ابوالفضل خدامرادی

Although several studies have been carried out after the approval of the Fundamental Reform Document of Education (FRDE) in 2011, a small number of studies have reviewed the textbooks of Iranian schools in the light of this document, and unfortunately, English language textbooks have almost been ignored. Accordingly, the present study sought to answer the questions of what objectives are included in this document regarding English language teaching at schools, and to what extent the English language textbooks for Iranian Junior High Schools are based on these objectives. Therefore, the text of the document was first analyzed using directional content analysis. Then, based on the objectives extracted from the FRDE, the content of English language textbooks were reviewed. The results showed that the objectives of teaching English in accordance with this document should be (1) critical understanding and analysis of non-Iranian culture, (2) responsible interaction to introduce Iranian-Islamic culture and civilization, as well as dissemination of local findings and achievements and (3) establishing effective interaction and communication with non-Iranian parties, which is specifically explained in the form of two micro-goals (a) knowledge and mastery of local issues and (b) knowledge and awareness of global issues. Then, using deductive content analysis, English textbooks were analyzed. The results showed that these textbooks deal mainly with Iranian culture, and the balance between Iranian and "non-Iranian" culture, which is clearly defined in the document in three regional, Islamic and global forms but is not noticed. Accordingly, the findings of this study implied that it is essential that prospect series be revised to include non-Iranian cultural issues, especially those from Islamic countries and nations. In addition, there is a need to include global issues while domesticating them moderately.

This study investigated the impact of a teacher education course on pre-service teachers’ pedagogical beliefs. A sample of 84 Iranian EFL pre-service teachers who had just been accepted to Farhangian University were selected through convenience sampling. Using a sequential mixed-methods design, their pedagogical beliefs were measured through a researcher-made questionnaire before and after a training course on the philosophy of education for English language teachers. Moreover, the changes reported by the participants were traced through thematic analysis of their reflective journals. Finally, in a focus group interview, they commented on the contributing factors to the success of the course in changing their pedagogical beliefs. The results of quantitative data demonstrated the impact of the training course on changing the participants’ pedagogical beliefs. The analysis of qualitative data obtained from the reflective journals indicated that the changes that the participants professed were of two emerging themes of raising awareness of new assumptions and adopting new pedagogical beliefs. In addition, the analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that the participants attributed the course success to the implementation of appropriate teaching strategies, the course contents, and the teacher educator’s performance. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that EFL pre-service teachers’ pedagogical beliefs can be modified in training courses of teacher education programs if a safe and collaborative atmosphere is created for them to critically reflect on their prior pedagogical beliefs within innovative theoretical frameworks.  

This study examined the association between teacher educators’ personality traits and their interpersonal behavior at Farhangian University (Teacher Education University in Iran). A sample of 148 student teachers majoring in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) at two branches of Iranian Teacher Education University evaluated their teacher educators’ interpersonal behavior by the questionnaire for teacher interaction (QTI). The teacher educators (N=17) also completed the QTI and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). The results of correlational analyses indicated significant associations between educators’ personality traits and their interpersonal behavior. More associations were observed between educators’ personality and student teachers’ perceptions of interpersonal behavior while fewer associations were observed between educators’ personality and the educators’ self-perceptions. Moreover, the results revealed that all educators’ personality traits except for Openness were significantly correlated with the two interpersonal behavior dimensions of Influence and Proximity. When stepwise regression analyses were done for the Influence dimension, the strongest model for prediction included Neuroticism and Conscientiousness while for the second dimension, Agreeableness emerged as the sole, significant predictor of educator Proximity.