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Book review : Teacher research in language teaching : a critical analysis
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Smith, Richard (2015) Book review : Teacher research in language teaching : a critical analysis. ELT Journal, 69 (2). pp. 205-208. ISSN 0951-0893
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccv009
Abstract
Simon Borg is a prolific writer of journal articles in the research area he is most associated with, that of teacher cognition. Indeed, as this book further establishes, he is an eminently academic researcher, although the book itself seeks to establish a claim to authority in the somewhat distinct domain of teacher research (that is, according to Borg’s definition, ‘systematic inquiry, conducted by teachers, into some aspect of their own context, with the aim of improving both understanding and practice’ (p. 201)). For Borg, the study of this particular domain has provided ‘an intellectual space in which I was able to combine my existing interests in teacher education, research methods, and teacher cognition’ (p. 1). This statement of intellectual motivation (rather than practical/ideological commitment)—and the fact that the book is published in the highly respectable, red-covered Cambridge Applied Linguistics series—gives a preliminary indication both of the kind of book this is, namely, a groundbreaking academic exploration of certain factors underlying teachers’ (lack of) research engagement, and of the kind of book it is not. It is far from being, for example, a practical handbook for teachers, teacher educators, or educational administrators, nor is it really about practical issues within teacher research at all, although—as we shall see—there are two reports of Borg’s own teacher education practice and a list of suggestions for managers at the very end of the book.
If not for teachers, then, and if not for obvious practical use, who was the book written for, according to Borg, and for what purpose? A clear statement of intent is provided on p. 6: the readership is expected to be one of ‘researchers, academics, policy makers, head teachers, directors, curriculum developers, teacher educators’, that is, ‘those who can be influential in making teacher research a more feasible and productive activity’. The book gives evidence of a definite desire to persuade educational administrators, in particular, of the merits of supporting teacher research (henceforth, TR) effectively. Indeed, Borg describes himself as ‘very committed’ to TR (p. 6), although, as we shall see, this commitment is not particularly clear in his own practice and seems limited to a particular, rather academic conception of TR. It is important to emphasize, then, that the subtitle of the book (A Critical Analysis) is not intended, at least not on the surface, to refer to being critical of the quality of existing TR. Rather, it relates to what Borg perceives as a lack of quantity of TR, in particular when projects which are completed for a degree or other qualification are excluded from consideration. For him, a central intellectual paradox—the stated premise for the whole book, in fact—is that despite what he sees as the great potential of TR to be ‘a powerful transformative force in the professional development of language teachers’, it nevertheless ‘remains a minority activity’ (ibid.).
Item Type: | Book Review | ||||
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Alternative Title: | Teacher Research in Language Teaching: A Critical Analysis S. Borg; Cambridge University Press 2013, 268 pp., £25 | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Centre for Applied Linguistics | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | ELT Journal | ||||
Publisher: | Oxford University Press | ||||
ISSN: | 0951-0893 | ||||
Book Title: | Teacher research in language teaching : a critical analysis | ||||
Official Date: | 2015 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 69 | ||||
Number: | 2 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 205-208 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1093/elt/ccv009 | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) |
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