Teachers’ Empowerment and the Self-Study Process: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study of Teachers’ Perceptions and Lived Experiences of New England Association of Schools and Colleges Self-study within US-Curricula School in Dubai
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Date
2019-02
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The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
This dissertation investigates whether NEASC self-study as part of the accreditation process empowers teachers, contributes to improving self-efficacy, and encourages reflective deliberation. The study explores the lived experience of teachers in a US-curricula school in Dubai during NEASC self-study by employing a phenomenological approach in a postmodern framework of complexity theory and interpretivism to present teachers’ perceptions and accentuate their voices. Interviews of structured and semi-structured nature were conducted and coded. An online survey, to collect responses of a larger population in relation to the self-study process and teachers’ involvement, was crafted to make important inferences once compared with the coded interview.
Findings are teachers appreciate guided learning. Self-study is an influencing evaluation instrument which encourages instructional improvement. Self-efficacy is shown while reflective deliberation occurs but does not lead to the next steps: decision-making and empowerment. The research will be significance to accrediting bodies, policymakers and school management, among many, to look at the role of teachers during such initiatives that are part of the standards and accountability wave, especially in the field of capacity development which is the central purpose of education in the UAE and is highly related to economic growth.
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Keywords
teachers’ empowerment, self-study process, phenomenological study, United Arab Emirates (UAE), teachers’ perceptions, US-Curricula school