Iranian EFL Teachers’ Perception of Multicultural Teacher Effectiveness: The Context of Iran

Subject Areas :

Shahram Naghdiani ¹ , Neda Fatehi Rad ² , Parviz Maftoon ³

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Received: 2024-05-17 Accepted : 2024-07-19 Published : 2024-07-29

Keywords: Effective Teaching, Multiculturalism, Multicultural Education, Teacher Effectiveness.,

Abstract :

Multicultural education is a product of the impact of the globalization on education. Further, a factor with a main role in EFL teaching and learning is teacher effectiveness which has a significant place in the World educational programs. The present study sought to explore Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions of pluralistic teacher effectiveness. In line with the objective of the present study, the basic interpretive design within a qualitative paradigm. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 40 Iranian (20 males and 20 females) EFL teachers teaching in public high schools in different Iranian provinces. They were conveniently selected from among those teachers who were members of virtual groups and channels. To collect the required data, a semi-structured interview was implemented. Data analysis was done via qualitative thematic analysis. As revealed by the results, the following perceptions were extracted concerning pluralistic teacher effectiveness: Having Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication with Learners; Recognizing Differences among Students’ Learning Strategies; Having Preliminary Knowledge of Different Subjects; Taking Advantage of Different Teaching Methods; Showing Respect and Attention to all Students; Teaching Ruminatively; Having Accountability and Responsibility; Generating a Conducive Class Atmosphere; Using Technology; Using Motivational Strategies; Using Various Evaluation Methods; and Building a Fair Classroom.

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International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Research  ISSN: 2322-3898-http://jfl.iaun.ac.ir/journal/about © 2025- Published by Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch

 

Please cite this paper as follows: Naghdiani, Sh., Fatehi Rad, N., &   Maftoon, P. (2025). Iranian EFL Teachers’ Perception of Multicultural Teacher Effectiveness: The Context of Iran. International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 13 (52), 11-22.  https://doi.org/10.71962/jfl.2024.11127852

 

 

Iranian EFL Teachers’ Perception of Multicultural Teacher Effectiveness: The Context of Iran

Shahram Naghdiani1, Neda Fatehi Rad2*, Parviz Maftoon3

1Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English Language, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

[e-mail]

2Assistant Professor, Department of English Language, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran

[e-mail]

3Associate Professor, Department of English Language, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

[e-mail]

           

 

Abstract Multicultural education is a product of the impact of globalization on education. Further, a factor that plays a main role in EFL teaching and learning is teacher effectiveness, which has a significant place in world educational programs. The present study sought to explore Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions of pluralistic teacher effectiveness. In line with the objective of the present study, the basic interpretive design is within a qualitative paradigm. The study sample consisted of a total of 40 Iranian (20 males and 20 females) EFL teachers teaching in public high schools in different Iranian provinces. They were conveniently selected from among those teachers who were members of virtual groups and channels. To collect the required data, a semi-structured interview was implemented. Data analysis was done via qualitative thematic analysis. As revealed by the results, the following perceptions were extracted concerning pluralistic teacher effectiveness: Having Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication with Learners; Recognizing Differences among Students’ Learning Strategies; Having Preliminary Knowledge of Different Subjects; Taking Advantage of Different Teaching Methods; Showing Respect and Attention to all Students; Teaching Ruminatively; Having Accountability and Responsibility; Generating a Conducive Class Atmosphere; Using Technology; Using Motivational Strategies; Using Various Evaluation Methods; and Building a Fair Classroom. The findings have some implications for different groups of stakeholders, including EFL teachers, teacher educators, and teacher education material developers. Key terms: Effective Teaching, Multiculturalism, Multicultural Education, Teacher Effectiveness.

 

درک معلمان ایرانی زبان انگلیسی از اثربخشی معلم چندفرهنگی: تکیه بر محیط آموزشی مبتنی بر فناوری آموزش چندفرهنگی محصول تأثیر جهانی شدن بر آموزش است. علاوه بر این یکی از عواملی که در آموزش و یادگیری زبان انگلیسی نقش اساسی دارد، اثربخشی معلم است که در برنامه‌های آموزشی جهان جایگاه قابل توجهی دارد. در واقع رویکردهای چندفرهنگی به آموزش، پاسخ‌های نوآورانه و کارآمد به نیازها و خواسته‌های آموزشی جدید دنیای چندفرهنگی و چندزبانه است. لذا با توجه به این واقعیت، نظام‌های آموزشی باید با تمرکز بر هویت‌های فرهنگی دانش‌آموزان، والدین و جوامع، چندفرهنگی را مورد توجه قرار دهند. به این ترتیب می توان موفقیت دانش آموزان در یادگیری را تضمین و با پیشرفت های جدید آموزش و پرورش سازگارتر کرد. با توجه به بحث فوق، پژوهش حاضر به دنبال بررسی درک معلمان ایرانی زبان انگلیسی ازکثرت اثربخشی معلم در محیط آموزشی مبتنی بر فناوری  است. در راستای هدف پژوهش حاضر، طرح تفسیری اساسی در قالب یک پارادایم کیفی برای آن انتخاب شد. نمونه پژوهش شامل 40 معلم زبان انگلیسی (20 مرد و 20 زن) ایرانی بود که در دبیرستان های دولتی استان های مختلف ایران تدریس می کردند.آنها دارای مدرک لیسانس و کارشناسی ارشد با 7 تا 20 سال سابقه تدریس زبان انگلیسی با محدوده سنی 30 تا 55 سال بودند. این افراد به راحتی از بین معلمان زبان انگلیسی در محیط آموزشی الکترونیک که عضو گروه ها و کانال های مجازی بودند انتخاب شدند. برای جمع آوری داده های مورد نیاز، مصاحبه نیمه ساختاریافته اجرا شد. تجزیه و تحلیل داده ها با استفاده از تحلیل موضوعی کیفی در چهار مرحله انجام شد. همانطور که نتایج نشان داد، موارد زیر از بررسی درک  معلمان در رابطه با کثرت اثربخشی معلم استخراج شد: داشتن ارتباط کلامی و غیرکلامی با فراگیران؛ شناخت تفاوت ها بین راهبردهای یادگیری دانش آموزان؛ استفاده از فناوری آموزش؛ داشتن دانش مقدماتی از موضوعات مختلف؛ بهره گیری از روش های مختلف تدریس؛ ابراز احترام و توجه به همه دانش آموزان؛ آموزش بازاندیشی؛ مسئولیت پذیری؛ ایجاد جو مساعد کلاس؛ استفاده از راهبردهای انگیزشی؛ استفاده از روش های مختلف ارزشیابی و ایجاد یک کلاس درس منصفانه. بر اساس یافته‌های پژوهش حاضر، می‌توان نتیجه گرفت که تلاش برای آموزش مؤثر در نمونه چند فرهنگی مستلزم برقراری ارتباط کلامی و غیرکلامی معلمان زبان انگلیسی با دانش‌آموزان برای رفع ناعادلانه رفتاری در کلاس است. علاوه بر این، می‌توان نتیجه گرفت که اثربخشی معلم چندفرهنگی با استفاده از روش ارزشیابی خاص همخوانی ندارد، بلکه نیازمند بهره‌گیری از تنوع در ارزیابی دانش و عملکرد دانش‌آموزان است. به عنوان آخرین نکته قابل توجه، می توان نتیجه گرفت که آموزش زبان انگلیسی تنها با یک روش تدریس خاص با اثربخشی معلمان چندفرهنگی سازگار نیست. در عوض، معلمان مؤثر، بر اساس چندفرهنگ گرایی، کسانی هستند که روش های مختلف را به شیوه ای التقاطی امتحان می کنند.یافته‌های این پژوهش دستاوردهایی برای گروه‌های مختلف از جمله معلمان زبان انگلیسی، مربیان معلم و توسعه‌دهندگان مواد آموزشی معلمان دارد. توسعه دهندگان مطالب آموزشی می توانند مواد آموزشی آینده را ارتقا بخشند که اصول آموزش چند فرهنگی و ویژگی های معلم موثر در نظر گرفته شود. واژگان کلیدی: آموزش مؤثر، چندفرهنگی، آموزش چندفرهنگی، اثربخشی معلم، محیط آموزشی مبتنی بر فناوری

 

Introduction

The globalization phenomenon has influenced different aspects of life throughout the World. Among the aspects of life that are under the effect of globalization, teaching and learning English as a foreign language (EFL) can be referred to (Moeinvaziri et al., 2020). Multicultural education is a product of the impact of globalization on education (Zohrabi et al., 2019). Parker (2019) argues for a change of paradigm from unitarianism towards the use of multiculturalism in educational realms to make the acquisition of new knowledge and ideology easier via diversity as a lever. Unitarianism, contrary to multiculturalism, is a school of teaching wherein unity or centralization is advocated to improve exclusive interests and legitimize the demands and expectations of minorities in society (Dimova-Cookson, 2021). On the contrary, multiculturalism is an opportunity for the peaceful co-existence of diverse worldviews, thinking lines, cultural stances, social attitudes, personal tastes, etc. (Zohrabi et al., 2019). Multicultural education is characterized by a democratic view that welcomes diversity in language, culture, mindset, understanding, socio-cultural orientation, and communicative styles to encourage multicultural and multi-linguistic interaction and peaceful co-existence (Lidz, 2021).

      Further, a factor that plays a main role in EFL teaching and learning is teacher effectiveness, which has a significant place in world educational programs. This is mainly rooted in the stance that effective teaching contributes to effective learning as an explicitly defined objective of EFL education (Richards, 2015). As Chen et al. (2022) put it, teacher effectiveness is tied to the professional capability of teachers to teach efficiently and positively affect learners’ success in learning. The position taken by them is that teacher effectiveness is paramount in learners’ effectiveness of learning and their mental development. 

      By effective teachers, those teachers are meant who are able to change and revolutionize students’ ideologies and beliefs. They are not proponents of a banking system of education wherein a fixed volume of information is poured into students’ minds (Mehta & Gupta, 2022). Mehta and Gupta (2022) regard teacher effectiveness as a must for high-quality teaching and pedagogic activities and strategies used in educational contexts. Campbell et al. (2004), who is a dean in teacher effectiveness, transcends the impacts of teacher effectiveness to various components of education, including teaching methods, assignment and utilization of resources, and student performance. Interestingly, Ronald (2009) regards a two-way association between teacher effectiveness and classroom achievement when he said that teacher effectiveness contributes to classroom success and is influenced by it. To him, the relationship between teacher effectiveness and learning success is a dynamic one.

       The above discussions are encouraging enough to lead to the conclusion that teacher effectiveness is tightly related to students’ learning. As mentioned above, teacher effectiveness cannot be imagined in the absence of transforming students’ subjectivity and thinking lines. However, transforming students’ thinking has some presuppositions, one of which is being informed of the latest shifts and developments in the World's educational systems. This means that teachers’ tendency to transform students’ minds can be converted to effective practices if teachers benefit from the newest changes in the orientations and stance taken by the World educational programs (Parker, 2019).

      Accordingly, it can be argued that merging teacher effectiveness with the last educational changes can better guarantee the materialization of the defined missions of effective teachers. Since learners are characterized by diversity in culture, viewpoint, socio-economic background, and so on, a recent educational movement that can be merged with teacher effectiveness is multiculturalism. Multiculturalism and diversity cannot be seen as separated from each other (Maftuhin, 2022; Zohrabi et al., 2019). According to McConnell (2008), in multicultural education, differences and diversity are welcomed rather than rejected. The belief is that due to diversity and variety inherent in learners’ aspects of personality and life, they should be stimulated to engage in multicultural interactions and reach intercultural understanding. As suggested by Giselbrecht (2009), multicultural education is a democratic notion according to which linguistic and cultural diversity, open-mindedness, mutual resilience, and shared understanding should be emphasized in different educational systems. In multicultural education, the learner is educated so that he/she becomes a supporter of intercultural communication and interaction (Motamed et al., 2013). In fact, multicultural approaches to education are innovative and efficient responses to new educational needs and demands of the multicultural and multilingual world, and considering the fact that educational systems should address multiculturalism by focusing on the cultural identifications of students, parents, and communities (Rohmat et al., 2023).

     Up to now, it is perceived from what was said above that for teacher effectiveness to contribute more strongly to students’ learning success, it is better to flavor teacher effectiveness with multicultural education. In this way, students’ success in learning can be made more guaranteed and consistent with the new developments in education.

      However, the researcher, through reviewing the existing literature, found that in the educational system of Iran, teacher effectiveness and multicultural education have not been integrated so far. The prevalent school of teaching behind EFL teacher effectiveness in Iran is Unitarianism (Motamed et al., 2013), which was described above. To provide the ground for the combination of EFL teacher effectiveness with multicultural education, as a preliminary stage, more investigations should be attempted in this regard. With a view to the fact that EFL teachers are the party in achieving EFL teacher effectiveness, exploration of their perceptions of multicultural teacher effectiveness can lead to uncovering the detailed unknown aspects of this notion from their viewpoints. But the previous studies on teacher effectiveness and multiculturalism (e.g., Demiroz & Yesilyurt, 2015; Motamed et al., 2013; Parker, 2019; Sezer et al., 2019; Shahvand & Rezvani, 2016; Zamani & Ahangari, 2016; Zohrabi et al., 2019) have not touched integration of multiculturalism with teacher effectiveness, to the best knowledge of the researcher. This is while diversity inherent in the principles and components of multiculturalism is well-adapted to learners’ diversity in various aspects enumerated above. Therefore, inattention to the conflation of multiculturalism with EFL teacher effectiveness may deprive EFL learners of ample learning opportunities. To bridge this gap, this study aimed to see how EFL teachers perceive multicultural teacher effectiveness. To this end, the following research question was proposed:

1.       How do Iranian EFL teachers perceive multicultural teacher effectiveness?

 

Literature Review

Multicultural education and teacher effectiveness have been explored by previous researchers in some studies. Regarding multicultural education, Lee (2013) sought to dissect the impediments that block the operationalization of multicultural principles in international education. The absence of a well-defined set of programs to promote pluralistic education, mental distance between instructors and pluralistic education, shortage of accessible facilities, and lack of technical knowledge to bring multiculturalism down to the educational ground were decoded as the most prevalent challenges. Taylor et al. (2015) launched research to touch on English teachers’ attitudes towards multicultural teacher education and released a report showing that most of the teachers proposed the use of multicultural education in teacher education. In the research by Enyew and Melesse (2018), the extent to which multicultural principles are already employed in the curricula of Ethiopian universities was examined, and it was confirmed that the respective curricula have developed with a semi-multicultural attitude. Parker’s (2019) study was concerned with the positive implications of multicultural education for the field of ELT. The results revealed that the re-definition of teaching and evaluation procedures is the most important outcome of multicultural education in the ELT field. Zohrabi et al. (2019) set out a modeling study wherein a multicultural model was proposed to teach English in Iranian high schools, which consisted of multicultural education, multicultural evaluation, racial and ethnic equality, social class equality, and cultural diversity as its main components. The same components were revealed by a set of similar studies by Abdeli Soltan Ahmadi and Sadeghi (2016), Colombo (2013), Daryai-Hansen et al. (2015), Mostafazadeh et al. (2015), and Sadeghi (2012).

      Concerning teacher effectiveness, Kaboodvand (2013) explored the perceptions of a group of young Iranian learners, their parents, and language teachers about the characteristics of effective language teachers in public schools. Data collection instruments were interviews and questionnaires. To achieve the objectives, a mixed methods design was employed. Data analysis revealed that interviewees regarded teachers’ language proficiency, class management, affective factors, appearance and dressing style, and ability to build the right rapport with the students as determinants of teacher effectiveness. Navidinia et al. (2014) sought to examine the effectiveness of the current teacher effectiveness evaluation system in Iran from the EFL teachers’ perspectives. Besides, they aimed to propose an alternative model. To this end, a survey was done using researcher-made Likert-scaled and open-ended questionnaires. The results indicated the current teacher effectiveness evaluation system was not conducive to teacher professional development and teacher accountability. In a study by Rahimi and Hosseini Karkami (2015), the role of EFL teachers’ classroom discipline strategies in their teaching effectiveness and their students’ motivation and achievement in learning English as a foreign language was examined. According to the results, teaching effectiveness, motivation, and achievement in learning English were significantly correlated with discipline strategies. Furthermore, students perceived those teachers who used involvement and recognition strategies more frequently as more effective teachers and those who used punitive strategies as less effective ones. Shahvand and Rezvani (2016) investigated Iranian EFL teachers’ beliefs about effective teaching in foreign language classrooms with the aim of addressing the need for a deep understanding of the role of teaching effectiveness in EFL classrooms. The data analysis results showed no significant difference between male and female Iranian EFL teachers in terms of their teaching effectiveness, no significant difference between experienced and novice Iranian EFL teachers’ stated beliefs on their effective teaching, and no significant relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ beliefs about effective teaching and their effective teaching. In a series of studies by Aho et al. (2010), Bullock (2015), Danielson (2013), Khojastehmehr and Takrimi (2008), Lee (2019), Reynolds et al. (2021), Ramos-Rodríguez et al. (2022), Shishavan and Sadeghi (2009), Shojaei et al. (2022), Starkey (2010), Strong (2007), Wichadee (2010), and Zein (2017), teacher good relation making in the class, teacher emotional behavior, teaching and evaluation method diversity, teacher motivational skills, and digital literacy were enumerated as features of effective teachers.

      The studies enumerated above show that multicultural education and teacher effectiveness have taken the attention of researchers in the field. However, Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions of multicultural teacher effectiveness is still a research gap in the extant literature. This study was set out to fill this gap.

 

Methodology

Design 

In line with the objective of the present study, the basic interpretive design within a qualitative paradigm (Creswell, 2015) was selected. Indeed, tackling individuals’ perceptions can be best revealed via such a type of design.

Participants 

The sample of the study consisted of a total of 40 Iranian (20 males and 20 females) EFL teachers teaching in public high schools in different Iranian provinces. They were conveniently selected from among those teachers who were members of virtual groups and channels. The sample size was determined based on the data saturation principle. The participants were BA and MA holders in the field of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) with 7 to 20 years of teaching English experience. They were in the 30-55 age range. To select the participants who were congruent with the research morality, first of all, the participants were made aware of the objective of the study. Then, they were made sure the anonymity and confidentiality of their personal information would be observed.

 

Instrument   

To collect the required data, a semi-structured interview was implemented. It consisted of five open-ended questions which were the product of reviewing similar qualitative studies and taking consultation from the supervisor of the study. The interview was in the individual format without any time constraints. For the convenience of the participants, the interview was done with internal messengers, including Eitaa and Soroush. To guarantee the dependability and credibility of the interview data, low-inference descriptors and member checks were used.

 

Data Collection

To launch data collection, the sample was first selected, taking the research ethics into consideration. Next, the participants were kindly invited to take part in the interview with Eitaa and Soroush. The interviews were held individually. Each interview session was audio-recorded to be available for data analysis. Then, the recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim to be subjected to qualitative thematic analysis.

 

Data Analysis

Data analysis was done via qualitative thematic analysis in four stages. In the first stage, the researcher became familiar with the transcribed interview data by reading through them. Then, for coding purposes, some phrases, words, or sentences in the transcribed interview data were made highlighted to recognize some codes as representatives of the highlighted parts. Next, the codes were re-analyzed to identify their recurrent themes. Finally, the identified themes were reviewed to check them in terms of accuracy.

 

Results

The qualitative thematic analysis led to the identification of the following themes in the transcribed data:

 

Having Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication with Learners

Multicultural teacher effectiveness implies that EFL teachers should communicate verbally and non-verbally with learners in the class. All learners have the right to be communicated with the teacher in various ways. (Participant 34)

 

Effective teaching based on multiculturalism has several signs including good communication with the class members fairly. English teachers are to have relationship through talking, eye contact, discussion and negotiating with students. (Participant 25)

 

 

 

Recognizing Differences among Students’ Learning Strategies

To teach multiculturally, EFL teachers should recognize that students are different in terms of their strategies of learning. Multicultural teaching requires teachers to recognize that students are naturally different with each other regarding their learning techniques. Teachers should not expect that all students use similar learning strategies (Participant 6)

 

Multiculturalism in teaching is equal to paying heed to the learning strategies of students. Teachers should know that students are not the same in their learning. Each student follows his learning style in learning English, and this is reasonable. (Participant 19)

 

Having Preliminary Knowledge of Different Subjects

 EFL teachers should have a knowledge base in different subjects. Just having English language knowledge does not suffice. Needs of students are so diverse that teachers must have command of other subjects than English language. (Participant 30)

 

The time has passed from times when teaching English could be done with specific knowledge of English. Today, students ask various questions from teachers. This shows that EFL teachers need to be knowledgeable about different topics. (Participant 28)

 

Taking Advantage of Different Teaching Methods

Teachers should resort to various teaching methods. Delimiting teaching to just one or two fixed methods is not in line with multiculturalism. To take multicultural principles into consideration in teaching, different teaching methods should be used. (Participant 23)

 

Teaching based on multicultural education is not congruent with the use of traditional methods of teaching. EFL teachers should increase their knowledge of different teaching methods. Using diversity in teaching is a big advantage for multicultural teachers. (Participant 10)

 

Showing Respect and Attention to all Students

EFL teachers must be respectful to all students. All students are there to be provided with teacher respect. The dignity of no student should be violated by EFL teachers. All students have their own self-esteem, which should be respected by their teachers. (Participant 17)

 

The attention of English teachers should be equally distributed among students. Paying more attention to some students is the negation of multiculturalism. Fair attention to the students in the classroom is in line with multicultural principles. (Participant 19)

 

Teaching Ruminatively

Being ruminative is of significance in EFL education. Teachers should teach ruminatively to teach effectively. Reflect on one’s own teaching is a building block of multicultural education. It is through this reflectivity in teaching that teacher effectiveness is enhanced. (Participant 15)

 

Reflective teaching is a main element of multicultural teaching since, according to multicultural education, removing reflection reduces the probability of teaching effectiveness. Accordingly, EFL teachers should learn to reflect on their teaching to recognize what works and what does not work in their teaching. (Participant 34)

 

 

Having Accountability and Responsibility

Having accountability contributes to higher teacher effectiveness. EFL teachers who accept the responsibility of their teaching teach more effectively. Effective teachers remain accountable to students. (Participant 3)

 

Teaching effectiveness is not achieved without being responsible to stakeholders. Accepting responsibility for one’s own work is what distinguishes between effective and ineffective teachers. (Participant 7)

 

 

Generating a Conducive Class Atmosphere

English teachers should build a class atmosphere with friendly relations. Friendship and cooperation in the class are associated with teacher effectiveness. Stringent contexts are not really effective for teaching. (Participant 36)

 

Teachers who seek teacher effectiveness should make the classroom a warm and user-friendly place for students. Such a place is appropriate for teaching and learning. When class participants are friends of each other, positive outcomes are enhanced. (Participant 14)

 

Using Technology

In the digital era, no EFL teacher can claim that he is effective but does not try technological advancements in his class. Technological education and multicultural education are tied to each other. Multicultural teaching is opposite to traditional teaching methods. (Participant 28)

 

Teacher effectiveness in the shadow of multicultural principles means being connected to technological advancements. In a period where technology has penetrated all aspects of life, teaching English cannot be irresponsible to technological achievements. (Participant 2)

 

Using Motivational Strategies

To teach effectively, teachers should benefit from motivational strategies to motivate students. An effective teacher knows that the motivation of students should be improved to upgrade the probability of their success. Thus, using motivational strategies is a feature of effective teachers. (Participant 27)

 

Motivational strategies used by EFL teachers play a key role in their effectiveness. In practice, when students become motivated, the teaching presented to them will be more influential. The products and motivational skills of teachers for learning cannot be neglected. (Participant 33)

 

Using Various Evaluation Methods

Teachers should evaluate students’ learning in different ways. Just using a specific evaluation method does not make teaching effective. Different evaluation methods are recommended to be used by teachers to make sure that students’ knowledge is appropriately evaluated. (Participant 8)

 

An English teacher who seeks effectiveness in teaching does not delimit the evaluation of students to traditional procedures. He or she is well aware that fair assessment involves the employment of different techniques. (Participant 13)

 

Building a Fair Classroom

Implementing fairness in different dimensions of teaching is a characteristic of effective teachers. EFL teachers should be fair in teaching students, supporting them, evaluating and scoring their exams, and so on. Teachers should also be fair in expecting learning outcomes from students. (Participant 19)

 

Justice enactment is a sign of teacher effectiveness. Teachers who act fairly in their profession are really effective in their work. They recognize the right of students to be treated fairly. This enhances their teaching quality and, consequently, fairness. (Participant 5)

 

Discussion and Conclusion

The present study sought to explore Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions of pluralistic teacher effectiveness. As revealed by the results, the following perceptions were extracted concerning pluralistic teacher effectiveness: Having Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication with Learners; Recognizing Differences among Students’ Learning Strategies; Having Preliminary Knowledge of Different Subjects; Taking Advantage of Different Teaching Methods; Showing Respect and Attention to all Students; Teaching Ruminatively; Having Accountability and Responsibility; Generating a Conducive Class Atmosphere; Using Technology; Using Motivational Strategies; Using Various Evaluation Methods; and Building a Fair Classroom.

     The extracted themes are consistent with the findings of Aho et al. (2010), Amiri Shayesteh and Baleghizadeh (2022), Bullock (2015), Coşgun and Savaş (2023), Danielson (2013), Reynolds et al. (2021), Ramos-Rodríguez et al. (2022), Shishavan and Sadeghi (2009), Shojaei et al. (2022), and Zein (2017) wherein similar features were enumerated for the effective teachers. Further, in the studies by Dimova-Cookson (2021), Lidz (2021), Rohmat et al. (2023), and Zohrabi et al. (2019), similar features were enumerated for teachers in multicultural education.

     To interpret the results, this argument can be put forth that effective EFL teaching is a multi-faceted phenomenon that is the outcome of dynamic interrelations among different knowledge, ability, aptitude, and skill types. In the same vein, teacher effectiveness within the paradigm of multicultural education cannot be fully materialized without several kinds of potentials, approaches, skills, and activities, some of which have been identified in the forms of themes in the present study. Therefore, the combination of multicultural education and teacher effectiveness cannot be taken as a simple act that can be operationalized in EFL settings in the absence of specific types of EFL teachers’ knowledge, skills, and practices. But it is an entity with its own complexities and pre-requisites. Multicultural effective teachers require a series of capabilities at the theoretical and practical levels without which the integration of multiculturalism with teacher effectiveness is too difficult to be achieved.

     In supporting this, in one hand, as argued by Rohmat et al. (2023), multicultural education is easier in words than in practice. To them, although multiculturalism is a widely known notion, it has its own peculiarities which may seem strange to those who are not familiar with its principles and components. On the other hand, as put by Coşgun and Savaş (2023) and Starkey (2010), teacher effectiveness entails a series of basic knowledge and skill, subject matter knowledge, behavior in the classroom context, and teaching methods which make teaching remarkably different from many other professions. When re-conciliated with multicultural education, the items enumerated above are contextualized in line with the multicultural orientation.

    Based on the findings of the current study, it can be concluded that trying to teach effectively within the multicultural paradigm requires EFL teachers’ having verbal and non-verbal communication with the students to remove behavioral unfairness in the class. Moreover, it can be concluded that multicultural teacher effectiveness is not congruent with using a specific evaluation method but it calls for taking advantage of diversity in evaluating students’ knowledge and performance.

      Also, the conclusion can be made that making students motivated and being responsible and deeply accountable to students in a context replete with friendship and a friendly social distance is helpful for EFL teachers who are willing to be effective with a multicultural background. As the last point worth noting, it can be concluded that just teaching EFL with a particular teaching method is not compatible with multicultural teacher effectiveness. Instead, effective teachers, according to multiculturalism, are those who try different methods in an eclectic way.

The findings have some implications for different groups of stakeholders, including EFL teachers, teacher educators, and teacher education material developers. EFL teachers can take advantage of the findings in trying to teach EFL effectively in the same vein as multicultural education. EFL teacher educators can apply the results in instructing student and at-service teachers based on the multicultural education components. EFL teacher education material developers can develop future educational materials so that multicultural education principles and effective teacher characteristics are taken into account.

 

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Biodata

Shahram Naghdiani is a Ph.D. student in Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran. He has been involved in teaching English for some years at universities and language institutes. His main areas of interest include methods and techniques of language teaching, collaborative learning, and innovative teaching methods.

Email: [e-mail]

 

Neda Fatehi Rad is an assistant professor of English Language Teaching at Islamic Azad University, Kerman Branch, Iran. She mainly teaches language testing, research methodology and teaching language methodology at graduate level, and her main areas of interest include teachers' education, cooperative learning, language testing and research. She has published 69 papers in international and national academic journals and presented in several national and international seminars. She has published 12 books in the field of translation, language learning, and teaching.

Email: [e-mail]

 

Parviz Maftoon is an associate professor at Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran. He received his Ph.D. degree from New York University in TESOL. His primary research interests concern second language acquisition, SL/FL language teaching methodologies, and language curriculum development. He has published nationally and internationally and has written and edited a number of English books. He is currently on the editorial board of several language journals in Iran.

Email: [e-mail]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 © 2025 by the authors. Licensee International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, Najafabad Iran, Iran. This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0 license). (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by nc/4.0/).

International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 13 (52), 2025        Islamic Azad University of Najafabad