外语教师个人理论研究-张莲著.pdf

1INTRODUCTION Education starts with and parallels the evolution of human being. Dissatisfaction, popular, social, professional and academic, however, parallels the evolution of this enterprise of education, whether it is aimed at transmitting the civilization of the past to the growing generation or helping them become independently acting and thinking individuals (Einstein, 1950), or whether it is done in traditional or progressive paradigm (Dewey, 1938). Many factors can be identified to account for the quality of education enterprise in general. From the learner’s point of view, for example, the invested effort, attitude, motivation, strategies, learning environment, quality of instruction and teachers are all on the list (Wu et al., 1993; Lee Yarger, 1996; Cohen, 1998; Brown, 2000; Liu Wu, 2000; Wen, 2003, Gao et al., 2003). On the part of the teacher, low educational funds, low salary and social status, evaluation and assessment system, etc., may be held responsible. In the eyes of researchers, however, all teachers, students, policies and administrations should be placed under scrutiny. Policy-makers’ concerns may range from policies and curriculum designs to supervision and evaluation mechanisms of teachers’ qualities. Of all the factors, it is believed that teachers play a crucial role in both the process and outcome of education. As Stenhouse (1975, as cited in Rudduck, 1995, p. 3) argues, “it is the teachers who, in the end, will change the world of the school by understanding it.” Indeed, Teachers don’t merely deliver the curricul