Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 English language teaching in tertiary education 2
1.2 Statement of the problem 6
1.3 Purpose of the study 7
1.4 Significance of the study 8
1.5 Overview of the thesis 8
Chapter 2 Teacher Transformative Learning 11
2.0 Introduction 11
2.1 Teacher transformative learning 11
2.2 Professional development models for teacher learning 27
2.3 Communities of Practice(CoP) 35
2.4 A proposed model of PD using a CoP framework 42
2.5 Aim and research questions 46
2.6 Summary 47
Chapter 3 Methodology 48
3.0 Introduction 48
3.1 Research questions 48
3.2 Research design 49
3.3 Research site 51
3.4 Data collection instruments 53
3.5 Data collection procedures 57
3.6 Data analyses 60
3.7 Summary 63
Chapter 4 Teachers'Perceptions of Professional Development and the Design of the PD Program 65
4.0 Introduction 65
4.1 Teacher PD Questionnaire 66
4.2 Preliminary interviews of participants in the case study 77
4.3 The design of the PD program 89
4.4 Summary 93
Chapter 5 Entering the Community:Teachers'Prior Experience,Knowledge,and Skills 95
5.0 Introduction 95
5.1 The participants 96
5.2 Entering the community 101
5.3 Summary 109
Chapter 6 Processes of Transformative Learning 111
6.0 Introduction 111
6.1 Reflection to support change 112
6.2 Social interaction to support change 126
6.3 Negotiating meaning between old and new ideas 132
6.4 Towards transformative learning 144
6.5 Using reflective journals and blogs to sustain learning 151
6.6 Refining and extending the model 156
6.7 Summary 159
Chapter 7 Transformative Learning in Action:Yang's Story 160
7.0 Introduction 160
7.1 Yang's story 161
7.2 Summary 180
Chapter 8 Discussion and Conclusions 181
8.0 Introduction 181
8.1 Summary of major findings 181
8.2 Limitations of this study 193
8.3 Implications for further research 193
8.4 Implications for practice 194
8.5 Conclusion 195
Bibliography 197
Appendix A Information Letters and Consent Forms 212
Appendix B Teacher Professional Development Questionnaire 217
Appendix C Preliminary Interview Schedule 221
Appendix D Post-PD Interview Schedule 222
Appendix E Tele-interview Questions 223
Appendix F Sample Reflective Journals 225
Appendix G General Coding Scheme 226
Appendix H Modules for Teacher Professional Development 233