2020 Volume 176 Pages 48-63
There is an urgent need to develop self-directed Japanese language teachers by engaging them in reflective practice. In response to this need, classroom observation has been recommended as a method of teacher development (Okazaki & Okazaki, 1997). Aiming to support the practice of classroom observation, this paper attempts to investigate how teachers, both observers and observees, perceive the purpose of classroom observation carried out as part of a teacher training program at a Japanese language school in Japan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six teachers (three full-time and three part-time). Interview transcripts were analyzed qualitatively using SCAT (Otani, 2019) and a framework proposed by the authors consisting of three orientation types: assessment, open-practice, and reflection- sharing. The result indicates that each teacher has a specific orientation toward classroom observation activities. Nevertheless, they may occasionally show signs of inclination toward a different orientation type at the same time or gradually change their major orientation. Consequently, the current study has significant implications for the importance of designing activities that take into account the role of Japanese language teachers and their relationship with each other.
