Reaearch On Influencing Factors And Development Of Practical Knowledge Of English Teachers In Junior High School

With the improvement of educational level, teacher’s professional development receives more and more attention. As an important part of teacher’s professional development, teacher’s knowledge becomes the research focus in the educational field. Because of the complexity, situation and uncertainty of teaching practice, scholars began to study the knowledgewhich teachers actually possess and use instead of the knowledge which teachers should be equipped with. Since the research of Elbazin 1980 s, scholars started to do research on teachers and teaching in terms of teaching practice. Thus, much attentions had been paid to teachers’ professional knowledge.The study adopted mixed research method which combined both survey and interview methods to examine the practical knowledge of English teachers in junior high school. Through the surveystudy, the research found the cognition, influential factors and paths of promotion on practical knowledge of English teachers in junior high school. Based on the results of the data analysis,the outline of the interview wasdesigned to explore how teachers’ practical knowledge is formed and developed. Then suggestions were offered to promote the development of teachers’ teaching practice.Research findings shows that English teachers in junior high school paid equal attention to each part of teachers’ practical knowledge as a whole. It was considered that the most important practical knowledge were knowledge of students, instruction and curriculum. Knowledge of instruction was also considered as the most needed practical knowledge; there were some differences on teachers’ practical knowledge which was influenced by the years of teaching, educational background, position, region and school types of the teachers; teachers’ inside self-reflection and outside interaction with other teachers had combined effects on the formation and development of their practical knowledge. Based on the results and discussion, the paper finally put forward some suggestions toimprove the development of teachers’ practical knowledge.