Question 3: How do contextual factors influence the two teachers‟

Connelly and Clandinin (1985) contended that a teachers‟ knowledge was the reflection of an individual‟s previous experiences and of knowledge constructions and reconstructions through different situations. More specifically, the knowledge a teacher developed was through the process of teaching, conflict, and reflection to

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solve the problems occurring in the particular course with regards to the classroom context. Leinhardt (1988) referred this knowledge as “situated knowledge” which focused on how teachers developed their cognition in specific context where they operated. In this study, contextual factors, namely the general goals of remedial education, the influences of the remedial program, and students‟ participation, were found to be influential to the teachers‟ cognition and teaching practices.

5.1.3.1 The General Goals of Remedial Education

Recently, the MOE and many foundations carried out the remedial education to minimize the large gap between high achievers and low achievers in secondary education after the implementation of the Nine-year Integrated Curriculum (Chen, 2008; Chen, & Yu, 2004; Hsu, & Chen, 2007). With the goals of the MOE in mind, teachers in the remedial program used different teaching methods to increase the equality of educational opportunities for disadvantaged minorities and improve their learning outcomes.

Ron‟s teaching goal was to increase the equality of aboriginal students‟

educational opportunities. He set the goal as his teaching top priority, which seemed to be less influenced by the educational context. However, in Olivia‟s class, she thought that her responsibility was to help students get higher grades on school exams than they used to get before. Her teaching goals seemed to match the goals set by the remedial education program. Compared with Ron, Olivia seemed that she concerned about school work and students‟ grades more than Ron. Even though Ron had taught English in Taiwan for six years, he previously did not pay much attention to the remedial education goals and social expectations. From the classroom observations, it found that Olivia was deeply influenced by the social values in Taiwan. This condition may influence her teaching, and hinder her from analyzing students‟ learning

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difficulties, and students‟ learning outcomes.

5.1.3.2 The Influences of the Remedial Program

The remedial program aimed to help aboriginal students get into school contexts, enhance their academic performances, and discipline students‟ behaviors. Both Ron and Olivia kept those goals in mind while implementing various teaching methods.

Ron was more familiar with the goals than Olivia because of his extensive previous teaching experiences and his role as one of the chairmen in the remedial program. His full understanding of the operation of the remedial program and his involvement in the goal establishment helped him carry out goals set by the remedial program successfully. On the other hand, Olivia, teaching English for her first

semester, met several conflicts among her students and the remedial program‟s goals.

Olivia spent some time getting used to the remedial context by herself. The two cases showed that experienced teachers were able to tactically and efficiently handle

classroom events and teaching contexts while novice teachers set their own criteria for success in teaching and learning (Tsui, 2003).

In addition to familiarity with the goals of the remedial program, the results found that teachers‟ statuses and empowerment in the remedial program also

influenced their teaching cognition and practices. Unlike Ron, Olivia was hired by the administrator. She often felt uncomfortable to express her own opinions. Therefore, in her teaching practices, she made many compromises and tried to find a balance among the remedial program, students, and her goals.

Ron and Olivia had a different status in the remedial program, which influenced their interaction with the administrator and other colleagues. Ron was one of the chairmen in the remedial program, so he usually possessed more power than the administrator did. Due to his two roles in the remedial program, he shifted his roles

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from English teacher to chairman when he discussed students‟ issues or the operation of the remedial program with the administration. He seldom shared his teaching with his colleagues. The lack of interaction with his colleagues may have hindered his cognitive development.

By contrast, Olivia, a novice teacher, heavily depended on the administrator and her colleagues‟ advice because she was afraid of being criticized. Moreover, the frequent interaction with them also limited her teaching practices. However, at the same time, Olivia was teaching elementary students in a public school, where she had high levels of autonomy over many issues of classroom instructions and management.

Olivia‟s case showed that she was highly influenced by the teaching subculture setting.

The subculture, according to Pacchter (1991), represents reasonably consistent views about the role of the teacher, the nature of their subject, the way it should be taught and expectations of the students‟ learning. Olivia‟s case shows that a teachers‟

cognition and practices may be affected by the subculture and a teacher empowerment might be deprived in the employer-employee relationship teaching context.

5.1.3.3 Students’ Participation

Before teaching the 7^th graders in 2010, Ron hoped that students could speak out English naturally and spontaneously, so he created an authentic language learning environment in his class. From the classroom observations and interviews with Ron‟s students, it is found that students‟ participations did not match Ron‟s teaching

expectations. However, Ron attributed classroom atmosphere and poor grades to students‟ laziness. On the other hand, Olivia adjusted herself to her students‟ learning conditions and was sensitive to their preferences. As a result, in her class, the learning atmosphere was warm and the relationship between Olivia and her students was supportive.

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From the two cases, it indicated that Ron, as an experienced teacher with no professional training, tended to stick to his own teaching styles and seldom reassessed his teaching objectives. Olivia, as a novice teacher with professional training from TESOL, often responded to students‟ needs by modifying her teaching plans and goals. The difference between Ron and Olivia was that Olivia responded positively to problems by seeing them as good opportunities for her to improve her teaching. Her teaching seemed to be more flexible than Ron‟s teaching. When Ron faced difficulties, he tried to minimize problems, which hindered further development in his teaching ability. In line with Tsui‟s (2003), the critical differences between experienced teachers and novice teachers are about whether they are able to reinvest their mental resources to achieve a higher level of performance by taking on challenges and whether they are able to exercise their judgment on their current level of competence and the kinds of challenges that they can take on. The ability of facing the challenges and resolving them are very important. Teachers could revitalize their teaching career.

The two teachers‟ cases in the remedial program reveal that both experienced and novice teachers‟ cognition and practices are relevant to their teaching contexts. Using Borg‟s framework, the study indicated the three domains, which influence a language teachers‟ cognition and practices. However, Borg‟s framework only contains the broad themes, which do not clearly explain teachers‟ complex teaching cognition and

practices. This study adds subcategories, which stem from data to further specify teacher‟s cognitive development. Furthermore, the results from this study also claim that teacher training should encompass more courses related to remedial education, which could improve pre-service and in-service teachers‟ cognition and practices.

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