Teacher-Centred Classroom Observation in Benin: A New Approach to Teacher Professional Self-Development English Department

Abstract

Teacher observation is deemed as an essential procedure in teacher training and education. This article presents a framework for implementing a new approach to class observation in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Benin. In order to move along with the recent advancement in teacher education, this paper has tried to explore the current system of class observation, supervision and the various contextual issues related to this practice so as to propose a new scheme centered on teachers that may stand a long way to make a more valuable contribution to their overall professional growth and improvement.

The current research has used a semi-structured interview survey and a questionnaire to elicit qualitative and quantitative data from some purposively chosen classroom trained and untrained teachers, and some supervisory staff (teaching adviser, head teacher and inspector). The findings have elicited meaningful implications for the issue at stake. They have showed that despite the gloomy data collected in the field about classroom observation, the majority of the teachers still believe that if well-organized it can serve as an effective tool for professional growth. This has led to propose a new teacher-centered model of teacher observation totally based on teachers’ priorities which stands the chance of allowing teachers to take much of the responsibility for their own professional development.