Libyan EFL Teachers’ Beliefs about Teachers’ and Students’ Roles, Relationships, and Classroom Talk within Learner- Centred and Teacher- Centred Paradigms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65405/g6tqfk50Keywords:
learner- centred pedagogy; teacher beliefs; classroom discourse; Libyan EFL teachers; educational reformAbstract
This quantitative study investigates Libyan secondary- school EFL teachers’ beliefs about teachers’ and students’ roles, teacher–student relationships, and classroom talk within teacher- centred and learner- centred paradigms. Data were collected through a 12- item Likert- scale questionnaire administered to 100 teachers and analysed using descriptive statistics and paired- samples t- tests. Findings show strong support for learner- centred ideas such as facilitation, democratic relationships and increased student talk, alongside persistent attachment to teacher authority, textbook control and teacher- dominated discourse. The results indicate a hybrid belief system in which teachers selectively combine elements of both paradigms, reflecting a transitional stage in Libyan educational reform. The study argues that effective implementation of learner- centred pedagogy requires sustained, belief- focused professional development, flexible curricula and assessment reform aligned with communicative, participatory classroom practices.
Downloads
References
• Abukhattala, I. (2015). Introducing the communicative approach in Libya: Resistance and conflict. Faculty of Arts Journal (Misurata University, 8–21).
• Ammon, P., & Black, A. (1998). Developmental psychology as a guide for teaching and teacher preparation. In N. Lambert & B. McCombs (Eds.), How students learn: Reforming schools through learner-centred education (pp. 409–448). American Psychological Association.
• Bax, S. (2003). The end of CLT: A context approach to language teaching. ELT Journal, 57(3), 278–287.
• Berg, B. L. (2009). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences (7th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
• Borg, S. (2015). Teacher cognition and language education: Research and practice. Bloomsbury.
• Braiek, M. S., & Onaiba, A. E. (2018). The effect of using flipped classroom model on Libyan university students’ English learning. Faculty of Arts Journal, 2018(12), 64–84.
• Brandes, D., & Ginnis, P. (1986). A guide to student-centred learning. Basil Blackwell.
• Brandes, D., & Ginnis, P. (1990). The learner-centred school. Basil Blackwell.
• Cornelius-White, J., & Harbaugh, A. P. (2010). Learner-centered instruction: Building relationships for student success. SAGE.
• Cuban, L. (1993). How teachers taught: Constancy and change in American classrooms 1890–1990 (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.
• Cullen, R. (2002). Supportive teacher talk: The importance of the F-move. ELT Journal, 56(2), 117–127.
• Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. Macmillan.
• Elabbar, A. (2020). Challenges to implementing communicative language teaching in Libya. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(1), 12–20.
• Farrell, T. S. C., & Ives, J. (2015). Exploring teacher beliefs and classroom practices through reflective practice: A case study. Language Teaching Research, 19(5), 594–610.
• Harris, L. (2008). A phenomenographic investigation of teacher conceptions of student engagement in learning. The Australian Educational Researcher, 35(1), 57–79.
• Holliday, A. (1994). Appropriate methodology and social context. Cambridge University Press.
• Jacobs, G., McCafferty, S., & Iddings, A. (2006). Roots of cooperative learning in general education. In S. McCafferty, G. Jacobs, & A. Iddings (Eds.), Cooperative learning and second language teaching (pp. 9–17). Cambridge University Press.
• Jones, L. (2007). The student-centred classroom. Cambridge University Press.
• Kasanda, C., et al. (2005). The role of everyday contexts in learner-centred teaching: The practice in Namibian secondary schools. International Journal of Science Education, 27(15), 1805–1823.
• Kember, D. (2016). Understanding the nature of teacher-centred and student-centred learning. Routledge.
• Lambert, N. M., & McCombs, B. L. (Eds.). (1998). How students learn: Reforming schools through learner-centred education. American Psychological Association.
• Marton, F. (1981). Phenomenography—Describing conceptions of the world around us. Instructional Science, 10, 177–200.
• Marton, F. (1986). Phenomenography: A research approach to investigating different understandings of reality. In R. Sherman & R. Webb (Eds.), Qualitative research in education: Focus and methods (pp. 141–161). Falmer Press.
• Marton, F., & Booth, S. (1997). Learning and awareness. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Nonkukhetkhong, K., Baldauf, R. B., Jr, & Moni, K. (2006, January 19–21). Learner-centredness in teaching English as a foreign language (Paper presented at the 26th Thai TESOL International Conference, Chiang Mai, Thailand).
• Nunan, D. (1988). The learner-centred curriculum. Cambridge University Press.
• O’Neill, G., & McMahon, T. (2015). Student-centred learning: What does it mean for students and lecturers? In Emerging Issues in Higher Education. University College Dublin.
• Orafi, S., & Borg, S. (2009). Intentions and realities in implementing communicative curriculum reform. System, 37(2), 243–253.
• Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62(3), 307–332.
• Pajares, M. F. (2018). Teachers’ beliefs and their impact on classroom behaviour. Review of Educational Research, 88(4), 783–821.
• Phillips, et al. (2002). English for Libya: Secondary 4 specialization – Language and society. Teacher’s book B. Garnet Publishing.
• Phillips, J. et al. (2008). English for Libya: Secondary English curriculum. Tripoli: Ministry of Education.
• Richards, J. C. (2015). Key issues in language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
• Richards, J. C. (2017). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Rogers, C. R. (1969). Freedom to learn. Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company.
• Rogers, C. R., & Freiberg, H. J. (1994). Freedom to learn (3rd ed.). Prentice Hall.
• Saleh, S. (2002). A descriptive study of some classroom behavioural aspects of Ajelat EFL teachers at secondary schools (Unpublished master’s thesis). The Academy of Graduate Studies, Tripoli, Libya.
• Thanli, T., Dekker, R., & Goedhart, M. (2008). Preparing Vietnamese student-teachers for teaching with a student-centred approach. Mathematics Teacher Education, 11, 61–81.
• Tudor, I. (1996). Learner-centredness as language education. Cambridge University Press.
• Uljens, M. (1996). On the phenomenographical foundations of phenomenography. In G. Dall’Alba & B. Hasselgren (Eds.), Reflections on phenomenography: Toward a methodology? (pp. 103–128). Kompendiet.
• Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice. Jossey-Bass.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Comprehensive Journal of Science

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.










