FUTURE of MEDICAL EDUCATION JOURNAL ص ORIGINAL ARTICLE EAP instructors’ professional development and their knowledge sharing: A case of nursing courses Farshad Parhamnia1,*, Majid Background: It has been agreed upon by educators and scholars that Farahian2 one of the key successes in any educational setting is promoting the 1 Department of Knowledge professional development of teachers. Having this in mind, the and Information Science, researchers of the present study investigated nursing English for Kermanshah Branch, Islamic academic purposes (EAP) and instructors’ perceptions of knowledge Azad University, sharing. In addition, they sought whether EAP instructors’ perceptions Kermanshah, Iran of knowledge sharing would predict their professional development. 2 Department of ELT, Methods: Ninety-four EAP instructors from different medical universities Kermanshah Branch, Islamic across the country were recruited in the present study. Two questionnaires Azad University, of ‘EAP instructors’ perception towards knowledge sharing’ scale and ‘a Kermanshah, Iran teacher professional development’ were used to gather data. A semi- * ’structured interview was also performed to explore the participants Islamic Azad University, opinions regarding the inhibitors to develop teacher learning communities. Imam Khomeini Campus, Results: The results showed that the mean of EAP instructors' perception Farhikhtegan Blvd., Kermanshah, 6718997551 of knowledge sharing in the sample group was 2.90 with a standard Iran deviation of 0.338 which was lower than the expected average (3). Also, there was a positive and significant relationship between the perception of Tel: +98 8337252487 EAP instructors and knowledge sharing with respect to the level of Fax: +98 8337252487 significance (sig= 0.000) and the error rate of 0.01 with their professional Email: development. In addition, the multiple regression analysis showed that
[email protected] cultural, reflective, personal cost and sharing, and organizational variables were able to explain the variance of professional development. As the findings of the semi-structured interview revealed, among other factors, instructors’ lack of incentive, lack of commitment, and their lack of familiarity with the importance of teacher learning communities were the major inhibitors to developing teacher learning communities among EAP instructors. Conclusion: Knowledge management can become a rudimentary strategy which may pave the way to personal/professional development. This sheds light on the importance of collaborative work which should take place within an educational setting. Accordingly, some implications have been suggested to encourage knowledge sharing among EAP instructors. Key words: EAP instructors, professional development, knowledge sharing ارتقاء حرفهای مدرسان انگليسی برای اهداف خاص رشته پرستاری و انگریزی ٹیچروں کی پیشہ ورانہ طور پر تدریسی صلاحیتوں میں نکھار لانا ،ان اشتراک گذاری دانش ٹیچروں کا دوسروں کو اپنے تجربے سے اگاہ کرنا ۔ نرسنگ کیس کی تحقیق زمينه و هدف :پژوهشگران توافق دارند كه يكي از مهمترين موفقيتها در هر زمينه بیک گراونڈ :محققین کا کہنا ہے کہ تعلیمی شعبوں میں پیشہ ورانہ طورپر ٹیچروں کی آموزشي ،ارتقاء رشد حرفهاي معلمان است .با توجه به اين نكته ،اين اثر به بررسي اشتراک صلاحیتوں میں نکھار لانا کامیابی کی ضمانت ہے ۔ اس امر کے پیش نظر انگلش برای دانش در اساتيد EAPپرداخت .عالوه بر اين ،ما به دنبال اين بوديم كه آيا درک اساتيد تعلیمی اھداف ( ) EAPکا کورس کرنے والے ٹیچیروں کی کارکردگي کا جائزہ لیا گیا ہے۔ EAPنسبت به اشتراک دانش ،پيشرفت حرفهاي آنها را پيشبيني ميكند يا خير؟ ائي اے پی کے بعد کیا ٹیچر پیشہ ورانہ طورپر کام کرپائے ہیں یہ بھی ایک اہم ھدف ہے ۔ روش :در اين مطالعه 94مدرس انگليسي براي اهداف خاص از دانشگاههاي مختلف علوم روش :اس تحقیق میں ملک کی مختلف میڈیکل یونیورسٹیوں سے چورانوے 94 پزشكي سراسر كشور دعوت شدند .براي جمعآوري دادهها از دو پرسشنامه "درک اساتيد مدرسین کو شامل کیا گيا جنہوں نے ائي اے پی کا کورس کیا تھا ۔ ڈیٹا کی جمع اور انگليسي براي اهداف خاص از اشتراک دانش" و "پيشرفت حرفهاي معلمان" استفاده شد. کے لئے دو سوالناموں سے استفادہ کیا گيا ۔ پہلے سوالنامے میں ائي اے پی کا کورس همچنين يک مصاحبه نيمه ساختار يافته براي بررسي نظرات شركت كنندگان در مورد موانع کرنے والوں سے تعلیم دینے کے خاص اھداف کے بارے میں سوال کئے گئے تھے جبکہ تشكيل گروههاي يادگيري معلمان انجام شد. دوسرے سوالنامے میں ٹیچروں کی پیشہ ورانہ پیشرفت کے بارے میں پوچھا گيا تھا۔ يافتهها :يافتهها نشان داد ميانگين ادراک مربيان EAPنسبت به اشتراک دانش در گروه اس کے علاوہ تحقیق میں شرکت کرنے والوں سے انٹرویو بھی لئے گئے تاکہ ٹیچيروں نمونه 2/90با انحراف استاندارد 0/3385بود كه پايين تر از ميانگين نظري ( )3بود .همچنين کے کورسس کرنے میں موجود رکاوٹوں کے بارے میں اطلاعات حاصل ہوسکیں ۔ بين درک اساتيد EAPبا اشتراک دانش با توجه به سطح معناداري ( )sig = 0 = 000بدست نتیجے :اس تحقیق سے پتہ چلتا ہے کہ ائي اے پی کا کورس کرنے کے بعد دوسروں آمده و ميزان خطاي 0/01با پيشرفت حرفهاي آنها رابطه مثبت و معناداري وجود داشت. کو تعلیم دینے کے سلسلے میں ان کی کارکردگی توقع سے کم تھی۔ اس کے علاوہ بررسي رگرسيون چندگانه نيز نشان داد متغيرهاي فرهنگي ،تأمل ،شخصي ،هزينه و اشتراک ملٹی پل رگریشن کے ذریعے حاصل ہونے والے ڈیٹا سے ثقافتی ،غورو خوض ،شخصی و سازماني داراي P <0.05بودند و توانستند واريانس پيشرفت حرفهاي را تبيين كنند. ،بجٹ ،اداری امور جیسے عوامل سے ٹیچروں کے پروفیشنل پہلووں کا پتہ چلتا ہے۔ يافتههاي مصاحبه نيمه ساختار يافته نيز نشان داد ،از جمله ساير عوامل ،عدم انگيزه مربيان، انٹرویوز سے پتہ چلتا ہے کہ مختلف عوامل کے علاوہ ٹیچروں کا پڑھانے میں دلچسپی عدم تعهد و عدم آشنايي آنها با اهميت گروه هاي يادگيري معلمان مهمترين موانع در ايجاد نہ لینا ،عدم محرکات ،اپنی ذمہ داریون پر عمل نہ کرنا اورٹیچروں کے لئے رکھے گئے گروه هاي يادگيري معلمان در بين مدرسان انگليسي براي اهداف خاص است. کورسوں سے لاعلم رہنا ،یہ سارے امور ائي اے پی کے تحت انگریزی کی پڑھائي نہ نتيجهگيری :مديريت دانش ميتواند به يک استراتژي اساسي تبديل شود كه راه را کرنے میں موثر ہیں ۔ براي پيشرفت شخصي/حرفهاي هموار كند .اين امر توجه به كار مشتركي كه بايد در يک سفارش :نالج مینجمنٹ کو بنیادی اسٹراٹیجی بناکر پیشہ ورانہ پیشرفت حاصل کی محيط آموزشي صورت گيرد را مي طلبد .بر اين اساس ،برخي از راهكارها براي تشويق جاسکتی ہے ۔ اسی اساس پر انگریزی پڑھانے والے اساتذہ کے لئے کچھ تشویقی پکیج به اشتراک گذاري دانش در بين مربيان انگليسي براي اهداف خاص پيشنهاد شده است. بھی رکھے جاسکتے ہیں ۔ واژه های کليدی :اساتيد انگليسي براي اهداف خاص ،توسعه حرفهاي ،اشتراک دانش کلیدی الفاظ :انگریزی ،ٹیچر ،مینجمینٹ 32 FMEJ 11;1 mums.ac.ir/j-fmej March 25, 2021 EAP instructors’ professional development communities. It is through such communities that INTRODUCTION instruction is promoted (e.g., 11, 12). Learning a foreign language, especially English, has become Another issue which seems to be related to teachers’ increasingly important in all fields of study. In the professional development is knowledge management. It is postgraduate courses, the use of English resources becomes defined as “the process of gathering, managing and an integral part of that field of study. This is especially the sharing…knowledge…throughout the organization” (13: case in medical fields (1). Nursing students need to learn 37). It is through knowledge sharing that individuals English due to the importance of their future careers and the “collectively and systematically create, share and apply need to identify, access, select, and use a wide range of knowledge to achieve their strategic and operational information that should be updated regularly. Unfortunately, objectives” (14: 211). Like many other organizations many students have not been able to achieve English universities face a competitive pressure, so creating, Language for a variety of reasons. In this regard, Rajprasit, transmitting, and sharing knowledge among teachers seem Pratoomrat and Wang stated that there is a growing demand to be crucial. When teachers exchange views, “they can in the medical and paramedical fields to master English inspire each other. At the same time, this exchange may language skills. This is due to the nature of these disciplines evoke discussions about pedagogy and may as such result in and the need for international interactions in them (2). It is new insights” (15: 2). Knowledge sharing as a unit of more than four decades that ESP (English for specific knowledge management is “the provision of task, purposes) in general and EAP in particular are being taught information and know-how to help others and to collaborate in Iran. All students majoring in various fields are required to with others to solve problems, develop new ideas, or pass a three-credit course called General English which is implement policies or procedures” (16: 117). It has also been followed by course in English called EAP. The three-unit defined as “processes that involve exchanging knowledge course puts a heavy emphasis on reading comprehension between individuals and groups” (17: 32). Teachers “must skill and general vocabulary development. Similarly, for EAP share knowledge among themselves to be better prepared for course, reading comprehension is of great importance. The onward transmission to students, community and the world aim of English for Specific purpose courses is to prepare as a whole” (18: 2). By so doing, experience-based students to read texts and common words related to the knowledge will be accessible to those who need it. It is subject matter they are studying. In general, the ESP course through sharing knowledge that new knowledge is is based on two assumptions: a) compliance of the content developed and views behind practices becomes overt, so that of the course with the field of study b) limited improvement teachers can reflect upon it (19). of writing and reading comprehension skills as well as As Adamseged and Hong (18) demonstrated, “higher grammar and vocabulary (3). However, apart from the education does not operate in isolation. … higher education requirement of the course, what seems to be important is the institutions are instituted, managed and run by human instructors’ qualities and their potentiality in teaching EAP. beings who themselves have been and are beneficiaries of Teachers’ professional development is one of the concerns knowledge sharing” (P. 1). In this regard, the literature in educational settings which is essential for both teachers’ highlights the role of collaboration among teachers (20-22). and students’ success (4-6). In recent years, there has been a Furthermore, as Runhaar and Sanders (15) argued, tendency toward professional development of EFL teachers “knowledge sharing is a learning activity with which teachers which helps teachers acquire new knowledge and experience not only professionalize themselves, but contribute to the in order to have a more efficient and successful teaching professional development of their colleagues as well” (p.1). experience. Professional development is the endeavor to To shed light on the influence of teachers’ learning improve teachers’ professional knowledge “beginning with communities, research studies have recently been carried out initial training and lasting for as long as a teacher remains in (e.g., 23, 24). The impact of teachers’ collaboration on their the profession” (7). In other words, apart from personal reflection (25-26), professional development, and students’ qualities, teachers should acquire professional knowledge learning (e.g. 27, 12; 28) have also been investigated. Yet, and specialized skills. For such an end, teachers take part in one of the features that has received less attention in teacher activities developed for professional development (8). development is EAP teachers’ perceptions towards Professional development may result in teachers’ knowledge sharing. In other words, there is scant research involvement in the process of teaching-learning processes on sharing knowledge in higher education in the realm of and helps teachers share knowledge and skills and thus EAP. In addition, no study has ever investigated relationship overcome the frustration they may have in their daily between EAP instructors’ perceptions of knowledge sharing practices (9). and their professional development. Accordingly, the present Despite the fact that there is no unanimous agreement over study drew upon both quantitative and qualitative research the concepts of professional development, one can see two to answer the following questions. approaches to it. Formal professional development requires 1. What are EAP instructors’ perceptions of knowledge teachers to attend in-service education program courses; on sharing? the other hand, informal professional development which is 2. Is there any significant relationship between EAP self-initiated involves teachers’ daily experiences or informal instructors’ perceptions of knowledge sharing and their contacts with more experienced teachers (10). Both formal professional development? and informal settings can be used in teacher learning 3. Does EAP instructors’ perceptions of knowledge sharing _________ _________ FMEJ 11;1 mums.ac.ir/j-fmej March 25, 2021 33 FUTURE of MEDICAL EDUCATION JOURNAL predict their professional development? 2019 in the universities of medical sciences. Since the 4. What are the inhibitors to develop teacher learning researchers did not have a direct access to majority of EAP communities among EAP instructors? instructors, some questionnaires distributed online. Of all 120 EAP instructors’ who received the digital questionnaire, METHODS 81 sent them back via email. Thirteen instructors to whom Ninety-four EAP instructors (33 males and 61 females) from the present researchers had access received the different medical universities across the country were questionnaires in a face to face meeting and filled it in the recruited in the present study. They were selected based on scale. All respondents were ensured that their names would convenience sampling method from universities affiliated to remain anonymous. the Ministry of Health and the Islamic Azad University. The To conduct the study, first, the instructors were told that their instructors’ average age was 34.23 (SD = 0.41) with 2 to 27 participation was voluntary. Next, the EAP teachers’ perception years’ experience (M = 11.19, SD = 4.76). They were either towards knowledge sharing scale and professional EAP instructors at the time the research was conducted or development scale were distributed among teachers. had taught EAP to nursing students at least for one semester Once the relationship between EAP instructors’ perceptions in medical universities. Twenty-six participants held a Ph.D. of knowledge sharing and their professional development and 68 held M.A. degree in TEFL. was established, a semi-structured interview was conducted in Farsi which was later translated into English, and subjected EAP teachers’ perception towards knowledge sharing scale to thematic analysis. EAP teachers’ perception towards knowledge sharing scale Data analysis was developed to measure EFL instructors’ perceptions The data were analyzed through SPSS 21. First the Pearson towards knowledge sharing. To develop the questionnaire correlation was used to examine the relationship between (authors, unpublished manuscript), after consulting the EAP instructors’ perceptions of knowledge sharing and their literature (29-31), the first draft including 20 items were professional development (the first research question). piloted on 13 M.A. EFL instructors. Then, five experts were Then, a multiple regression analysis was employed to explore asked to pass their judgments on the statements. There were whether ESP instructors’ perceptions of knowledge sharing 17 items in the questionnaire and a 5-point Likert scale would predict their professional development. Finally, based ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree followed on the third research question, data analysis was carried out each item. The value for the Cronbach's Alpha was 0.76 for by the inductive approach of iteratively reading all transcripts the scale. and categorizing them into meaningful units (33). A teacher professional development scale RESULTS The scale which developed by Soodmand Afshar and The first research question inquired EAP teachers’ perceptions Ghasemi (32) measured EFL instructors’ professional towards knowledge sharing. The following Table shows the development. There were 35 items with 5 components in the results of a single sample t analysis. In this Table, the EAP scale . Each item was followed by a 5-point Likert scale teachers’ perceptions toward knowledge sharing of the sample ranging from ‘very much’ to ‘not at all’. The scale was group is compared with the theoretical score of 3. subjected to factor analysis to ensure its validity and As can be seen in Table 1, the mean score of EAP instructors’ reliability and, as reported by the authors, it enjoyed an perceptions toward knowledge sharing in the sample group acceptable reliability index of 0.91. was 2.90 with a standard deviation of 0.338, which was Semi structured interviews significantly lower (p <0.009) than the cut-off score of 3. Semi-structured interviews were performed with 12 EFL The second research question explored whether there is a instructors. For validity purposes, two experts in the field of significant relationship between EAP instructors’ perceptions applied linguistics were asked to review the questions. towards knowledge sharing and their professional The interviewees were required to express their opinions development. To answer this question, a Pearson’s toward inhibitors for developing teacher learning correlation coefficient test was used. The results of this test communities. Each interview lasted for 30 minutes. After the are shown in Table 2. interview, the responses were recorded and transcribed. According to Table 2, there is a significant and positive Data collection procedures relationship between EAP instructors’ perceptions towards The present study was conducted in the first semester of knowledge sharing (sig.= 0.000) and their professional ______ ________ Table 1. One-Sample Test Test Value = 3 95% Confidence Interval of Std. Sig. Mean the Difference mean t df Deviation (2-tailed) Difference Lower Upper EAP teachers’ perceptions 2.9074 .33857 -2.652 93 .009 -.09262 -.1620 -.0233 toward knowledge sharing 34 FMEJ 11;1 mums.ac.ir/j-fmej March 25, 2021 EAP instructors’ professional development development with 99% confidence and 0.01% error. In terms variable 5.15%, reflection variable 5.29%, personal 29.81%, of the intensity of correlation, EAP instructors’ perceptions cost and sharing 7.39%, and organizational explained -4.92% towards knowledge sharing (r= 0.506) was direct and of the variance of dependent variable. strong. The qualitative data from the interviews shed light on the The third research question investigated whether EAP inhibitors to develop learning communities among EAP instructors’ perceptions towards knowledge sharing predict instructors. In response to the interview question the their professional development. Multiple regression analysis instructors expressed their positive feelings about was used to determine the relationship and the contribution knowledge sharing among university instructors. They also of each of the factors to the professional development. The reported various challenges to having teacher learning first output of the multiple regression analysis was shown in communities. One instructors’ commented: Table 3. ″There is no incentive for teamwork, and no strategies are The first output of the multiple regression analysis showed that suggested to motivate teacher learning communities in R is equal to .687. The value of R2 is equal to .472; In other universities″. words, the variance of intervening variable as determined by Another instructor reported: five independent variables showed that these five variables ″I think EAP instructors have little information about the stands for 47% of variance in the dependent variable. importance of teamwork and perhaps they are so confident Besides, the results of ANOVA revealed that the observed F is in their own teaching that they don't care about teamwork″. equal to 15.746 (df= 5) (P=.000<.05) with the significant Instructors’ workload was also regarded as being a challenge F at .05 indicating %95 which is significant at .05 level. The as one instructor said: coefficients of multiple regression analysis of knowledge "We have to hold a lot of classes during the semester, and sharing toward professional development obtained from that's a barrier to thinking and taking time for teamwork". predicting variables of EAP instructors’ are shown in Table 5. Competition among instructors was considered as another As can be seen in Table 5, the five variables of cultural, barrier which was echoed in the following excerpt: reflection, personal, cost and sharing, and organizational have ″Sometimes, I think to myself, why should I easily share the P <0.05, so they can explain the variance of professional important information I have gained with other professors? development. Also, the standardized beta coefficients showed So I try not to easily pass on my knowledge to other the impact factor of cultural (β= 0.178 and t= 2.183), instructors, even at informal gatherings. After all, how I can reflection (β = 0.186 and t= 2.216), personal (β=.504 and trust other colleagues″. t= 6.119), cost and sharing (β = 0.204 and t= 2.365), Insufficient or lack of in-service training was also a challenge organizational (β= -0.183 and t= -2.132). Therefore, these as a teacher mentioned: variables explained the changes in professional development. ″There is almost no in-service training for instructors, as if, The results of parity correlation coefficients (second-order all instructors are already equipped with the necessary discriminant) showed that the cultural variable as a predictor knowledge and skills″. _______ Table 2. EAP Teachers’ perceptions towards knowledge sharing and their professional development Variable Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N EAP Teachers’ perceptions towards knowledge sharing and their ** .506 .000 94 professional development ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Table 3. Model summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate .687 .472 .442 .19603 Table 4. ANOVA Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 3.025 5 .605 15.746 .000 Residual 3.382 88 .038 Total 6.407 93 FMEJ 11;1 mums.ac.ir/j-fmej March 25, 2021 35 FUTURE of MEDICAL EDUCATION JOURNAL Table 6. The inhibitors to develop teacher learning communities among EAP teachers Response F P 1. There is lack of incentive for EAP instructors to share their knowledge. 10 83 2. EAP Instructors do not feel committed to take part in teacher learning communities. 8 67 3. EAP instructors are not familiar with the importance of teacher learning communities. 7 58 4. EAP instructors’ workload is an inhibitor to their collaborative work. 5 42 5. There is a competitive behavior in universities among instructors. 5 42 6. Universities do not support instructors’ learning communities. 4 33 7. There is insufficient in-service training. 3 25 8. There is lack of trust among EAP instructors’. 3 25 In sum, the potential challenges to develop teacher learning important pathway for an effective career development” communities can be categorized into personal, (p.162). organizational, and cultural factors. The personal factor Regarding the barriers of knowledge sharing, the results included items 1 and 3. Institutional factors were items 4, 6, reported by Chaudhry and Sivakamasundari (34) and 7. However, cultural factors included items 2, 5, and 8. corroborated with the findings of the present study. As they concluded, time constraint, stress, reluctance to share DISCUSSION knowledge, social issues, and fear of criticism were among The study investigated EAP instructors’ perceptions towards the barriers for teachers to share knowledge. The findings are knowledge sharing. Based on the results, EAP instructors’ partly in tandem with that of Ipe (29: 352) who stated that considered knowledge sharing to be effective and had a several factors namely, the nature of knowledge, motivation positive view towards it. There was also a significant to share, opportunities to share, and the culture of work relationship between EAP instructors’ perceptions towards environment may have a negative effect on knowledge knowledge sharing and their professional development. In sharing. Culture of work environment is particularly addition, the instructors’ perceptions towards knowledge important in teacher learning process since learning takes sharing predicted their professional development. As the place in particular educational and social contexts, and findings of the semi-structured interview revealed, among learning is socially distributed among individuals (39). In other factors, the instructors’ lack of incentive, lack of addition, research studies (e.g. 40, 41) acknowledged the commitment, and their lack of familiarity with the influence of organizational trust on knowledge-sharing. Ipe importance of teacher learning communities were the major (30), in line with the present study, found that cost of sharing inhibitors to developing teacher learning communities including time and effort plays a role as a barrier to among ESP instructors. knowledge sharing. Moreover, in the present study, EAP Regarding EAP instructors’ perceptions of knowledge instructors’ competition resulted in knowledge hoarding. sharing, to the best of researchers’ knowledge, no research Similarly, Gupta and Govindarajan (42) asserted that if a study has been carried out; however, in line with the present member of an organization assumes that power comes from study, Chaudhry and Sivakamasundari (34) who used an the knowledge, she may be reluctant to share it with other unstructured interview to probe into perceptions of school members. Perhaps, the competitive behavior is due to the teachers regarding knowledge sharing reported that the culture in language schools which may motivate or hinder teachers were supportive of knowledge sharing. It was also collaboration among teachers. Jong, Meirunk and Admiraal stated that the government and their schools support (43: 1), in this regard, stated that “short-term teacher knowledge sharing through the “Teachers Network”. collaboration initiatives depend on the prior existence of As to the second and third research questions, we did not collaborative cultures”. find studies that directly deal with the two variables of the The findings of the study suggest that knowledge study in EAP context; therefore, these results were compared management can become a rudimentary strategy which paves to those of similar studies. Yeh, Huang, and Yeh (35) the way to personal/professional development. This sheds reported that training program which integrates knowledge light on the importance of collaborative work which should management and blended learning significantly improve pre- take place within educational settings. However, in the service teachers’ professional knowledge. Similarly, Chen, present ESP curriculum of the country there is no training for Chen and Tsai (36) stated that engaging in communities promoting knowledge sharing and scant attention has been improve teachers’ efficacy through development of their paid to interaction among instructors (44). This may have teaching skills and strategies. Hur and Brush (37) also argued negative consequences for other aspects of teacher qualities that teachers’ participation in a community of practice leads such as professional development. to development of various skills. In the same vein, Kosmas Based on the findings, the present study can have some (38) recognized community of practice as “the most implications for EAP teaching. __________ 36 FMEJ 11;1 mums.ac.ir/j-fmej March 25, 2021 EAP instructors’ professional development 1. It is evident that culture of learning environment has an understanding among teachers. influential effect on forming teacher learning communities. Further studies can also examine the factors that hinder the In other words, teacher learning depends to a great extent knowledge sharing among EAP instructors. Undoubtedly, on the culture of educational setting, which influences the recognizing obstacles to knowledge sharing can play an professional development activities (45). It is important to important role in educating instructors. Furthermore, research remember how opportunities and conflicts which arise as the studies can determine whether language teaching professors result of interaction with environment may mediate or have a different view of subject matter instructors on hinder teachers learning. University instructors should bear knowledge sharing. In addition, Professional development, in mind that collaboration may contribute to a culture of may have an effect on knowledge sharing since developing the learning and by so doing elevate professional practice. As knowledge society in “education requires an optimal such, EAP instructors’ should understand that both novice development of educational professionals” (48: 1). and experienced instructors may gain benefit from Accordingly, further study could investigate the possible effect knowledge sharing (46). Therefore, they should not be too of EAP teachers’ professional development on their knowledge. much concerned about problems they may encounter in their teacher-to-teacher interaction and they should make Ethical considerations attempt to build positive relationship with their colleagues. Ethical issues (Including plagiarism, informed consent, 2. In-service teacher training can encourage teacher learning misconduct, data fabrication and/or falsification, double communities and by so doing raise instructors’ awareness as publication and/or submission, redundancy, etc.) have been to the knowledge sharing among university instructors. completely observed by the authors. 3. Encouraging either formal or informal dialogues in ACKNOWLEDGMENT departments, though not in the scope of the present study, can act as a motivating factor towards sharing knowledge among The authors are grateful for the assistance of faculty members university institutors. The effect of informal knowledge sharing who participated in the present study. should not be underestimated since they may contribute to a friendlier atmosphere hence reducing the negative impact of Financial Support: The authors received no financial power relations. As such, it is recommended that EAP support for the research. The code issued for the research is instructors as members of departments once in a while are 187-1399/05/01. called upon by heads of departments in order to share ideas regarding their daily practice. Mann and Walsh (47) Conflict of interest: The authors declare that there is no emphasized the necessity of such a dialogue since it enhances conflict of interest. REFERENCES 1. 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