Construction of EFL Teacher Educators' Knowledge Base in a Teacher Education Program in Nicaragua

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand and describe the sources of Nicaraguan EFL teacher educators' knowledge base, the types of knowledge and skills that constructed their knowledge base, and the relationship of this knowledge base and classroom practices in a teacher education program at a Nicaraguan University. This study presents a literature review on the sources of knowledge and knowledge base of EFL teacher educators in the field of language teacher education. I used a purposeful sampling technique to select both the research site and the six EFL teacher educators who participated as research participants in this study. Data were collected from three sources: a curriculum analysis, six one-shot semi-structured interviews, and a document analysis to lesson plans, syllabi, and assessment instruments used by the research participants. To analyze the data collected, I used the qualitative data analysis model proposed by Miles, Huberman, and Saldana (2014). As a mode of findings, I describe the sources of knowledge, a categorization of knowledge base and skills that Nicaraguan EFL teacher educators possess as well as the relationship they identified between their knowledge base and their teaching practices in EFL teacher education classrooms. Findings revealed that Nicaraguan EFL teacher educators possess sixteen types of knowledge and fourteen types of skills that resulted from eight sources of knowledge, among which English proficiency, own experiences as language learners, subject knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, teaching experience in EFL teacher education programs, assessment knowledge of language student teachers, and knowledge of students' L1 seem to be the most important when it has to do with actual teaching in language teacher education classrooms. In addition, according to the findings, the process of becoming an EFL teacher educator may take many years. It begins with the professional coursework teacher educators take in their language teacher education programs where they first become English teachers. It continues with teaching experiences either in high schools, English teaching centers, or universities. Their professional knowledge as teacher educators is completed through the interaction with EFL preservice student teachers in teacher education classrooms, in which their previous pedagogical, linguistic, and teaching experiences as EFL teachers is transformed. In other words, their professional identity as EFL teacher educators is developed as they begin teaching in EFL teacher education programs. Pursuing this further, this study presents some pedagogical implications based on the findings that can help improve the quality and preparation of EFL teacher educators in Nicaragua. Finally, it offers some avenues for more research regarding the knowledge base of EFL teacher educators in Nicaraguan teacher education programs. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]