PTT 3/4 April 1995 index
"What have we got here ?"
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have got here a typical, classic
case of ... RELUCTANCE !"
"May I ask you: Who, in your opinion, is the reluctant
character in this case ?"
"Is it the student ? Yes, he seems to be ... "
"What about the teacher ... "
We have all had our share of reluctant students in our teaching careers; but "reluctant" teachers are as much a reality as are reluctant students (though not always openly acknowledged and discussed!). We all may have been, at some time, "reluctant" ourselves, may have experienced feelings of resistance to certain changes; so the term may not be as unfair as it may seem. The aim of this paper is to discuss and analyse this feeling of resistance, to suggest that it is normal and that it can even be positive, to try and explain its causes and reasons and to hint at some possible ways of dealing with it in INSETT. I am not going to suggest any quick-fix solution; the underlying idea is that understanding reluctance better, perceiving its causes and mechanisms, can help us, as trainers, to manage it and find suitable modes of training to help teachers overcome it.
As a result, a number of teachers would try the new recipes for a while and then return to the safe, well-trodden, good old roads of the Grammar Translation Method, decorated maybe with some vague elements borrowed from newer approaches and called the Eclectic Method. Others would not even bother to try, as they knew the system well enough to be almost sure of the philosophical conclusion that þthe dogs bark, but the caravan goes on. Very few believe it...
On the other hand, many teachers started from the axiom that we, teachers, are þthe products of our own teachers; and we are good products, come to that; and we were made using old-fashioned tools, such as the grammar-translation method. So why change? QED!!
We usually value ourselves more than we do others. Does any of you know anyone who would sincerely say, "I am a lousy professional/speaker of English" ? Probably not. And it is quite normal to be so; because it is professional competence and especially self-esteem that are at stake. And having an adequate level of self-esteem is very important.
In Romania. the ELT profession is engaged at present in a series of radical changes - a new syllabus, new textbooks, new methodology and, hopefully, new school-leaving and university entrance exams. The gradual introduction of the communicative approach brings about the necessity to change both material elements (i.e. textbooks, classroom furniture, etc.) and, especially, mentality and the attitudes of teachers and students. If the former changes need money we donþt always have, the latter are within our means.
But one may ask: Why do we need to change? There are quite a number of obvious reasons for change:
* pressures from outside the system i.e. the necessity to keep in step with what happens in EFL in the world and to get results competitive on a world- wide scale, measurable against internationally recognised standards;
* pressures from inside the system: new syllabuses and textbooks, new exams (hopefully), changing expectations of students and parents, the need to be inspected and assessed, etc.
Besides, lets face it, though some of our students may do very well, a large majority do not. Can teachers blame poor results on the students? Can we?... Of course we can! It is easy and comfortable to do so! But can we justify ourselves as teachers if we do it? Probably not!
In order to cope with these pressures, in order to meet these new educational needs, teachers have to develop - and development means change. And it is the trainers role to support and help teachers develop and assimilate new professional requirements. But what do teachers accustomed to think in terms of traditional methodology need to change?
First of all they have to operate quite a major change in mentality; they have to replace the traditional mental model of teaching with a new one; they need to understand, accept and appropriate:
* the principles underlying the communicative
approach;
* the new role of the teacher;
* the transfer of the responsibility for learning
to the student (learner autonomy)
* a different type of classroom management and
interaction;
* new methods and techniques;
* the idea that þthereþs more than one way to cut
a pieþ (i.e. tolerance of diversity of
opinion and approaches).
Having done all these, teachers will then have to change their action, their organisation of the activity during the class. They will have to persuade and convince their students of the necessity for the change; and last, but by no means least, they will have to hold out against the resistance to change of both students and colleagues (especially teachers of other subjects) - the latter being sometimes the most difficult in the whole process! We need to look more carefully at the idea of a "reluctant" teacher ...
But before discussing how þreluctantþ teachers can be helped, let me briefly describe several common types of reluctant teachers and the mechanisms of their reluctance as I could gather them from my INSETT activities.
There are teachers who:
(a) don't want to change
(b) don't understand the necessity for change
(WHY);
(c) want to, but don't understand the mechanisms
of change (HOW);
(d) would like to, but don't try (postpone
trying) because of constraints;
(e) try to, but aren't very successful and give
up (and feel guilty).
Having established the categories, let us discuss briefly some characteristics of each situation and find some reasons for each type of reluctance:
(a) Holders of ultimate truth (a proven best way);
* "I get results" (?);
* self-confidence (+) and stubbornness (-);
* no risk for security and self-esteem.
(b) It's easier to walk well-trodden paths; wages - just the same;
* no incentive for change (system-encouraged
reluctance)
* formalism
* teachers' exams / students' exams
* pay -> status
(c) Ingrained traditional mental image (understanding) of teachers roles;
* lack of clear understanding of principles, aims and
objectives;
* lack of clear understanding of practical procedures;
(d) Practical constraints
* time constraints: class time / personal time
* syllabus/textbook constraints;
* financial constraints leading to: extra classes
(excess load), private lessons, other
ventures
* teachers room pressure -> conformism
* exams.
(e) Causes of failure that can lead to reluctance:
* insufficient understanding of principles;
* inability to match new ideas with old realities;
* student reluctance;
* personal features;
* lack of conviction and feelings of insecurity.
My main point is that trainers need to understand the issues of change, and the often quite understandable reasons for reluctance to change. Right choices in these areas can prevent teachers from developing feelings of inadequacy, confusion, insecurity and guilt that can increase their resistance to and even lead to their rejection of change. And so awareness of the different types of reluctance and of their causes to be very relevant when planning an INSETT course meant to change the teaching mentality.
I am no Mrs Beeton, so it is not my intention to offer recipes. Yet a number of general suggestions can be made. Different strategies will be needed, depending on the reasons (above) for reluctance:
1 interest the participants by pointing to advantages as a result of change, e.g. a sense of greater professionalism (i.e. self-esteem), increased recognition, job satisfaction, etc.
2 use rational argument and persuasion strategies;
3 use power-coercive strategies, playing on system-coercion (new syllabuses, textbooks, exams, etc.)
4 work through opinion leaders who can influence their peers.
5 spend time on building trust, understanding and support;
6 draw on existing knowledge, skills and experience;
7 explain change in terms which teachers will see as relevant and acceptable;
8 play on self-esteem and professional recognition as incentives/rewards for change;
9 ask for suggestions and feedback and incorporate them in training;
10 use the experiential mode of training and make it relevant to the teachersþ work
11 encourage experimentation by teachers and have them reflect on it;
12 be open and clear about conflicts of new methodology with present practices; encourage discussion of these conflicts;
13 plan for success starting with small changes that can give quick and positive pay- off;
14 increase confidence by providing positive feedback to those involved in success;
15 be prepared to face and deal with negative views (and even with rejection) in an open and constructive way.
This is far from being a complete list of possible general suggestions of how to deal with resistance to change. You will be able to suggest others. Finally, at the end of this presentation of how Machiavellian manipulation can be put to work for a noble cause, may I be allowed a confession: training teachers has proved to be almost as rewarding for me as teaching students. Am I talking about reluctance ? And finally:
"A large minority of the participants of many in-service courses attend for the break from teaching, for the certificate and for the company. (...) They sit passively through the course and then return to their schools unchanged but refreshed to carry on exactly as before." Brian Tomlinson
"But I think we should respect colleagues who are slow to change. Their resistance proves their professional commitment." Donard Britten
Carnall, C., Managing Change, London, Routledge, 1991
Newby, D., Do Methodologists Educate or Intimidate Teachers ?, paper presented at ELTECS Network Conference, Bratislava, 1993
Ryan, K. & Cooper, J., Those Who Can, Teach, Boston, Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1988
Tomlinson, B., Managing Change in Indonesian High Schools, ELT Journal, 44/1, 1990
Tomlinson, B., Choices in CELT, paper presented at ELT International Conference, Brasov, 1994
White, R. V., 'Managing Change', from Vision to Implementation, paper presented at ELTECS Network Conference, Bratislava, 1993
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