Journal of English Language Teaching

Action research through Mentorship Model: A sustainable Framework for professional development

Ipshita H Sasmal

Assistant Professor, ELT, Centre for English Languge Education (CELE), Ambedkar University, Delhi

Monishita H Pande

Assistant Professor, ELT, Centre for English Languge Education (CELE), Ambedkar University, Delhi

Keywords: action research, mentorship model, enquiry-based, continuous professional development, cascade model

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Abstract

Action research or classroom-based research is steadily gaining popularity in the Indian context because it focuses on the teachers’ real-life classroom issues and solving those through an enquiry-based approach. English teachers at the school level need to collaborate with professionals in the field to gain insights as well as receive guidance in their journey of action research. School teachers in India are not motivated to conduct research which is largely considered the domain of ‘higher education’. Thus, action research has the potential to bring research practices into the English classroom and encourage teachers to look at their classrooms critically. At present, continuous professional development (CPD) activities in the Indian context are based on the cascade model (Mathew, 1998). To manage the huge number of teachers who need to be part of CPD programs, the cascade model seems to be the most feasible method of teacher education in India. The effectiveness of this model has however been challenged. This paper argues that the mentorship or network-based model can be a sustainable framework citing British Council’s Aptis Action Research Mentor Scheme (AARMS), which is an initial attempt to gauge the feasibility of the mentorship model in the Indian context.

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