Research Article: 2021 Vol: 24 Issue: 6
Naif Adeeb Al-Otaibi, Islamic Education, College of Education, Dammam-Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
Talal Abdulhadi Al-Ghobaiwi, Islamic Education, College of Education, Dawadmi - Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia
Citation Information: Al-Otaibi, N.A., & Al-ghobaiwi, T.A. (2021). Secondary school Islamic entrepreneurship education teachers’ attitudes towards entrepreneurial reflective teaching in the light of demographic variables. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 24(6).
This research focuses on identifying secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching in the light of demographic variables. The study sample included (119) teachers at the secondary stage of education. The research used the descriptive approach that describes secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching in the light of demographic variables: sex and years of teaching experience. It also used a scale of attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching. The results indicated that there are no positive attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching and its dimensions, except the one related to the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas. Secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching differ according to different sex in favour of females. Finally, there is a significant difference, at the level of (p<0.05), among secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching depending on the years of teaching experience, in favour of the most experienced teachers. A set of recommendations and suggestions were presented.
Entrepreneurial Skills, Job Creation, Adequate Fund, Proper Implementation and Perception of People.
The teacher is the main focus of the educational mission, and the most important pillar of its success. This is set against the backdrop of scientific and technological development and the resulting modern psychological and educational theories, leading to recent changes in the teacher’s roles. This situation, in turn, requires the teacher to develop teaching practices through observation and conscious reflection on how to teach, and the types of educational decisions. This is confirmed by Salim & Awad (2009) that the twenty-first century teacher should have the opportunity to obtain good knowledge, which enables him/her to possess the characteristics of an effective teacher, uses modern teaching methods, and practice reflection and critical thinking in all teaching processes.
There is general consensus among teachers and policymakers that the teacher plays a critical role in current education systems. the success of these systems depends, at least in part, on how well teachers perform in their jobs. Theoretical and experimental studies have shed light on the important role that teachers can play in ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of teaching and learning (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2001). Freeman & Johnson (1998) and Afshar & Yar (2019) indicate that the teacher is one of the main factors that play an effective role in the teaching process, understanding and enhancing students' learning process, teaching them how to learn, enhancing their confidence and self-esteem, and organizing an appropriate learning environment. They also play an essential role in bringing about educational reforms (Suwandee, 1995).
Teachers' attitudes towards reflective practice are an important factor in improving teaching is because it can lead them to understand classroom instruction, and promote self-reflective awareness of their assumptions related to the learning process. No change can be made in Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practice except by appealing to teachers’ emotion. Reflective practices have been widely recognized as an activity that should be encouraged among teachers, as many teachers do not show reflective practices in teaching, and insist on performing the practices they learned in the college, which do not promote reflective thinking, and their actions contradict reflective attitudes (Nocetti et al., 2020). Dewey (1933) noted that when a teacher encounters certain problems or conditions in the classroom, he/she may act either naturally or in a reflective manner. The teacher who faces problems and issues naturally, he/she does not usually ask any questions about them or think about them. However, the teacher, who adopts reflective attitude, does not act normally, but depends, in his teaching, on rational principles, and this is important in improving one’s professional skills.
Dewey sees reflection as an integration of attitudes and skills, and reflective practice provides self-awareness, making the teacher try to solve professional problems. The attitude towards openness, responsibility and enthusiasm is a prerequisite for reflective action (Zeichner, 1981). Attitudes are part of the processes of change associated with the teacher’s teaching practices (Rodríguez, 2008). As a result, the current research seeks to identify secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching in the light of demographic variables.
First: Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching
Entrepreneurial teaching aims to embrace learner understanding as a result, maintain learner motivation, use a wide range of learning techniques, encourage learner growth and independence, design a learning experience, improve the learning process by knowing how people learn, and recognize that the way people learn can be Unique, providing multiple ways for the learner to participate in the learning process, encouraging teachers to look for multiple ways to motivate students, building skills, and creating real opportunities for students to learn (Huang et al., 2019; Rauch & Hulsink, 2015; Meyer et al., 2014).
Modern trends in preparing and developing teaching competencies, during the past two decades, have focused on Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, in which the teacher abandons a set of rigid teaching practices in favour of a set of teaching practices based on critical reflective thinking. In this way, the teacher creates what is appropriate from teaching strategies that suit the level, the nature of specialized subject, the teaching situation, and the targeted learning outcomes. At the same time, the teacher rejects teaching patterns and models of a rigid nature that are inconsistent with the nature of the changes of times. In such a way, the teacher also evaluates previous knowledge and builds new knowledge with the help of experiences, leading to professional development (Pushkin, 2001; Gheith & Aljaberi, 2018). Therefore, the teacher needs to reflect on one’s practices, evaluating one’s teaching formatively, to improve future practices (Moore, 2012).
Dewey believes that reflection is the performance of the individual so that he is involved in teaching activities, and in a continuous manner thinking about experiences and related practices to make them more useful and successful. Therefore, the importance of reflection is evident in building and developing experience, which is the basis of the teaching and learning processes, as well as its importance in helping to discover this experience that leads individuals towards a comprehensive awareness that contributes to transforming experience into learning (Grant, 1984; Zeichner, 1981). Dewey stressed the need for teachers practice reflection in a social context, and in the environment in which the learning process takes place. He also emphasized that testing teachers’ ideas through reflective teaching is important as it leads to diversification and development of teaching methods and practices (Rodinguez, 2008; Ward & Gracey, 2006).
Schon (1983) has also made a significant contribution to the field of reflective teaching as reflection is considered the core of the educational process, in which the teacher examines previous knowledge, opinions, practices and experiences when encountering a new educational problem or situation. The process of reflection on a certain situation helps examine the questions related this situation, reaching an appropriate solution.
Eryaman (2007) considers reflection as a meaningful process or activity in which an event is recalled, considered, and evaluated, for the sake of a greater purpose. Reflective practice is the latest method of training the teacher, as one can evaluate oneself using intuition and reflective skills. The teacher also criticizes one’s teaching during and after teaching with the help of one’s colleagues and students, accepting criticism as positive feedback. In this manner, the teacher effectively improves teaching performance. Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices provide the teacher with the ability to overcome academic issues and problems, teaching methodologies and the content of the subject matter that is presented for students (Rarieya, 2005).
Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching is based on the constructivist theory in such a way that the individual builds knowledge, through the processes of interaction and integration with the educational content and the surrounding environment. Reflection is considered as a major factor in the teaching and learning processes. Reflective practice a prerequisite for dealing with current knowledge as it is, subjecting it to examination and criticism (Farrell, 2008 & Kullaman, 2004). Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching is a way for the teacher to look into how he is doing in class, reflect on teaching practice, think about why he is doing it, think and rethink his performance before, during and after class activities, and think about students' problems that are likely to occur during achieving the target goals. The teacher reflects on the strategies that should be taken into account when presenting the expected lesson. It is a method for self-observation and self-valuation. It is also a way to develop classroom experience, verifying practice reflectively. In addition, it is a process by which the teacher builds self-confidence and constantly assesses behavior and methodologies, with the aim of continuous professional development (Bolton, 2010; Artzt et al., 2015). Its effects include facilitating independent and self-directed learning and bringing about a shift in perspective and thinking habits, problem-solving skills, higher-order thinking skills and research skills for students, and attention to human resource development (Lin & Xu, 2017; Sánchez, 2011). Reflection can be described Entrepreneurial Teaching as any type of thinking about practicing teaching. The reflective teacher needs personal qualities, such as open-mindedness in dealing with a set of opinions or theories (Pollard & Tann, 1993). Therefore, Dewey admits that thinking and reflection aid in the development of the individual. It is the way that frees the teacher from a single point of view.
Then the teacher, in Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching , addresses the deficiencies in teaching performance based on the interaction of beliefs, knowledge and experiences, and students' experiences, knowledge and the social context, reflecting on, analyzing, and evaluating the teaching situations, gain the spirit of overcoming barriers associated with curriculum implementation and acting as learning resources for the students’ investigations, seek to develop technological skills, knowledge of new educational curricula, improve content mastery and attitude towards teaching. Accordingly, the teacher implements the adjustments required to improve and develop teaching performance.
Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching is a concept of professional development, characterized by continuity and comprehensiveness to improve teaching practices, in various fields, beliefs and attitudes towards them (Florez, 2001). It is an opportunity to consider teaching situations in a thoughtful, analytical, and objective manner, generating good thinking habits among teachers (Rodríguez, 2008). It is a means of developing self-awareness for professional development. It is based on two basic assumptions, namely (Osterman & Kottkamp, 2010): responsibility and commitment to self-development, and acquiring the necessary skills to review, analyze, and examine teaching methods.
The definitions offered for the concept of Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching varied. Schon (1983) and Stout (2014) defined it as the teacher's ability to conduct an active, conscious and careful mental inquiry about his beliefs, experiences, and conceptual and procedural knowledge in the light of the reality in which he/she works, in order to enable him/her to solve practical problems. On Brent (2010) defined it as the ability to perform reflection, and continuous, positive, self-reflection of the teaching practices and procedures that the teacher implements with the aim of improving these teaching practices and procedures, and developing them in the teaching situation. Kedis (2019) viewed it as a constructive, investigative approach concerned with teaching and innovative solution to problems. It is used in preparing the pre-service teacher or training the in-service teacher by encouraging them to reflect on teaching practices in an analytical and critical manner in order to improve them to achieve certain goals. Accordingly, it can be said that Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching is a critical analytical process that the teacher performs to examine and reflect on the teaching situations. It helps make appropriate decisions, using a set of reflective methods and tools in order to achieving the desired teaching goals. It is a reflective vision of teaching based on integration of scientific knowledge in teaching, and experiences, values and beliefs, based on personal knowledge of teaching. It bridges the gap between theory and practice. It includes the teacher's description of ideas, beliefs and teaching values, and awareness of how to teach and related decisions, with the aim of developing the ability to self-monitoring, self-analysis and self-evaluation.
In Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, the teacher always looks for answers to questions, such as what happened? Why did it happen? These questions help develop teaching skills and competencies. Based on the assumption that teachers possess diversified and deep-rooted convictions and perceptions of the teaching profession and strategies, these perceptions primarily draw students' attention, and direct them towards learning experiences and desired outcomes during the learning process (Williams & Burden, 1997; Wallace, 1991). Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching also requires the teacher to be open to new ideas in his/her field of specialization, which facilitates the learning process, being responsible for achieving learning goals, enthusiastic in accepting all learners, and committed to taking into account individual differences among them (Chard, 2004). Therefore, the reflective teacher’s qualities include caring for students, and understanding the social context, asking questions, mastering the content, identifying problems and issues, collecting relevant data, preparing an action plan, using various educational strategies, practicing problem-solving strategies, and evaluating the results and processes (Orlich et al., 2010).
Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching contributes to enhancing the collaborative experiences of the teacher through activities of discussion, cooperation, dialogue and continuous observation, which improve and develop his teaching practices. It helps build good frameworks for the teaching and learning process (Wenzlaff, 1994), and develop the teacher's skills that help to become more expressive of educational issues facing him/her, and be more critical of them, dealing effectively with complex and indeterminate problems, with a view to supporting learning (Phan, 2006). Kahn, Young, Grace and Pilkington (2006) emphasize the importance of reflective practice in improving performance and personal qualities, such as enhancing self-confidence, establishing good relationships with individuals involved in reflective processes, and changing practice. He believes that the reflective processes, related teaching practice, have a social basis because it often includes a social dimension, when teachers engage in a joint dialogue about their teaching reflections. Additionally, it has a personal basis, as the reflective process is affected by the way the teacher deals with the teaching tasks. The personal basis refers to the abilities and characteristics that affect the processes and the wider context. The wider context includes the educational context that is part of the reflective process, and in which the reflective process takes place.
Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practice is one of the important processes in teacher education because it helps develop various skills, such as decision-making, metacognition and logical thinking (Goodley, 2018; Zahid & Khanam, 2019). The teacher practices problem-solving and rebuilds meaning, and experience is formed with new activities (Tabassum & Malik, 2014). It is an iterative method that the teacher performs, requiring doing repeated cycles of investigating practices, modifying practice and thinking about it, before trying it again (Grushka, McLeod & Reynolds, 2005). It strengthens one’s ability to direct and develop thinking provided that one is willing to know more about oneself, and devotes efforts to self-development and performance (Bell, 2001). It revitalizes the classroom by making it enjoyable and stimulating for the learner, in addition to being a vital approach in advanced teaching in which the teacher uses perceptions and experiences to assess progress in teaching. In this manner, the teacher monitors oneself, criticizes teaching practices, acknowledges others' criticism, assesses teaching practices, and is highly willing to participate in continuous self-review and professional development (Harrison & Lee, 2011; Zahid & Khanam, 2019). Therefore, reflective practice is a powerful component of any successful teacher preparation program because it helps in solving problems and appropriate decision-making processes, as well as encouraging critical thinking (Odeh et al., 2010), together with improving students' academic achievement (Akbari et al., 2008).
Algebr (2013) believes that reflective teaching is one of the most effective strategies in developing teacher performance professionally through reflecting on classroom practices, developing appropriate solutions for continuous improvement, and building improvement plans. There are three stages of Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, namely planning, teaching and debriefing. In planning stage, the teacher should spend more effort in preparing lesson plans, and using strategies such as cooperative learning, hands-on activities, and forecasting questions that may be raised by students, together with helping them to think logically in forming their own questions during the lesson, and formulate potential questions. In the teaching stage, the teacher aims to develop critical thinking environments, get students to think about learning topics, and provide activities that allow them to work in groups. In the debriefing stage, a window of opportunity is provided for collaboration and criticism, and identifying strengths and weaknesses of performance (Clarke, 2007).
Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching is used throughout the teaching process. In the planning stage, certain alternatives are offered for the teacher to choose from. In the implementation stage, it helps the teacher monitor the progress of the lesson. In the evaluation stage, it helps the teacher retrieve the lesson, thinking about what has been done and what has not been done, and thinking about teaching practices. (Krause, 2004). In Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, the teacher engages in a continuous cycle of self-monitoring and self-evaluation processes, which begins with the collection of metadata about what is going on in the classroom and the analysis of the collected data, related to attitudes, beliefs and goals, planning building activities, thinking beyond the data collected, building new insights to improve teaching practices, linking knowledge with practice, and acquired experiences (Florez, 2001). As a result of the importance of reflective practice, researchers provided models for Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching that include clear procedures for the reflection process, involving thinking about the teaching practices implemented, and help the teacher solve teaching problems, evaluate experiences, ask questions about the practice and ways to improve it, and manage pressures that prevent good teaching practices (Gibbs, 1988). Researchers also presented a set of Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching strategies which help the teacher to activate the mind in teaching practices, gain a deep understanding, build meaning, have interest in current experiences and adopt new experiences, amend teaching beliefs. It helps to link what has been learned with one’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes, practiced in the field. It urges to follow up on research results in modern teaching strategies, encourage educational research, and cooperate with learners (Razzouki et al., 2016). It helps develop performance by building self-awareness of practices with a view to evaluating them, developing the knowledge structure, and assuming self-responsibility for professional development, together with precisely identifying and addressing the problems associated with teaching strategies (Carey, 2017; Jerez Rodríguez, 2008).
The results of these studies support the importance of Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching in achieving the quality of teaching and its effectiveness in building current and previous knowledge and experiences in education, professional development, insistence towards excellence in achieving educational goals, decision-making and justifications about planning, implementation and evaluation processes based on reflection, reaching a high level of teaching competence and student achievement (Lupinski et al., 2012; Ogonor & Badmus, 2006; Minott, 2007; Beljoun, 2020; Al-Khalif, 2020).
Based on the above discussion, it is clear that Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching is essential for improving teacher's performance in complex situations, solving problems encountered during teaching, examining and analyzing teaching beliefs, building self-awareness of the teaching tasks, monitoring and evaluating them, forming positive attitudes towards teaching processes, and finally taking responsibility for professional development and self-commitment to developing teaching practices.
Second: Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching
Teacher's attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching are among the factors behind the acquisition of Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching skills and mastery of strategies and methods. Attitude is defined as a state of nervous mental preparation organized by experience, and it brings about a general dynamic affect directed to the individual's responses regarding various topics and situations (Alport, 1961). Alternatively, it is a stable organization of the person’s motivational, emotional and cognitive processes towards the topics of one’s own world (Krech & Cru-Chfield, 2011). It may mean the tendency to respond in a favorable or unfavorable manner in relation to a given attitudinal position (Yara, 2009). It may also mean an acquired and organized tendency through an individual's own experience, leading to evaluate an idea, a person, or a situation (Wander, 1994). It could mean a distinctive way of thinking, feelings, and behavior towards an object or person (Dara & Charles, 2011). Attitude is related to a set of beliefs and feelings that lead to assertive behavior that appears in human practice (Nocetti et al., 2020). Based on the tri-component point of view, attitude consists of three main components. A cognitive component which is represented in the individual's experiences, ideas, and beliefs about the thing or topic. An emotional component which reflects the reality of the individual's feeling about the subject. A behavioral component which is shown in the individual's behavioral response to that topic. The cognitive and emotional components interact with each other when a behavior is done (Oskamp & Schultz, 2005).
According to the concept of attitude and its components in general, teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching can be viewed as the positive and negative responses of teachers associated with Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching. These attitudes are formed by cognitive, emotional and skill experiences in the educational environment; the responses are shown in the verbal or practical behavior of teachers. In addition, these attitudes are formed in the light of the knowledge and information that teachers have related to Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, feelings and emotions associated with it, and their reflection on their behaviors. Accordingly, teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching can be changed by controlling the factors that contribute to their formation, as it is possible to modify behavior in general to achieve the subjective goals of the individual (Erekat, 2003).
Positive attitudes towards reflective teaching constitute an important driver of behavior that affects all teaching values (Parhi, 2017). The strength of schools depends on teachers’ attitudes towards reflective teaching to improve the quality of school education, and the selection of teachers who have future skills (Parvez & Shakir, 2013). They provide teachers with sound predictions about their behavior in teaching situations, and help them develop the classroom environment. Finally, attitudes are a predictor of the teacher's competence. They are a great indicator of performance and Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching skills (Chakraborty & Mondal, 2014; Sharma & Bedi, 2016). Dixit (2017) emphasizes that attitudes and reflective teaching are among the interrelated factors that motivate the teacher internally or externally, and enable him/her to start the teaching task efficiently. A teacher's positive attitude towards the teaching task leads to completing it with interest, obtaining a positive response, while Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching provides an opportunity to make the teaching task more innovative and effective.
Based on the above discussion, attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching play a great role in determining teachers’ behavior and actions towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, directing their responses and decisions, enhancing their interaction with different teaching situations, and determining the extent of their acceptance of employing Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching strategies and methods. This will be reflected in improving their teaching performance. Teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching are affected by many factors, the most important of which are: the teacher's participation in professional development programs that contribute to increasing awareness, practicing investigative thinking, monitoring teaching performance, openness to change, improving teaching practices, and developing reflective skills, such as communicating ideas, critically reflecting on performance, and teaching process evaluation (Rodríguez, 2008).
Rodríguez (2008) emphasized the importance of attitudes towards reflective teaching among teachers and their role in professional development and improvement of teaching practices, indicating that most professional development programs include reflective teaching as a way to improve teacher practice. It is important to develop attitudes towards reflective teaching practices. Al-Rashed (2003) emphasized that the success of a teacher in developing his teaching practices depends on his positive attitudes towards reflective teaching which, in turn, affects students emotionally, socially and mentally. Tabassum & Malik (2014) sought to investigate teachers’ attitudes about the need for reflective practice in teaching and their attitudes toward using it to understand students’ learning difficulties. The results showed that teachers’ lack of awareness of the need for reflective practice to understand students’ learning difficulties, just as they do not have sufficient attitudes towards the need for reflective practice in teaching. They recommended the importance of the teacher being aware of reflective practice through training programs, and using reflective practice strategies in the teaching and learning process. Belmekki (2018) examined teachers’ attitudes towards reflective teaching and professional development, indicating that teachers have negative attitudes towards reflective teaching and professional development. Attitudes toward reflective teaching are among the factors that challenge the development of professionally successful teachers. A clear picture should be formed of the different attitudes that teachers have towards the processes of reflection and professional development before providing them with different curricula, strategies and techniques that enable them to reflect on their teaching practices in order to have professional development. Afshar and Yar (2019) investigated the relationship between the attitude towards professional development, reflective teaching, self-efficacy and job performance. The results showed that there is a significant positive relationship between reflective teaching and job performance, self-efficacy and job performance, and attitude towards professional development and teaching skills. Nocetti et al., (2020) also sought to study the relationship between the influence of reflection strategies and the development of a positive attitude towards teacher’ reflection. They aimed to determine whether the implementation of the reflective teaching and learning cycle is related to changes in the attitude towards reflection. The results showed that there are positive perceptions and attitudes towards reflection and identifying the teaching procedures.
Although the quality of teaching practices is shaped by teachers’ attitudes towards reflective teaching, reflection studies focus on revealing the level of teachers’ practice in reflective teaching and professional development, while neglecting their attitudes towards reflective teaching (Efe, 2009). This requires researchers’ attention to be directed towards examining teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching in order to contribute effectively to the development of professional teachers and to achieve educational goals with high efficiency.
The research problem is related to secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching in the light of demographic variables. To tackle this problem, the following main question can be posed: What are secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching in the light of demographic variables? The main question is divided into the following:
1. What are secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching?
2. To what extent do secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching differ according to different sexes?
3. To what extent do secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching differ according to different years of teaching experience?
The current research aims to achieve the following objectives:
1. Identify secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching.
2. Identify the effect of sex and years of teaching experience on forming secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching.
The research used the descriptive approach that describes secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching in the light of the variables (sex, and years of teaching experience), analyzes and interpret them in order to understand their nature and develop solutions that contribute to addressing them.
Research Sample
The original population of the current research consisted of all secondary school Islamic education teachers at the secondary stage, Khobar government schools, General District of Education, Eastern Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The population numbered (182) teachers, and the research sample consisted of (119) teachers, including (65%) from the original research population. They were chosen in a simple random way. Table 1 shows the demographic information of the participants.
Table 1 Participating Teachers’ Demographic Characteristics: Sex and Years of Teaching Experience (N=119) | |||
Variable | Categories | Value | |
F | % | ||
Sex | Male | 66 | 55.5 |
Female | 53 | 44.5 | |
Years of teaching experience | Five years or less | 20 | 16.8 |
More than 5 years to 9 | 19 | 16 | |
Ten years and more | 80 | 67.2 |
Attitude Scale Towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching
To achieve the research objectives and answer the research questions, the researcher prepared an attitude scale towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching by reviewing the educational literature and some educational studies that dealt with teachers’ attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching. The scale included three main dimensions. The first dimension includes the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas which means the intellectual visions and convictions that motivate Islamic education teachers towards planning the practice of Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching. The second dimension includes attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices, which means the activities and efforts made to benefit from Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching in the classroom. The third dimension includes the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains, and it refers to professional experiences that are directed towards enhancing the gains from Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching. Responses are organized on statements according to the a 3-point Likert scale. The participant's score ranged in positive statements from (1) to (3) in the following manner: agree (3 scores), neutral (2 scores), and disagree (1 score), while the participant's score ranged in negative statements from (3) to (1) as follows: agree (1 score), neutral (2 scores), and disagree (3 scores).
After completing the construction of the scale and preparing it in its initial form, it was presented to (15) jurors in the field of curricula, Islamic education, educational psychology, measurement and evaluation to judge the apparent validity of the scale. The amendments were made in the light of the jury’s opinions. The scale in its final form composed of (30) statements distributed on three main dimensions.
To verify the psychometric properties of the scale, it was applied, in a pilot study, to sample of (35) Islamic education teachers at the secondary stage. The reliability of the scale was measured using the Cronbach-Alpha coefficient; it reached (0.86) for the scale as a whole, which is an acceptable reliability coefficient that can be trusted. The validity of the internal consistency of the scale was also measured using the correlation coefficient (Pearson) in measuring the strength of the correlation coefficients between the scores of each dimension of the scale with the total score of the scale. The correlation coefficients are shown in Table 2:
Table 2 Correlation Coefficients of Each Dimension of Attitudes Towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching with the Overall Score of the Scale | |
Dimension | Correlations |
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas | *0.52 |
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices | *0.81 |
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains | 0.75* |
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching (ATRT) | *0.86 |
*Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). |
Standard for Measuring the Average Responses of the Research Sample on the Scale
The attitudes of the study sample were divided into three categories (negative attitude, and neutral), and class interval was determined as (0.66) based on determining the range. The standard for measuring the average responses of the respondents came as follows: a negative attitude if the arithmetic mean is (0-1.66); a neutral attitude if the arithmetic mean is (1.67≤ 2.33); and a positive attitude if the arithmetic mean is (2.34≤ 3).
The statistical analysis revealed a number of results related to the research questions and objectives, as follows:
First: The Results Related to the First Question
The first question states: What are secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching?
To answer this question, arithmetic means and standard deviations of the scores of Islamic education teachers were used on the scale of attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching as a whole and its three main dimensions (the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas, the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices, the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains). They are shown in Table 3.
Table 3 Arithmetic Means and Standard Deviations of the Scores of Islamic Education Teachers on the Scale of Attitudes Towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching as a Whole and its Three Main Dimensions (N = 119) | |||
Dimensions of attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching | Mean | Std. Deviation | Rank |
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas | 2.49 | 0.57 | 1 |
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices | 2.01 | 0.69 | 2 |
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains | 1.98 | 0.61 | 3 |
ATRT Total | 2.16 | 0.62 |
It is evident from Table 3 that the attitudes of Islamic education teachers at the secondary stage towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching were neutral, where the arithmetic mean of the sample responses in the attitudes scale towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching as a whole was (M=2.16, SD=0.62). The order of attitudes of Islamic education teachers in the dimensions related to attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching is as follows: positive attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas, with an arithmetic mean of the sample (M=2.49, SD=0.57); neutral attitude towards the Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices, with an arithmetic mean of the sample (M=2.01, SD=0.69); and a neutral attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains, with an arithmetic mean (M=1.98, SD=0.61).
This result indicates neutral attitudes of Islamic education teachers at the secondary stage towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching. There are no positive attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching and its dimensions, except for the dimension related to the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas. This can be attributed to the fact that the teacher's attitudes were formed in the Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas dimension because it is related to the teacher’s knowledge and information related to Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas (Erekat, 2003). The neutral responses of teachers related to Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching can be attributed to the fact that the teacher needs more cognitive, emotional and skill experiences in the educational environment, together with training programs that enhance feelings and emotions associated with Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching. This result also indicates that changing attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching among teachers needs more control over the factors that contribute to their formation.
This result is consistent with the Tabassum & Malik’s study (2014) which confirmed that teachers are not aware of the need for reflective practice to understand students' learning difficulties, nor do they have sufficient attitudes about the need for reflective practice in teaching. It is also consistent with Belmekki (2018) who indicated that teachers have negative attitudes towards reflective teaching. Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching are among the factors that challenge the development of professionally successful teachers. However, it contradicts Afshar & Yar’s study (2019) which sees a positive attitude towards professional development and teaching skills. Likewise, it disagrees with Nocetti et al., (2020) who indicated the existence of positive perceptions and attitudes towards reflection, as well as a greater emotional desire towards educational interventions, and that the implementation of the teaching-reflective learning cycle is associated with changes in the attitude towards reflection and the stimulation of Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching.
This result is supported by the importance of developing attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices (Rodríguez, 2008), and that the teacher's success in developing teaching practices depends on positive attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching (Al-Rashed, 2003). It is important for the teacher to be familiar with reflective practice and have a positive attitude towards it, so as to use reflective practice strategies in the teaching and learning process (Tabassum & Malik, 2014). A clear picture should be formed of the different attitudes that the teacher has about the reflection processes in his/her teaching practices for the sake of professional development (Belmekki, 2018; Borton, 1969).
Second: Results Related to the Second Question
The second question states: To what extent do secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching differ according to different sexes? To answer this question, an independent sample t-test was used to specify the differences in the attitudes of Islamic education teachers towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching according to the sex variable (male - female). Table 4 shows that.
Table 4 Differences in Teachers' Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching Due to Sex | ||||||
Dimensions of attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching “ART” | Group | N | M | SD | t (df) | p |
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas | Male | 66 | 2.18 | 0.54 | 6.534 (117) | <0.001 |
Female | 53 | 2.76 | 0.43 | |||
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices | Male | 66 | 1.55 | 0.57 | 8.539 (117) | <0.001 |
Female | 53 | 2.41 | 0.53 | |||
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains | Male | 66 | 1.61 | 0.49 | 7.767 (117) | <0.001 |
Female | 53 | 2.32 | 0.50 | |||
ATRT Total | Male | 66 | 5.34 | 0.79 | 16.328 (117) | <0.001 |
Female | 53 | 7.49 | 0.64 |
It is evident from Table 4 that there is a significant difference, at the level of (p<0.05), between males and females in the mean scores of the attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, as the arithmetic mean of the male responses was (M=5.34, SD=0.79), while the arithmetic mean of the female responses was (M=7.49; (SD=0.64). There is a difference between them in the dimension of the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas, as the arithmetic mean of the male responses was (M=2.18, SD=0.54) while the arithmetic mean of the female responses was (M=2.76; (SD=0.43). There is a difference between them in the dimension of the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices, as the arithmetic mean of the male responses was (M=1.55, SD=0.57), while the arithmetic mean of the female responses was (M=2.41; (SD=0.53). Finally, there is a difference between them in the dimension of the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains, as the arithmetic mean of male responses was (M=1.61, SD=0.49), while the arithmetic mean of female responses was (M=2.32; SD=0.50.
This result can be attributed to the fact that females are more inclined to respond to reflect, think about, and try to evaluate different teaching situations and practices. They have strong beliefs and feelings that lead them to effective behavior. This confirms what Nocetti et al., (2020) indicated that attitude is in line with a set of beliefs and feelings that lead to assertive behavior that appears in human practice. It can also be interpreted that the feelings and emotions of females towards the educational process are more compared to males. They implications for their behavior and teaching science, as feelings represent a major component of attitude (Oskamp & Schultz, (2005). Similarly, this result can be attributed to the fact that attitudes and reflective teaching are strongly related for females. This makes them more motivated in the teaching process compared to males. They seek to do this process with interest and to obtain a positive response. Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching represents an opportunity for them to make the teaching task more innovative and effective.
This can be attributed to females’ interest to a greater degree in participating in professional development programs that contribute to increasing awareness, practicing investigative thinking, monitoring teaching performance, openness to change, improving teaching practices, and developing reflective skills, such as communicating ideas, reflection on performance critically, and evaluating the teaching process (Rodríguez, 2008).
This result indicates that females are more inclined towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices as one of the important processes in developing their teaching performance, as well as stimulating them to develop various skills, such as decision-making, metacognition and logical thinking (Goodley, 2018; Zahid & Khanam, 2019), together with developing their thinking. Bell (2001) confirms that it is important for the individual to have a desire to know more about oneself, and to devote efforts to developing oneself and performance. The result indicates that females are better than males in evaluating their experiences and their progress in teaching. They monitor themselves, criticize and evaluate their educational practices, and are highly willing to participate in continuous self-review and professional development; This is confirmed by many researchers (Harrison & Lee, 2011; Zahid & Khanam, 2019).
This result also indicates that females have higher attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching than males represented in the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas, the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices, and the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains. This represents the basis for their teaching practices and reflection on the strategies that they will into consideration. These attitudes promote self-monitoring and self-evaluation, and the development of classroom experience.
Third: Results Related to the Third Question
The third question states: To what extent do secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching differ according to different years of teaching experience? To answer this question, ANOVA test and One Away Analysis of Variance were used to identify the differences in Islamic education teachers ’attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching according to the years of teaching experience variable: 5 years or less, more than 5 years and less than 10 years, 10 years and more. Table 5 shows that.
Table 5 Differences in Teachers' Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching Due to Years of Teaching Experience | ||||||
Variable | Source Variance | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig |
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas | Between Groups | 8.684 | 2 | 4.342 | 17.339 | <0.001 |
Within Groups | 29.047 | 116 | 0.250 | |||
Total | 37.731 | 118 | ||||
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices | Between Groups | 23.646 | 2 | 11.823 | 41.130 | <0.001 |
Within Groups | 33.345 | 116 | 0.287 | |||
Total | 56.992 | 118 | ||||
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains | Between Groups | 16.853 | 2 | 8.426 | 36.050 | <0.001 |
Within Groups | 27.114 | 116 | 0.234 | |||
Total | 43.966 | 118 | ||||
ATRT Total | Between Groups | 133.092 | 2 | 66.546 | 119.485 | <0.001 |
Within Groups | 64.605 | 116 | 0.557 | |||
Total | 197.697 | 118 |
Table 5 shows that there is a significant difference, at the level of (p<0.05), among the secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching according to the different years of teaching experience (5 years or less, more than 5 years and less than 10 years, 10 years and more), in terms of the attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching as a whole and its dimensions: the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas, the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices, and the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains. To find out the direction of the significance effect, multiple comparisons of means were used, as shown in Table 6.
Table 6 Multiple Comparisons Between Means to Determine the Direction of Differences Between Research Groups According to Years of Teaching Experience | ||||
Dependent Variable | (I) VAR00001 | (J) VAR00001 | Mean Difference (I-J) | Sig. |
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas | (5 years or less) 1.00 | 2 | 0.1 | 0.816 |
3 | -0.53* | 0 | ||
(more than 5 years and less than 10 years) 2.00 | 1 | -0.1 | 0.816 | |
3 | -0.62* | 0 | ||
(10 years and more) 3.00 | 1 | 0.53* | 0 | |
2 | 0.62* | 0 | ||
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices | (5 years or less) 1.00 | 2 | -0.69* | 0 |
3 | -1.19* | 0 | ||
(more than 5 years and less than 10 years) 2.00 | 1 | 0.69* | 0 | |
3 | -0.50* | 0.001 | ||
(10 years and more) 3.00 | 1 | 1.19* | 0 | |
2 | 0.50* | 0.001 | ||
Attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains | (5 years or less) 1.00 | 2 | -0.64* | 0 |
3 | -1.01* | 0 | ||
(more than 5 years and less than 10 years) 2.00 | 1 | 0.64* | 0 | |
3 | -0.37* | 0.009 | ||
(10 years and more) 3.00 | 1 | 1.01* | 0 | |
2 | 0.37* | 0.009 | ||
ATRT Total | (5 years or less) 1.00 | 2 | -1.23* | 0 |
3 | -2.73* | 0 | ||
(more than 5 years and less than 10 years) 2.00 | 1 | 1.23* | 0 | |
3 | -1.49* | 0 | ||
(10 years and more) 3.00 | 1 | 2.73* | 0 | |
2 | 1.49* | 0 |
With regard to the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas, there is no statistically significant difference, at (0.05) level, between the two groups (from 0-5 years, over 5->10 years), while the rest of the differences are significant, at (0.05) level, between the pairs of groups in favor of the group that have more years of experience as their mean is greater. With regard to the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices, the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains and the overall score, there is a significant difference, at (0.05) level, between groups in favor of the group that have more years of experience as their mean is greater.
This can be interpreted in the light of the fact that the more experienced teacher has positive attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas and Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices, and the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching gains. These attitudes have been formed through many cognitive and emotional processes, such as the ability to evaluate oneself using reflective skills; the ability to criticize one’s teaching during and after teaching with the help of one’s colleagues and students, awareness of criticism processes as positive feedback that benefits the teacher in teaching practices. This can also be attributed that the more experienced teacher believes that Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching practices provide the teacher with the ability to overcome academic issues and problems, teaching methodologies and the content of the learning material that is presented to the class (Eryaman 2007; Rarieya, 2005).
This result is consistent with Erekat (2003) that the positive and negative responses of teachers associated with Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching are formed by cognitive, emotional and skill experiences in the educational environment. Those responses appear through verbal or practical behavior of the teachers. In addition, attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching are formed in light of the knowledge and information that teachers have related to Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, feelings and emotions associated with it, and their reflection on their behaviors. This explains why teachers with more years of experience have positive attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching due to the accumulation of knowledge and information. This result is also consistent with studies that see the availability of attitudes towards highly Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching among the most experienced Islamic education teachers as evidence of the teacher's competence and a great indicator of performance and skills in reflective teaching (Chakraborty & Mondal, 2014; Sharma & Bedi, 2016).
This result can also be attributed to the fact that teachers with more years of experience are more involved in professional development programs that contribute to increasing awareness, practicing investigative thinking, monitoring teaching performance, being open to change, improving teaching practices, and developing reflective skills, such as communicating ideas, reflecting on performance critically, and evaluating the teaching process (Rodríguez, 2008). They are also familiar with reflective practice through training programs, and have the ability to use reflective practice strategies in the teaching and learning process (Tabassum & Malik, 2014). They have clear perceptions and positive attitudes towards reflection as a result of having reflective teaching courses associated with changes in the attitude towards reflection, as well as the presence of a strong emotional desire to conduct educational interventions stimulating reflective teaching (Nocetti et al., 2020).
These results also indicate that more experienced Islamic education teachers have positive attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching compared to less experienced teachers because they see that Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching in all stages of the teaching process (planning - implementation - evaluation) helps them in selecting the elements of planning efficiently, reflecting on monitoring the progress of the lesson, reflecting on the lesson retrieval, thinking about what has been done and what has not been done, and thinking about teaching practices (Krause, 2004). This result also indicates that the more experienced teacher is likely to have a continuum of self-monitoring and self-evaluation processes related to attitudes, beliefs and goals, planning building activities, thinking beyond the data collected, building new insights to improve teaching practices, and linking knowledge with practice, and acquired experiences (Florez, 2001).
Finally, the positive attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching of the more experienced teacher can be attributed to the fact that the teacher believes that reflection is a key factor in the teaching and learning processes, as it helps to build knowledge, interact and integrate with the educational content and the surrounding environment. Reflective practice is considered as a condition for accepting knowledge or subjecting it to examination and criticism, together with one’s performance in the classroom (Farrell, 2008; Kullaman, 2004). Reflection is viewed as a path that helps to think about teaching behaviors, and performance before, during and after class activities, in addition to thinking about problems that may occur during the teaching process. This is what makes him/her develop the teaching experience (Bolton, 2010; Artzt et al., 2015).
The results also confirm that teachers, with fewer years of experience, do not have sufficient attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching and professional development. They should form a clear picture of the attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching and reflection processes in their teaching practices (Belmekki, 2018). It is important to develop attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching for the less experienced teacher by building self-awareness of practices and evaluating it, developing the cognitive structure, taking self-responsibility for professional development, and identifying and addressing the problems associated with teaching strategies accurately (Carey, 2017). Collaborative experiences should be strengthened through discussion, cooperation, dialogue and observation activities, which develop teaching practices and attitude towards reflective teaching (Wenzlaff, 1994).
In general, this result confirms the importance of developing teachers’ positive attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching to improve teaching performance and practices, and improve the ability to do reflective processes, develop personal qualities, such as enhancing self-confidence, establishing sound relationships with colleagues regarding reflective processes. It is important for the more experienced teacher with positive attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching to share them with less experienced peers in a joint dialogue about their teaching reflections and how to deal with teaching tasks (Kahn et al., 2006).
Attitudes toward Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching are among the important variables associated with the teacher's pursuit of shaping teaching experiences and practicing Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching behaviors. In addition, it represents an approach for their professional development. The results indicated that there are no positive attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching and its dimensions, with the exception of the dimension related to the attitude towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching ideas. Secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching differ according to different sexes in favor of females. Finally, there is a significant difference, at the level of (p<0.05), among secondary school Islamic education teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, with different years of teaching experience, in favour of more experienced teachers. The current research recommends the necessity of changing attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching by building training programs based on Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, and paying attention to the professional development of Islamic education teachers through these programs that enhance reflective practices in various teaching procedures, which have a positive impact on the development of professional performance. Attention should also be paid to methods of developing positive attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching by enriching the content of Colleges of Education programs with experience and information related to Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching and the teaching practices associated with it.
The research recommends the necessity of conducting follow-up studies to identify the attitudes of Islamic education teachers towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching throughout the years of study at the college. It is vital to study the factors that affect teachers’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, investigating the reasons for Islamic education teachers’ negative attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching. It is essential to study the relationship between the attitudes of Islamic education teachers towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, self-efficacy and teaching effectiveness, together with studying the relationship between their attitudes towards Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching, using Entrepreneurial Reflective Teaching strategies, and modifying teaching beliefs.