Teachers' Perspectives on Applicability of Student-Centered Teaching

Abstract

This research entitled "Teachers' Perspectives on Applicability of Student-Centered Teaching" is an attempt to examine the applicability of student-centered teaching from secondary level English teachers’ perspective. In order to achieve this objective, two research tools-class observation checklist and questionnaire were prepared. Twenty secondary schools with two English teachers of Kathmandu district were purposively selected for the collection of data. I randomly selected fifteen teachers from the whole sample for class observation. After preparing tools, I visited the selected schools to establish rapport with head and subject teachers. I administered the questionnaires to the selected teachers and also observed their classes for three days. The major finding of the study was that teacher-centered techniques were more frequently used by the teachers than student-centered techniques in the classroom. Similarly, it was also found that teachers were bound to apply teacher-centered techniques in the classroom due to various reasons like; large number of students, lack of enough time, lack of teachers’ teaching skills and lack of sufficient teaching materials. It shows that in the present situation, it is very difficult to apply student-centered teaching in the classroom. The present study consists of four chapters. The first chapter deals with general background, objectives and significance of the study, and review of the related literature. Chapter two deals with the metholology of the study which consists of sources of data, tools and process of data collection, and limitations of the study. Chapter three deals with the analysis and interpretation of the data. The analysis was done under two themes, class observation of the teachers and the questionnaire provided to them. And chapter four deals with the findings of the study and its recommendations for pedagogical implications.