Investigating Teachers' Attitudes toward the Adequacy of Teacher Training Programs and CBA-related Instructional Materials: A Case Study of the Algerian Intermediate School Teachers of English in the Region of Biskra

Abstract

The present, dual-focused descriptive-interpretive study purports itself to investigate the attitudes of the middle school teachers of English in the aftermath of the implementation of new school reforms that aim to introduce a new, interdisciplinary approach (viz., Competency-Based Approach) as a medium of instruction. This research evolves from and revolves around a prevailing assertion: namely, that is the teaching-learning process has a firm attitudinal footing. Differently stated, the aim of the study is to explore teachers’ attitudes and the extent to which these may affect their engagement in the teaching-learning process. It should be noted that teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, cognition, emotions, and values appear to be customarily underexplored so much so that psychological aspects are assumed to be ancillary at best or non-existent at worst. The answers provided in the questionnaires (three in all), which are the linchpin of our investigation along with the unstructured interviews, sit well with the hypothetical framework, which is formulated as follows: If we rethink teacher education and training, improve teachers’ socio-professional conditions, and involve teachers in decision making, we will significantly reduce teachers’ negative attitudes. The targeted population of this study is the middle school teachers of English in the Region of Biskra of which seventy (70) teachers responded to the questionnaires and the unstructured interviews.....