A Survey On The Professional Qualities Of English Teachers In Senior High Schools

According to the formula of quality on foreign language teaching designed by UNESCO,{the quality of foreign language teaching=(students+text material+environment+teaching methods)×the quality of teachers},it is clear that the quality of teachers is an essential part in the education development.In China,the professional quality of English teachers has a deep influence on the success of the new English curriculum reform.It influences the overall improvement of English teaching quality directly.The core connotation of senior high school English teachers' professional quality in this thesis is the integration of professional knowledge,professional attitude and professional ability.At the basis of it,with the method of empirical research,the present study takes Meizhou city as an example to conduct a survey of professional quality of English teachers in urban area.Based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory and Dewey's reflective teaching theory,this research adopts the method of questionnaire survey,taking 181 English teachers as the research subjects to investigate the overall situation and individual grouping situation of English teachers' professional quality.In order to find out the reasons that might cause the present situation of English teachers' professional quality,the author uses the interview to assist the survey.The questions of the research are as follows:(1)What is the present situation of professional quality of senior high school English teachers?(2)Based on group analysis of gender,major and academic qualification,are there any differences in professional quality among urban senior high school English teachers?The major findings of the study are as follows:(1)The overall situation of English teachers' professional quality is at a low level.For each dimension,from the bottom to the top,they are scientific research ability,professional motivation,teaching ability,professional knowledge and reflective ability.From the interview,the reasons that might cause the low level of English teachers' professional quality include the irrationality of professional title appraisal and employment system,low economic treatment of teachers and lacking of scientific research awareness and opportunities.(2)In terms of gender,there exists no significant difference in the overall professional quality and five dimensions of the professional qualities.On the other hand,female teachers have a higher level than male teachers in terms of scientific research ability,reflective ability and profession motivation.But in the dimension of professional knowledge and teaching ability,male teacher have a higher level than female teachers.(3)In terms of major,there exists significant difference in the overall professional quality and professional knowledge.In details,teachers with English-related major have a higher level in overall professional quality and the five dimensions than teachers with non-English related major.The five dimensions are: professional knowledge,teaching ability,scientific research ability,reflective ability and profession motivation.(4)In terms of academic qualification,there are three significant differences in the professional quality between English teachers with master degree and those with bachelor degree.The three significant differences are: professional knowledge,scientific research ability and reflective ability.At the same time,the overall professional quality of teachers with master degree is higher than that of teachers with bachelor degree.According to the overall situation,the author analyzes the reasons that may cause it and proposes some suggestions based on the three perspectives of teacher,school,and government to improve the professional quality of urban senior high school English teachers comprehensively.