Senior Secondary Schools

This study intended to identify the status of educational accountability and quality of classroom life in Iranian public-and private-sector EFL contexts. To this end, 120 (60 public-and 60 private-sector) EFL learners and 80 (40 public-and 40 private-sector) EFL teachers of distinct ages (16-50) from different senior secondary schools and private language institutes in Kermanshah took part in the study. The participants completed the relevant questionnaires. Moreover, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 20 (ten public-and ten private-sector) EFL learners and 20 (ten public-and ten private-sector) EFL teachers. The results revealed that educational accountability was reasonably high among Iranian EFL teachers and learners, and the quality of classroom life was also acceptable in Iranian EFL contexts. Additionally, both EFL learners’ and teachers’ educational accountability was found to be more significant in the private-sector context. Besides, the quality of classroom life was significantly higher in the private-sector context than the public-sector context. The findings can help EFL teachers, syllabus designers, and material developers to grasp a better picture of educational accountability and quality of classroom life in Iranian public-and private-sector EFL contexts.

This study explored the status of professionalism and commitment among Iranian EFL Teachers. In doing so, 136 (86 private-and 50 public-sector) EFL teachers of different ages (25-55) from different schools and institutes in Tehran participated in this study. The participants completed the pertinent instruments (i.e., Teachers’ Professionalism and Organizational Commitment Questionnaires). Moreover, out of 136 participants, 40 EFL teachers were interviewed. The results showed that both professionalism and commitment along with their subcategories were rationally high among EFL teachers. Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between EFL teachers’ professionalism and commitment. Besides, the content analysis of interviews indicated that professional teachers were committed to their teaching and were sensitive to learners’ needs. Likewise, committed teachers were actively looking for professional development opportunities. The results also showed that female EFL instructors had a higher level of professionalism and commitment than their male counterparts. Additionally, the results indicated that EFL instructors in language institutes had a higher level of professionalism and commitment than those in senior secondary schools. The findings can support EFL policymakers, supervisors, managers, and teacher trainers to grasp a better picture of professionalism and commitment in Iranian EFL educational contexts.