Continuing Professional Development for Primary School Teachers in Oman

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the continuing professional development (CPD) of Omani primary school teachers of English as a foreign language. The first part outlines in brief how CPD in Oman developed along with the great expansion in the educational system following reforms in the 1990s. The second part examines the goals, policies and standards regarding CPD and the top-down and bottom-up processes in Oman. In the third section, we examine the outcomes of educational reforms since the 1990s, in terms of their impact on teachers’ experiences of CPD and their support for reflective practice. The penultimate section describes CPD teacher training practices that we have found to be effective, focusing on cooperative learning activities that teachers can reflectively take into their schools. It also describes a bottom-up CPD initiative to improve initial literacy in one region of the country that was taken up by the Ministry of Education and cascaded down around the country. This initiative led to a further project that involved teachers in reflectively developing materials. The final section examines the lessons we have learnt in our CPD teacher training and looks at possible future developments for CPD in Oman.

Appendix: Role Play Cards

Bashir

Bashir takes learning English very seriously. He’s particularly keen on English grammar and he spends many hours at home studying grammar and doing exercises. In class, he often asks grammar questions, and he knows so much about grammar that the teacher sometimes finds it hard to answer his questions. Bashir is also keen on learning vocabulary, and he always has a bilingual dictionary in class and looks up any new words he meets. He prefers to do this rather than to listen to the teacher’s explanations, because he likes to have an exact translation of the words or phrases. He quite enjoys his English lessons, but he doesn’t like group work as he doesn’t like speaking to the other students because he doesn’t think that they are good at English. When the teacher does group work, he usually looks at his grammar books because he thinks he can learn more by doing this.

Raya

Raya really enjoys her English lessons though she is very busy at home helping her mother and often doesn’t have time to do all her homework. She likes her teacher and her classmates and enjoys speaking English in class. She tries to say as much as she can even when the topic doesn’t interest her because she knows that by speaking, she is practising her English. If she doesn’t know something she will ask the teacher. She tries to correct herself but doesn’t worry too much if she makes a mistake. She knows that sometimes she gets things wrong, but she believes that you will make mistakes when you are trying to learn. Raya is quite good at grammar, and she enjoys trying to work out grammar rules from examples. She knows that she should spend more time on her homework, but her duties at home make this difficult. When she is out, she will try to speak to foreigners she meets in English, and she enjoys reading signs and notices in English.

Mohammed

Mohammed doesn’t know why he has to learn English and he doesn’t see how it can be useful to him now. He often comes to school late, and he is tired because he spends his afternoons playing football and the evenings playing video games. The teacher usually explains vocabulary in English, but instead of listening to the teacher he asks his friend in Arabic what the teacher said. The teacher sometimes asks him a question in English, but Mohammed doesn’t try to answer her in English and at most will answer in just one or two words. He feels shy in speaking English because he knows he makes many mistakes. The teacher often gives them group work, but Mohammed uses these times to talk to his friends in Arabic. At home he usually asks his older brother or sister to help him with his homework and is happy when they do it all for him.

Moza

Moza is a hardworking student who finds learning English difficult. She enjoys her classes though she is a little afraid to speak in group work because she knows that she makes mistakes and is afraid that the other students will laugh at her. She wants to use her English more, but the friend she sits beside will translate what the teacher says. She is interested in learning English, but she wants to use what she learns in class outside. She likes doing things with her hands but finds that the teacher doesn’t have many activities that involve them in making things. She doesn’t like sitting at her desk for long periods of time but likes to get up and move around and wishes that the teacher would have more activities that require them to move.