AN INVESTIGATION OF THE

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIETNAMESE

TEACHERS’ BELIEFs, IDENTITY AND

THEIR CLASSROOM DISCOURSE

PRESENTOR: THI HONG NHUNG NGUYEN

An example of Vietnamese Classroom

context

Most common responses

They are

my children

They are

my brother

and sister

They are

my friends

Who do you

consider your

students to

be?

They are

my

students

OUTLINE

1. Teachers’ beliefs

2. Teachers’ identity

3. Vietnamese teachers’ identity

4. Research questions

5. Research methodology

6. Samples of data analysis (3)

7. Findings and implications

Conceptualising

teachers’ beliefs

Teachers beliefs

Features and influential

factors

Relationship between

teachers’ beliefs and practice

What is belief?

• Belief is defined primarily on the users’ decision

(Pajares 1992)

• Diversity – different from field to field

“…a set of conceptual representations which signify to

its holders a reality or given state of affairs of sufficient

validity, truth or trustworthiness to warrant reliance

upon it as guide to personal thought and actions”

(Harvey 1986:660)

“[a] teacher’s beliefs are shaped by many factors. Among

them are the influence of discipline subculture, the quality of

preservice experience in the classroom and the opportunity

for reflection on the preservice experience” (Fang 1996:52)

Key relevant theoretical point:

Beliefs must be inferred from “belief statement, predisposed

manner, and behaviour related to the belief in question”

(Rokeach 1968, cited from Pajares 1992:315)

Features and influence factors of

Teachers’ beliefs

Relationship between teachers’

beliefs and practice

Consistency Inconsistenc

y

• Basturkment et al. (1986)

(instructional practice)

• Mangano and Allen

(1986)(Classroom interaction)

• Johnson (1992)

(Pedagogical approach)

• Wing (1989)

(Students’ perception on the

subject)

• Wilson et al. 1993 (Classroom

observations, thing-aloud

protocols, interviews, simulated

recalls)

• Fang (1996) (incongruent with

practice)

• Ashti (1990) (Classroom reality)

Teachers’ identity

Early conceptualisation:

The idea of ‘self’: “…a singular, unified, stable essence

that was little affected by biography” (Day et al. 2006)

Recent contributions:

• not fixed (Karreman and Alcesson, 2001)

• Role-oriented (Hall et al. 1999)

• Discursively constructed (Schnurr and Zayts 2011)

Vietnamese teachers’ identity

Chinese Confucian Heritage Culture

influence

Master of knowledge

Moral role modelStudents as ‘empty

vessel’

Ideologies Social norms

New context of Vietnamese

education

Innovative teaching approaches

(CLT, Student-centered approach)

Epistemic incongruence Morality dilemmas

Research questions

1. What are the features of these Vietnamese

teachers’ classroom discourse? How do teachers

deal with epistemic incongruence and moral

dilemmas in the classroom?

2. How is the relationship between these Vietnamese

teachers’ belief and their classroom practice

reflected through classroom conversation analysis?

3. What are the implications for Vietnamese teachers

for their professional development?

Research methodology

Research approach: Qualitative (drawing from

Conversation analysis and interpretation)

• Conversation analysis (CA):

Turn-taking organization

Sequence organization

• Classroom observation

• Unstructured interview

Sample 1 – Morality influence sequence (1)

Sample 1 – Epistemic influence sequence (2)

Sample 2 – Classroom epistemic incongruence

Findings and implications

Findings: addressing question 1 on the pattern of Vietnamese classrooms’ talk

• The imbalance of turns and rights to control the floor in the classroom discourse violates this key characteristic of equal responsiveness in friendship.

• the IRF/IRE pattern indicate that the rights of students in the classroom sequence are restricted.

• Long sequence of turn constructed to shape and influence students’ thinking.

• Echoing the inconsistence between teachers’ beliefs and their physical classroom practice (Research question 2)

Findings and implications

Implications: suggested causes and solutions for Teachers’

development (research question 3)

• Narrow perception of the term ‘friendship’

• Raise awareness on the inconsistency of teachers’

beliefs and practice:

The impact of the classroom as an institutional talk

Crucial role of students in constructing subject and social

knowledge: balanced turn-distribution, students’

initiation…

Thank you for your attention