Teacher Self-Evaluation in Their Own Practice A Case Study at Nhu Van Lan High School = Giáo viên tự đánh giá giờ dạy Nghiên cứu điển hình tại trường THPT Nhữ Văn Lan

i
DECLARATION


I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitled “Teacher Self-evaluation in Their Own
Practice: A Case Study at Nhu Van Lan High School” is the result of my own study to fulfill
the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at College of Foreign Languages, Hanoi
National University, and that this minor thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any
other universities or tertiary institution.
The research reported in this thesis was approved by Doctor To Thi Thu Huong,
Vietnam National University of Hanoi.

Signature:


Vu Thi Nhung











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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. To Thi
Thu Huong, from Vietnam National University, Hanoi, University of Languages and
International Studies for her thorough reading, critical comments, invaluable guidance and
precious corrections on my writing.
My sincere thanks also go to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Hung Tien and all the staff members
of the Faculty of Post–graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies,
Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their interesting and informative lectures that have
provided me with useful knowledge of teaching methodology.
I am also indebted to the teachers of English at Nhu Van Lan high school for their
enthusiastic assistance during the process of collecting data and information for my study.
Last but not least, I am greatly grateful to my husband and my family for their support
and encouragement in completing this minor thesis.















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ABSTRACT

In the academic year 2010-2011, Haiphong Department of Education and Training
introduced self-evaluation to teachers. In an attempt to investigate the reality of teacher self-
evaluation at Nhu Van Lan high school, a case-study approach was adopted. The main
purposes of the research were to find out: (1) English teachers’ attitude toward teacher self-
evaluation; (2) English teacher self-evaluation in practice; (3) the main difficulties in
implementing teacher self-evaluation. The cases in the study were six English teachers at Nhu
Van Lan high school.
The findings were based on
semi-structured interviews with teachers,
triangulated with group discussion and document analysis.
The results of the study show that all of the teachers had a positive attitude towards the
necessity of teacher self-evaluation in teaching and learning. The implementation of self-
evaluation raised teachers’ awareness of their teaching practices and somewhat increased the
effectiveness of teaching and learning. However, they also identified some problems such as lack
of official guidelines or training for self-evaluation, the time-consuming factor involved, little
improvement in teaching and learning effectiveness and the subjectivity of teacher self-
evaluation, etc. These findings serve as the basis for several practical recommendations made
to encourage teachers to apply self-evaluation as a reflective process in teaching in order to
improve their profession and the teaching and learning effectiveness. The recommendations
are made to Haiphong Department of Education and Training, the leaders of Nhu Van Lan
high school and individual English teachers of the school.

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ABBREVIATIONS

HDOET: Haiphong Department of Education and Training
NVL: Nhu Van Lan high school
TSE: Teacher self-evaluation

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration………………………………………………………………………………

Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………
…
Abbreviations
……………………………………………………………………
Table of contents
… ………………………………………………………………………
List of tables
………… …………………………………………………………………
PART A.
INTRODUCTION… ………………………………………………
1. Rationale…………………….………………………………………………

2. The study
aims………………………………………………………………
3. Research questions …………………………………………………………………
4. Method of the study
…………………………………………………………………
5. Scope of the
study……………………………………………………
6. Design of the
study…………………………………………………………………
PART B.
DEVELOPMENT……………………………………………………………
Chapter 1. Literature review………

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ii
iii
iv
v
vii
1
1
2
2
3
3
3
5
5
5

6
6
7

7
8
10
12
13
14
14
14


vi
………………………………………
1.1. Teacher self-
evaluation… ………………………………………………
1.2. Teacher self-evaluation as a reflective process
……………………………………
1.2.1. Definition of teacher self-evaluation as a reflective process
…………………
1.2.2. Benefits of teaching reflection in practice
……………………………
1.2.3. The strengths and weaknesses of teacher self-evaluation as a reflective
process
……………………………………
1.2.4. Necessary conditions for self-evaluation as a reflective
process……………
1.2.5. Approaches to teacher self-evaluation as a reflective process………………

1.3. Criteria of effective teaching judgment
……………………………………………
1.4. Empirical research on teacher self-
evaluation……………………………………
Chapter 2. The
study….………………………………………………………
2.1. Context of the
study……………………………………………………
2.2. Method of the
study………………………………………………………………
2.3. Data
collection……………………………………………………………………
2.3.1.
Participants…………………………………………………………………
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19
19
21
23
23
27
27
33
33
35
35
36

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III

IV
VI
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2.3.2. Data collection instruments and procedures
………………………………
2.4. Methods of data
analysis……………………………………………
Chapter 3. Results of data analysis and
discussions………………….………………
3.1. Semi-structured interviews
……………………………………………………….
3.2. Document
analysis………………………………………………… ……………
3.3. Group discussion
…………………………………………………………………
PART C.
CONCLUSION…………………………………………………….…
1. Summary of the
study………………………………………………………………….
2. Limitation of the research
………………… ………………………………………
3. Suggestions for further
study……………………………… …………………………
REFERENCES…………………………………………… ……………………

APPENDICES

Appendix 1. Guided questions for semi-structured
interviews……………………
Appendix 2. Guided questions for group
discussion……… ………………………
Appendix 3.
T
he instructions for teacher self-evaluation provided by
MOET……


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Appendix 4.
T
he instructions for teaching assessment sheet provided by HDOET

Appendix 5. Group discussion transcripts and
translation…… …………………










LIST OF TABLES

Pages

Table 1 ………………………………………………………………………… 19
Table 2 ………………………………………………………………………… 30
Table 3 ………………………………………………………………………… 31

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PART A. INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale:

How can teachers move beyond the level of automatic
or reutilized responses
to classroom
situations and achieve a higher level of awareness of how they teach, of
the kinds of
decisions they make as they teach, and of the value and consequences
of particular
instructional decisions? One way of doing this is through observing and
reflecting on one's own teaching, and using observation and reflection as a way of
bringing about change.
Concerning teacher self-evaluation issues, the researcher found that s
elf-
evaluation was a concept and process worth investigating, as it provided the possibility for
autonomy of one's evaluative decisions and the changes made to one's practices. Teacher self-
evaluation (
TSE)
as a means of systematic reflection has become a significant aspect of
professional development for teaching practitioners. It is being introduced widely in many
Western countries whereby teachers are becoming more actively involved in the assessment
of their own teaching practices and reflecting on the nature of effectiveness of their teaching
in order to improve its quality.

In some places like Hong Kong and Greece, there has been growing interest in this
process of self-evaluation as a more autonomous method for teachers to gain a better
understanding of their teaching practices and as a means to take the initiative to focus on areas
of improvement.
In Vietnam, not many studies have been done and written about this kind of
evaluation.
At Nhu Van Lan high school (NVL), in the 2010-2011 academic year, basing
on the suggestion of the expert of Haiphong Department of Education and Training
(HDOET), the administrators asked the teachers to feedback their teaching by noting
down some remarks after each teaching session. Lesson plans had to be modified in
order to be suitable for the characteristics of each teaching class. In other words,
teachers should self-evaluate their lessons to find out what needs to be changed. This

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indicated that HDOET and the administrators at NVL paid attention to the
importance of TSE in developing teacher professionally. However, how teachers
self-evaluate in reality,
how many ways a teacher could use to self evaluate their
teaching, based on what criteria, how he/she could take advantages of the self evaluation
result to improve teaching and learning effectiveness were questionable. In addition,
there
have not been any researches on teacher self-evaluation conducted at NVL.
All the above-mentioned reasons encouraged me to conduct the research
entitled
“Teacher Self-Evaluation in Their Own Practice: A Case Study at Nhu Van Lan High
School” in order to find out what are English teachers’ attitudes towards TSE, how they
applied teacher self-evaluation in their teaching practice, what problems they encountered
when self-evaluating and how to encourage them to make use of self evaluation for
teaching and learning effectiveness.

Overall, the researcher hopes that this study would not only provide a closer look at
the situation at NVL but also to propose some recommendations related to self evaluation
aspects for further improvement of English teaching and learning at NVL in particular and
those at the same context.
2. The study aims:
With the above rationale, the main aims of this research are:
- To find out English teachers’ attitudes towards TSE
- To examine how English teachers at NVL apply self- evaluation as a reflective process in
their teaching in reality
- To investigate the difficulties arisen when English teachers use TSE in their teaching
On the basis of the findings, the author recommends some ways to encourage English
teachers to apply self-evaluation as a reflective process for effective teaching and learning
and ways to overcome the difficulties as well.
3. The research questions:
With the aims stated above, the researcher proposed the following research questions
for the study:

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1. What are English teachers’ attitudes towards TSE?
2. How do English teachers self-evaluate in reality?
3. What difficulties do English teachers have in applying self-evaluation in their
teaching?
4. How to encourage English teachers at NVL to apply self-evaluation for effective
teaching and learning?
4. The method of the study:
The research was conducted as a case study. The qualitative method and
quantitative method were used to analyze the implementation of TSE as a reflective
process of English division at NVL. The specific methods used in this study were semi-
structured interviews, document analysis and group discussion.
5. The scope of the study.

The study focuses on investigating English teachers’ attitudes toward TSE, teacher
self-evaluation in practice, the obstacles preventing English teachers at NVL from carrying
out self-evaluation as reflective process. Then, some suggestions will be recommended to
encourage teachers to apply self-evaluation as reflective process in teaching in order to
improve their profession and the teaching and learning effectiveness as well.
6. The design of the study
The thesis was designed in three parts. Part A is The introduction. It provides a brief
overview of the study with more details of the rationale, the aims, the scope, the research
methodology as well as the design of the study.
Part B, the Development, consists of three chapters. Chapter 1 reviews the literature
in the field of self-evaluation. This chapter presents the theoretical background of the thesis
which contains three main points: teacher self-evaluation, teacher self-evaluation as a
reflective process and criteria of effective teaching judgment.
Chapter 2, namely The study, focuses on the method of the study, the contextual
factors of the case school and the data collection instruments and procedure.

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The next chapter, chapter 3, represents not only a detail description of data analysis
but also the discussion of the findings. Chapter 3 is divided into three parts dealing with
the data collected through three instruments: interview, document analysis, and group
discussion.
Part C, The conclusion, is devoted to the conclusions of the studies. It summarizes
the obstacles in implementing teacher self-evaluation as a reflective process in practice and
provides some recommendations to encourage teachers to apply self-evaluation as a
reflective process for the effectiveness in teaching and learning. In this part, the researcher
also mentions the limitations of the study and some recommendations for further study as
well.

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PART B. DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: Literature review
1.1. Teacher self-evaluation
Teacher self-evaluation was defined by Airasian and Gullickson (1997, p viii) as
a process in which teachers make judgments about the adequacy and effectiveness of their
own knowledge, performance, beliefs, and effects for the purpose of self-improvement. At
the heart of teacher self-evaluation is the belief that teachers’ main reasons for engaging in
professional development activities come from their own experiences of what it means to
be a teacher and from a personal need to understand, critique, and improve their own
practice. In self-evaluation, it is the teacher who collects, interprets, and judges information
bearing on personal practice. It is the teacher who frames criteria and standards to judge
the adequacy of his or her beliefs, knowledge, skills, and effectiveness. It is the teacher

who decides on the nature of professional development activities to be undertaken. Self-
evaluation is related to such concepts as the reflective practitioner, reflection on practice
Self-evaluation is an important process for several reasons. It can be done to determine
the effectiveness of certain teaching practices. Alternatively, the results can be used to
provide concrete evidence of good teaching and a commitment to its improvement.

According to Airasian & Gullickson (1997), self-evaluation:
1.
Is a professional responsibility.
2. Focuses professional development and improvement on the classroom or school level
where teachers have their greatest expertise and effect.
3.
Recognizes that organizational change is usually the result of individuals' changing
themselves and their personal practices, not of "top-dawn" mandates.
4. Gives teachers voice, that is, a stake in and control over their own practice.

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5.
Makes teachers aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their practice: it grows from
the immediacy and complexity of the classroom, as do teachers' motives and incentives.
6.
Encourages on going teacher development and discourages unchanging
classroom
beliefs, routines, and methods.

7. Treats the teachers as a professional and can improve teacher morale and motivation.
8.
Encourages collegial interaction and discussions about teaching
Kremer-Hayon (1993) notes however, that the value one attaches to the process of self-
evaluation is personal and subjective. "The benefits that teachers may derive from each of

these modes of evaluation depend upon the goals at hand, the specific interests and needs
that may emerge in different situations, and the way teachers feel more comfortable with, and
which they perceive as more useful in promoting their professional development"(p.80).
Although self-evaluation is important and beneficial, many of the researchers and
writers note that it is only one part of the teacher evaluation process. It complements, rather
than replaces the evaluation process (Airasian & Gullickson 1997; Kremer-Hayon 1993).
Much of the theoretical information on self-evaluation is not isolated as a separate
entity in teacher development; rather, it is conceptualized into two main areas of educational
research: teacher reflection and teacher evaluation. For the purpose of this research, I will
not focus a great deal of the discussion on self-evaluation as a strategy in teacher evaluation
but narrow the focus of the literature review to self-evaluation mainly as a reflective process
in teacher development. In doing this, I can emphasize teacher reflection as a part of the
process of self-evaluation and its significance in promoting ongoing professional self-
development in English as a foreign language teacher.
1.2. Teacher self-evaluation as a reflective process
1.2.1. Definition of teacher self-evaluation as a reflective process
Self-reflection is what people do semi-automatically and semi-consciously
whenever they teach. Most of their mental activity is concerned with making the
presentation or leading the discussion. But one portion of their mental attention is
concerned with “how is it going?”; “Are they with me?”; “Am I losing them?”; “Are they
interested or bored?”

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Self-evaluation as a systematic process of reflection is a form of teacher self-
development that is an autonomous process enabling teachers to take control of their
professional development and to form their own judgments regarding their teaching
practices.
The primary focus of self-evaluation is reflection. Reflection in teaching means
looking at what you do in the classroom, thinking about why you do it,
and thinking about

if it works - a process of self-observation and self-evaluation. By collecting
information
about what goes on in our classroom, and by analyzing and evaluating this information,
we identify and explore our own practices and underlying beliefs. This may then lead to
changes and improvements in our teaching. Reflective teaching involves recognizing,
examining, ruminating over the way an individual teaches. As individuals possess
their own
background and experience, bring certain beliefs, assumptions, knowledge,
attitudes and values to teaching.
1.2.2. Benefits of teaching reflection in practice
The primary benefit of reflective practice for teachers is a deeper understanding
of their own teaching style and ultimately, greater effectiveness as a teacher. Other
specific benefits noted in current literature include the validation of a teacher's ideals,
beneficial challenges to tradition, the recognition of teaching as artistry, and respect for
diversity in applying theory to classroom practice.
1.2.3. The strengths and weaknesses of teacher self-evaluation as a reflective
process
The first value of self-reflection is that it is immediate and constant. You do not have
to wait a week or a day or even an hour to get the result. It happens right way. Hence
adjustments are possible right way. The second strength is that this information is
automatically created in terms that are meaningful to the teacher because it is the teacher
who creates the information. It is the teacher, not someone else, who look at the situation
and says “This is what is happening.” This does not mean that teachers always know why
it is happening, or what to do about it if it is something they do not like. However they do
have their own sense of what is happening. It happens all the time while they are teaching.
They may only take a mental pause every few minutes to size up the situation. By

8
comparison with the other sources of information discussed, this takes place continuously.
However, the strength of this source is also its weakness because this information is

created by the teacher and for the teacher. Sometimes, they thought their students
understood their lessons, or they looked interested but in fact, they did not. We all have our
own blind spots and lack complete objectivity. This means that, at times, we are going to
misread the responses of students to our teaching.
1.2.4. Necessary conditions for self-evaluation as a reflective process
To ensure effective self-evaluation practices among teachers, Kremer-Hayon (1993)
refers to two necessary conditions for self-evaluation: teachers' environmental conditions
as well as their personal characteristics.
Environmental conditions include the necessary contextual support for teacher
growth and development. "Teachers are viewed as trained practitioners, working alone,
responsible for their own classes, with little need for reflection or discussion" (1993, p.
144). "Some researchers have suggested that variations in teacher reflection may be due to
existing institutional policies and practices, as well as to factors in the teaching
environment, such as allocated time for teacher planning, administrators' policies and
practices, curriculum guidelines, or support for collegial interaction" (Peterson &
Comeaux,1990,p.4).
According to Cole (1997), many professional contexts do not in fact encourage or
support reflective practice. She has observed that "many teachers who engage in systematic
inquiry into their practice do so secretly, behind closed doors or away from their places of
work" (p. 7). This is further supported by Scriven (1994) who states, "the requirement for
serious self-evaluation is a heavy one, and not always recognized as part of every
professional job. It is not likely to be accepted by teachers if they are treated as workers who
are constantly being told how to do things, rather than as professionals who are responsible
for getting certain things done in the way they judge best" (p. 159).
As a result, Cole emphasizes "the need for researchers to shift their attention away
from how teachers think about their work, or that they need to, to consider how it might be
made possible for them to do so" (1997, p.7). She suggests that research be focused more on
preparing educational contexts so that they are more conducive to teacher learning and

9

growth (1997). According to Hargreaves & Fullan (1992), the seeds of development will
not grow if they are cast on stony ground. Critical reflection will not take place if there is
neither time nor encouragement for it". Support for this professional endeavor needs to begin
in the workplace.
Kremer-Havon also states that, "teachers must be convinced that self-evaluation is a
necessary constituent of professional development and a helpful element in achieving
educational aims" (1993, p. ix). Furthermore, Kremer-Hayon refers to the significance of
teacher autonomy in making decisions, "psychologically, teachers, like all other professional
adults, need some recognition of the value of their work from their superiors. If these needs
are satisfied there is a good chance that they will be motivated to fulfill themselves through
teaching and not seek self-fulfillment elsewhere. Consequently, they will probably be more
willing to undertake new educational activities and will not fear to take risks" (p. 13). In
addition, she feels that self-evaluation initiatives should receive the funding that is required to
provide in-service training.
A second condition for self-evaluation includes the personal characteristics of teachers
that determine whether or not teachers will engage in self-evaluation of their teaching
practices. These characteristics can be broken down into three primary areas: teachers'
perception of teaching as a profession, teachers' role perceptions and teacher career stages.
According to Kremer-Hayon, if teachers perceive teaching as a mission and a lifelong
process of development which they are dedicated to, "the greater the likelihood of developing
a positive attitude and willingness to engage in the self-evaluation process" (1993, p. l5). If
they
are somewhat autonomous in instructional planning and its implementation, they
will probably
be more encouraged to evaluate their own work. "Teachers must be
convinced that self-evaluation is a necessary constituent of professional development and a
helpful element in achieving educational aims" (p. ix). The teaching context needs to
encourage this.
A teacher's perception of his or her role in the classroom is also significant in the
process of self-evaluation. "How the teacher perceives his/her role whether it be as a

transmitter of knowledge to a facilitator of learning, to teacher as investigator and researcher
into the teaching-learning processes in his or her classroom relates to self-evaluation" (p.

10
15). Therefore, teachers who view teaching and learning as a process of discovery where they
take an active role in asking questions and forming inquiries into their practices, are more
likely to take part in the self-evaluation process.
Finally, there is a relationship between the stage at which teachers are at in their career
and its potential impact on whether or not they will be reluctant or enthusiastic toward self-
evaluation. The stages teachers will experience in their entire career from the pre-service
level to that of the point when they are exiting their career will determine their interest in
engaging in such a process. Teachers who are at the beginning of their teaching career are
generally striving to learn new skills and improve on any areas of weakness. These teachers
are more likely to take an interest in self-evaluation. Teachers who are closer to retiring or
considering a departure from the teaching profession, may not want to expend the time or
efforts required in the self evaluation process.
1.2.5. Approaches to teacher self-evaluation as a reflective process

Many different approaches can be employed if one wishes to become a
critically reflective teacher.
Carroll (1981)
suggests personal
reflection through self-
rating forms; self reports; peer observation and; self-study material.
Richards (1990)
recommends personal
reflection through journals or diaries; self-reporting by completing
inventories or checklists and audio or video recordings of a lesson. Airasian and Gullickson
(1997) also suggest: teacher portfolios, student performance data, collegial dialogue,
experience sharing, and joint problem solving. In

our school teaching context, peer
observation,
journals or diaries, self-reporting and
collaborative diary keeping
seem to
be the most suitable ones.
Peer Observation

Peer observation can be used to provide opportunities for teachers to view each
other’s teaching in order to expose them to different teaching styles and provides
opportunities for critical reflection on their own teaching.
Self-reporting


Another useful way of engaging in the reflective process is self-reporting by
completing an inventory or checklist in which the teacher indicates which teaching
practices were used within the lesson or within a specified time period and how often they

11
were employed. The inventory may be completed individually or in group sessions. Self-
reports help teachers focus on the teaching of specific skill in a particular classroom
context.
Journal Writing
A procedure which is becoming more widely acknowledged as a valuable
tool for developing critical
reflection is the journal or diary. The goal of journal
writing is:
1. to provide a record of significant learning experiences that have taken place
2. to help the participant come in touch and keep in touch with the self-evaluation
process that is taking place for them

3. to provide the participant with an opportunity to express, in a personal and dynamic
way, their self-development
4. to poster a creative interaction
 between the participant and the self-development process that is
taking place
 between the participant and other participants who are also in
the process of self-development


between the participant and the facilitator whose role is poster
such development

(Powell,
1985, Bailey, 1990)

Collaborative Diary Keeping


Teachers are able to share their teaching experiences by reading one another’s diary
entries. They also feel that teachers can learn as much from one another’s entries as they
are from their own. Reading and responding to the entries lead them back to their own
teaching to consider how and why they taught as they did.
In short, many approaches and techniques help teachers to monitor their teaching
style, however, we teachers busy at work need the self-evaluation techniques that are
concise, practical, and easy to implement in the classroom right after each teaching session.

12
1.3. Criteria of effective teaching judgment
Effective teaching is the basis of successful learning. Effective teaching identifies
and builds on prior knowledge, makes real-life connection, develops deep understanding

and monitors and reflects on learning. Not only do teachers self-evaluate their teaching for
professional development but students also get benefits from teacher teaching awareness.
Although many people believed that good teaching is impossible to define in any
general way, many others suggest that certain characteristics are associated with good
school teaching as viewed by students, other teachers and administrators. In a study of
winners of the Alumini Distinguished Teaching Award at Ohio State (Ebro, 1997), the
characteristics of effective teaching base on traits of effective teachers are shown below:
 The teacher got right down to business.
 They began class promptly and were well organized.
 They taught at an appropriately fast pace, but stopped regularly to check student
comprehension and encouragement.
 They used a variety of instructional strategies rather than lecture alone.
 They focus on topic and their instructional objectives and did not get sidetracked.
 Their explanations were clear.
 They used humor that was in keeping with their individual styles.
 They practiced good classroom management techniques, holding the attention and
respect of the group.
 They interacted with students by providing immediate answers to questions or
comments and corrective feedback when needed.
 They praised student answers and used probing questions to extend the answers.
 They provided a warm classroom climate by allowing students to speak freely and by
including personal humor or other attempts to relate to students as people.
 They used nonverbal behavior, such as gestures, walking around, and eye contact, to
reinforce their comments.

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1.4. Empirical research on teacher self-evaluation
Teacher self-evaluation has been the focus of numerous studies. However, almost of
them were researched at Western countries. Besides, their main concern is introducing this
new kind of evaluation. Difficulties in implementing teacher self-evaluation receive less

attention of researchers in the world.
Doff (1988) has included a self-evaluation questionnaire after each unit in his
training course for future foreign language teachers. The purpose of the questionnaire is to
encourage the teachers-to-be to reflect on their own teaching-practice after each training
session. Taylor (1994) stated the benefit of self evaluation as refection on teaching
and
suggested the technique that has been found to be successful.
In response to the
emerging need to develop teachers as professionals who evaluate their own work, Lya
Kremer-Hayon (1993) published the book titled “Teacher self-evaluation: teachers in their
own mirror” which presents the foundations of self-evaluation as well as self-evaluation
models and tools that are likely to help educational practitioners to evaluate their own
teaching, and thus raise the level of their professional functioning. Limantoro (2003)
inspired language teachers as well as language supervisors or principals with fruitful ideas
on TSE models as teacher porfolio to monitor language teachers’ performance.











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Chapter 2: The study
2.1. Context of the Study
The study was conducted at Nhu Van Lan high school, which is located at Tienlang

district- the rural area of Haiphong city. NVL was founded in 1999. It was a semi-public
school and has changed into a public school for five years. The school is in progress of
construction; therefore, the teaching facilities are poorly equipped. For the 2010-2011
academic year, the school has more than 1,000 students (405- grade 10, 360- grade 11,
415- grade 12), 28 classes with an average 43 students per class. There are 6 teachers of
English and 52 others who are teaching different subjects at this school. The English
teachers are between 25 and 36 years of age. As other subjects, English teaching is often
evaluated mainly on students’ test scores. Teacher self-evaluation is officially done once a
year after the school year finishes. Teachers self evaluate many aspects including their
teaching abilities, educational abilities, political and social abilities, professional
development abilities, etc. (For further information, see appendix 3). This result is used for
the evaluation of teachers’ abilities in common with the consideration for teachers’
promotion. Teacher self-evaluation for a reflective process was introduced to the teachers
in October, 2010 when the expert of Haiphong Department of Education and Training went
to work in the school.
2.2. Method of the study
In order to address the research questions that form the basis of inquiry within this
research effectively, it became evident that as a result of its naturalistic and interpretative
approach, qualitative research would be the most appropriate method to obtain teacher
feedback. The case study as a strategy for inquiry or research design has been chosen to carry
out this research in order to understand the experiences of a specific group of teachers.
Qualitative Research
Historically, the focus of qualitative research has been on the study of human life in
the social science disciplines. Its approach is naturalistic. Its objective is to understand the
meaning of an experience (Merriam, 1988, p.16) from a human perspective. The focus on
meaning allows for a greater understanding of the situation within a particular context
whereby the researcher can derive information about the participants as it relates to them in

15
their own setting and the meanings construed by them. "Qualitative research is multi-

method in focus, involving an interpretative, naturalistic approach to its subject matter
qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or
interpret, phenomena in
terms of the meanings people bring to them" (Denzin &
Lincoln, 1994, p. 2).

This multi-method focus allows the researcher to utilize multiple methods and
materials upon which to obtain an in-depth understanding of the situation being studied,
without preference or emphasis placed on any one particular method. These include: case
studies, personal experience, introspection, life stories, interviews, observations, histories,
interactions, and visual texts that describe routine and problematic moments and meanings
in individuals' lives.
The design characteristics of qualitative research are "emergent and flexible,
responsive to changing conditions of the study in progress" (Merriam, 1998, p. 8).
Therefore, the consideration for variability in this process is a possibility, an important
consideration when conducting research focusing on human behavior in context.
Case Studies in Qualitative Research
Case studies are bounded systems (Smith, 1978) that allow the researcher to
concentrate attention on the way particular groups of people confront specific problems,
taking a holistic view of the situation. They involve "'the examination of a specific
phenomenon such as a program, an event, a person, a process, an institution, or a social
group the case is selected because it is an instance of some concern, issue, or hypothesis"
(Merriam, 1988, p. 9). "By concentrating on a single phenomenon or entity ("the case"), this
approach aims to uncover the interaction of significant factors characteristic of the
phenomenon" (Stake, 1994, p.10).
The case study provides the researcher with ''insight, discovery, and interpretation"
(Merriam, 1988, p. 10). Because it is field-based, it allows the researcher to explore
phenomena directly from the human experience. Self-evaluation is also field focused as
teachers form inquiries into their teaching practices. "Teachers who evaluate their work seek
to interpret, explain the meanings of observed situations or events, put them in a context,

assume potential sequences, and use their pedagogical knowledge and experience to account

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for the studied events" (Kremer-Hayon, 1993, p. 129).
Furthermore, "field research better captures situations and settings which are more
amenable to policy and program intervention than are accumulated individual attributes"
(Merriam, 1988, p. 33). In fact, the case study can also be a disciplined force in public
policy setting and reflection on human experience Case studies are of value in
refining theory and suggesting complexities for further investigation, as well as helping to
establish the limits of generalizability" (Stake, 1994, p. 245).
In this research, the case study method is applicable to the context of NVL because
it can be used to examine the implementation of English teacher self-evaluation at NVL.
The study involves not only the description of what is happening in reality but also the
investigation of the problems arising during self-evaluation process. The researcher applies
principle of relativity in identifying the best solutions for the problems. Then, the
researcher follows the steps of conducting a case study.
Step 1. Determine and Define the Research Questions
TSE - a suggestion of the expert of HDOET- was first introduced at NVL in the
academic year 2010-2011. In this case, the researcher is primarily interested in determining
how these teachers applied TSE and what difficulties they might have when implementing
TSE. The researcher begins with a review of the literature to determine what prior studies
have determined about this issue and uses the literature to define the questions for the
study. They are:
1. What are English teachers’ attitudes toward TSE?
2. How do English teachers self-evaluate in reality?
3. What difficulties do English teachers have in applying self-evaluation in their
teaching?
4. How to encourage English teachers at NVL to apply self-evaluation for effective
teaching and learning?
Step 2. Select the Cases and Determine Data Gathering and Analysis Techniques

All the teachers at NVL have engaged in TSE; however, the researcher only
chooses the English division as a case with six sub-cases – English teachers to be studied.

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The researcher contacts the leaders of NVL for their permission and all the English
teachers at NVL who are the key participants of the case study.
The researcher considers multiple sources of data for this study. First, the
investigator decides to conduct semi-structured interviews with each participant using a
check-list to guide interviewers during the interview process so that uniformity and
consistency can be assured in the data. In this case study, the researcher does not employ
direct observation as a tool because she does not want to intervene in the fact of
implementation of TSE. The researcher instead decides to collect the teachers’ lesson plans
to explore what the teachers did in reality. Finally, on the basis of the findings from the
two first techniques, a group discussion is used as a third data gathering tool. Within-case
and cross-case analysis of data are selected as analysis techniques.
Step 3. Prepare to Collect the Data
The researcher prepares to collect data by first contacting each participant to be
studied to gain their cooperation, explain the purpose of the study, and assemble key
contact information. Since data to be collected and examined includes documents of
teachers’ lesson plans, the researcher states her intent to request copies of these documents.
The data collection procedure also consists of conducting a group discussion; thus the
researcher gives a detailed explanation of the purpose of the case study. The researcher
selects a teacher as a pilot case, and the investigator applies the data gathering tools to the
pilot case to determine whether the planned timeline is feasible and whether or not the
interview is appropriate and effective. Based on the results of the pilot, the researcher
makes adjustments for the real participants of the study.
Step 4. Collect Data in the Field
The investigator first arranges to visit each teacher. The investigator reviews the
purpose of the study, schedules individual interview times with the participants, and
confirms key contact data.

The investigator’s field notes record from the interviews is assisted with the
interpretation of the document analysis. Once the findings are revealed, the researcher
enters the data into the database so that it can be used independently as well as integrated
when the case study progresses to the point of all participants’ discussion.