Kurdish EFL Teachers’ Use of Self-regulation Strategies

Abstract

In the past few years, teachers’ self-regulation, as a set of strategies executed by teachers to achieve pedagogical goals in an instructional environment, has become a significant area of research, especially in some under-researched contexts. In this respect, this study aims to investigate the use of self-regulation strategies among Kurdish English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Based on Zimmerman's (2000) cyclical model of self-regulation and Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory, this utilizes a mixed-methods approach to examine 66 English teachers from various schools in the region. The analyses of the collected data show that teachers’ use high levels of self-regulation strategies during their instructional practices, and some challenges and contextual barriers can hinder the effective use of the strategies. The outcome of this research can be a good contribution to the global discourse and understudied educational contexts.

According to social cognitive theory, human behavior results from the triadic reciprocal interaction of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors within a social context  . Moreover, human motivation and action are largely regulated by beliefs in their capabilities to perform an action and the possible outcomes of the action  . Bandura   emphasizes the effective impact of cognition on people’s capabilities to understand, self-regulate, and perform an action. In this respect, self-regulation is defined as “self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and cyclically adapted to the attainment of personal goals”  . This means that people set specific goals, make necessary plans, employ particular strategies to achieve these goals, and ultimately evaluate their performance. It is believed that such a cyclical process helps people improve their future performance