 5, 7 and 9 throughout Australia. Following administration, schools receive a NAPLAN
achievement profile for each student as well as overall cohort data. An essential function ofthese results is to provide comparative NAPLAN data for the achievement levels of eachschool. Schools can also compare achievement levels to the National average and to “similarschools”, based on like scores from the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage(ICSEA), which was developed to enable fair and meaningful comparisons to be made on thebasis of the performance of students in literacy and numeracy as reported by the NAPLAN(ACARA, 2013). The ICSEA employs a multi-level regression model to reflect the combined
influence of the student and school’s cohort Socio-Educational Advantage (SEA) components
on NAPLAN performance, based on the following formula:
ICSEA (student = SEA [student] + student Indigenous status + SEA [school
cohort] + percent Indigenous enrolment + remoteness) (ACARA, 2013).
NAPLAN results can also serve as a proxy to compare teaching performance across schools(ACARA, 2018), and the use of NAPLAN results in this way is essential for the current
investigation because there is significant research that links positive teaching performance toeffective school leadership (e.g., Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012; Hattie, 2009, 2012; Lachat &Smith, 2005; Leithwood et al., 2008; Marzano et al., 2005; Shen & Cooley, 2008). From thisperspective, we will now explore the impact of school leadership on student achievement,
mediated through its impact on teacher performance.
Impact of School Leadership
There has been an enduring focus within education on identifying what school leaders can do
to improve student achievement (Hattie, 2009; 2012; Lakomski & Evers, 2016). In a metaanalysis of over 5,000 studies measuring the behaviours of school leaders, Marzano et al.
(2005) found 69 studies from the previous 35 years that had examined “the quantitative135

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relationship between building school leadership and the academic achievement of students” (p.
6). They found that “Principals can have a profound effect on the achievement of students intheir schools”, and while not able to produce “any straightforward explanations” (p. 38), they
defined 21 leadership responsibilities “important to effective leadership in schools” (p. 64).
More specifically, in a meta-analysis of research on school leadership and student outcomes,
Robinson et al., (2009) found five leadership dimensions that impacted on student outcomes asfollows (effect size): establishing goals and expectations (0.42); resourcing strategically (0.31);
planning to coordinate and evaluate teaching and the curriculum (0.42); promoting andparticipating in teacher learning and development (0.84), and; ensuring an orderly andsupporting environment (0.27) (p. 656).
Reflecting on an extensive review of the literature concerning effective school leadership,
Leithwood et al. (2008) made a similar claim that: “leadership is second only to classroom
teaching as an influence on pupil learning” (p. 28); “almost all successful leaders draw on thesame repertoire of basic leadership practices” (p. 29), and; “school leaders improve teaching
and learning indirectly and most powerfully through their influence on staff motivation,commitment and working conditions” (p. 32). Furthermore, Leithwood et al. (2008) stated,“there is not a single documented case of a school successfully turning around its pupil
achievement trajectory in the absence of talented leadership” (p. 29).
The overwhelming conclusion to be drawn from these prior studies is that school leaders havea clear impact on student outcomes. However, of interest to the current investigation is that thefocus for these prior studies has been on highlighting general dimensions, factors,
responsibilities or strategies by which school leaders have been able to influence student
outcomes overall in relation to school improvement. In contrast to these approaches, our study
has sought to determine the specific behaviours, attitudes and actions of Principals in relation
to school improvement, with a particular focus on leading teachers to prepare for the change
agenda relating to school improvement, and from the perspective of transformational
leadership, to which we now turn.
Transformational Leadership: The ACE Model
The current study seeks to uniquely contribute to this area of research by using the Alignment,
Capability and Engagement (ACE) Model of transformational leadership (Schiemann, 2006)
to interpret the responses of 16 Principals as they reported on how they led successful school
improvement programs. The ACE model represents a transformational model of leadership that
focuses on how leaders optimise effective change via three dimensions:•••

Alignment: the degree to which leaders align staff to the vision, mission and goals of achange program
Capabilities: the degree to which leaders ensure that staff have access to the relevant
resources, skill sets, and professional learning required to enact the change program
Engagement: the degree to which leaders can inspire and motivate staff to engage inthe change program.

This model is transformational in that it “emphasises leaders” developing a compelling vision,
providing individualized support, and intellectual stimulation to staff, and engaging them in
the achievement of shared goals” (Sun & Leithwood, 2015, p. 500). Importantly, this model
can provide a framework to contextualise research in educational leadership through the lensof Alignment, Capabilities and Engagement, which can be linked to prior research in the areaof leadership impact as follows:

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•

•

•

•
•

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Leithwood (2013) found aligning teachers by “direction setting practices” and building
their capabilities by “developing people, redesigning the organisation and managing
the instructional program” (p. 636) were useful strategies employed by successful
leaders.
Specific to transformational leadership, Hattie et al. (2014) found that teachers
preferred transformational leaders who developed engagement through high levels ofinterpersonal skills such as trust and aligned their staff by placing a premium on student
achievement.
Behaviours which impacted most on student learning were those resulting in what
Marzano et al. (2005) referred to as “second-order change” (p. 113). These includedaligning through ideals and beliefs, capability building by intellectual stimulation, andengaging staff by way of affirmation.
The Principal’s role is to ensure teachers are aligned and engaged by bureaucratic
structures that promote teacher autonomy through “open and innovative-stimulating(vision-building, intellectual stimulation) actions” (Buske, 2018, p. 274).
Notably in the research of Robinson et al. (2009), the dimension with the mostsubstantial effect, “promoting and participating in teacher learning and development,”
involves school leaders participating in and with teacher learning and development,
which is considered an essential aspect of Schiemann’s (2014) conceptualisation oforganisational readiness. This notion sits at the heart of the ACE model and proposesthat school leaders who are able to transform and direct Alignment, Capabilities andEngagement in support of the change agenda surrounding a school improvement
initiative, are better able to enact positive improvement outcomes.

Our use of the ACE model is part of ongoing research on the part of the authors, in terms ofinvestigating ways to frame specific practices and strategies employed by Principals to promotereadiness in their schools (Yeigh & Lynch, 2019; Lynch et al., 2019). In this respect, ourapplication of the ACE model is echoed by Macklin and Zbar (2017), who argue that school
improvement, and therefore student learning outcomes, “stands or falls on school leadershipand what it does” (p. xx). At a conceptual level, the ACE model can be viewed as arepresentation of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), which suggests an explicit
relationship exists between attitudes, intentions and behavioural engagement (e.g., Ajzen,
1991; Armitage & Conner, 2001; Lamorte, 2018).
The current study seeks to build on this research by using the ACE model’s notion oforganisational readiness to explain why specific leadership attributes and behaviours are
effective in the pursuit of improved student achievement outcomes. The primary focus of thisreport, therefore, is to investigate how the attitudes, intentions and behaviours of successful
school Principals act to implicitly operationalise organisational readiness as a fundamental
factor in preparing for successful school improvement. Working from this position andaccepting that school leadership has a significant indirect impact on student achievement, thequestion of primary interest for this particular report is as follows. To what degree do specificleadership behaviours of successful improvement-leading Principals correspond to the notionof organisational readiness as a means of effecting consistent transformative change ineducation settings?
Methods
The research team, after receiving ethics approval from the university, accessed national
NAPLAN school achievement data for the reporting period 2016-2018 under licence from137

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ACARA. We then undertook a review process that identified 20 schools that were among themost improved in terms of overall NAPLAN results that moved from being equal to, or below
the results of “similar schools” in 2016, to be higher than the results of “similar schools” in
2018. Figure 1 provides an indicative example of a school with high-NAPLAN-gains inWriting for a cohort from Year 3 (2016), and Year 5 (2018).

Figure 1: Example graph showing a “high” student gain outcome for NAPLAN
From these 20 highest ranked schools, 16 Principals from 14 schools (one school had multiple
Principals during the relevant NAPLAN reporting period) accepted an invitation to participate
in the study and took part in semi-structured interviews that yielded five questions of interestfor this report. These interviews took between 60 to 90 minutes and were audio-recorded, with
the interviewer also taking detailed notes. It is important to note that no reference, mention,
wording or allusion was made to the ACE model, nor the notion of organisational readiness,
the work of Schiemann (2006, 2014), or the idea of transformational leadership at any timeprior to or during these interviews or the course of this investigation. This was necessary inorder to ensure against biasing the responses of these Principals in any way, shape or form
during the investigation. Our aim in this respect was to allow the Principals to speak forthemselves, using their own words and articulating their own concepts and principles. Thematic
analysis was then used to inductively identify meaningful patterns from the audio-recordings
and interview notes; and were followed by group discussions using comparative analysis
techniques (Creswell, 2002; Moss, 2001) to inform this paper.
Findings
Demographics
Of the 14 schools, seven were primary schools and seven were combined primary andsecondary schools, eight were state sector schools, and six non-state sector schools and thelocations of these schools were 4 from major cities, 4 from inner regional, 4 from outerregional, and 2 from remote areas. Overall, these schools represented all Australian states andterritory education jurisdictions. The schools were all co-educational, with student populations
ranging from 152 to 1141 students, and with an average of 476 students. The rounded full-time
equivalent teacher to student ratios ranged from 1:90 to 1:20, with an average of 1:15. The
ICSEA scores of these schools ranged from 981 to 1038, that is, within a single standard
deviation of the national median ICSEA value of 1000, allowing for meaningful comparisons
to be made between the schools. In terms of age, one Principal was aged 30-39 years, six wereaged 40-49, eight were aged 50-59 and one was aged 60-69. With respect to gender, nine
identified as male and seven identified as female. Fifteen Principals had at least one prior138

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Principalship and at least ten years of experience as a Principal. The Principals had a mix ofundergraduate and postgraduate qualifications, with the majority having completed a Master’s
degree.
Following are the findings presented within each of the questions that served to frame the semistructured interviews. The relationship between the findings and the ACE model will besummarised in the discussion section.
Question 1: Describe your overall approach to leading your school.
Principals’ responses were markedly similar in stating that building positive relationships withteachers was a central focus of their school improvement agenda. Principals emphasised
engaging teachers through various modes of collaboration, including staff meetings to air
grievances, and to discuss and decide strategic and operational issues. Principals also built thecapacity of teaching teams via specific coaching and mentoring arrangements. The use of
student performance data to make decisions was also a key point made by each Principal.
These Principals expressed the importance of teachers being active participants in a continuous
teaching improvement agenda. A clear theme was that the Principals were relentlessly focusedon teaching improvement and used the development of a shared and agreed vision to align staff
with this. These responses resonate with findings from Hallinger and Heck (2011) thatsuccessful school improvements are an outcome of the collective efforts of leaders andteachers, shaped by collaboration and activated by the embracing of mutual influence.
Presented in Table 1 are quotes that typify how Principals led their schools.
Table 1: Quotes from Principals regarding how they led their schools
Participant
1

8
12
16

QuotesMy role is to empower others … you know inspiring them, building theircapacity as teachers. I want them to meet the outcomes that we agree weare seeking; data becomes our reference. But at the end of the day, if they
don’t do their part, you know to improve, then I do work to performance
manage them.
We have a shared and agreed vision in our school and use data to see how
we’re going.
It’s not all about me. Relationships are fundamental. I step in and out asrequired. I play the key role, I make sure we stay focused, but as I say, I
strive to build capacity in others to also lead.
Building relationships (with teachers) is hugely important because then you
build trust and rapport, and people are then willing to go with you on achange journey.

Presented in Table 2 are two main themes that emerged from how Principals’ responses to how
they led their schools. As is the case for this table and similar tables to follow, the ACE mapping
is to demonstrate linkage to this model of transformation leadership (Schiemann, 2006).

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Table 2: Main themes regarding how Principals led their schools
Theme
1

2

Description
Enacting a clear and agreed vision with teachers• A vision focused on improvement metrics• Using data to make informed decisions• Clear intents
Empowering staff through collaboration and capacity building• A focus on building capacity via targeted professional
learning• Supporting people to improve• Teaming; working together to solve problems and create
capacity• Involving teachers in decision making• Providing opportunities to improve, e.g. coaching,mentoring arrangements.

ACE
A
C
A
C
C
C
E
C

Note. ACE refers to Alignment, Capability and Engagements, see Schiemann (2006).
Furthermore, regarding Theme 2, “empower” came to mean ensuring teachers had the requisiteknowledge, skills and confidence to undertake the task ahead, and opportunities to be actively
involved. “Collaboration” meant providing opportunities to work with other teachers, and“capacity building” referred to making structural changes, that is, resource allocations,designed to enable teachers to do what was required.
Question 2: What are the fundamental principles which inform your work as a schoolleader?
A common theme was the Principal being “visible” in their school. Participants clarified
visibility as being involved in teaching and learning functions and being viewed as the “leadteacher” rather than solely as the “lead administrator”. They claimed that leading teaching andlearning in their schools was imperative, with the operational management of their school a
distant second and often delegated to others. All participants also indicated they undertook
formal and informal coaching and mentoring arrangements with teachers and contributed to all
critical teaching decisions. They used every occasion to share how the school’s vision andassociated plans were unfolding, and let teachers know that their efforts and expertise werevalued, encouraging a culture where teachers sought assistance to meet their challenges.
Presented in Table 3 are quotes from Principals that typify the fundamental principles of theirwork as a school leader.

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Table 3: Quotes that typify the fundamental principles of the work of a school leader
Participant
Response2
Empowering. [This is] the overarching principle of my leadership approach. I
suppose it is like the coaching philosophy in the sporting view. My role isto get the best out of people so they can be the best they can. I lead by beingaround.
3
Building solid relationships. It’s about trust and about me being visible. I am, I
guess you could say, the lead teacher, not just the problem-solving manager
who sits in his office and I let them know its teaching and learning that’s
important here.
Presented in Table 4 are the five main principles that came to represent the fundamentals of thework of a school leader.
Table 4: Fundamental principles of the work of a school leader
Principle
1
2
3
4
5

Description
Being visible in the core businessA relentless focus on teaching and learning
The importance of building and maintaining positive working
relationships
Having and espousing high expectations
Working towards establishing shared values and agreed outcomes

ACE
A
E
E
A
E

Note. ACE refers to Alignment, Capability and Engagements, see Schiemann (2006).
These responses agree with Seashore Louis et al., (2010), in that the two most important ways
to impact student learning are to do so directly through instructional leadership and indirectly
by supporting teachers in professional communities. Being visible in this way, establishingshared values and vision, and building positive working relationships are all also inherent
characteristics of organisational readiness, in that they all contribute to positive preparation forschool improvement at the social level of Alignment and Engagement.
Question 3: Your school has shown significant improvement in NAPLAN results during
the reporting period 2016 to 2018. What do you attribute this to?
In their responses to this question, the Principals often described themselves as being the
conductor of an orchestra or the coach of a sporting team. More broadly, they indicated they
worked to focus, enable and motivate their teachers to embrace continual improvement. Of
interest was that it became evident that their approach had been explained many times before,that it was alive in their current thinking and that they had developed a personal model toexplain their plans. This was often referred to as stemming from the work of researchers, mostnotably Hattie’s Visible Learning (Hattie, 2009; 2012).
While referencing research appeared to afford a certain sense of confidence in their approach,the Principals also cited improvements in student performance data as central reference points
for their plan, as well as being vital indicators of their success. We interpret this to mean thatthese Principals felt confident in knowing how to undertake the whole of a school improvement

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program. They espoused a clear sense of what needed to be done to improve their school andregularly revisited their plans in consultation with teachers and other stakeholders.
These responses revealed a core theme concerning school improvement, where a focus wasplaced sequentially on what Hirsh et al. (2014) have referred to as a Cycle of Improvement.
This cycle involved: a) reviewing data, b) enrolling teachers to a change agenda, c) working tobuild the required capacities, both organisationally and capability wise, d) enacting a common
school-wide approach to the problem area and e) reviewing progress with data. In accordancewith this, the Principals also revealed that their ultimate intent was to enact teaching change byimproving what teachers did in their classrooms. Presented in Table 5 are quotes that typify
what Principals attributed to significant improvements in NAPLAN results.
Table 5: What Principals attributed to significant improvements in NAPLAN results
Participant
Response5
I had a range of professional experience; you know I started at the bottom andworked my way up. These gave me a sense of everything, what I had to do,
and I guess I could perfect the technical things, but it was working witheffective leaders that helped me. They gave me guidance on what to do andwhy. They showed me what was effective and what I should be learning andlet me know in no uncertain terms when I messed up.
10
Watching how successful people work, you know working in a coaching typesituation.
Presented in Table 6 are three strategies Principals attributed to improvements in NAPLAN
results.
Table 6: Strategies Principals attributed to improving NAPLAN results
Strategy123

Description
Use data-informed practices
Build teacher capacities based on evidence
Relentlessly focus on the core purpose of improving student
learning

ACE
C, E
C
E

Note. ACE refers to Alignment, Capability and Engagements, see Schiemann (2006).
The Principals’ main attribution for NAPLAN success was that they sought to generate
certainty through their intentional use of data as evidence. Generative questions such as “whatis the data telling us” were used to focus teachers on analysing their teaching practice andensuring that their practices were focused on successful student outcomes. This accords with
the ACE component relating to Capabilities, in that it ensures that staff have access to therelevant resources and skillsets needed to prepare for and then engage with the school
improvement change agenda.
Question 4: What are the required conditions for you to successfully enact a teaching
improvement program?
While Question 3 sought to elicit the perceived causes of their success, Question 4, asked
Principals to reflect on their school improvement journey, to reveal how they prepared teachers
for change. Once again, positive relationships, as well as an imperative to have all teachers“on-board”, were pre-requisites to school improvement. Principals spoke at length about how

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they used conversations around data to encourage teachers to embark on a program of school
improvement, that is, using “like school metrics” as a comparison tool to establish an agreed
need for change, through to conversations about individual students and the teacher’s
personalised learning needs.
Concerning personalised learning, the Principals identified targeted professional learning asnecessary to ensure teachers had the requisite skills to undertake the improvement program.
“Targeted” was explained as meaning customising learning experiences to meet the range ofteachers’ learning needs. From this perspective, the main theme around perceived successful
conditions appeared to be for Principals to demystify school data, present it as a positive toolfor improvement, and then use it as a reference point for targeted teacher learning. Presented
in Table 7 are quotes that typify the conditions Principal’s required to enact a successful
teaching improvement program.
Table 7: Quotes regarding conditions required for successful teaching improvement programs
Participant
Response
13
Building relationships. It’s about trust and working together. I certainly set highexpectations, but I’m in there with them. Teaching is hard work, so we allroll up our sleeves, and I’m in it too.
2
Review data and convey this to teachers. Give them a sense of how we’regoing.
Presented in Table 8 are the three main conditions required to generate teaching improvement.
Table 8: Required conditions to generate teaching improvement
Required Condition
Description
1
Build positive relationships
2
Share understanding of how to collect and use data
3
Have a strong focus on building school-wide willingness
to collaborate on a solution.

ACE
A, E
C
A, E

Note. ACE refers to Alignment, Capability and Engagements, see Schiemann (2006).
Question 5: How do you prepare your teachers for whole school teaching improvement?
Principals positioned teachers for whole school improvement by structuring a combination of
information sharing sessions and professional learning (PL) opportunities, aimed at providing
teachers with requisite skills and understandings. This was articulated as “positioning teachers
for success” and was supported by establishing a clear understanding of the improvement
agenda, building positive relationships and negotiating agreed improvement strategies. Thesefindings are similar to Thoonen et al., (2012), who found successful school leaders were those
who initiated vision-building processes, were empathetic to the emotional needs of teachersand stimulated these teachers to pursue school improvement-aligned professional learning
activities. In this sense, positioning was a strategic step through which the teachers came totrust each other and the Principal, and where information transparency was valued. Presented
in Table 9 is a quote typical of how principals went about preparing teachers for whole school
teaching improvement.

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Table 9: A quote typifying how Principals prepared teachers for teaching improvement
Participant
Response2
The first step is to review the data. Understand our current performance. Work
with teachers to diagnose; you know why this is with teachers. Then, guest
presenters and using them as motivators, to share views on things. I follow
this up with looking at research to deal with such areas. Connecting
approaches to the school context. Creating structures is a key consideration,
but it's not first up. This is to ensure the capacity to do what’s required. Thenit’s into teams. Getting teachers together really helped out here. Of course,
as we progress I had to bring in required teaching capacities as you start tosee what is missing, you know what talent I suppose is required.
The findings from participants responses to Question 5 build on their responses to Question 4,
in that, preparing teachers for change requires certain conditions to also be positioned.
Continuing with this realisation, we then found that the responses to Question 5 provided a way
to operationalise the conditions established through the analysis of Question 4. Therefore,
presented in Table 10 are strategies Principals used to prepare teachers for whole school
teaching improvement, and these are grouped by “required conditions” of Question 4.
Table 10: Strategies used to prepare teachers for whole school teaching improvement.
Required
Condition a1

2

3

Description
Build positive relationships• Transparency, share the whole story, share all data
• Encourage conversations and talk about how it impacts
each other• Personalise the message for change• Focus on wellbeing as we change, focus on pastoral care
• Enable teachers to create teams and collaborate on ideas
and solutions• Be involved with teachers, challenge them to think
differently
Share understanding of the data and the message conveyed• Having good data sets from various sources• Explaining what the data is telling us• Helping teachers to understand the data
• Using data to create a sense of urgency for change
Have a strong focus on building school-wide willingness tocollaborate on a solution• A clear vision of what is focused on and why• Enable teachers to collaborate and seek evidence-based
solutions• Use data to monitor outcomes• Solution-orientated teams• Commitment to the task as Principal

ACE
A
C, E
A
A, E
E
C, E
A
C
C
A, E

A
E
A
E
A

Note. ACE refers to Alignment, Capability and Engagements, see Schiemann (2006).
a“Required conditions” are from Table 8.

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Discussion
We know from prior research that Principals have a pivotal role to play in assisting teachers to
improve their performance, particularly in terms of increasing student learning outcomes. The
specific attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of Principals and teachers have been explored to someextent by previous research investigating school leadership. However, this research has
generally sought to understand the roles and functions of school leaders within frames ofreference that are more generalised and categorical. In contrast, the current study employed aninterview protocol to elicit information from Principals with a proven track record of successful
school improvement, concerning their specific leadership behaviours, actions and attitudes
aimed at leading for school improvement, and with a distinct focus on how they lead teacher
preparation for school improvement.
As was signalled at the outset of this article, we now reflect on these findings through the lensof the ACE model of transformational leadership, in particular, how the Principals embedded
the concept of readiness for change. In this sense, a key point of inquiry for the current
investigation was to investigate the degree to which the actual strategies of Principals compare
to the ACE model of school readiness, as a particular approach to preparing for improvementchange.
The analysis of responses gained through our investigation has shown that the Principals shared
many behavioural and attitudinal characteristics in their approaches to change-focusedleadership. Common themes included the need to develop an agreed vision, empowering staff
through collaboration and customised professional learning, leading by example, using data toboth motivate and guide change, and building positive, “transparent” relationships to encourageteacher buy-in.
In this regard, all the Principals espoused the importance of Alignment and Capability building
through clear, agreed on school vision for improvement, based on teacher empowerment
through the use of collaboration which provides opportunities to learn new skills. This wasevidenced through Principals’ focus on the fundamental precepts for changing being notionsof systematic coaching and mentoring, and the need for a clear plan that directed continual
school improvement. As an example, Principals sought to mentor teachers into relevant
skillsets around data, engaging teachers in “similar school” data comparisons and using thisdata to focus teachers’ professional learning.
Principals also manifested ACE components of Capability and Engagement by identifying
positive relationships as the typical basis for achieving staff willingness to collaborate andenact improvement solutions, galvanising teaching staff to their improvement agenda first, andthen using collaborative processes, systematic coaching and mentoring to support theseteachers in delivering school improvement.
Furthermore, associated with the ACE components of Alignment and Engagement, thePrincipals directed teacher activity and structured support mechanisms for their engagement
through precise planning and systematic mentoring. The use of data-driven analysis as the basis
for monitoring and evaluating school improvement was another common element of successamongst these Principals. The vehicle for this was the Principals’ use of direct conversational
engagement, and we note that this approach – using data to both engage and motivate teachers– can also be seen as an overall theme for the ACE model.

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Conclusion
This report found specific behaviours, actions and attitudes that Principals reported asnecessary to engage in school-wide improvement programs. We examined these behaviours,
actions and attitudes through the lens of the ACE Model, which focuses on how leaders readytheir organisations for change. This focus was necessary as the specific behaviours, actions andattitudes required to ready a school for improvement change have not been a significant subjectof preceding research, which has largely focused on what school leaders do during a school
improvement initiative.
In this respect, a distinctive contribution of the current investigation has been its comparative
analysis of specific leadership behaviours and attitudes in relation to the ACE model notion oforganisational readiness, also informing us of what school leaders do to prepare for school
improvement and linking these behaviours to how they then continue the improvement overtime. This analysis has highlighted the existence of many commonly shared strategies andapproaches that help to explain why organisational readiness is important to the pursuit ofschool improvement. We wish to share this information more broadly, in order to help delineate
what may be involved in the preparation phase of a successful school improvement initiative.
Implications of the Research
A valuable subsequent study would be to interview Principals of established low-performing
schools to investigate if there are different types of activities undertaken by these school leadersin relation to improvement change and the ACE model. As supported by May et al., (2012),
there may be differences between the two sets of Principals explained by context-driven
priorities, that is, Principals needing to be more hands-on and reactive in lower-performing
schools, and more strategic and proactive in higher-performing schools. Examining the otherside of the coin in this way could, therefore, help to clarify the distinctiveness of these current
findings.

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Thoonen, E. E. J., Sleegers, P. J. C., Oort, F. J., & Peetsma, T. T. D. (2012). Building schoolwide capacity for improvement: the role of leadership, school organizational
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Corresponding Author: Lewes Peddell
Contact email: lewes.peddell@scu.edu.au

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Recreating Discourse Community for Appropriating HOCs in Law Undergraduates’
Academic Writing
Suman Luhach
Bennett University
India

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Abstract
Like any other discipline, academic writing is equally crucial for law undergraduates to master.
Project reports, argumentative essay writing on current socio-legal affairs and research paper
writing comprise requisites in academia for law learners. Students’ appropriation of higher
order concerns in academic writing is a major challenge for teachers, as the physical classroom
discourse community is typically passive and does not give enough opportunities to students
to think critically about their writing processes. The teacher is expected to provide feedback tostudents on their writing, which often leads to the creation of only one feedback centre,
restriction of the scope for varied perceptions and formation of multiple small discourses where
the teacher is the central point of reference in every discourse. Consequentially, students canfail to develop self/peer-critiques in the ongoing discourse. The present paper has its focus on
the recreation of discourse communities using a learning management system at the Law
School, Bennett University, India, to promote peer-to-peer learning for honing higher orderconcerns in academic writing. The paper investigates how law students behave whilst
interacting in a recreated online discourse community, benefit through peer feedback, andenhance their knowledge of the academic writing genre of argumentative essays, its subject
matter and rhetoric involved. The methodological triangulation of pre-test/post-test analysis,
student survey and conceptual content analysis of students’ interaction transcripts support
recreation of online discourse communities in academic writing instruction.
Keywords: academic writing, argumentative essay writing, discourse community, higher orderconcerns, law undergraduates

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Law undergraduates, like students of any other discipline, are expected to have alreadyacquired certain basic proficiency in writing in terms of expression and lower order concerns(LOCs) when they commence university education so that they can have a smooth transition
into the world of academic writing – argumentative essays, project reports, and research papers
among other forms of writing – across disciplines and contexts (Cumming, 1989; Griggs, 1996;
Knight et al., 2018; Paltridge, 2018; Wingate et al., 2011 ). Writing instructors at law school
expect students to understand what “specificity”, “precision” and “concision” in academic
writing are and also to understand the distinction between relevant and irrelevant knowledge
in a context and to supply discretionary information in an academic writing context (Bacha &Bahous 2008; Horowitz 1986; Street, 2004; Wilkes et al., 2015). Academic writing involves
recursive processes, comprising modifications and refinements at every stage of the writing
process, with a major focus on higher order concerns (HOCs) in writing. These modifications
are a result of continuous change in thought processes complying with feedback and selfanalysis. A peer and self-feedback mechanism is thus integral to academic writing (DeJarnatt,
2001; Guasch et al., 2013; Huisman et al., 2018; Hyland, 2013; Magno & Amarles, 2011;
Topping et al., 2000), and students usually participate in this through various interactions
happening within what is referred to as the discourse community (DC) they are part of.
Sometimes, however, either due to curricular constraints or being too teacher-centric, themechanism of interaction in a classroom DC can become hindered. When this happens,students do not get opportunities to get involved in critical thinking concerning their writing
processes and thus fail to refine the HOCs involved in their writing. These difficulties
necessitate recreation of a classroom DC to incorporate new mechanisms of feedback and tofulfil the requirements of an academic writing course in terms of making students active
contributors to the writing processes of not only their own, but also of their peers’, writing.
This also underpins a fundamental aim of higher education, to inculcate critical thinking habits
amongst college students (Andrews, 2015; Bezanilla et al, 2019; Ghanizadeh, 2017; Liu et al.,2016) – acknowledging what others think, looking beyond and understanding how tointernalise and refine thoughts, expression and writing.
It is also important to note that creation, recreation, and maintenance of DCs in academic
writing classrooms require proper considerations by the instructor. DeJarnatt (2001) suggests
integration of speech and writing for law undergraduates and advocates creation of a new DC
where “they can talk to each other about their writing” (p. 489). To ensure that the writing
process is meaningfully active within a DC, the instructor needs to understand key features ofa DC. For the current study, the researcher aimed to recreate an active DC where students canwork collaboratively for appropriation of their academic writing within the course of English
II for law undergraduates. The academic writing in law as a discipline involves specificregisters, writing process, formats, and contexts. These specific requirements of the discipline
also demand a recreated DC where there could be special attention on specific goals, genres,writing conventions, formats, and writing style (Melzer, 2020). The current researcher selected
the genre of argumentative essay writing, as the transferability and relevance of this genre toboth law undergraduates and lawyers in their career is high. Moreover, this genre works on
HOCs: a clear thesis with strong claims and supports in the form of reasoning and evidences
which are also central to other specified legal writing genres such as case comments or memos(Cragg,1988).
The recreation of a DC in the present study also underlies the evolving nature of academia andpedagogy with technological advancements and needs (Swales, 2016). Physical classrooms canbe easily supplemented and enriched with empowered online DCs on learning management
systems (LMSs) or other free online platforms.

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Literature Review
Discourse Community
Swales (1990) gives six features of a DC: a common public goal; a mechanism ofintercommunication; use of its mechanisms primarily to provide feedback and information; useof any genre/s for continuation of the communication; use of a lexis pertaining to a particulardiscipline; and a minimum number of members, with some required level knowledge pertaining
to the area of that DC. Subsequent research by Swales (2016) emphasised re-imagining theconcept of a DC. With the evolving nature of academia and pedagogy, he added two morefeatures to a DC: a DC develops shared understanding, which Swales (2016) quotes as “silential
relations” (p. 16), and a DC also develops a close rapport among its members, which Swales(2016) refers to as “horizons of expectation” (p.16). These features align the components oftraditional unities – writer, audience, and text – and Swales (2016) further explains that thisaddition makes it workable for all the three types (local, focal and folocal) of DCs. According
to Swales (2016), the concept of a DC is useful in language classrooms with both academic
and specific purposes. In addition, it also helps the educationists to impart oracy and literacy
skills among students, which subsequently makes them capable of accomplishing many
interdisciplinary academic tasks.
Research into DCs has shown it can also have further applications. For example, Martín (2003)
cites the educational benefits of a DC as given by Swales, but adds that a DC may possess
considerable distance among its members and the distance could be in terms of theirbackground as well as place. Despite this, a DC can work on maintaining and extendingknowledge collaboratively, as acknowledged by Duszak (1997), who stresses the sociorhetorical aspect of DCs, and emphasises that a DC having its focus on verbal skills helps inco-creation of knowledge to a great extent, with additional benefits being freedom of time andspace. Edens and Gallini (2000) experimented creating a DC in a technology-mediatedenvironment, comprised of in-service and beginning preservice teachers of educational
psychology, for constructive discussion and meaning-making that is not limited by space andtime. Benz (1996) relied on creating a DC for eleven non-English speaking college students
who were required to establish effective relationships with their teachers and their peers, tohelp manage their performances in content courses. Benz’s study also utilised a DC as apedagogical tool for honing college level English as a second language. Similarly, Abdi et al.
(2010) worked on creating an academic DC discourse community to benefit the multilingual
members in the use of metadiscourse markers.
A Discourse Community in Composition Classrooms
Beaufort (2008) gave a succinct definition of a DC while emphasising its importance in written
communication, “a social group that communicates at least in part via written texts and sharescommon goals, values, and writing standards, a specialised vocabulary and specialised genres”(p.179). Borg (2003), while discussing the nuances of a DC, specifically conveys that DCs
have significant pedagogical implications in teaching of writing and more importantly in
writing genres of English for specific purposes. According to Pogner (2005), a DC that hasdeveloped from an interpretation community became popular in writing research mainly intechnical writing among engineering academic and non-academic context. The involvement of
individuals in the community is established by the individuals using text. This amounts tocollaborative explanation of the issue/question/topic in hand and production of text around it.
The medium of discourse for such written texts has been various online platforms. Martín(2003) also elaborates that a DC extends a group’s knowledge and writing of a text. The
collaborative review of linguistic and textual features helps the group members to understandand imbibe how, as writers, they need to understand the importance of audience analysis.

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Basturkmen and Bitchener (2014) examined the bearing of an academic discourse community
on supervisors’ feedback on draft dissertations and analysed their feedback comments on
various aspects of writing. Duff (2010) talks of academic discourse communities helpful inlanguage socialisation in classrooms and tells that DCs are “highly intertextual”, “multimodal”
and “multilingual” in contemporary contexts (p.169). He adds that language socialisation
happening in a DC could be very transformative for a few individuals. Pogner (2003) tested a
DC for writing tasks with Danish consulting engineers, with findings that suggest writing as asocial action happens through feedback and revisions in a DC, as constructed by thecollaborative work of its members. Li (2006) highlights the importance of a DC into the EAPclassroom, where students enhance their awareness of epistemological features of disciplines
and higher order thinking skills. Parkyn (1999) emphasised the importance of students learningfrom each other and that this learning could be done by creating discourse communities forfacilitating collaborative engagement. Parkyn also suggests that teachers and students may
make use of technology for computer-based assignments, as done in their study of writing for
an electronic journal.
As teachers of academic writing at undergraduate level, teachers seek to shift the focus of theirteaching from accuracy and expression (LOCs in writing) to rhetorical functions and to larger
societal discourses (HOCs in writing). So, while addressing the concerns related to genre
approach or process approach of writing, it is important that DCs are recreated to support such
instructional shifts. University composition classes also need to focus on micro-genres such as
framing an argument. If such DCs start focusing on writing genres, and specifically micro
genres (Watanabe, 2016), they will gradually appropriate the macro-genres and the registers ofthe discipline. The teachers, thus, would be able to provide scaffolds to the students in the formof a DC that can be used to signal a focus on written texts, and where students can work toward
appropriating texts.
Higher Order Concerns in Academic Writing
In this respect a piece of academic writing is judged at two levels: higher order concerns(HOCs) and lower order concerns (LOCs) in writing. It is essential to differentiate between
meaningful writing and accurate writing (Jacobs & Karliner, 1977). Introduction of academic
writing to college undergraduates is done to engage them in critical thinking and make themwork on their HOCs in writing (Ali, 2016; Min, 2016; Van den Bos & Tan, 2019; Winder etal., 2016). The recreated DC in the present study will allow students to contemplate and interact
on specific aspects of HOCs: focus/thesis/purpose, audience, organisation, and content
development; and of LOCs: grammar (sentence structure, punctuation, prepositions, articles,
verb tense), word choice and spellings (cf. Purdue OWL, 2020).
Recreation of a Discourse Community
English II offered at Bennett Law School focuses on academic writing skills of year-I law
undergraduates. The present research has its basis in two difficulties that the instructor faced
while delivering the course. Firstly, the removal of tutorial sessions from the course plan due
to some curricular changes which resulted in negligible individualised attention and feedback
on students’ writing. Secondly, the habit of students to rely on the teacher as a panacea for theirwriting issues. These difficulties led the instructor to seek pedagogical changes aimed ataddressing the difficulties and assisting students to increase their writing abilities. Thesechanges also underpin the aim of higher education, which is to inculcate critical thinking habits
among students: moving ahead and looking beyond, understanding more, and internalising andrefining thinking process as an academic writer. Keeping this in mind, recreation of an online
DC was done as a supplementary to the existing classroom DC.

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The notion of recreation of discourse community is directly related to the basic features of a
DC proposed by Swales (2016). The mechanism of intercommunication in a classroom DC
found space on forums on “i-learn” LMS (based on Moodle). Students generated content/
information by posting on the given topics and by giving feedback to each other. This recreation
is not only just associated with changes in the components of basic features that constitute a
DC but is also embedded in enhancing its dynamism and visibility.
The visibility of DCs could be even more obvious in a digital world. The integration oftechnology is common practice these days and is done to enhance the teaching and learning
experience in the traditional regular education as well as distance education. Teaching writing
skills at college needs a shift from “leading-children” to “leading-adults” in web-supported
environments and peer-to-peer learning that is better known by the term “paragogy”(Bassendowski, 2016 Mulholland, 2019). Paragogy has the underlying principle of selfdirected and anti-didactic learning process with ubiquitous web 2.0 (Alfuqaha, 2013; Corneli& Danoff, 2011). Recreation of a DC emphasises devising such new teaching methodologies
for the introduction of self-directed and peer-to-peer learning, and for the integration oftechnology for increased collaboration that works on merging traditional skills and knowledge
with digital working practices and can help building new recreated classroom DCs withenhanced dynamism and visibility. Swales (2016) also suggests that with the advancement incomputers and computer-based communication, there is a need to rethink and revisit thefeatures of a DC that he gave in 1990. He also mentions that there were some inherent flaws in
those features like it was overly static and did not give much information about how membersof the DC enter or leave a DC. Incorporating these ideas from Swales and others, the following
features are discussed in relation to the recreated DC as used in the present study:
Common goal. The recreated DC in the present research involves the set of students who arecollaborative learners on an online platform of “i-learn” LMS trying to appropriate the skill ofargumentative essay writing.
Intercommunication mechanism. Swales (2016) emphasises the need to recognise new
online modes of communication like blogs and emails and many others which can be helpfulin creating a real dynamic community. The mechanism of intercommunication in the study isrecreated online DC where written interaction happens.
Participatory mechanisms. A DC uses its mechanisms primarily to provide feedback andinformation. Students in a recreated DC generate content on the given argumentative topics
and give feedback to each other. To manage the proper functioning of the DC, the course
instructor works as a moderator who initiates the activity of written interaction by providing
topics and guidelines.
Genre. The genre in the present research is argumentative writing on some relevant socio-legal
issues. As Swales (2016) suggests, the genre in a DC is “performed, re-performed and refined”(p.15), students in the recreated DC also work towards appropriation of argumentative writing.
Lexis. For generating content on argumentative topics of socio-legal issues the registers aremostly sui generis which differ with different types of claims – fact, policy, cause and effect,
and with different types of evidences – testimonial, physical, and anecdotal among others.
Members and expertise. In a DC, members often come as novices and they change, evolve,
and attain appropriation. It is also true that there must be a ratio of beginners to experts for thecommunity to exist, continue, and appropriate knowledge. In the present study, the instructor
moderates the process of entry and progression in the online DC by creating access andmoderating the interaction.

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Rapport and rhythm. Once the instructor briefed students on their roles in a DC, the students
were not reminded of the task of developing arguments with proper claims, reasons, andevidences, counterclaims, and rebuttal.
Shared understanding. After being briefed on the activity by the teacher, students moved into
the flow and rhythm of the task and kept posting their content and feedback from time to time.
The recreation of an online DC as a supplement to classroom teaching is done to allow students
to get engaged in critical thinking and get attentive to HOCs in writing. It is an attempt torecreate a dynamic DC and give indications on how an instructor can decide entry and exit
form a DC meant for appropriation of any specific academic writing genre.
Methodology
The research design for the present study is a quasi-experimental design - non-equivalentControl group design (NECG) with pre-test and post-test – and the sampling technique isconsecutive sampling as in educational settings, as it is mostly impracticable to randomly
allocate the participants (Fife-Schaw, 2006; Park & Han, 2018). A total of 80 active students
participated in the study. These students were enrolled in English II course offered to first year
undergraduates in the School of Law, Bennett University, India during even Semester 201920. The present research employs methodological triangulation – pre-test/post-test, content
analysis and student survey – as multiple qualitative and quantitative methods (Ghahari &Farokhnia 2017). The study focuses on recreating a DC on the university LMS “i-learn” andanalysing the impact of this pedagogical change from various standpoints.
Research questions
The present study attempts to recreate an online DC as a supplementary to the physicalclassroom so that students can get involved in critical thinking process for appropriatingargumentative essay writing. The study was designed to address three research questions:
RQ1. Does the recreated online DC help students enhance their proficiency in HOCsof argumentative essay writing?
RQ2. What is the nature of written interaction in the recreated online DC?
RQ3. What are the students’ perceptions of the recreated online DC?
Data Collection and Analysis
Pre-test/post-test. A total of five groups of 8 students each (total 40) were made parts of an
online DC for the experimental group and 40 students of the control group continued with aphysical classroom DC. Students in both the control and experimental groups were given topics
to write argumentative essays individually, as pre-test and post-test components. The pre-test
was conducted after teaching argumentative essay writing to both groups in the classroom. The
post-test for the experimental group was conducted after they did written interaction in their
online DC, while the control group’s post-test was conducted without any recreated DC
treatment (figure 1).

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Figure 1. DC Recreation Timeline
An analytical rubric was designed to test the pre-test and post-test scores on 6 parameters of
HOCs in argumentative writing (table 1). The rubric defined a range of levels from 0 to 3, with0 (unacceptable), 1 (developing), 2 (accomplished) and 3 (exemplary) - for befitting
completion of each component of an argumentative essay. The total number of items in the
rubric is six, which sets the highest score for the marking rubric at 18. Three academic writing
experts were used to check the validity and reliability of the rubric. These experts agreed on
78.33 % level of ratings. Cohen’s Kappa Coefficient of reliability was .69 (p <.0.001), which
is a good level of inter-rater reliability.
Table 1: HOCs evaluation parameters for argumentative essays
S.no. HOCs

2. Thesis

Evaluation parameter for HOCs
in an argumentative essay
Attention getter/ rhetoricalelements
Thesis/purpose statement

3. Organisation and coherence

Use of cohesive devices

4.

Arrangement of paragraphs in theformat of introduction, main body,and conclusion
logical order ofclaims/counterclaims, reasons, andevidences
Quality and quantity ofClaims/counterclaims, reasons,evidences

1. Analysing Audience5.
6. Content development

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Variables for the pre-test and post-test analysis were:••

The independent variable (IV): Discourse community (Classroom DC for the control
group and Online DC for the experimental group)
The dependent variable (DV): Argumentative essay writing achievement levels

Online transcripts of DCs and content analysis. Online transcripts of the written interactionof online DCs provided the data to analyse the nature of interaction process through conceptual
content analysis: identifying and defining a concept and tallying its presence (Busch et al.,n.d.). The students were given separate argumentative topics on contemporary socio-legal
issues, with starting instructions regarding the content of their posts: focus on thesis statement,each thesis having at least three claims, and each claim further being supported by at least one
evidence and reason each (figure 2). These are further enriched by counterclaims and rebuttals
further supported by appropriate reasoning and evidence (figure 2). The given content guideline
also served as the basis for coding the posts.

Claim
1
Claim
3

Evidence

ReasonCounterclaim
and Rebuttal

Claim
2

Thesis Statement

Claim 1,2,3

Open End

Figure 2: Content division and coding criteria for recreated online DC
The raters were asked to code the online DC transcripts such that:••

Each post is considered a unit
Each post is identified on a single or multiple parameter: thesis, claims, evidences,
reasoning, counterclaim, and rebuttal.

The kappa statistic for inter-rater reliability was 0.708 (p< 0.001), which is a good level ofinter-rater reliability. The transcripts of online DCs were coded following the content coding
scheme (figure 2). If any content did not fit into any of the given coding criteria it wasconsidered irrelevant.
Student Survey. For analysing students’ experience of their participation in an online DC, a
student survey was also conducted. The participation in the survey was voluntary and involved
informed consent of the students ensuring confidentiality and anonymity of their responses.
Approval for the study and its publication was granted by the Dean, School of Law, Bennett
University, and the Vice Chancellor. As the survey only focused on analysing the efficacy ofan online recreated DC for better educational practice in the future, it did not cause any kindof physical, informational, or psychological harm to the students. The responses of the students
were anonymised and numbered, thus, diminishing the possibility of leaking any personal
information about them.

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This survey included eleven closed-ended and four open-ended questions. The closed-ended
questions were framed to find if the online DC interaction helped the students to enhance HOCs
in writing. All closed-ended questions were framed on five-point Likert scale: 1 = strongly
agree, 2 = agree, 3 = uncertain, 4 = disagree and 5 = strongly disagree. The open-ended sectionin the survey contained questions on beneficial factors, problems faced, improvement and otheraspects the students wanted to share. The Chronbach’s alpha reliability score for the survey
was .89, which is considered good.
Results and Discussion
Pre-Test and Post-Test
Pre-test and post-test scores were analysed by performing descriptive and inferential statistics.
The mean scores of the pre-test and post-test of experimental and control groups were analysed
to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference in the argumentative essay
writing performance of the students before and after the recreation of online DC. The
descriptive statistics analysed the tests on the mean, standard deviation and percentages andfinds out students’ frequency shift for each of the six components of HOCs of argumentative
essay. The inferential statistics analysed the difference in the mean gain scores of HOCs ofargumentative essay writing of the students in the post-tests of experimental and control group.
Descriptive statistics for HOCs. The results show that on average students in the experimentalgroup performed better in the post-test than pre-test for the composite scores of HOCs. In thecomposite scores of pre-test and post-test of the experimental group (table 2), the mean score
for pre-test was 10.075 and 12.85 for the post-test. The percentage increase in the mean score
for the experimental group is 27.54%. For the control group, the mean score of HOCs in pretest was 9.975 and 10.45 for the post-test. The percentage change in the HOCs mean score was
4.75% which is much less than the percentage change of 27.54% for the experimental group.
Table 2: Descriptive statistics for experimental and control group on HOCS

Experimental Group

Control Group

Mean

Std. Deviation% change

Pre-test

10.075

2.795

Post-test

12.85

3.453

Pre-test

9.975

2.645

Post-test

10.45

27.54%
increasepost-test
score
4.75
increasepost-test
score

2.308

in
%
in

Component wise frequency change analysis (table 3) shows that frequency shift of students’performance sets a trend from unacceptable (0) and initial level (1) to intermediate (2) andadvanced level (3) in the experimental group. The ‘-’ sign indicates a reduction in the numberof students at the corresponding level of proficiency in HOCs; the ‘+’ sign indicates that the
number of students falling under that level of proficiency has increased and ‘N’ indicates nochange.

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Table 3: Component wise frequency shift of students in HOCs
Experimental Group
HOCs
Attention Grabber
Thesis Statement
Organisation
andcoherenceContent Development

Control Group

(0)
N

(1)
+
-

(2)
+
+

(3)
+
+
+

(0)
N
N
N

(1)
+
-

(2)
+
+

(3)
N
N
N

-

-

+

+

N

N

N

N

Frequency shifts are very less and more stagnant in the control group’s performance,suggesting that this group did not experience the dynamism experienced by the experimental,
online DC group. The online DC thus resulted in improvement and a positive shift in theexperimental group students’ proficiency in HOCs of argumentative essay writing. Frequency
shift for the control group’s students to advanced level (table 3) is “no change” for allcomponents of HOCs whereas, for the experimental group there is increase in students’proficiency for all components of HOCs.
Inferential statistics for HOCs. The research hypothesis for analysing pre-test and post-test
results is:
H1: µexperimental > µcontrol
The average score of HOCs for students who received the recreated online DC treatment isgreater than the average score of students who did not receive the treatment.
The results from an independent samples t-test indicate that students who received therecreated online DC treatment (table 4) (M = 12.85, SD= 3.453, N =40) show that this group
scored higher than students who did not receive the treatment (M = 10.45, SD = 2.308, N=40). Cohen’s effect size value (d = 0.817) suggested a “large” effect size and high practicalsignificance.
Table 4: Group statistics

Test score

Group

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

Std.
Error
Mean

Cohen’s dexperimental
group

40

12.85

3.453

.546

0.817

control group

40

10.45

2.308

.365

The Levene’s test for equal variances yielded a p-value of .265. This means that the difference
between the variances is statistically insignificant. Thus, the independent samples t-test (table5), which showed that the difference in performance of students on HOCs of argumentative
essay writing of experimental and control group, was statistically significant, t(78)= 3.654, p =.0005, 95% CI (1.092, 3.707).

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HOC

Table 5: Independent Samples t-test HOCs

Equal
variancesassumedEqual
variances notassumedLevene's Test
for Equality of
VariancesF
Sig.

t-test for Equality of Means
T

Df

Sig. (2tailed)

Mean
Differenc
e

Std.
Error
Differ
ence

1.257

3.65
4

78

.0005

2.400

.657

95%
ConfidenceInterval of the
Difference
Lower Upper
1.092 3.707

3.65
4

68

.0005

2.400

.657

1.089

.265

3.710

Inferential statistics shows that the magnitude of treatment is large for the components of HOCs
in argumentative writing. It also implies that students who are engaged in a recreated online
DC may improve significantly by shifting towards intermediate and advanced levels of
proficiency in academic writing.
Student Survey Results
The recreated online DC was well-received by students, and they agreed that it helped them tofocus on HOCs in argumentative writing by being reflective, interactive, and explorative. They
posted their claims, reasons, and evidences with more care. The online DC appeared to bettersupport their higher order thinking skills, which got reflected in their arguments. Students
agreed that incorporation of online DCs with other academic writing components would allow
them to practice writing outside classroom boundaries. Descriptive statistics results (table 6)show mean values ranging from 1 - 2.5, which supports the positive perception of the students.
Responses from students to open ended questions of the survey also support the results obtainedon closed ended questions:“It made me focus on my points and frame them more appropriately”.
“Peer feedback has influenced my arguments as their points didn't necessarily
match my points and I had arguments to prove them wrong or correct themwhenever I feel that they are wrong”.
“I got to know their stand which was an advantage while forming myarguments”.
“Yes, by their feedback I was able to think in a different perspective which mademy argument even stronger”.
“It made me understand that the reasoning and evidences should not deviate
from the claim”.
“By contradiction and rebuttals, I could refine my thinking ability”.
“It has helped me in learning how to frame an answer and present it so that itremains relevant and adds on to the discussion”.
Students also acknowledged the advantage of getting enough time to think, research and draft
their arguments logically. They found peer feedback (Huisman et al., 2018; Guasch et al., 2013)
to be highly beneficial. Through peer feedback they realised that the reasons and evidences
should never deviate from their claims and that helped them to formulate stronger arguments.

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Table 6: Descriptive Statistics for questions based on HOCs
Std. Deviation
Recreated Online DC provided favourable environment forpractising writing
It led to increase in the genre and content knowledge
It aided reflection in collaboration with readers
It helped in recognising issues and asserting position
It promoted dynamism in interaction and writing
It worked on independent thinking with interdependence
It facilitated adequate time to organise thoughts in a logical order
It helped in evaluating and constructing strong arguments
Peer feedback aided in self-reflection in argumentative writing
It helped in learning how to organise content coherently
It helped in drafting well-organised argumentative essay
Valid N (listwise)

N
40

Mean
1.97

.897

40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40

1.97
2.09
1.69
2.09
1.81
1.75
2.03
2.31
2.09
2.41

.695
.856
.535
.734
.693
.762
.782
1.091
.777
.979

Students enjoyed the dynamism of online DCs and experienced a sense of achievement andfulfilment. Some students felt more comfortable as it was easier for them to write their views
than to speak up in the class. Some students while acknowledging the usefulness of the online
DC, gave suggestions to make online DC interaction more structured in the way that it clearly
describes and restricts the format in which arguments had to be posted by each student alongwith maximum post criteria to ensure fair chance of participation by every member.
Conceptual Content Analysis
Conceptual content analysis was conducted for the online DC transcripts by tallying thepresence of the identified codes. It was observed that almost 75-85 percent of the interaction
on argumentative topics was centred on content development in the form of reasons, evidences,and rebuttals (figure 3 and table 7) for all the four groups on the recreated online DC. Out ofthese three, formulation of reasons to support the proposed claims contributed to the maximum
in majority of the groups. After reasoning, rebuttals were also abundantly posted, even in
response to lower numbers of counterclaims.

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Conceptual Content Analysis
GpI

GpII

GpIII

GpIV

350

NO. OF POSTS

300
250
200
150
100
50
0

ThesisStatement

ClaimsEvidences

Reasons

Countera
rgument

Rebuttal

Total

GpIV

7

1

13

16

2

26

65

GpIII

3

10

17

27

1

21

79

GpII

6

6

20

39

10

13

94

GpI

2

8

13

27

2

17

69

HIGHER ORDER CONCERNS IN ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING

Figure 3: Conceptual content analysis of online DC transcripts
Table 7: Percentage contribution of posts related to reasons, evidences, and rebuttals
DC GroupGroup IGroup IIGroup III
Group IV

Percentage Contribution
82.60% (reasons= 39.13%, evidences= 18.83%, rebuttals=24.64%)
76.59% (reasons= 41.48, evidences= 21.27%, rebuttals= 13.83%)
82.27% (reasons= 34.17, evidences= 21.52%, rebuttals= 26.58%)
84.16% (reasons= 24.16%, evidences= 20%, rebuttals= 40%)

Lower number of posts relating to thesis, claim and counterclaim may suggest that once
students decided their stand (for or against the argumentative topic), they focused more on
proving their position with multiple perspectives, reasons and examples in the form of data,facts and testimonials. Students also developed a habit of acknowledging the sources of theirevidences (figure 4). Being students of law, their evidence mostly comprised relevant sections,articles, and cases. For example, Group I was given the topic related to content censorship oninternet and for proving their claims students referred to section 66(A) of IT Act 2008, Article
19(2), the case of Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (Writ Petition Criminal No.167 of 2012),
the case of Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (Writ Petition Civil no. 1031 of 2019) among
others.

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Figure 4: Source citation by group I on online DC
Students were also careful in maintaining coherence in their written interactions for the online
DC. This was evident from the kind of words and phrases they used while interacting: “It istrue that…”, “I agree with…”, “I continue in support of…”, “firstly…, secondly…”. Overall,
conceptual content analysis results show that students experienced an enriching interaction as
members of the online DC, and touched upon all aspects of HOCs, such as thesis, organisationand coherence, and content development. Audience analysis could not be witnessed much as
they were instructed to have written interaction on argumentative topics and no real situation
for composing a complete essay was given.
Conclusion
In agreement with Watanabe (2016), the overall results of this methodologically triangulated
research suggest that recreated online DCs can be highly effective in engaging students asactive contributors to their own, as well as their peers’, appropriation of academic writing
processes. DCs enabled them to engage in critical thinking and self-regulation that,consequently, positively influenced their performance in HOCs in writing. Pre-test and posttest results show significant improvement in HOCs in argumentative writing of law
undergraduates and they gradually evolved in considerations of audience, thesis, organisation,
coherence, and content development during the interaction process on online DC. They
acknowledged the impact on their ability to understand coherence and strong and weakargument better than what they could imbibe in the classroom. Freedom of time and space on
asynchronous mode of posts helped students in precise drafting of arguments with a lot of
research and thinking on the topic. One very important element that was noticed in theconceptual content analysis of DC’s online transcripts was that the students focused more on
justifying their positions through a lot of reasoning and ample legal instances. Counterclaims
and rebuttals challenged them to come up with stronger reasons and evidence every time. The
survey findings also supported the idea that the online DC helped them to realise that there islittle scope for their arguments’ survival if they deviated in their reasons and evidences fromthe logic of their claim. In this respect a deviation from thesis and claims could prove to bedisastrous to their arguments’ strength. Evasion of such nonconformity entailed a lot ofreflection, self-regulation, peer review, and idea generation.
DCs have had high pedagogical relevance in academic writing classrooms (Watanabe, 2016)
and if the instructors devise new ways of recreating DCs across disciplines and contexts
utilising various online platforms as per the micro-genres of academic writing (Swales, 2016),
students can certainly benefit from peer-feedbacks (Huisman et al., 2018), further hone theircritical thinking (Bezanilla et al., 2019) and contribute original and innovative ideas. The
results of this study suggest that participation in online DCs infuse confidence among students
in ways that alleviate their apprehensions about academic writing. The study implies thatstudents’ collaborative involvement in online DC interaction helps them to improve their165

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higher order thinking skills in general and in their writing more specifically. Writing instructors
are thus encouraged to embrace variety in DC recreation, to focus on enhancing HOCs inacademic writing of undergraduates across disciplines. Future research in this area should study
the use of DCs and online DCs in other academic writing micro-genres, with a larger population
and across multiple semesters, in order to investigate the impact of DCs on the development of
HOCs and LOCs more widely.

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339.https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2016.1193476
Wingate, U., Andon, N., & Cogo, A. (2011). Embedding academic writing instruction into
subject teaching: A case study. Active Learning in Higher Education, 12(1), 69–
81.https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1469787410387814
Corresponding author: Suman Luhach
Email: kulhari.suman87@gmail.com

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Volume 8 – Issue 4 – 2020Maṇḍala in Architecture: Symbolism and Significance for Contemporary Design
Education in India
Navin Piplani
Ansal University
India
Tejwant Singh Brar
Ansal University
India

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Abstract
This paper builds upon the understanding that the knowledge of traditional design concepts,
particularly the maṇḍala, is relevant for contemporary design education. The significance oftraditional principles and practices of design has been undermined by contemporary systemsof education. The theory and practice of the philosophy of design are explained using textualreferences from the ancient treatises on architecture, and analysing buildings and sites of
traditional and contemporary approaches to design. A specially devised framework ofanalytical indicators helps establish the relevance of traditional design concepts and processes
for use in contemporary architecture education. An exploration into the current architecture
pedagogy identifies the components of teaching structure where potential confluence zones aremarked for the inclusion of traditional knowledge content. It is argued that the vāstu purushmaṇdala is a philosophical vision and practical tool, which is readily applicable to design
education because of its multi-dimensional qualities. A full and in-depth knowledge of themaṇdala will provide value-addition to the critical history-theory and essential contextrelevance strands of design education.
Keywords: architecture education, design concept, design philosophy, Indian architecture
theory, vāstu purush maṇḍala

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Introduction
In an Indian context, the traditional building knowledge is codified in the Śāstras – the ancient
treatises on art and architecture. The Indian building traditions are thousands of years old, andthese are explained in much depth in the canonical texts. Sthapatis and Sompuras, as they are
known in southern and western parts of Indian sub-continent, are essentially master-builders
who practise this knowledge system, and hand it down to the next generation in its fullauthenticity and integrity.
“Vāstu Vidya or the ancient Indian knowledge of architecture has its first textual reference in
the Rig Veda and survives today as a continuing tradition, through its fragmentary application
by astrologers, craftsmen, conservation architects and priests” (Chakrabarti, 1998, p. 1). In thecontemporary practice of architecture, this knowledge, though uninformed and fragmentary,
has still found some use. The paper argues that contemporary design education does notprovide the desired emphasis on the traditional building philosophy, principles and practices.
The traditional principles of design and the traditional practices of building are both relevant
and significant for architecture education. This claim may seem unfounded in the context ofcontemporary understanding of design, which is largely a by-product of the colonial occupationin the sub-continent and a direct descendant of modernity. The academic content and teaching
methods are, to a great extent, drawn from the Western, or rather European, systems ofteaching. However, the main central argument of this paper is built upon the idea that thetraditional philosophy and methods of design need to be at the front and centre of design
education in India.
The rationale behind this argument lies in the concern that though a solid bedrock of traditionalbuilding knowledge was available in the ancient Indian context, it was never acknowledged orconsidered for erecting the foundations of modern education in the colonial India. The
knowledge of traditional design concepts needs to be disseminated widely, for it can be argued
that a majority of academics and practitioners are either ignorant, or only partially aware, of
the fundamental of traditional Indian theory of architecture.
Methodology
The methodology deployed for the study includes an in-depth discussion on the concept ofmaṇḍala in relation to design thinking. The paper has been developed on an inductive approach,guided by qualitative understanding and analysis of the subject matter. It involves a criticalinquiry into the two main strands of knowledge concepts, namely: traditional building
knowledge and architecture education.
The exploration is based upon a critical insight into secondary sources such as books, journals,
research theses and published papers. The observations are also derived from interactive
sessions and interviews with traditional knowledge holders and contemporary design educators
at building sites, traditional workshops and teaching institutions.
In addition to a critical theoretical context for the discussion, the study also illustrates design
projects as cases in point to substantiate the main central argument of the paper.

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Literary Context
At the outset, it may be worth clarifying that the paper deals with highly subjective areas ofmind and spirit. The discussion attempts to critically engage with the esoteric complexities of
traditional philosophies and principles of design. Unlike the more technical and scientificthemes of exploration, the traditional design concepts are drawn out using literature andpersonal interviews of traditional knowledge holders. There is a rather limited literary material
available to present a critique.
The design thinkers, academics and practitioners have examined the domains of philosophy,
education and practice in a considerable breadth and depth. It is argued that the roots ofarchitecture education in India are in the solid bedrock of traditional knowledge systems, andnot in the colonial sub-layer of imported education models. This argument finds resonance inthe writings of eminent scholars in the field of architecture education (Chhaya, 2004; Ganju
and Dengle, 2013; Mehta, 2001, 2006; Menon, 1998, 2000).
Ananth (1999) claims that the traditional building knowledge is losing its place in thecontemporary design sensibility, and schools are churning out professionals who are trained in
the Western traditions of aesthetics and art appreciation. Mehta (2006, p.1) suggests that,“while the professional attitude is a western import, the pedagogy requires the issues of a
distinct cultural identity and the resolution of the tension between tradition and modern
aspirations be integrally woven into the educational philosophy”.
There is work done, albeit limited, that examines the key traditional texts on architecture for
their relevance in design practice in India. Vāstu Śāstra (ancient treatises on architecture) and
Vāstu Vidya (traditional knowledge of architecture) are the key subjects of critical engagement
and assessment. Acharya (1922) has done seminal work in reading, analyzing and interpretingthe ancient treatises such as the Mānasāra and making these easily accessible to researchersand scholars working on this subject. His paper presents an overview of the branches of studies
that are most essential for an architect to be familiar with.
Chakrabarti’s (1998) research on the Indian architectural theory illustrates the contemporary
uses of traditional knowledge in architecture practice. Her work illustrates that a majority of
the users of Vāstu Vidya apply it with a partial understanding. They choose to refer to only that
aspect which serves their own purpose, and ignore the holistic nature of the original knowledge
system which they pretend to “know”. This paper argues that whereas the design practiceaccepts the relevance and uses of traditional building knowledge in a partial and selective
manner, the design education should be developed upon an understanding of its coherent natureand unified system.
Discussion
The context of traditional building knowledge is defined primarily, by a critical and in-depth
study of the Mānasāra, though other cognate texts are also referred. The oldest and mostcomplete canonical group of ancient texts includes Mayamata, Mānasāra, Samarāṇgana
Sūtradhāra, Rajavallabha and Vishvakarma Praksha. The paper considers the first three texts,
covering a time period during 6th Century CE to 11th Century CE.
In terms of traditional building knowledge practitioners, the traditional master-builders or
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gain an in-depth understanding of traditional design principles, structured interviews wereconducted with sthapatis. Whilst the theory and practice of traditional building knowledge isavailable in the text, the philosophy of the theory of knowledge is understood in detail only by
personal interactions with a sthapati. In Southern Indian context, a sthapati is entrusted withthe conception, design, execution, consecration and conservation of a temple building.
Some of the key research questions are: What is the conceptual base of design in a traditional
Indian context? In what way does the symbolism of vāstu purush maṇḍala inform the theory
and practice of the philosophy of design? What are the possibilities of integrating the traditional
knowledge of maṇḍala in contemporary design education in India?
Vāstu Vidya as the Basis of the Philosophy of Design
The discussion builds upon the theoretical underpinnings and practical application of theancient concept of the vāstu puruṣa maṇḍala. According to Vastu Vidya, the fundamental
aspect of the art and science of architecture is embedded in the “Spirit of the Site” – also knownas vāstu (Acharya, 2010a; Dagen, 1994; Sharma, 2012). The three critical attributes of a design
process are concept, rationale and tools; these are illustrated in what is known as a vāstumaṇḍala or a grid plan.
There are thirty-two types of maṇḍalas that could be applied to a site depending on the type,scale, function and complexity of a building. In each plan type, a specific place is assigned tothe presiding deity who in turn dictates the function or use of that space in a building. Thisapproach is applicable to both sacred and secular architecture.
The first is a site of one plot and is named Sakala. A plot could be square, rectangle, oval,
polygonal or circular. A site of four plots is named Paiśācha, of nine plots is named Pīṭha, of
sixteen plots is named Mahāpīṭha, of twenty-five plots is named Upapīṭha and so forth.
The principle of generating plots is:
sx = p(x2)‘sx’ is the site nomenclature‘p’ is number of plots in that particular site typeFor example:
s1 = p(12) = p = 1 plot (Sakala)s2 = p(22) = 4p = 4 plots (Paiśācha or Pechaka)s3 = p(32) = 9p = 9 plots (Pīṭha)s4 = p(42) = 16p = 16 plots (Mahāpīṭha)s5 = p(52) = 25p = 25 plots (Upapīṭha)This classification of sites is prescribed until the thirty-second type which has one thousand
and twenty-four plots and is named Chandra-kānta.
s32 = p(322) = 1024p = 1024 plots (Chandra-kānta)It is informative to understand the evolution of vāstu maṇḍalas or ground plans for the various
types of sites and buildings. Each plan is recommended for a specific function and building
type. For example, the Sakala plan (refer Figure 1) is proposed for “the worship of gods andpreceptors, for sacrifices with fire, for the seat (sitting room) and daily dinner (i.e. dining room)of sages, and for the usual ancestral worship (e.g. śrāddha, etc.)" (Acharya, 2010a, p. 25).

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Similarly, the Pechaka plan (refer Figure 2) is proposed for buildings “for domestic (public)
worship and public bath” (Acharya, 2010a, p. 25).

Figure 1: Site of one plot – Sakala

Figure 2: Site of four plots – Pechaka

Figure 3: Site of nine plots - Mahāpīṭha

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Figure 4: Site of sixteen plots - Upapīṭha

Figure 5: Site of twenty-five plots - Pīṭha
(Figures 1-5 are adapted from Acharya, 2010b)
The figures shown above illustrate a few of the many ways in which a plot of site may be subdivided using the concept of maṇḍala. An architect could apply the principle of generatingplots, as mentioned above, to develop a specific maṇḍala or grid plan for a specific site, use
and typology of a building.
The Symbolism of Vāstu Puruṣa Maṇḍala
The Mānasāra provides a conceptual base to conceive, design and develop the most useful andauspicious plan for a building type. In addition to these rather physical attributes, it also assigns
a spiritual meaning to the ground plan or maṇḍala that is selected and adapted for a site. The
presiding deities are assigned to the plots with Brahmā always at the centre of the plan; together
these constitute what is known as the “Spirit of the site” or vāstu puruṣa.

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Figure 6: Vāstu puruṣa maṇḍala(Kagak, C. (Ed.), 1986, Vistāra - The Architecture of India, Catalogue of the Exhibition
Released into the public domain in 2012-13)
The vāstu puruṣa maṇḍala aligns a building site in relation to the four cardinal and four ordinal
directions, namely: north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest. A
site good for construciton is always represented as a grid of squares with the bindu at the centremost point. This point of reference is both the void and the soul of the site.
The form of the vāstu puruṣa or the “figure of Man” overlaid on a maṇḍala or the grid is“beyond form” (Vatsyayan, 1997, p. 99). The Samarāṅgaṇa Sūtradharā explains this “figureof Man” as the “Spirit of the site”. The head of the Puruṣa is located in the northeast direction,whilst the feet go in the southwest direction. The knees and elbows signify the northwest andsoutheast directions. In the centre, and kept always clear, is the navel located at the intersectionof the cardinal and ordinal directions.

Figure 7: Vāstu maṇḍala
(Based upon discussion with Dr Narasimha)

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A 64-suqare maṇḍala, known as the chaṇdita (refer Mānasāra, chapter 7) is shown above. It
is developed upon discussions with Dr Narasimha, a renowned sthapati (master-builder) andsilpachariar (teacher) in Chennai. The centre-most part of the maṇḍala is called Brahmabindu,
and it marks the source of all energy. It is also the centre of the cosmos and establishes the
genius loci of the site. At this point and the immediate space around it is located the Brahmam– the Supreme Almighty; the arupa – the Formless, the Ultimate God or the Spirit of the place.
Vatsyayan (1986) explains the vāstu puruṣa maṇḍala as:
The mandala is not a plan; it represents an energy field. And, as in the case of the black
holes of outer space, at the dead centre of the vortex is Nothing…which is Everything.
It is both shunya (the Absolute Void) and bindu (the world seed and the source of allenergy). In all mandalas, at this centre is located Brahman, the Supreme Principle.
The Theory of the Philosophy of Design
The classical Indian philosophy of design is built upon the notions of the outer world and inner
self, and the material desires and spiritual consciousness. The symbolism of Puruṣa is key tothe understanding these interlinked notions of the macrocosm and microcosm: the whole andthe part.
Vatsyayan has done considerable research on this subject and has traced the symbolism andsignificance of vāstu puruṣa and maṇḍala from the Vedic period through the later treatises onart, architecture and sculpture. Her critical and in-depth study of Nāṭyaśāstra suggests that thenotion of vāstu puruṣa and the associated concepts of time, direction and space, were
understood and applied in the field of performing arts, particularly theatre, much before they
were used in architecture.
“In Bharata’s propitiation of the different directions and the deities of each of the direction, theestablishment of a centre and main axis and the placing of pillars, one may receive remarkablecorrespondence with the imagery of the Upaniṣads and the ritual of the Brāhmaṇas. Allestablish the relationship of the physical with the psychical and the metaphysical” (Vatsyayan,
1997, p. 40).
This understanding of the relationship between the physical and the metaphysical, and themicrocosm and the macrocosm provides a solid foundation and bedrock upon which traditionalbuilding knowledge has been erected.
In the ancient Indian design philosophy, the conceptual ideation of “form” deployed physicaland spiritual processes. Some of the critical approaches include the use of: the human body orPuruṣa as a measure of design; the rituals and ceremonies as metaphoric links between thephysical and metaphysical or the form and formless or the world order and the cosmic order;
the assigning of directions and locations to Gods and presiding deities; and the establishmentof the centre of a site and setting up of the axis mundi or stambha as a symbolic connection of
the earth with the heavens, of the microcosm and the macrocosm or of the part and the whole.
It has been established that this knowledge existed in the Vedic times and was passed downover several millennia to medieval times. Arguably so, but it may not be incorrect to claim thatcertain aspects of this ancient knowledge continue to be applied even today by traditional
master-builders.

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A full and in-depth understanding of the concept of a maṇḍala is key to architecture as acreative design discipline within this tradition and as a meaningful building activity. Whilst theknowledge of the traditional concepts of design is codified in sāstras – the ancient texts, theunderstanding of this knowledge and its practice resides in sthapatis – the traditional masterbuilders. A tangible concrete expression of this traditional building knowledge takes the formof standing buildings - sacred and secular - in which these age-old knowledge systems areembedded.
The Practice of the Philosophy of Design
The intention of establishing a correlation of architectural members in a building, particularly
a temple, with the figure of Man or Puruṣa was to reinforce the symbolic connection between
a finite structure and the infinite macrocosm. Further layers of symbolism were imbued invarious building elements like plinth, ceiling, projection, entablature, decorative carving,
sculpture, painting and so forth. Every architectural member of a building had symbolism or
meaning imbued in its form, location and expression, such that the overall building design, in
its entirety, was a true reflection of the larger whole or macrocosm.
In a building, particularly a temple, each component of its form and design relates to a specificaspect of the macrocosm and follows the consideration of the eight fundamental ingredients ofthe philosophy of Vāstu Vidya. These ingredients are: bhūta (material), kāl (time), prakṛti
(nature), diśās (directions), nakṣatras (planets), rasā (experience), yajna (ritual) and Puruṣa
(the self). Another critical element that is embodied in a building is “energy”.
Narasimha, in his explanation of temple design, lays a strong emphasis on the relationshipbetween design and energy. “Design provides energy to the lingam and sanctum sanctorum or
garbhagṛhā” (M. V. Narasimha Silpachariar, personal communication, February 2018)
The maṇḍala is not a mere diagram or a mathematical grid to be used as a base for theconceptual design and allocation of spaces and functions on a site. If understood fully andapplied judiciously, a maṇḍala symbolises an energy field. It is this energy and its modulationthat guides the design process. A maṇḍala is not a mere tool for design, it is the essence ofdesign. This understanding forms a critical conceptual base for traditional design process.
It is important not to view a construction site as physical ground only, for the earth is a primarysource of energy. The main objective of design is to engage with this energy through andaround a building. The experience of this energy is not as much associated with the aspects ofmass, as it concerns the attributes of life. The energy that is trapped in the deep core of theearth gets channelled up through the site and gets embodied in various parts of the building.
This transmission of energy takes place through the process of design, construction and yajña.
“When an empty space is enclosed by four walls it becomes a living organism”, says Narasimha(M. V. Narasimha Silpachariar, personal communication, February 2018). A space in adesigned enclosure is no longer a dead or empty space; it contains energy or life. It can be
modulated and assigned a use as per design and requirement. The architecture of a building
with its structure, sculpture and ornamentation renders this space alive, meaningful andpowerful.
The design of a building and its various elements is extremely crucial. It has the potential toaccentuate or undermine the impact of this energy at a metaphysical and experiential level.

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Each element of design contributes to this phenomenon of multiplying energy, which is further
augmented with proper recitation of the right mantrās and offerings by a temple priest.
“Mantrā, Yantrā and Tantrā – all three play an important role in temple design” (M. V.
Narasimha Silpachariar, personal communication, February 2018). Here, Mantrā is recitationof hymns for the invocation of Gods, Yantrā is a temple plan based on the Vāstupuruṣa
maṇḍala, and Tantrā is the ritualistic practice or methods for a divine experience.
There are innumerable examples of buildings and places, both in the traditional andcontemporary Indian context, which exhibit the relevance and use of traditional building
knowledge. These were designed on traditional principles of design, and constructed inconformity with traditional practices of building. We now discuss a couple of such examples
to illustrate the concept of a maṇḍala in design.
The Example of Shore temple, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu
The Shore temple was constructed during the reign of King Narasimhavarmā II (AD 700-728)(Meister, 1999; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2018). In
1984, the site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List under the title “Group of
Monuments, Mahaballipuram” (UNESCO, 2018). The other sites in the group of monuments
include: rock-cut rathas, sculptured scenes on open rocks like Arjuna’s penance, the caves ofGovardhanadhari and Mahishasuramardini, the Jala-Sayana Perumal temple…
(Archaeological Survey of India, 2018). All these sites exhibit an outstanding quality of stone
work; cutting, chiselling, masonry, rock-cut, surface relief, carving and ornamentation.

Figure 8: The Shore temple, Mamallapuram
The temple is a complex of three shrines: west facing – Viṣṇucchanda vimāna (theRājasimhēśvara), east facing – Brahmacchanda vimāna (the Ksatriyaṣimhēśvara), and in
between these two and east facing – Narapatisimha Pallava Viṣṇugṛha (Meister, 1999). Hardy(1995) introduces a profound idea concerning classical Indian temple architecture. He suggests

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that the “architectural forms embody an Indian concept of manifestation, of the coming into
concrete form of the divinity and, on a cosmic level, of the transmutation of the eternal andinfinite into the shifting multiplicity of existence, and the reabsorption of all things into thelimitless unity from which they have come” (p. 4).
Hardy’s suggestion forges an inextricable connection between the architectural form and faith,
at a metaphysical level and between the built form and conceptual ideas, at a more tangible
level. Built form is a manifestation of ideas, and the ideas give symbolism to form. This is an
Indian approach to design thinking and practice and is one of the fundamental aspects oftraditional building knowledge.
The understanding of the concept of manifestation is explored further by Kramrisch (1946, p.
165): “The temple is the concrete shape (mūrti) of the Essence; as such it is the residence andvesture of God”. A temple building, along with its form, space, composition, imagery andmaterial is the tangible construct of the Spirit or the Brahmam. It is a concrete representationof the microcosm and macrocosm, of the man and universe, and of the cosmic Man and cosmos.

Figure 9: Sketch of a Maṇḍala in relation to the Plan of the garbhagṛha of the Shore temple,
Mamallapuram(Adapted from Meister (Ed.), 1999)
Photo: American Institute of Indian Studies (Permission granted 19.11.20)
Architecture is perceived and experienced as a form of energy and movement; it is not a static
form of expression. It has its own kinetics and dynamism, which might be more evident in one
kind of architecture than in another. In the classical Indian temple buildings, it is one of theessential governing aspects of design, construction and experience. The most evident design
element in a temple building that conveys the notion of movement or energy is the vimāna.
The energy is drawn from the inner depths of earth towards the central point of the garbhagṛha,and from here it moves upwards and inwards. In architectural terms, the building mass expands
from the centre of the garbhagṛha in all directions in the horizontal plane. This mass with, its
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the superstructure. The formal treatment of the garbhagṛha and the vimāna embody thisdynamism or transmission of energy.

Figure 10: Section through the Shore temple, Mamallapuram(adapted from Meister (Ed.), 1999)
Photo: American Institute of Indian Studies (Permission granted 19.11.20)
The figure presents a section through the garbhagṛha and the vimāna of the Śiva of the Shore
temple. The two-way arrows illustrate the flow of energy and the underpinning of the Spirit of
the site. The movement of energy is not only upwards, but also downwards. Whilst the overall
form of the vimāna is seen to be receding upwards, the architectural and decorative elements
seem to reveal the cosmic and mythological symbolism as the whole shrine expands
downwards (Hardy, 1995).
The Example of Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur
Designed by Charles Correa in 1986, the Jawahar Kala Kendra functions as a cultural centre
for the city Jaipur, Rajasthan State, India. The centre is dedicated to the memory of India’s
great leader Jawaharlal Nehru.
Correa explains that the Jawahar Kala Kendra is “a contemporary construct based on an ancient
perception of the non-Manifest World, as expressed in the vastu-purush-mandalas – thosesacred Vedic diagrams that have been of seminal importance for Hindu, Buddhist and Jain
architecture over many centuries”. (Correa, 1996, p. 28). A maṇḍala with a central space as an
absolute void or nothingness (shunya), and simultaneously a point source of all energy or
everything (bindu), is a “truly mind-blowing concept”, says Correa, “similar to the black holesof contemporary physics” (Cruickshank, 1987, p. 57).
It is important to note that this design evolved from a renewed interpretation of the original
concept of vāstu purush maṇdala. It is a nine-square plan, but the squares are not assigned toGods. Correa’s maṇdala illustrates the adaptation of the original and traditional knowledge

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concept. Here, the nine-square grid signifies the Navagraha – the nine planets, and each squaredenotes a planet and contains functions that relate to that planet. The central square denotes
surya – the source of all energy and creation.

Figure 11: Floor plan, Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur
https://archeyes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/concept-drawings-jawahar-kala-kendracharles-correa-museum-floor-plans-4.jpg?w=150(Copyright, Charles Correa Associates, courtesy Charles Correa Foundation, permission
granted 19.11.20)
The design of the centre has remarkable similarity with the plan of the historic city of Jaipur.
The conceptual approach draws inspiration from the original city plan of Jaipur, “drawn up by
the Maharaja, a scholar, mathematician and astronomer, Jai Singh the Second, in the mid-17th
century” (Khan, 1987, p. 142). Jai Singh’s plan was strictly based on a 9-square maṇdala ornine houses representing the nine planets. Due to the presence of a hill to the north of the city
plan, the square along the northwest direction was moved to the bottom, along the square along
the southeast direction.

Figure 12: Plan of the historic city of Jaipur
Kagak, C. (Ed.), 1986, Vistāra - The Architecture of India, Catalogue of the Exhibition)(Copyright, Charles Correa Associates, courtesy Charles Correa Foundation. Permission
granted 20.11.20)

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Correa’s plan invokes the navagriha or nine house maṇdala. Analogous to the original city
plan, one of the nine squares of the centre is pivoted. In conformity with the sāstras, the central
space is an open-to-sky void, whilst rest of the squares house covered or semi-open functions.
The Example of Vidyadhar Nagar, Jaipur

Figure 13: Conceptual sketch of Vidyadhar Nagar township, Jaipur
https://www.sangath.org/uploads/images/1535114309_6-Vidhyadhar%20Nagar-Jaipur.jpg
Photo: Vastushilpa Foundation Archives (Permission granted 21.11.20)

Figure 14: Layout plan of Vidyadhar Nagar township, Jaipur
https://www.sangath.org?uploads/images/1535114309_11-Vidyadhar%20Nagar-Jaipur.jpg
Photo: Vastushilpa Foundation Archives (Permission granted 21.11.20)
The final example for discussion is the masterplan of Vidyadhar Nagar, a satellite town for thehistoric city of Jaipur, Rajasthan. This contemporary township was designed by the Pritzker
Award-winning architect BV Doshi in 1984. The city plan was conceived on the main premise“to bring together the best of traditional and modern design” (Sachdev, 2011, p. 94).

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Doshi’s maṇdala invokes the traditional principles of town planning in order to address thecomplexities of a modern city design. The application of traditional building knowledge isreconfigured to provide solutions for contemporary issues of liveability, development andsustainability. The township promises to provide an experience of a paradise where theinhabitants are happy and healthy. There are employment opportunities, and they live well.
There are markets, schools, offices, parks and waterbodies for an enjoyable and fulfilling life.
The layout plan of Vidyadhar Nagar is a “synthesis of reformist urbanism of Le Corbusier with
its emphasis on nature, circulation and hygiene – the essential joys of light, space and greenery;
and the ancient urbanism of India with its tight streets, urban courts and mixed uses” (Curtis,
1988, p. 29).
It is argued that the planning of the historic city of Jaipur served as an influence, or a wider
context, for the urban design of Vidyadhar Nagar. However, it does illustrate that theconsiderable modifications and adaptations were made to the original concept to ensure its
contemporary relevance and future utility.
Relevance of Traditional Design Concept in Contemporary Design Education
The relevance of traditional concepts of design has been established for both practice andeducation. Whilst there are examples that demonstrate the use of these concepts in a range ofbuilding typologies, scale and functions; particularly the maṇdala, the use of traditional designprinciples in architecture pedagogy is far from satisfactory.
We argue that although traditional building knowledge is relevant for contemporary
architecture education, current pedagogic content and methods do not provide sufficientemphasis on the traditional principles, concepts and skills of design. This relevance of thefundamental aspects of traditional knowledge can be assessed with the help of a set ofindicators, namely cognition, relativity, context, innovation, trust and future utility (Piplani &Brar, 2020). These indicators are operationalised as follows, and then applied to thecontemporary architecture education system:a) Cognition is an attribute of assessment which is associated with an interest in and theworth of knowledge content. An individual must find it worth an effort to gather andprocess the inputs, for he/ she is assured of greater positive cognitive effects (Wilson& Sperber, 2004).
b) The attribute of relativity identifies with the quality of knowledge content in terms of
its usefulness, meaning and authenticity. It works on the assumption that all informationis relevant for a specific context and time; only the degree of relevance varies with asituation(s).
c) The context of knowledge content is defined by the original source from where theknowledge is drawn, interpreted and communicated to an individual. In comparison to
intuitive or experiential teaching, the knowledge content that is contextualised in its
own original source is of optimal relevance and facilitate constructive learning.
d) Innovation in knowledge content, in order to sustain the relevance of knowledge for thechanging times and contexts, is at the core of the assessment of knowledge. New andimaginative pedagogy content that satisfies expectation and learning capacity sustain ahigher level of relevance as compared to conventional or traditional methods.

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Volume 8 – Issue 4 – 2020e) Another key attribute of the relevance index is trust. The information that will lead totrue conclusions and preclude the possibility of any falsification are of maximum
relevance to an individual. Therefore, it is essential that the knowledge content, its
source of origin and medium of delivery are trustworthy.
f) The knowledge content that is valuable not only in the contemporary context but willremain useful in the future as well, has a greater relevance. The indicator of future
utility ensures the continuity and validity of knowledge content in the long-term.
(Piplani & Brar, 2020)
The Contemporary Architecture Education System
In the current architecture education curriculum, three broad strands for teaching-learning may
be identified. These are derived from the minimum standards of architectural education
regulations (1983) prescribed by the Council of Architecture, and are discussed as follows:i) Theoretical component in which structured lectures, presentations and seminars areoffered to students. This may also be considered as a taught component of thecurriculum, and depends primarily on text-based learning,ii) Applied component in which pre-determined exercises with gradually increasing
complexity through the years are given to students. This may be considered as a parttaught and part-practice component of the curriculum.
iii) Practical training component in which professional exposure, practice and experienceis gained by working in an architectural office. This may be considered as a professional
ability and skills enhancement component of the curriculum.
(Piplani & Brar, 2020)
The three components of design education are not mutually exclusive, but they are interconnected and inter-dependent. All three components need to be undertaken in a balanced way
in order to achieve the overall vision, aim and objectives of architecture education.
In terms of the theory of the philosophy of design, the architecture pedagogy in India has driftedapart from the traditional principles and practices. It is argued that India’s current architecture
pedagogy receives its inspiration from the Western, or rather European, systems of teaching,both in its content and method.
In this respect the foundations of contemporary architecture education in India are erected upona rather superficial sub-layer of the British colonial era, though a more solid bedrock of
traditional building knowledge also lies much deeper in ancient Indian history.
TB Macaulay’s Minute of Education of 1934 (Tillotson, 1989) underpins the primary intention
behind the type of education propagated in British colonial India. The sole objective was tocreate a whole new cadre of assistants, trained in westernized attitudes, to serve the colonial
masters in the administration. The use of English language played a critical role in fulfilling
this intention and consolidating the British colonial political agenda in the country (Piplani &Brar, 2019).
However, it is an entirely different scenario today, in post-independence India. There is agreater emphasis on the indigenous aspect of education; this is particularly relevant and187

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applicable in the domain of architecture education. Today, there is a unique opportunity for thereversal of the catastrophic phenomenon that resulted in a slow erosion of the traditional
knowledge of architecture and the traditional method of learning, which is rooted in ancient
texts and cultural practices.
Questions that arise at this point are:a) In what way might the inclusion of traditional building knowledge add value toarchitecture education?
b) What are the possibilities for embedding the ancient knowledge of maṇdala into
contemporary approaches to India’s design education?
PossibilitiesMaṇdala in Design Education
The concept of maṇdala and the principles for its use in design are illustrated using examples
in the previous section of the study. The indigenous Indian philosophy of design, codified in
the knowledge of a maṇdala, has been a source of inspiration to traditional sthapatis andcontinues to do so for modern architects as well.
It is essential that this vast knowledge and unique inspiration imbued in the traditional concept
of design is incorporated in the content, framework and methods of contemporary architecture
education. The value addition to the current system of education will potentially impact at twolevels – first, add value widely across the domain of critical history of architecture in India, by
establishing the contemporary relevance of traditional building knowledge; and second –imbibe meaning more specifically to architecture pedagogy, by offering a contextual-learning
framework.
In terms of possibilities for integrating the traditional understanding of maṇdala in design
education, this paper suggests identifying significant correlations between the knowledge
content and design approaches. This is an innovative knowledge concept where the fields ofconfluence are identified between traditional concepts of design and contemporary approaches
to learning. These fields of confluence are:a) Principles and concepts of knowledge content,b) Methods and tools for critical abstraction, andc) Skill sets and practices for informed use.
The knowledge of fundamental principles of maṇdala as a design concept will connect withthe “theoretical” component of architecture curriculum. This will provide a solid philosophicalfoundation to the design process.
The knowledge of primary methods for a critical abstraction of maṇdala as a design tool willconnect with the applied component of the curriculum. This will provide an in-depth analyticalframework for the design manifestation.
The knowledge of essential skill sets to use maṇdala as s design representation will connect
with practical training component of architecture education. This will provide meaningful
articulation of the design experience.

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Conclusion
The current architecture education system, first imported and later imposed, on the Indian
context is not going to yield the desired outcomes as it does in its source of origin. The
understanding and experience of design in India is strikingly different from that in the westerncontext, or more specifically Europe, from where the current design pedagogy continues toreceive inspiration. In India, the traditional building knowledge continues to be relevant, but
its significance is neglected and unheeded by the dominating presence of contemporary design
education.
The paper recommends a meaningful and inextricable inclusion of traditional building
knowledge within India’s contemporary design education. In this respect the vāstu purushmaṇdala is both a concept and a tool for design, and is applicable to contemporary design
because of its multi-dimensional and multi-directional qualities. We propose that the study,
interpretation and use of maṇdala in education will provide a critical theoretical position tosecure this design more firmly in tradition. It can also provide an effective tool and method tosituate a design in its own context of time and space.
The key consideration, however, is to ensure a critical focus on the philosophy and symbolism
of maṇdala, more than its mere understanding as a grid or tool. We suggest that an innovativeand judicious application of the design process, rather than of geometric pattern, would render
the method of teaching more informed, worthwhile and authentic.
In conclusion, the application of maṇdala in design will require an expansion of the traditional
knowledge content to include the realities and challenges of the contemporary world, that is,modern materials, construction techniques, development pressures, climatic changes, lifestyletrends, information technology, and economic considerations.

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Curtis, W. (1988). Balakrishna Doshi: an architecture for India. Mapin Publishing.
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Menon, A. G. K. (1998). Architectural education in India in the time of globalization. Paper
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Corresponding author: Navin Piplani
Email: navin.piplani@gmail.com

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Introducing Animal-Assisted Intervention for Special Education in
Integrated Farming System
Teh Xian Zhi
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Zalena Abdul Aziz
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Nooriati Taib
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

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Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopment disorder that affects an individual’s social
skills, communication skills and repetitive behaviours. Due to these factors, an autism learning
environment has to be purposely-built to cater for the sensory needs of these learners. In special
education practice, animal-assisted intervention has become popular over recent years to thisend. This study aims to analyse the practice of animal-assisted intervention in an autism
learning environment with the aid of a sustainable system called an integrated farming system.
The study is conducted using mixed methods, involving content analysis of the technicalinformation and detailed drawings of an integrated farming system, as well as an online survey
about the implementation of the intervention in autism classrooms via such a system. Ourfindings show that the technical drawings for implementing an integrated farming system inthe built environment represent an architectural intervention. The online survey also shows
positive feedback from experts in autism services. The study concludes that animal-assisted
autism learning is a promising future model for special education. It also suggests that an
integrated farming system is a potential nature-based livestock farming solution to include
animals in a farm-based autism educational setting. This could serve as a reference and basis
for future architects or researchers to extend the research or implement animal-assisted
interventions in real practices.
Keywords: animal-assisted intervention, autism learning environment, autism spectrum
disorder, integrated farming system, special education

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopment disorder (Cassidy, 2019).
Ting et al. (2014) listed three characteristics that describe ASD: impairment in social skills,
communication skills, and repetitive behaviour. Autistic individuals often require a sensoryfriendly environment for effective learning due to their sensory processing disorder (Ghazali
et al., 2018). Different technologies have been integrated into the learning environment for theneeds of special students (Balmeo et al., 2014). Architects could play an important role indesigning the learning environment based on the sensory requirements of autistic individuals(Mostafa, 2014).
Problem Statement
In Malaysia, there is a shortage of autism related facilities to cater for the increasing numberof ASD diagnoses every year. According to research, the government policies pertaining to
educational building for autism is insufficient in Malaysia (Nazri & Ismail, 2016). While there
is a resurgence in the research field on nature or farm-based education, very few autism schoolsin Malaysia incorporate such programs in a farm-based setting (O’Connor et al., 2018). The
only purpose-built autism educational facility in Malaysia is Permata Kurnia, built in 2015 in
Sentul, Kuala Lumpur. This is the most relevant facility in Malaysia that incorporates greeneryin the layout design, albeit it does not have a full-scale animal integrated facility (Ghazali etal., 2018).
In many countries including Malaysia, the inclusion of animals in educational settings foranimal-assisted intervention (AAI) is still relatively new and controversial (Rud & Beck, 2003;
Uttley, 2013). Animal-loving parties might support the idea, while the opposing parties mightraise concerns of bringing animals into an indoor environment due to concerns such as safety,
sanitation, public relations, parents’ agreement, housekeeping and management (Comartin,
2018). Besides, there is a lack of technical information on the inclusion of animals througharchitectural intervention to ensure that the welfare of animals is protected.
Research Objectives
This study aims to implement animal-assisted intervention in a sensory friendly, autism
learning environment through a sustainable and passive system called an integrated farming
system. The research objectives are formulated as follows:••

To identify the benefits and challenges of implementing animal-assisted intervention in
an autism learning environment.
To examine the technical information and detailing to incorporate livestock farming
into an autism learning environment through integrated farming system.

By conducting this study, the sensory needs of autistic individuals can be catered for with
benefits from the inclusion of therapeutic animals in a nature and farm-based environment. The
study findings form a theoretical basis for experts in the autism community such as architects,
researchers and other professionals to implement animal-assisted intervention and incorporate
livestock farming into future autism facilities. This study also aims to apply architecturalintervention to fill in the research gap of animal inclusion in autism learning environments.
The technical information of an integrated farming system examined can serve as a basis forarchitects to include animals in the built environment for AAI without sacrificing the welfareof animals. By completing this study, we hope to address a gap in the research aboutincorporating animal-assisted intervention in special education, by showing how vertical
livestock farming can be integrated into a school compound, especially in urban or sub-urban
areas where land size and space are limited.

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Literature Review
In special education, animal-assisted intervention (AAI) is used to assist individuals with
autism spectrum disorder in their learning development (Brelsfordet al., 2017), bringing
improvement in social interaction and affection to other people (Ferwerda-Van Zonneveld etal., 2012; O’Haire et al., 2013). Animals have been used to assist humans for a long time
(Macauley, 2006; Trivedi & Perl, 1995). The first practitioner to use animals in therapy
sessions was Levinson, a child psychologist, in the 1960s. The pioneering work of Levinson
has contributed to the progress of animal-assisted intervention (AAI) in various fields,
including special education in autism. The common choices of animals include dogs, cats,horses, guinea pigs, rabbits, turtles, birds, fish, and many more (Comartin, 2018). Besides,
research has shown that exposure to nature and greenery contributes to an improvement incognitive, emotional and physical abilities (Barakat et al., 2019; Birkeland, 2016; O’Connor etal., 2018; Reeve et al., 2015). There is also a resurgence in research in the benefits of outdoor
learning (Entrich, 2014). These could serve as a theoretical foundation for a farm-based
education with the inclusion of therapeutic animals.
For the purpose of introducing AAI in special education, an integrated farming system (IFS) is
studied as a form of livestock farming to be practised in an autism learning environment. IFS
is a sustainable system that relies on the direct use of fresh livestock manure in fish culture for
fertiliser (Little & Edwards, 2003). This system ensures a “zero waste” policy through productrecycling, which can be economical and ecological in the sustainable development (Fawcett,1990). In special education, an IFS allows the combination of a fish subsystem with different
types of livestock that can provide therapeutic effects to autistic students.
In Malaysia, integrated farming systems have been practised by farmers since the 1930s(Ahmad, 2001). In IFS, the livestock shed is built with slatted flooring directly over the fish
pond so that the manure can drop directly into the pond and stimulate phytoplankton production(LiveCorp & Meat & Livestock Australia, 2008). Through photosynthesis, phytoplankton willproduce dissolved oxygen to be consumed by the fish. However, an overabundance ofphytoplankton should be avoided to maintain an optimum environmental condition for fish
growth or survival. This controlled environment can be achieved by controlling the density ofanimals which in turn controls the amount of manure loaded into the pond (Sevilleja et al.,2001). In other words, while a higher number of animals is better for AAI in the autism learning
environment, the number should not exceed the recommended number to avoid an adverse
effect for fish growth in the pond.
MethodThis study was conducted by using a mixed methods approach through both content analysis
and online survey. Search engines such as Proquest, Google Scholar and Research Gate wereused to obtain secondary data by previous researchers. The selection of material is mainly
based on professional journal articles, books and conference proceedings.
Qualitative Method
Under qualitative research, the technical information of IFS was examined through content
analysis. Since IFS is typically practised in rural areas, human-animal cohabitation design andautism-friendly design were applied to propose a common solution to implement IFS into asensory-friendly, autism learning environment. Table 1 shows the summarised criteria thatneed to be fulfilled for this. The technical information on IFS determines the boundary196

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conditions for the inclusion of animals in an autism learning environment. Human-animal
cohabitation design ensures a healthy connection between humans and animals, while autism
friendly design provides the approaches to realise such integration in a farm-based autism
school. Referring to the concepts and theoretical drawings from other researchers, detailed
drawings were adapted and reproduced with the aid of AutoCAD.
Table 1: Criteria to implement IFS in an autism learning environment
Criteria
Technical information on IFS (Little& Edwards, 2003)

Human-animal cohabitation design

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Autism friendly design

•
•
•
•
•

Description
Depth of fishpondArea of fish pond
Density of livestock to be raised per area offish pond
Floor area required per livestock
Natureorfarm-based
environment(Chutchawanjumrut, 2015)
Connection between human and animals forsensory stimulation (Jon Coe Design, 2014)
Environmental enrichment (Alshaheen,
2019)
Curvilinear layout
Natural ventilation
Acoustics
Biophilic element
Natural building materials

Quantitative Method
The findings from the qualitative methods were translated into a questionnaire and distributed
to the designated target groups through Google Forms. The online survey consists of 15
questions and was completed by 47 respondents. The personal information of these respondents
is kept confidential, but 70% were special education teachers, 15% were the staff from the
National Autism Society of Malaysia, 9% were other professionals in autism services and 6%
were from other fields. On average, the majority of the respondents had below three years ofexperience in autism services. The summarised results are tabulated in Table 3 and discussed
in relation to the research objectives. The online survey gives deeper insights and a morecomprehensive picture of the study of animal-assisted autism learning environments via
integrated farming system from the opinions of individuals with experience in autism services.
Findings
The summarised results provide a suggested solution to the implementation of AAI in a farmbased autism learning environment via IFS, as supported from the opinions of different experts
in the field.
Implementation of Integrated Farming System (IFS) in an Autism Learning Environment
In order to adopt an integrated farming system into an autism learning environment,
requirements of IFS are fulfilled, and human-animal cohabitation design strategies are applied
to integrate IFS with autism-friendly architecture. Table 2 shows the technical information on
IFS.

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Table 2: Technical information of IFS
Types of animals
Ducks
Chickens
Goat/Sheep• All day• Night only

Low density (nos)
3-5
5-15

High density (nos)
15-20
20-35

2
4

4
8

Area of animals (m2)
0.45
0.30
3.00

(District Livestock Development Office, 2012; Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations, 2010; Gupta & Noble, 2001; Tripathi & Sharma, 2001)
The three farm animals selected – ducks, chickens and goats – are the common farm animals
suitable to be included in IFS as well as acting as therapeutic animals in an autism care farm.
The density of animals raised on a shed above the fish pond determine the amount of manure
loaded into the pond and should be decided carefully. Lower density of animals may ease themanagement, but this creates lower harvest of livestock products. In contrast, higher density ofanimals increases the harvest and creates more chances of interaction with the autistic students
but requires more manpower in management. Nevertheless, the recycling properties of an
integrated farming system very much ease the management and livestock handling processcompared to the practice of individual livestock farming system. Hence, as long as the area offish pond allows, it is good to raise high density of livestock. In certain scenario, animals are
released from their sheds into the field during daytime and only kept at the sheds during night
time. In such cases, the density of animals should be decided based on the recommended figure
as shown in Table 2. Next, the data presented under the “area per animal” shows the spacerequired by an animal when it is fully grown. If the design permits, it is always good to provide
a larger space than the minimum requirement.

(a) IFS practised by farmers at rural areas(Sevilleja et al., 2001)(b) Curved ranch layout by Temple Grandin(Grandin, 2001)(c) Human-animal cohabitation design by Jon Coe (Jon Coe Design, 2014)
Figure 1: Theoretical drawings by other researchers

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According to research, a curved layout is autism friendly due to more fluidity in circulation(Mostafa, 2014), and also animal friendly because animals are more attracted to curved
structures in animal psychology (Grandin, 2001). This knowledge is applied by Grandin in her
livestock farming design (Figure 1b).
Referring to the technical information in Table 2 and theoretical drawings in Figure 1, autism
classrooms are improvised as typical modules slotted into a curved layout of farm grids where
animals are kept in their respective sheds (Figure 2). There is not a single best recommended
size for the classroom modules or teacher-student ratio due to the diverse needs of autistic
students along the spectrum. As a general guide, the ratio can range from 1:15 to even 1:1(Zarghami & Schnellert, 2004).

Figure 2: Improvised detailed drawings of IFS in a farm-based autism learning environment
In the improvised drawings shown in Figure 2, animals are raised in an open ventilated shed ata farm-based environment with perimeter planter box. The types of interaction, either active or
passive, between autistic students and the animals depend on the types and sizes of the animals.
Bigger-sized animals like goats are kept at the ground floor over a one-meter depth fish pond
for easy management. In such design, the connection between humans and animals is passive
as it only provides visual and sound stimulation to the autistic students in the classrooms
located at upper levels.
Smaller animals such as rabbit and guinea pig can be integrated with the classroom at upper
levels and form active connection between the two parties. Students will be able to interact
with the animals by touching and holding them inside the classroom, where the animals are
acting as “social lubricant” for the students. However, the limitation of an animal integrated
classroom is the difficulty in applying integrated livestock-fish farming system as building
separate fish ponds in between every classroom is not efficient and will be cost intensive.
Hence, the animal shed is simply built with slatted timber above floor level with a manure199

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collecting system below for easy manure disposal. For cleaning, water can be splashed at theslatted timber and allow water to run through and rinse over the plastic tray to remove existing
dirt and unpleasant scent.
Analysed Results from the Online Survey
As shown in Figure 3, the survey found that the top three farm animals selected by the
respondents are rabbit, chicken and horse. 83% of the respondents selected “rabbit” as theirchoice of animals in AAI, which suggests that smaller animals are still generally preferred bymost of the respondents to be raised in an autism school. However, if the school has a large
compound, even large animals like horses can be included to be part of the animal-assisted
program.

Figure 3: Suitability of animals for AAI in an autism learning environment
In the online survey, opinions on the benefits of integrating livestock farming or animalassisted intervention in a farm-based autism school were gathered, as shown in Figure 4. The
top three benefits chosen by the respondents include, “social improvement – 85.1%”, “student
engagement – 78.7%” and “reduce stress and anxiety – 78.7%”. Further, 31.9% of the
respondents chose “reduce problematic behaviour” to be among the benefits. The results
suggest that the inclusion of therapeutic animals in an autism learning environment can benefit
autistic students in many aspects, especially in social interaction and mental and behavioural
management.

Figure 4: Benefits of livestock farming/AAI in a farm-based autism school
Figure 5 presents the common challenges to integrate livestock farming or animal-assisted
intervention (AAI) into a farm-based autism school. The findings show that 72.3% of the200

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respondents rated “animal care outside of school hours” to be among the top challenges. Next,
66% of the respondents were concerned about the animal welfare as this is a common issue ofanimal inclusion in a learning environment. Also, there will be students’ allergy issues if thehygiene of animals is not properly maintained. Further, 42.6% of the respondents raised
concern on “animal manure handling” if animals are included in autism classrooms for animalassisted intervention.

Figure 5: Challenges of livestock farming/AAI in a farm-based autism school
Discussion
For the benefits of animal-assisted intervention, in autism care farms autistic individuals caninteract with animals such as horse, goat, chicken, pig, dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, cow, gooseand other small animals (Ferwerda-Van Zonneveld et al., 2012). However, not all animals canbe brought into a learning environment in a school setting. The types of animals to be selected
for animal-assisted intervention in an autism school largely depend on the suitability of theanimals in the learning environment. Large-sized animals are often excluded in the selection
process due to insufficient space provision in the school, especially in urban areas. Also,
animals such as pigs are often avoided because autistic individuals can be overwhelmed by theintense scent. Next, while dogs and cats can be included for AAI, they are not productive
livestock that can provide income through livestock farming. Hence, the improvised detailed
drawings in Figure 2 only include therapeutic animals like goats, rabbits and guinea pigs.
Nevertheless, as a general guide, if other animals are to be included for AAI, the principles of
IFS can be followed based on the requirements of the specific animals in the system.
Discussion on Content Analysis
Autistic students can interact with the therapeutic animals in two manners – one in an active
connection, and another one in a passive connection. Among the animals in discussion, goats
are the larger animals to be included in the autism learning environment. Considering thedifficulties of bringing the goats to upper levels of the classrooms, they are only raised at the
ground floor in an integrated goat-fish farming system for easy management. As the floor areain the ground floor is reserved for IFS, the classroom modules are only built starting at firstfloor level. Hence, students at upper levels can only interact with the goats at ground levelpassively from visual and sound stimulation. For direct interaction with therapy goats, students
can come to the goat shed at the ground floor for the proven benefits of improving moods andoverall quality of life (Harada et al., 2019).

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Next, participation in livestock farming can be part of the animal-assisted program. Anothertype of livestock that can be included in an autism school is chickens. Due to their small size,
chickens can be raised in an integrated chicken-fish farming system in the upper levels of thevertical farm grid as the transport and management of small-sized livestock is not too difficult.
However, as a fish pond is required in IFS, there should be space provision for the depth of the
fish pond. Similarly, the density of chickens to be raised above the fish pond is restricted by
the size of fish pond to maintain a desirable amount of manure loaded into the pond. Therefore,
even if the shed is big enough to accommodate a higher density of livestock, the density should
be limited based on the specific requirements of the livestock presented in Table 2.
Nevertheless, it is recommended to build the shed bigger than the minimum floor area torespect the “social contact” between the livestock. This ensures that the livestock are notcramped within a limited space as in intensive industrial farming (Blecha, 2007). If the spaceprovision permits, a garden can be built beside the fish pond to release the chicken into thefield to provide environmental enrichment for their well-being.

Figure 6: Animal interaction in an animal-assisted autism learning environment
Therapeutic animals recommended to be integrated with the autism classroom for AAI include
rabbits and guinea pigs. This is because they are lazy and gentle animals which will not be
overactive and require much care. Figure 6 shows the improvised plan layout of autism
classroom modules inserted into the curved layout of farm grids. As discussed in the findings,
a curved layout can bring mutual benefits to autistic students in their sensory needs, as well asanimals in their natural behaviour. The animal sheds are built in between every classroom202

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module to allow interaction between students and animals to occur in an active manner. The
farm grid design creates a farm-based environment surrounded by greenery from the perimeter
planter box to maintain a healthy environment for the captive animals. Students can actively
interact with the animals by touching and holding them inside the classroom. This could
improve their social interaction with other students in the presence of therapeutic animals(O’Haire et al., 2014). The limitation of this approach is the difficulty in applying IFS with theclassroom as the system requires a big size fish pond to collect the livestock manure in an
automatic process. In this case, the manure collected from the manual collection system below
the animal sheds can either be disposed of or manually loaded into the fish pond as fertiliser.
The improvised curved layout with autism classroom modules inserted into the farm grid isdeemed to be sensory friendly to autistic individuals. As shown in Figure 7, the wayfinding is
simple and straightforward to be comprehended by autistic individuals. As suggested byvarious research, autistic people can be stressed by sudden turns in transition and circulation(Marchi, 2013). In contrast, a curvilinear layout ensures a smooth circulation without deadcorners, avoiding stress and anxiety experienced by autistic people in circulation. Additionally,ramps can be built as a form of vertical transportation as an alternative to staircases. Autistic
individuals prefer to use ramps over staircases in terms of balance and body awareness (Marchi,2013). The use of outdoor ramps allows users to enjoy the outdoor scenery in circulation.

Figure 7: Wayfinding in an animal-assisted autism learning environment
Acoustics is another design criterion in autism sensory design (Mostafa, 2014). One of thedesign approaches for autism classrooms is to locate quiet rooms to be accessed directly fromthe classroom. This allows agitated autistic students to calm down in the quiet room during203

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behavioural meltdown. Also, quiet rooms can be used for one-to-one quiet learning if
necessary. As an approach in acoustic design, quiet rooms and services rooms such as storage
and restrooms can be located in between the classroom modules, similar to the animal sheds,
to act as sound cushion (Figure 8).
The perimeter planter box at the farm grid is another greenery system that can aid in acousticalcorrection. Basically, the sound waves from the neighbourhood can be dissipated by the plantleaves through mechanical vibration (Iannace et al., 2012; Iannace et al., 2013). This canenhance the learning environment as autistic individuals can be sensitive to excessive soundstimulation. By achieving these sensory friendly requirements, autistic students are enabled tobenefit from animal-assisted intervention in a farm-based autism learning environment.

Figure 8: Sound cushion in an animal-assisted autism learning environment
Discussion on Online Survey
The results from the online survey are summarised and presented in Table 3. The discussion
compares the findings with the preliminary studies and the results from the content analysis.

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Table 3: Discussion on the findings from online survey
Analysed results
Opinions on nature/farm-based education:• Nature exposure is essential – 95.7%• Farming and AAI is effective –93.6%• Fish rearing is beneficial – 91.5%
Top three farm animals for AAI:
• Rabbit – 83%• Chicken – 42.6%• Horse – 40.4%•••

Top three benefits of livestock farming/AAI:
Social improvement – 85.1%
Student engagement – 78.7%
Reduce stress and anxiety – 78.7%
Top three challenges of livestock
farming/AAI:• Animal care outside of school hours– 72.3%• Students’ allergy issue – 66%• Animal welfare concerns – 66%
Opinions on integrated farming system(IFS):• Feasibility of IFS – 42.6% agree;
46.8% neutral; 4.3% disagree• Incorporating IFS in autism schools
given proper support and facilities –100%• Livestock farming/AAI as the future
direction of special education –89.4%

Discussions
The findings concur with the preliminary
studies where the majority of the respondents
agree that nature exposure is essential for thewell-being of autistic individuals. Besides,
since most agree that fish rearing andlivestock farming is effective, it gives asupporting evidence to implement IFS.
The findings show that small animals are
preferred for animal inclusion in theclassrooms to assist learning. However, if
space is not restricted, even large animal likehorse can be raised for AAI, but it would be
more challenging to practise IFS with large
animals.
The top benefits are mainly mental andsocio-emotional benefits. Nevertheless,when one skill is improved, other skills will
improve simultaneously as they are allinterrelated.
The primary concern of animal care should
be solved by having a management team tohandle the housekeeping of animals. Next,
hygiene of animals should be ensured to
avoid students’ allergy issue. Since IFS canautomatically dispose the manure into thefish pond, it might be a good solution.
The findings show that IFS is still new tomost respondents as the results on feasibility
is a mixture of enthusiasm and scepticism.
Nevertheless, the majority of respondents
believe that AAI is the future direction of
special education, indicating the growing
popularity of AAI in autism services. Moreresearch can be done to further improve thepracticality of IFS in an autism learning
environment.

Recommendations
As suggested by the respondents in the online survey, the government should provide sufficient
support and facilities in order to implement AAI in autism schools through IFS. Research on
IFS can also be extended to enhance its feasibility and practicality. With new emerging
technologies and sustainable system, different approaches and methods can be explored toinclude animals in a building. For future recommendation, animals’ behaviour can also be
further studied with animal specialists to create a healthy environment that allows interaction
between the human occupants and captive animals. Also, there is a need for a more extensive
study that integrates the recommended animals into actual autism classrooms with broader

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participants in the sample to increase the accuracy of the benefits and challenges of IFS. The
technical information and improvised drawings of IFS in this research can serve as a basis orreference to future architects or researchers to improve the practicality and eventually
implement the system in real practices. Future research in this area should also seek to include
input from the learners intended to benefit from the IFS support system. This information
would complement the more technical input from autism experts, and is likely to provide
additional insights and suggestions for implementing the IFS system in a user-friendly manner.
Conclusion
While livestock farming and AAI are still relatively new in Malaysia’s special educational
field, it is a potential model for future direction as the effectiveness of AAI has been proven in
the research field. Nevertheless, this study provides the possible solution to implement AAI inan autism learning environment through IFS and architectural intervention, as summarised in
the conceptual diagram in Figure 9.
An integrated farming system (IFS) is self-sustained due to the recycling of animal wastes into
the fish pond as fertiliser. The water from the fish pond can become a convenient water source
for the plants and animals. Besides, the farm grids with perimeter planter box creates a green
and healthy environment for the captive animals and autistic students. The farm grid design isalso complemented with a lot of environmental benefits, such as sun shading, acousticalcorrection, cross ventilation and filtering air pollutants (Figure 9). This ensures the well-being
and mental health of the livestock serving as therapeutic agents for animal-assisted
intervention. The concept of a vertical farm also allows animals to be integrated with theclassroom modules in a farm-based autism school, especially in urban areas where land islimited. In conclusion, this study adds value to the research field on farm-based educationalmodels in special education. It is a step forward to a more inclusive society, where the needsof special groups can be included in the design process of an educational architecture.

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Figure 9: Conceptual diagram to summarise animal-assisted intervention in an autism
learning environment via IFS

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Acknowledgements
We appreciate the cooperation given by the respondents who participated in the online survey.
We would also like to express gratitude to the support given by Universiti Sains Malaysia to
conduct this study. Finally, the support from 203.PPBGN.6711669 Fundamental Research
Grant Scheme under Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia is appreciated.

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Corresponding author: Zalena Abdul Aziz
Email: zalena@usm.my211

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Reviewers Volume 8 – Issue 4
The editorial team would like to thank the following reviewers for their contributions to thepeer review for this issue of the journal. Their dedication and assistance are greatly appreciated.
Huda Alkubaisi
Blessing BizzleNguyễn Hữu Cương
Heloisa Koch Delgado
William Frick
Sainbayar Gundsambuu
Habsah Hussin
Andrew Leichsenring
Thelma Manansala
Ivy Chia Sook May
Doris McEwen
Leonardo Munalim
Ifeoma Jacinta Obidile
Queen Ogbomo
Anemona Peres
Elena Raevskikh
Mirela Ramacciotti
Akihiro Saito
Ruben A. Sanchez
Ana Smiles
Maria Staton
Randy A. Tudy
Stephanie Wendt
Mukesh Yadav
Joyce Yang212

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