عنوان

Investigating the perceptions of EAP teachers about curriculum challenges in Colleges of Applied Sciences in Oman

TLets744018

Investigating the perceptions of EAP teachers about curriculum challenges in Colleges of Applied Sciences in Oman

[Thesis]

Al Issaei, Nadiya Sulaiman Ali

Abdollahzadeh, Esmaeel

University of Exeter

2017

Thesis (Ph.D.)

2017

The area of curriculum development in courses of English for Academic Purposes has received considerable attention in the curriculum literature at international level. This has been reflected through the proliferation of studies and publications which were aimed at targeting various issues of EAP curriculum development. However, in the Omani higher education context, there has been a scarcity of local research studies that have approached curriculum issues in EAP courses. The current study is aimed at investigating the perceptions of EAP teachers about existing curriculum challenges in Colleges of Applied Sciences in Oman and to further explore the nature of these challenges in minimizing the effectiveness of teaching and learning of EAP courses at the colleges. The study is informed by the interpretive constructivist paradigm. It is based on a case study methodology utilizing the merits of mixed methods research. The initial phase of data collection was quantitative and it started with distributing an on-line questionnaire to all EAP teachers across the six CAS colleges. The subsequent qualitative phase was based on conducting semi-structured interviews with 20 EAP teachers from two CAS colleges and it was intended to provide a deep investigation about EAP curriculum challenges as perceived by the EAP teachers who participated in the study. The findings indicated that the centralized top-down approach under which EAP courses are provided at CAS has been a major challenge to the development of the curriculum. It was also revealed that the role of EAP teachers has been limited to the implementation of their teaching duties and that they weren't allowed to contribute actively in other curriculum elements. The findings highlight that curriculum development and teacher professional development are interrelated which means that focusing on the area of professional development needs more attention as indicated in the findings. The findings also allude to the significance of encouraging collaborative efforts among EAP teachers and subject area teachers.

Al Issaei, Nadiya Sulaiman Ali

Abdollahzadeh, Esmaeel

University of Exeter

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y