Professional development through reflective practice: The case of Addis Ababa secondary school EFL in-service teachers

Abstract The purpose of this research was to examine the reflective practice skills and attitudes that were used by EFL teachers in their professional learning. This study followed a convergent parallel mixed-methods research design. The qualitative data was analyzed first by locating the practice indicators to assess reflective practice. Six indicators were in the teachers’ narratives. Next, both data strands were merged to be discussed together, and three themes were generated from the views of the teachers that were related to some of the reflective teaching skills and attitudes covered in the survey scale. The quantitative data findings showed that EFL in-service teachers believed they often used a considerable number of reflective teaching skills and attitudes during the learning-teaching process. In the qualitative data findings, the teachers’ narratives indicated that they were not engaged in reflective teaching at all, and they held the attitudes of pre-reflection level. This study implies that teacher education and training programs should be budgeted to offer training for teacher educators, mentors, and school principals and provide support for secondary schools. In addition, the professional development staff should provide in-service teachers with professional training about reflective practice and work with the school leaders to produce a culture of inquiry in their schools. The study suggests teachers must give more attention to practical, continued, and open-ended learning engagements that will facilitate reflective learning practices that are very useful for coping with the dynamic and complex nature of the teaching profession.

Degife Gudeta is a PhD candidate in TEFL at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. He has a Master of Education in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and a Bachelor of Arts in English. He has worked as an education expert for English curriculum revision.Currently; he is working as a senior lecturer in the department of English language and literature at Bahir Dar University. He has been conducting action research and mini classroom research that are related to English language teaching and learning. The Ministry of Education has made policy changes in the past few years to solve the long-existing problems in teacher education in Ethiopia. To this end, teachers have been encouraged to be reflective and think about their experiences and actions in their classes. This research project is to support these changes, with a focus on exploring how EFL teachers think and improve their profession through reflective practice and engaging their students in active learning in English classes.

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
The world is in a constant state of changes: technologically, socially economically, politically. This demands the nations' school system be responsive and continuously update the capacity of their staff. Thus, professional development programs for teachers are seen to play a vital role as they provide opportunities for teachers to learn and grow within their profession. One of the key issues stressed in good teaching is reflection. Reflective teachers become aware of their teaching impact on the learners actively assess what they know and try to bridge the gap between their knowledge and ignorance. Hence, the purpose of this research is to explore EFL teachers' perception and application of EFL teaching reflective teaching approaches that would have a significant contribution in facilitating or determining students' active learning.

Introduction
Because of the current complexity of the educational process and the ambiguity of the skills needed in the future workplace, reforming the existing education systems has become a national concern for many countries around the world facing social changes and scientific and technological transformations (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2014). Ethiopia is one of the countries that have recently recognized the dangers of using outdated educational methods for their young generations. Multidimensional plans have been put in place to reform the Ethiopian education system. Taking this into account, any reform plan cannot be functional and well-guided without being informed by a large base of local research. Investigating how Ethiopian teachers perceive their profession could help those in charge of developing professional training. In any educational reform plan, the development of teacher performance is a crucial starting point guaranteeing continuous improvement in the education process. The teacher is the one who is responsible for carrying out the goals and educational objectives that require a level of professionalism and awareness of this responsibility and achieving them accurately. Many researchers consider reflective practice as a "hallmark" of professional competence for teachers (e.g., Hatton & Smith, 1995;Larrivee, 2008;K. M. Zeichner & Liston, 1996;Schön, 1983). The ability to think through the routine actions of teaching, investigate one's beliefs, and question the value and worth of the objectives are features of how a reflective practitioner should act (Larrivee, 2008). Valli and Valli (1997) identifies five types of reflection, which are: (1) technical reflection, matching one's performance to external guidelines; (2) reflection in action and reflection on action, basing one's decisions on their own situation; (3) deliberative reflection, weighting competing views and research findings;(4) personal reflection, trusting one's inner voice and the voices of others; and (5) critical reflection, judging the goals and purposes of schooling in light of ethical criteria such as social justice and equality of opportunity. Teacher reflection has been viewed to be of three related types based on the flow of thought and action the teacher follows. One type of reflection occurs during the class practices, another type happens as a consequence of the class events, and the last type precedes the class actions. Pickett (1999), Killon and Todnem (1991), and Schön (1983Schön ( , 1987 have explicated different types of reflection. According to them, at the times when teachers are perplexed over puzzling class activities while carrying them out and need to make on-the-spot decisions, they need to apply reflection-in-action to resolve the problem. This type of reflection happens during events in the classroom while teachers, for any reason, cannot resort to the routine actions they perform in similar situations. When teachers reflect on what happened in their classes, analyzing them consciously to arrive at a deeper understanding of the roles of the teacher and student, their motivations, and behaviors in the learning context, they are involved in reflection-on-action. Contrary to these two types of reflection, in which teacher thinking targets current or past class routines, in reflection-for-action, teachers' thinking is directed at future courses of action. Teachers, in this type of reflection, benefit from the other two types of reflection in planning their future courses of action. Although the merits are attributed to reflective teaching, a review of the literature shows that this new perspective is suffering from several constraints, knowledge of which is a prerequisite to fostering reflection in an educational setting (Akbari, 2007;Md & Al-Amin, 2013). To help uncover the barriers of reflective teaching and, as a consequence, to promote this practice, several scholars have recently turned their attention to this issue. In the most comprehensive critique of reflective teaching, Akbari (2007)   highlights the conceptual and practical flaws in reflective teaching. Among the conceptual flaws he enumerates are the vague and contradictory nature of reflection and ignorance of the critical dimensions thereof. He elaborates that historically and theoretically, reflection has been influenced by many trends and philosophies which makes the term open to different interpretations, and that the current reflective views lack a critical dimension because the emphasis has mostly been on rational aspects of the term.
Besides the theoretical problems, Akbari expresses dissatisfaction with how reflective teaching is practiced. The excessive attention to the retrospective aspect of reflection instead of the prospective, creative aspects of the concept and the lack of any evidence regarding the contribution of reflection and reflective teaching to professional development and improved teacher or student performance are among the main practical problems of reflective teaching he mentions. In his other study, Akbari (2008) reviews more detailed issues like limitations of textbooks and tests, financial and administrative constraints, and disqualifications of some teachers from teaching reflectively among the practical obstacles of reflective teaching. In addition to Akbari (2007Akbari ( , 2008, a growing number of empirical research projects have been conducted to investigate the obstacles to reflective teaching in ELT contexts. For instance, Grant and Zeichner (1984), for instance, found that the shortage of class time and the conflict between the dominant institutional norms of the teaching place and the desired course of action are the main challenges reflective teachers face in their practice. To solve these problems, they proposed that reflection does not necessarily need to take place within the classrooms. It can occur outside the class (i.e., prior and posterior to the class for lesson planning and evaluation). Besides, to decrease the negative effect of the mandated policies, they suggested that an active role be given to teachers in the teaching environment so that they can actualize their potential to act upon their beliefs even if they conflict with the dominant viewpoints in each setting. To overcome impediments that may restrict the practice of reflective teaching, practitioners should be trained in reflective practice and given time to experiment with and master the general process (Merryfield & Merryfield, 1993). In addition, a reflective teacher must be aware of its limitations. Reflection can be a valuable process for teachers and teacher educators, but it needs to be explicit about what it is attempting to explain (Taylor, 1989).
However, despite the aforementioned theoretical, professional, and methodological concerns researchers find out to further foster reflection in an educational setting, the scholars do not condemn the reflective practice and do not suggest that it should not be pursued in teacher education programs or other professional practices. The scholars try to indicate that reflective practice should be utilized selectively, with care, and be taught with clear understanding. The effectiveness of reflective teaching depends on how well it is nourished with effective and sensitive teaching during the training session. Simon et al. (2013:109) suggest that educators should base the teacher training programs on theoretical concepts combined with sound and applicable methodology. Scholars have agreed that notwithstanding the concerns and critiques in different fields, educators and researchers tend to accept that reflective practice is worth the effort to bring about deeper insights and changes in practice, leadership, supervision and education (Hailu, 2014:107). Thus, reflective practice in educating teachers should be implemented with determination because, in the end, it makes teaching much more successful and rewarding. Therefore, reflective teaching has been one of the important trends in education since it helps teachers and learners in problem-solving and decision-making processes and it fosters critical-thinking abilities in the Ethiopian context too. Curriculum specialists rightly point out that the most sensible and effective strategy to make lifelong learners of teachers is to promote ongoing programs in reflective teaching. Apart from the necessity for teachers to be For lifelong learners, reflective teaching is an essential component because the norms and standards for certified teachers incorporate a detailed description of the trainee teacher's reflective practicum performances (Ministry of Education (MoE), 2011:9). Therefore, the purpose of this mixed methods study was to identify the gaps in reflective teaching practices and develop an understanding of reflective teaching practice among EFL in-service teachers, and the results of the study are believed to be useful in several ways.
To the best of the researcher's knowledge, little or no study about EFL teachers' professional growth from the perspective of reflective teaching has been documented and addressed in Ethiopian educational literature. To understand the need for this study in the Ethiopian environment, a basic background of the Ethiopian education system, teacher education, teacher professional development, and major problems with the existing education system will be discussed in the next section.

Reform of the Ethiopian teacher education system (TESOL)
Teachers are the key role players in the implementation of the school curriculum. Therefore, the teacher education program has a special role and responsibility in preparing teachers with the required academic competence and professional skills to effectively put into practice the designed school curriculum. However, this is contingent on drawing a teacher education policy that addresses the problems of the sector. Cognizant of the problems of the Ethiopian teacher education system, the Federal Government of Ethiopia demonstrated great concern to reform the entire education system of the country (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2003). Endeavors at a national level have been made to address strategies to solving the long-standing problems in schools and teacher education programs identified by the various studies. It was in this context that the Ministry of Education called for a complete Teacher Education System Overhaul (TESO). The Ministry produced a national framework detailing a strategy for the overhaul in three major areas: Teacher Educators, Pre-Service Teacher education, and In-service Teacher education.

Pre-service teacher education
The TESO program has a mission and general objectives of which the following points, deemed relevant to this study, are discussed. One of the mission statements reads: "The Ethiopian Teacher Education Program is committed to producing competent teaching staff who have the desired academic knowledge, sufficient professional skill, appropriate citizenship attitude, and skill and those ethical values enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution" (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2003, p. 84). And the general objectives include Produce teachers who are academically qualified, professionally skilled, attitudinally, and ethically committed to their profession. Develop teachers' communication skills and instructional leadership qualities that will be used in the classroom and for facilitating co-curricular activities and community involvement. Prepare teachers who can effectively apply continuous assessment and evaluation to students' learning and has basic knowledge and application of action research. Evidence has shown that the best way to educate teachers is to give them adequate and real experience of schools and students very near the beginning of their courses (Taylor, 1989), so that they can inform their future learning of teachings; theory about psychology or motivating students or teaching methods can only be understood in the context of this reality. In other words, for student teachers to learn to teach effectively, all other aspects of teaching methods constitute the central core of their learning process. As part of the professional competence development scheme, English language trainees, like other subject trainee teachers, have been engaged in various practicum courses to develop different skills that they need to sustain their learning and to become self-reflective English language teachers. In this regard, the TESO program claims to have equipped pre-service EFL teacher trainees with a range of opportunities to learn how to improve their professional practices. These are an early opportunity to observe the school environment, the behavior of school students, their levels of performance, learning capacity and receptivity; teaching methods used in schools, etc, with guidance from their tutors, the chance to explore teaching methods and practices for themselves through micro-teaching and direct experience of school teaching, the opportunity to reflect on their experiences, on their own, with peers, and with teachers in the school community, and from their educational institutions (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2003). By implication therefore these opportunities are believed to have helped pre-service English graduates understand and realize the importance of reflective skills of observation, evaluation and self-analysis of their teaching routines or experiences and to subject their assumptions, beliefs, and theories they have about teaching and learning and make changes to their approaches to teaching and learning.

In-service teacher education
According to the TESO program, continuous professional development is considered a means of improving teachers' skills and competency at the level they currently teach. It identifies the new approach the Education Quality Improvement Program (EQIP).The general objective of this program is to improve the quality of teaching and learning in Ethiopian schools (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2003: 98); and the specific objectives include, the development of reflective practice as critical professional self-analysis leading to improved practice, the development of opportunities for research to inform the further development of teacher education at Regional level and within Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs); data collection and evidence of good practice used effectively as part of the planning process.

Extensive upgrading programs
Statistical evidence showed that many teachers working in the primary and secondary schools in Ethiopia were not qualified for the level they were teaching (Ministry of Education, 2002). Considering this, the team that worked on "The Quality and Effectiveness of Teacher Education in Ethiopia" made recommendations focused on improving this situation. The two recommendations which led to the framing of this guideline are: to develop and implement a program to upgrade teachers' qualifications to the level at which they are assigned to teach through summer and distance programs, and to revise the upgrading courses to correspond with the revised pre-service curriculum (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2003.115).As these programs are compulsory for those who do not have the qualification to teach at the level they have been teaching, schools are required to recruit teachers on service to take part in the training programs provided by the different teacher education institutions. However, there have been complaints forwarded by many participants of the schemes. They have been heard saying that they were forced to join the program against their own readiness to join in the special upgrading program; this, they say hurt their performance during the training. Nevertheless, under this compulsory program, a considerable number of summer and distance in-service EFL teachers got the opportunity to enroll and complete their training program and are now deployed in the various general secondary and preparatory schools in Ethiopia. As a result of completing their pre-service, in-service, and upgrading programs, these teachers are expected to meet five competency standards set by the Ministry of Education (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2010). Reflective practice, as stated in the competency standards, is a method for teachers to critically self-assess their practice and make necessary improvements in the quality of teaching and learning. It is through this teaching approach that they can see whether they are meeting the other stated standards. In other words, they can evaluate whether they are using a variety of teaching strategies and assessment methods that enhance the quality of education. However, reflective practice does not take place in a vacuum. If a teacher wishes to become a "reflective practitioner" (Schön, 1983), he should be familiar with different approaches that facilitate reflective practice, such as observing oneself and others, peer-teaching, expressing one's view of teaching through writing, and teacher-group discussions (Bartlett, 1990).In this regard, to help teachers obtain such opportunities, school-based teacher development programs, such as peer-observation and portfolio writing activities, have been put in place. When a teacher sets out to observe a colleague's classroom, s/he goes with an evaluation form prepared by the school management. The form requires the observer to rate the performance of a colleague's teaching actions that are related to his/her lesson planning, the use of teaching aids, and method of teaching and to write whether the lesson was successful or not. All these aspects of teaching are concerned with classroom techniques that the teacher uses in class. Although, a variety of claims are made concerning the benefits of classroom observation (Pinto, 2013) and journal or portfolio writing (Prince, 1993) in the teacher development program, English teachers in this study do not seem to have benefited from conducting such activities. However, little attention was given to how practicing teachers may perceive their professional development effectiveness through reflective teaching. It was the belief of this researcher that it is essential to determine the relationships between reflective practice and teachers' perceptions of their professional learning. Therefore, this article assesses the reflective practice skills of EFL teachers in Ethiopia in selected secondary schools.

The concept of reflective practice
Reflective practice has been defined differently. It is a term used to refer to the process whereby teachers analyse their teaching practice to improve or change it for better outcomes, which results in the development of qualified professionals (Moon, 2004).A reflective teacher frequently asks himself the following questions: What is currently being done? (To reflect during the lesson): why is this being done? How well do students learn? (Bartlett, 1990). Reflective teaching is a process of self-evaluation by collecting and evaluating information about what happens in the classroom. Ghaye (2011) states that the most distinctive feature of these very good teachers are that their practice is the result of careful reflection. They learn lessons each time they teach, evaluating what they do and using these self-critical evaluations to adjust what they do next time. Automatically, this will lead the teacher to change his/her way of teaching. Reflective practice is the source of intuition for teachers as it helps them develop their teaching. Gibbs states that "Learning new techniques for teaching is like the first meal, that provides a meal for today; reflective practice is the net that provides the meal for the rest of one's life" (Gibbs, 1988:07).In the same vein, Dewey (1933) believes that reflective practice is the force of the practitioners to inquire into their practices and question why they choose certain approaches, resources, techniques, and activities over others. This questioning combined with the ability to evaluate the appropriateness of the choices for the learners and material being developed forms the essence of reflective practice. This means that reflective practice is the process where the teacher must ask himself/herself questions about his or her materials. According to Dewey (1933:12), the concept of reflection " . . . Involves a stable of doubt, hesitation, perplexity, mental difficulty in which thinking originates and an act of searching, hunting and inquiring to find material that will resolve the doubt and settle and dispose of perplexity." Hence, reflection is a process that begins with questioning the teacher's role to cope with the constraints they might face in teaching. In other words, the teacher reframes the problems and gives practical solutions. It is believed that teaching takes place in a social setting. The practice of reflective teaching aims at improving teaching and learning practices. This implies that reflective teaching is a process that leads the learner to consider his or her experience in applying knowledge. Moreover, it helps the individuals develop their own personalities especially teacher trainees (Schön, 1987). In addition to this, Gibbs (1988) suggests that teachers develop self-evaluation skills which would result in the development of autonomy and professionalism. In other words, reflective practice is closely associated with the enhancement of professionalism as well as closing the gap between theory and practice. In the same line of thought, Moon (2004) states that "a reflection is a form of mental processing that we use to fulfil a purpose or to achieve some anticipated outcomes." It is applied to gain a better understanding of relatively complicated or unstructured ideas and is largely based on the reprocessing of knowledge, understanding and, possibly, emotions that we already possess. Basically, reflection is the mental process of trying to structure an experience, or existing knowledge by making it a clear subject of thought (Jennifer, 2000).

Reflective practice
A teacher's reflective practice represents an outgrowth of thinking about practice that extends at least as far back as Aristotle's time (Miller, 2004). Reflective practice has been influenced by various philosophical and pedagogical theories since the time Dewey proposed the term.One influence is constructivism, which views learning as an active process where learners reflect upon their current and past knowledge and experiences to generate new ideas and concepts. A humanistic element of reflective practice is its concern with personal growth and its goal of liberation from values that can limit growth (Kullman, 1998). Critical pedagogy, espousing examination of underlying power bases and struggles, and pragmatism, emphasizing active implementation, testing, and refining of ideas through experience, also shape the concepts of reflective practice (Brookfield, 1995). Thus, reflective practice is constructive, humanistic, and pragmatic (Brookfield, 1995;Kullman, 1998).In a more modern context, Moon (2004) defines reflective practice as a set of abilities and skills that are used in problem-solving or orientation. More collaborative reflective practice is done by both players in a learning situation. The teacher practicing reflection, works on liberating his/her mind from personal biases and thus acts within a value-free orientation. S/he is functioning as a constructivist. The philosophy that underlies his/her practices is progressive in all that s/he does. Both teachers and learners are reflecting in an educational sense "when they analyze or evaluate one or more personal experiences and attempt to generalize from that thinking" (Cowan, 1998:18). Valli and Valli (1997) identifies a reflective person as someone who thinks back on what he has seen or heard, who contemplates, and who is a deliberative thinker. She adds that a reflective person considers important matters and is open to the voices, opinions, and advice of others. Stout (1989) identifies reflective teachers as those who strive for control of their classrooms and their professional lives; they are those who critically monitor thought processes and develop systems and methods of inquiry and analysis of instructional rationales. They also anticipate the consequences of their planning and instruction. In addition, they approach teaching with problem-solving strategies and pride themselves on generative thoughts. Finally, they are adaptive and flexible, monitoring student needs and adjusting classroom activity accordingly. In a similar context, Calderhead (1990) sees reflective teachers as those who can analyze their practices and the context in which they occur. In his view, reflective teachers are expected to be able to stand back from their teaching, evaluate situations, and take responsibility for their future actions.

Reflective teachers
In a more recent context, Pollard (2002) views an effective reflective teacher as someone who: (1) knows how to find and interpret existing, high-quality evidence from a range of sources; (2) sees professional development, which includes elements of research, as a means of improving classroom practice and raising standards, rather than as an end in itself; (3) sees pedagogy as integral to learning; (4) interprets external evidence confidently, concerning pupil or subject needs, rather than viewing it as a threat; and (5) is seen as an equal partner with academic researchers in the process of producing evidence about teaching and using it to raise standards.

Qualities of a reflective teacher
Many teachers ignore what is meant by "reflective teachers." Indeed, Dewey made a distinction between "routine action' and "reflection action."The former refers to actions that have not been considered. In this context, Dewey (1933:15) states that routine action is "behaviour that is guided by impulse, tradition, and authority." Also, he states that it is "behaviour that involves active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or practice in light of the grounds that support it and further consequences to which it leads." A reflective teacher is one who reflects upon his or her practice. Reflection and action concerns the need to solve a problem. It includes a way to respond to problems. In this line of thought, Dewey (1933:16) writes that it involves "the active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that it supports." It means that reflective teachers are those who try to solve their problems. In this vein, K. M. Zeichner and Liston (1996) state that teachers who are unreflective about their teaching show a great acceptance of the everyday reality in their school and focus their efforts on finding the most effective and efficient means to solve problems that have been largely defined for them by some collective code. Dewey presents some personal qualities for reflection action; they are open-mindedness, responsibility, and wholeheartedness. For open-mindedness, the teacher accepts teaching procedures and strategies that are used in a school. He should follow the content, and procedures in his/her classroom. In this vein, Dewey (1933) says that it is "an active desire to listen to more sides than one, to give full attention to alternate responsibilities, and to recognize the possibility of error even in the beliefs that are dearest to us." This means that prospective teachers must be open-minded. They accept the principles and do not present conflicting ideas on educational issues. The second attitude is one of responsibility that involves moral action. Reflective teachers should be aware of their actions. In this context, Dewey (1933) writes that: "Careful consideration of the consequences to which action leads responsible student teachers ask themselves why they are doing what they are doing in the classroom in a way that transcends questions of immediate utility and considers educational purposes. In other words, responsible teachers are those who are aware of their weaknesses and responsible for their actions as well. The third attitude of the reflective teacher is wholeheartedness. A reflective teacher is wholehearted in accepting all students. In this context, k Zeichner and Carl (1984:107) state that a "reflective teacher is dedicated and committed to teaching all students, not just certain students. "A wholehearted teacher is the one who accepts students, and he/she practices his/ her job with love and happiness. Pollard (2002) presents a framework consisting of seven characteristics of reflective teaching. One can list the following: a) Reflective teaching necessitates an active concern with goals and methods. Since professional experience, this has been a concern with the consequences of classroom practice and the teachers' responsibility. b) Reflective teaching is used in a cyclical fashion. The teacher monitors and evaluate his practice and becomes involved in a continuous reflexive process. It is an active investigation of one's practice that results in change. c) Reflective teaching requires competence in methods to support the development of teaching. This involves reviewing existing research and using analysis and evaluation tools that lead to decision making. d) Reflective teaching necessitates open-mindedness, accountability, and wholeheartedness.e) Reflective teaching is based on teachers' judgment informed by insights from other research. f) Professional learning and personal fulfilment are enhanced by dialogue with colleagues. g) Reflective teaching enables teachers to mediate frameworks for teaching and learning that have been developed externally.These characteristics are interrelated and must be followed by any teacher who wishes to be a reflective practitioner.

Strategies of reflective practice
Many different strategies can be employed to become a reflective teacher. They include keeping a journal, a teacher's portfolio, a lesson report, and peer observation

Keeping journal
According to Silcock (1994:23), "reflection is both a process and an activity and should lead to a product such as a diary, log, or reflective journal." A teacher's journal could be a notebook, a collection of practices on a computer disk, or audio tapes. In short, it is a daybook since it is defined as "a place to record daily happenings." In other words, after each class, the teacher takes some notes about what was taught and how the students responded. The teacher's journal is also seen as a mirror that reflects the teacher's work. Kattan (2008) suggests that "a journal is also a tool for self-discovery and an aid to concentration, a mirror for the soul, a place to generate and capture ideas, a safe value for emotions, a training ground for the writer, and a good friend and confidant." In this trend, Kattan (2008) believes that the teacher's journal looks like a diary. However, it is different. It has both subjective and objective dimensions. It serves as a "service book" that the teacher could return to. In sum, it is a working document.

Lesson report
A "lesson report" is a useful strategy used by the teacher to describe the main features of the lesson. It serves as a guide for the lesson. Richards (1990:09) defines a lesson report as "a structured inventory or list which enables teachers to describe their recollection of the main features of the lesson." It is a procedure for what happens during the lesson, how much time is spent on the different parts of a lesson, and how effective the lesson is. Unlike a lesson plan, which describes what the teacher intends to do during the lesson; a lesson report describes what happens in the classroom. To make the lesson report effective, it should be well organized. Richards (1990) recommends the following procedures for preparing report forms: a) Recognize the various types of teaching activities and resources. b) Record the procedures used throughout the course on the lesson report form. c) Meet on a regular basis to compare lesson reports with other teachers teaching the same course. These steps will facilitate the task for the teacher. Furthermore, the teaching practice will be organized since the teacher has already prepared the activities and fixed the time for these activities. They also develop teachers' confidence and help them gain respect from their learners.

Teacher portfolio
Teacher portfolio is defined as materials that represent the teacher's practice. It varies depending on its purpose, instructional context, and individual needs. It usually includes a summary of the teaching experience, teaching goals, a brief discussion of the teaching methods and strategies as well as activities undertaken to improve teaching (Merryfield & Merryfield, 1993). A teacher's portfolio is usually followed by appendices that provide materials that support the information that the teacher provides in the body of his/her portfolio. Teacher portfolio is often done for reflecting on teaching and as an evaluative product such as promotion or teaching award (Merryfield & Merryfield, 1993). Merryfield and Merryfield (1993) cites several benefits of a teaching portfolio. Among them, one can list the following: They provide sources of teaching performance. They make teaching more visible through the demonstration of teaching activities. They place the initiative for reflecting on teaching as the teacher explains his/her teaching performance. Teaching becomes a more valued subject of scholarly discussion.

Peer observation
Peer observation usually involves visiting a class to observe different aspects of teaching. It is used as a way of gathering information about one's teaching. It means that the teacher invites one of his or her colleagues to watch him/her while teaching or presenting a course and asks him/her to note down negative and positive remarks about his/her teaching practice (Akbari, 2008). In this way, the teacher will discover more about his or her teaching and try to reflect on his or her actions. Richards (1990) proposes some guidelines for peer observation. They are as follows: a) The observation should be focused.The value of observation is increased if the observer knows what to look for. Giving the observer a task, such as collecting information on students' participation during a lesson, provides a focus for the observer. (b) The observer should use specific procedures. If the observer wants to observe teacher-student interaction, a variety of procedures could be used. (c) The observer should remain an observer. An observer who is also a participant in the lesson cannot observe effectively. It means that the observer should come to the class with specific targets in mind. Also, he/she should follow procedures for each activity and focus on the things he/she wants to observe. Dewey (1933) considers reflective thinking important in the teaching process since it emancipates teachers from merely impulsive and routine activities and enables them to direct their activities with foresight and to plan according to the ends in view, or purposes of which they are aware. It allows them to act deliberately and intentionally. It converts action that is merely appetitive, blind, and impulsive into intelligent action (P. 17). Reflection is viewed as being of great benefit to student teachers, teachers, and learners. Therefore, over the last decades, there has been an increasing interest in reflection as a tool for improving practice in education. Numerous scholars have developed rationales, conceptualizations, and methods for encouraging reflection as an integral part of classroom teaching and teacher education. Reflection has been linked to teachers' curriculum planning, teachers' thought processes, and inquirybased teacher education (Lester, 1998). Moreover, schools and colleges of education everywhere proclaim the development of effective and reflective teachers as the centerpiece of their enterprises (Amobi, 2005). Dewey (1933) argues that "we do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience (p. 78), that is, experience alone does not lead to learning. It is the reflection on the experience that enhances learning. Richards (1990) see reflection as a key component of teacher development. They say that self-inquiry and critical thinking can "help teachers move from a level where they may be largely guided by impulse, intuition, or routine, to a level where their actions are guided by reflection and critical thinking" (p. 5).

Levels of reflection
Larrivee (2008) developed a tool to assess teachers' levels of reflection. The fundamental rationale for it is the developmental feature of reflective practice: from reflecting on technical aspects of teaching, "surface reflection," to the level where the teachers reflect on the educational goals and the connection between theory and practice. The last level is "critical reflection," which involves examining personal and professional belief systems where the teacher is an active inquirer, critiquing current conclusions and generating new hypotheses. Also, Larrivee believes that there is a stage before those three levels, which is the non-reflective level, where the teachers react to the situations without "conscious consideration of alternative responses" (p. 342). As follows, Larrivee specifies some attitudes for those non-reflective teachers: They operate with knee-jerk responses, attributing ownership of problems to students or others, perceiving themselves as victims of circumstances. They take things for granted without questioning them and do not adapt their teaching based on students' responses and needs. Unfortunately, there are those pursuing teaching careers that fall into this category. It is especially important to find ways to facilitate their development of reflective practice. (p. 342). Although the reflective practice is developmental, as Larrivee asserts teachers may reflect on different levels at the same time. An example of that is Schön's perspective on reflective practice in and in action.

Significance of reflection
Learning to teach does not stop with the training course. however, it starts after the training. Just as we start teaching, we start developing as teachers. Scrivener (2005) has observed that "the first important steps towards becoming a better teacher involve an increased awareness of what you do now and openness to the possibility of change" (p. 376). If we do not know what we are doing now, we cannot go forward. To know what we are doing now, we need to analyze our actions in the classroom, and examine our intentions, our motives, and our attitudes towards learning and learners. Furthermore, we should not keep planning lessons without looking back, without recalling what has happened and even without reflecting on it. Above all, it is high time to see whether we are helping to make it happen or preventing it. Thus, we must teach and learn not to teach and teach. Scrivener (2005) calls this "learning teaching" (p. 370). As a result of reflection, teachers learn by teaching and apply their learning in the classroom.

Guided reflection and professional development
A reflective practice approach should lead to the development of teachers' professional skills. Attitudinal development modifies teachers' attitudes to their work, whereas functional development means the process whereby teaching practice is considered to have improved (Evans, 2002, p. 15). These two aspects of reflection are interconnected. Thus, the reflective approach to teaching should have the potential to incorporate both the attitudinal and functional development of teachers. Guided reflection is more than encouraging teachers to bring something to mind (Dewey, 1933;Rodgers, 2002).Teacher reflection can be initiated and further developed as part of the social interchange that exists among teachers. From this starting point and perspective, spoken discourse between teachers offers tools needed for reflection. By using the stimulated recall method (Patrikainen & Toom, 2004) to guide the formulation of spoken discourse, teachers can fashion their interpretations in ways that encourage deeper reflection and, consequently, provide tools for their professional development. The two types of representations of teacher reflection, one essentially emotional and fast (the "hot") and the other essentially cognitive and slow (the "cool system"). The hot system deals with the kinds of responses teachers make in the classroom. The cool system is a narrative, weaving knowledge about actions, thoughts, and emotions into a developing story that is coherent and goal-sensitive. The hot and cool systems work in concert to produce interpretations that relate their essential characteristics to each other. (Patrikainen & Toom, 2004).

The procedure of guided reflection
The procedure of guided reflection has developed mainly at a theoretical level. According to the stimulated recall method in other research projects (Patrikainen, 2009;Toom, 2006), the idea of repeated reflective discussions arose on the basis of these experiences. The procedure begins with the videotaping of a particular lesson, while the stimulated recall interview (STR) is conducted later. To prevent the teacher from forgetting the details of the lesson, the interview should be done within two days. In the STR-interview, a teacher discusses the lesson with a colleague or researcher. The goal of the interview is to allow the teacher to bring to mind the actual classroom situation as clearly as possible and to verbalize the thought processes in connection with the actions in the classroom. The teacher describes class-room events and, most importantly, gives reasons for the actions taken. In this phase, the most important questions are: what, how, and why? In the next phase, reflective discussions that, for the most part, follow the course of the stimulated recall interview are carried out. Here the idea of prolonged reflection is applied, and the discussions are conducted after a certain time period, which can vary from weeks to years. The focus of the reflective discussion is the critical incident that the teacher has chosen from among other incidents in the videotaped lesson. The criticality of the incident is defined according to a framework of professional development and is based on the teacher's conscious intentions. Compared with the previous STR-interview, the aim here is to revisit the incident, consider its meanings in a wider context, and explore the possibilities for changing the teacher's actions. Reflective discussions can be repeated several times, on the assumption that they produce a deeper understanding of the teacher's thinking and actions. The goal of this procedure is to foster teachers' ability to reflect on teaching and, thereby, on their professional development both attitudinally and functionally.
The general goal of guided reflection is to achieve competencies in the teaching profession: to acquire an overall impression of a teacher's daily work; to plan, organize, and evaluate the whole instructional process; and to analyze this process and the teacher's thinking and actions from a theoretical perspective. The practice period is supervised by an expert classroom teacher and university lecturers, who discuss and give feedback to the practicing teacher. The practicing teachers choose the videotaped lesson themselves, and the stimulated recall interviews are carried out the same or next day. After the interview, the practicing teachers choose an incident according to their own intentions for further examination. Reflective discussions are repeated twice. With the help of the researcher, practicing teachers consider the chosen incident again from different perspectives and in a wider context with the help of the researcher. The second discussion is conducted in the form of a reflective portfolio (Husu et al., 2008).These insights has a strong influence on their actions as teachers and on their professional development at the time. Transformation in reflective statements means experiences that are reported to affect the personal and professional foundations of practicing teachers. Through such reflection, practicing teachers may confront and even transcend the habits and constraints they otherwise regard as normal and typical for them.

The purpose of the research
The most sensible and effective strategy to make lifelong learners of teachers is to promote ongoing programs in reflective teaching. Apart from the necessity for teachers to be lifelong learners, reflective teaching is an essential component, because the norms and standards for certified teachers incorporate a detailed description of the trainee teacher's reflective practicum performances (Ministry of Education (MoE), 2011:9).Reflective teaching has been one of the important trends in education since it helps teachers and learners in problem-solving and decision-making processes and it fosters critical-thinking abilities in the Ethiopian context too. This study aimed to investigate English teachers' perceptions and practices regarding reflective teaching as a means of professional development. The specific research questions explored were: (1) What reflective teaching skills and attitudes do the EFL in-service teachers think they use in the learning-teaching process?
(2) How do EFL in-service teachers reflect on the events of their daily teaching practice?
(3) What are the common practice indicators that manifest through the teachers' reflections?

Methods
In this mixed-methods study, the researcher used both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data. This type of research involves "the collection, analysis, and integration of quantitative and qualitative data in a single or multiphase study" (Hanson et al., 2005, p. 224). There are four different approaches for designing mixed methods research: Convergent Parallel design (QUAN + QUAL), Explanatory Sequential design (quan ® QUAL), Exploratory design (qual + Quan), and Embedded design (QUAL or QUAN;Creswell & Plano, 2011). Because of the researcher's time constraints, the convergent parallel design was more applicable. In this design, the collection of both data occurred separately but concurrently. Then, they were merged at the data interpretation stage, as shown in Figure 1.
According to Creswell and Plano (2011), both strands should be given equal weight and priority in the study.
Through the mixed methods research literature, Greene (1986) cites many reasons for using a mixedmethods approach. The most cited reasons are triangulation, complementarity, development, initiation, and expansion. Triangulation refers to the use of different methods to study the same research questions (Jay, 2003). This process would boost the credibility of the research findings (Hesse-Biber, 2010).

Participants
This study targeted EFL in-service teachers who were working in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Hence, the population of this study consisted of all the teachers who teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) for the 9th and 10th grades in 10 sub-cities of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in government schools (n = 256). Next, a purposeful "in-depth" sample was selected after the analysis of the data gathered through the questionnaire. The 10 teachers who scored the highest on the attitude scale questionnaire were selected, and their classrooms were observed and followed by one-on-one interviews. The choice to conduct the study is that Addis Ababa is the hometown of the researcher, and he can navigate the target population easily. Also, Addis Ababa City, considered the capital city of Ethiopia, has better facilities for teachers.

Procedures
To gather data about reflective teaching in Addis Ababa high schools, the researcher was given a list of government schools from all the sub-cities' education offices. Before recruiting research participants and collecting data, the researcher spent ample time visiting schools where the participants were teaching. This had different advantages for the researcher, like acquainting himself with the concerned bodies and the prospective research participants. The researcher followed two stages. In the first stage, the researcher aimed to investigate the views teachers had on their practices of reflective teaching. This questionnaire was given to all the population of the study (n = 256).In the second stage, the researcher aimed at investigating the actual practices of reflective teaching during class conduct. To do so, one staggered class for each of the in-depth group members was attended, followed by one-on-one interviews. The researcher jotted down notes to help the reporting of what went on in class for later interpretation.

Instruments
A 30-item scale was used as an instrument to collect quantitative data. It was adapted from Alp's study (Akbari, 2007) on Turkish in-service teachers to determine their reflective thinking skills and attitudes in the learning and teaching process. To ensure the content validity of the questionnaire, a series of consultations with specialists in the fields of education and English language teaching were held. The questionnaire was given to five evaluators who were specialists in the field of education, TEFL and English language from Addis Ababa University and Bahir Dar University. Suggestions and modifications by evaluators were taken into consideration, and some questionnaires were slightly modified accordingly. The researcher piloted the questionnaire with a sample of 10 teachers of different backgrounds based on which little amendments were made to the instrument. The researcher simply rephrased some questions to make them clearer and easier to understand by the participants (Part I: Q10, Q12, Q14, Q15; Part II: Q1, Q6, Q10, Q11). The final questionnaire consisted of the original number of thirty items. Construct validity was established through confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses and the four-factor structure, suggested in the original study, were confirmed by both analyses. There were 30 items in the survey, divided equally into two parts. The first part focused mainly on skills and attitudes related to the teaching process, while the second part focused on those related to the planning and evaluating stage. To answer each item, the participant was expected to select their answer on a four-point Likert scale: "None, Sometimes, Often, and Always."The structured interview questions in this study were adapted from Sparks-Langer et al. (1990), who believe that the language that teachers use to describe their daily practices could reveal their levels of reflectivity. Here is the protocol that was followed in this study: Before the interview, the researcher observes a class period for the interviewee to make the references that are going to be made during the interview clearer to both parties.

Figure 1. Convergent parallel design steps.
In the beginning, the interviewee is going to read and sign the informed consent form and return it to the researcher. Through the form, the interviewee is going to choose the preferred method to record the interview: "voice recording or hand note-taking." The researcher asks: (q1) Identify one successful teaching event during the last class period.
Tell me why you think it is a successful one.
Discuss any conditions that may have influenced the outcome.
Describe any issues or concerns that came to mind as you thought about this successful event.
The researcher asks: (q2) Identify one less successful teaching event during the last class period.
Tell me why you think it is a less successful one.
Discuss any conditions that may have influenced the outcome.
Describe any issues or concerns that came to mind as you thought about this less successful event.
In the case of note-taking, the researcher needs to repeat the interviewee's answer after he finishes checking for recording accuracy. The interview followed a structured method where every participant was asked the same set of questions in the same sequence. The researcher kept the procedure consistent with all participants without any changes or follow-up questions.

Quantitative data analysis
The researcher tried to establish strong reliability and validity of the quantitative data by approaching a large sample size (n = 256). This was done to get accurate statistical results that could be generalized to the whole population. The sample included EFL teachers from all ten sub-cities in Addis Ababa who were teaching at the grade 9 and 10 levels. The scale was adapted from Akbari (2007), who developed it for his thesis research to assess the attitudes of first-year primary school teachers toward the reflective thinking process (as cited in Gurol, 2010). Reliability was computed to test the reliability of the questionnaire. Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004) consider reliability as the amount of variation expected in the measurement of different rates on different occasions. Therefore, the term "reliability" means the repeatability or consistency of measurement results repeatedly that ranges from 0-1.0, which means no reliability and perfect reliability, respectively (Ibid).Therefore, any reliability value that is greater than zero and less than one is acceptable. To estimate the internal consistency reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's Alpha static analysis was used. A group of 11 teachers from outside the study population (11th and 12th grade English language teachers from Addis Ababa) was selected for this purpose. When Cronbach Alpha was calculated, it was (0.81). The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the quantitative portion of this mixed methods study. All the survey variables (35 variables) values were coded into an SPSS file. Then, descriptive statistics (mean, maximum, minimum, and standard deviation) were applied to the data. The score intervals used in Alp's study (Akbari, 2007) to indicate the realization level of the items on the scale are as follows: 1.00-1.75 "None" 1.76-2.50 "Sometimes" 2.51-3.25 "Often" 3.26-4.00 "Always" The analysis of the quantitative data would inform us on reflective teaching skills and attitudes teachers use during their teaching and learning process.

Qualitative data analysis
Each interview transcript was read and analyzed according to Larrivee's Tool for Assessing Development as a Reflective Practitioner (Larrivee, 2008), which identifies four levels of reflection: pre-reflection, surface reflection, pedagogical reflection, and critical reflection. There are several indicators under each level that describe the attitude of the reflective practitioner at that level. The researcher read each interview transcript side by side with the practice indicators sheet to locate the indicators that match the teacher's level of reflection and locate quote evidence from the interviews. Then, the researcher read the ten transcripts together to find themes and collective views among the ten teachers. After that, the researcher generated major themes that were found constantly in teachers' narratives. In the discussion part, the quantitative and qualitative data are briefly discussed along with the findings in the literature. Then, both strands were merged to present an answer to the mixed methods research question, which concerns how the knowledge from the teachers' narratives can enhance our understanding of the way EFL teachers perceive the use of reflective teaching skills in their daily practice.

Quantitative data findings
The results of the quantitative data should provide answers to the following research questions based on table 1: 1. What reflective teaching skills and attitudes do the EFL in-service teachers think they use in the learning-teaching process?

Qualitative data findings
The qualitative data was trying to offer an understanding of the way EFL in-service teachers apply reflective teaching to their daily practice, which is the focus of the second and third research questions based on table 2 2. How do EFL in-service teachers reflect on the events of their daily teaching practice?
3. What are the common practice indicators that manifest through the teachers' reflections? 2. How do EFL in-service teachers reflect on the events of their daily teaching practice?
The results of the qualitative data findings in this section were organized around the six most common practice indicators, which appeared in most of the interviewees' narratives. After exploring these six indicators, additional common themes, which were found consistently in the interviews, were discussed.

Practice indicators in teachers' interviews
The interview transcripts were read individually and then as a whole to locate the common practice indicators within the teachers' narratives to answer the qualitative question. What are the common practice indicators that manifest through the teachers' reflections? Six indicators were found as common, and all of them were organized under the pre-reflection level, as Larrivee (2008) describes it: At the prereflective or non-reflective level, developing teachers react to students and classroom situations automatically, without conscious consideration of alternative responses. They operate with knee-jerk responses, attributing ownership of problems to students or others, perceiving themselves as victims of circumstances. They take things for granted without questioning them and do not adapt their teaching based on students' responses and needs (p. 342).

There is no support for beliefs with evidence from experience, theory, or research
This indicator(table 2) falls under the pre-reflection category, and it shows up clearly within nine interviews (90% of the total interviews). None of the teachers mentioned any connection to theory as evidence of what they believe or do in class. The teachers tended to develop their own beliefs and instructional decisions based on what worked for them before from their perspective without any consideration of whether their actions were research-based or not. No evaluation of the experiences to inform future planning was found in the teachers' narratives. Teacher C, who teaches grade 9 students talked about a problem his classes faced with the new English curriculum and how some of these classes having difficulty comprehending the new ideas. He says, "I can tell that some are having difficulty comprehending the new concepts so I do not go on with providing extra examples because their brain capacity is limited so they cannot follow." In this quotation, the teacher makes three assertions. The first one is that students face difficulty in comprehending the new concepts, teachers should stop going on with more explanations. Second, the students' brain capacity is limited, which sets predefined limits on what they can learn. The third assertion is that some classes faced difficulties and other classes did not, which means there are learning differences between classes, not individual differences between students. The teacher does not offer any support for these beliefs from theory or experience.
Another teacher "I" of grade 9 too, shares with the previous teacher the same view in the third assertion. He says, I believe there are differences between the classrooms not between the students because the general classroom environment affects even the good students and dampens them because of the lack of competition. Again, this belief lacks support from theory and seems to depend on the teachers' previous experience. He adds a reason to this belief, which was the role of the classroom environment on the students' level of activity but seemed to think of the students as the creators of this environment and not see themselves as a part of it.

Problems ownership to others
This practice indicator(table 2) falls under the pre-reflection category and appeared in four interview transcripts. The teachers seemed to find it hard to blame themselves or critique their teaching practices. They took a defensive position when they were asked to indicate one less successful event during their teaching. They varied on whom to have the ownership of problems: Their students, curriculum, or time. Teacher "F" spoke of his students' declining levels of achievement as an external phenomenon, not as a problem he was a part of as a teacher. He said, I must mention that the students' level is so low. I am trying to add information outside the textbook, but I know you saw how difficult it was to let them come up with the right answer. Even their information during the brainstorming was so ridiculous and far from the right one. English is a very rigid subject, and our curriculum is not nice. This answer is for the question that asked about the conditions that may have influenced the outcome of the successful event. The successful event, according to teacher F, was the way he encouraged his students in class. His students' failure to come up with the right answer was a concern for him, for which he was trying to find a reason. His students' weak information, the nature of the subject, and the curriculum were three possible reasons behind that, but not the teacher's way of teaching.
The time factor was another reason for the teaching problems, especially when teachers were trying to find a balance between following their students' progress and covering the content. Teacher A, who was answering the concerns that came to her mind when she was thinking of the less successful event, was concerned about her students' inability to capture the real meaning of the new concepts presented that day: I am unable to communicate these concepts to my students because I always run out of time. I have only 30 minutes in each class period. And I am concerned about finishing the textbook content on time. This teacher saw her choices as one of two: success in teaching or success in content coverage. From her view, time was the one to blame in her situation.

Seeing oneself as a victim of circumstances
The teachers' attempt to victimize themselves was one of the indicators that came under the prereflection level and appeared in five interview transcripts in this study. Teachers described themselves as victims of a lack of teaching resources or victims of a school administration that does not offer enough support. Teacher E, who was the only teacher in the sample that showed a higher level of reflection compared to other teachers, claimed that his efforts to enhance his teaching and bring new instructional aids to his class were in vain with his traditional school administration. They do not want to get the advantage of those who want to change. They think the traditional ways are more than enough if the students can get them. Teacher B complained about her lack of resources and saw it as an obstacle in her way of improving her teaching. She mentioned that what bothers me as an English teacher is not having professional teaching aids and having a limited time. This was her reply to what concerned her when she thought of the successful event, which she identified as her use of models to teach writing. So, lacking the teaching resources may negatively influence her teaching.

Describing problems simplistically or unidimensionally
This indicator (table 2)falls under the pre-reflection level, and 60% of the teachers' interviews in this study obtained this indicator. When speaking about their teaching problems, teachers did not seem able to see all the aspects of the problem and instead expressed their description in a simple language. Even when speaking about the new teaching strategies that they had to apply in their classrooms, they showed a weak understanding of their real meanings and goals. Teacher M, for 10 th grade, critiqued the independent learning method as follows: They [supervisors] said the students must work independently and your job is to evaluate them. What is the teacher's role in that? Another teacher who shared the same opposition to the independent learning method was teacher D for grade 10, who said, "The idea of dividing the learning responsibility into 90% on the students and 10% on the teachers is a good-fornothing idea." There is no real role for the teacher in instruction because it restricts his role and makes him only a performer for what his students dictate to him. This misconception about independent learning lets those teachers reject the method without exploring its dimensions and many of its applications.

Preoccupied with management, control, and student compliance
This pre-reflection indicator (table 2) showed up in 40% of the teachers' interviews. Teachers tended to be firm about developing a quiet classroom environment that helped them deliver their instruction without any interruption. In three interviews, classroom management techniques were reported as the most successful events. Teacher "G" described his use of having all students' attention and controlling any possible misbehavior as a goal. Threat was also used as a classroom management technique by teacher I. He said, "I used the threatening method so effectively today by setting a specific time and threatening them with the red pen on their textbooks in case they did not finish on time." None of the teachers raised any concern about using strict classroom management techniques and creating a safe classroom environment where each one could participate. Teacher "I", who used firm control strategies, was also complaining about his students' expression abilities. He said that the biggest problem students have is that they do not know how to properly express their opinions. They lack, those skills and their words come out of order.

There is no connection between teaching actions and student learning or behavior
This pre-reflection indicator was present in 40% of the interviews. As it appeared in the teachers' narratives, student learning was not always connected to the teaching actions or vice versa. They saw them as two separate units. That was manifested clearly in teacher F. He did not make any connection between what he did in class and its impact on his students' learning. He overlooked his students' need to use the thesaurus as a learning tool in that class period and could not see the connection between his actions and his students' learning outcomes. He said it is so important for the students in this grade level to be familiar with the usage of the thesaurus. To be honest, although I know how important they are, I was too lazy to get them from the resource room this morning. I do not think the absence of this learning aid largely affects the success of the "finding the word meanings" activity, and the proof of that is the high participation of the students and their ability to locate the accurate meanings. What his students were supposed to learn was how to use the thesaurus, as he stated in the beginning. But to reduce the importance of his teaching action, which was not to provide this tool, he described his students' successful completion of the activities as the intended learning output.

Additional themes from the narratives
The interview transcripts were searched to locate major themes and common views within the narratives related to reflective teaching but could not be included under the practice indicators to answer the second qualitative sub question. Two major themes appeared in the teachers' interviews that could hinder deeper reflective teaching.

Fixed assumptions about students
60% of the teachers in this study seemed to have pre-made assumptions about their students' learning abilities and tended to share this information. There was a lot of generalization based on a total population of students, "the entire generation" or "the entire class," without taking into account the differences between their students. They ended up teaching only the excellent students and ignoring those who did not engage in the learning process. Teacher "I" said, "I believe we are having a bad passive generation of students. I prefer to refer to it as the "writing generation." They just want to relax, so being strict with them is a necessity." Teacher D said, "They [the students] do not provoke the teacher to get them better teaching, and their personalities tend to be more receptive and passive." And I found a lot of teachers share this view with me, and we agree about the characteristics of each class we teach. Teacher F said, "In advance, I do not give them [the students] any chance because they are passive students with weak academic levels." Teacher "J" also said, "They [the students] really cannot compose a perfect, definitive answer." Is it because of their age? I do not know, but I could never get good, complete answers from them. It is an "ignorant generation." Those who did not participate were simply careless students. As teacher B said, my students were engaged in class, and they were engaged in everything except some careless students. Higher achievers deserved better teaching, while the lower achievers did not deserve the effort. As teacher E said, I try to motivate and encourage the higher achievers by giving some presents. If they are good students and like the subject, they will try to please the teacher. But those other girls [low achievers] will be satisfied with basic instruction, and there are a lot of them in our school who say, "don't overload us, don't read too much, don't bring something from an external source, let's just pass the course, I don't want to lose points for my cumulative GPA." So, as the previous quotations indicate, there were fixed assumptions about students' learning abilities that may have prevented the teacher from full engagement in deeper reflection where the teachers saw themselves as a part of the problem.

External resources for learning
The teachers in this study seemed to rely heavily on the external resources for learning about teaching or to apply changes and enhancement to their teaching instead of counting their personal experience as a source of learning. In almost every interview, the teachers referred to the school library and Internet websites as their sources to learn about teaching trends and issues with an absence of the knowledge embedded in their classroom practice as a source of growth. Teacher D depended on the Internet sources, to explore teaching strategies for his subject. He said, I am trying to be updated with what is written about English. Teacher H referred to the school library, Internet sources and his discussions with his district workshops colleagues as his ways to learn. He said I am trying to improve myself as a teacher through the school library even though they are so condensed in a short time; the Internet sources are so rich to learn from and plan lessons. On the other hand, teacher J thought they helped him to understand the new curriculum as a teacher. He said, I worked hard to improve myself and I attended many libraries which were beneficial in introducing the new curriculum. Teacher I also felt positive toward the school library. He said, I am trying hard to improve myself. I use the Internet sources and the libraries which taught me a lot about the new curriculum, teaching strategies, and classroom management. Teacher E believed that the school libraries did not meet his needs as an experienced teacher and called for more space for teachers to work around their lessons creatively instead of enforcing a set of criteria on the teacher teaching methods. He said, we as teachers need new sources for learning. I am working hard to better my teaching, but no one adopts my efforts. An interesting point is raised by teacher D regarding how they as teachers were requested by their supervisors to follow the textbooks and how they would be evaluated on their following of the textbook outlines, not on the creativity of their teaching. He said, the supervision department in the city forces us to literally follow the textbook and we are not encouraged to add to it anything such as activities or worksheets. That is why I find myself following the same lesson plan from the textbook for each class I teach in the grade level equally. That may reflect those teachers adhered to what they learned in the education offices because these were the guidelines that illustrated how their work would be evaluated.

Discussions
To show the connection between the quantitative(table 1) and qualitative(table 2) data and how they supplement each other, first brief discussions of the quantitative and qualitative findings are presented separately. Then both quantitative and qualitative findings are merged and integrated to provide an answer to the mixed method research question. This developed a sense of how they reflected on their daily practices, and which dimensions they included and seemed to be aware of in this process. Then, this study used the knowledge obtained from the teachers' narrative to provide an understanding of the ways EFL teachers perceived and applied the reflective teaching skills and attitudes in their actual practice. The first impression after reading the two sets of findings is that they are a total contradiction, with each data set refuting the other. This is one of the mixed-methods research challenges, which is how to integrate the two different strands. To answer the mixed-methods research question, quotations from the teachers' narratives were presented along with the quantitative results to provide new knowledge about how the sample EFL in-service teachers perceive the use of reflective teaching skills in their actual practice. EFL teachers evaluated themselves positively regarding their application of reflective teaching skills and attitudes. So, a search for evidence that clarifies the way they use these reflective teaching skills was conducted through the narratives. Through this process, based on the teacher's response to the questionnaire item and their narratives to the interview questions, four themes were generated. These are: teachers' use of their teaching experiences, students' difference and fixed assumptions about students, getting to know students' feedback and evaluating one's teaching.
The quantitative data findings showed that the sample EFL in-service teachers believed they often used a considerable number of reflective teaching skills and attitudes during the learning-teaching process. This result is consistent with Gurol's (2010) research findings while he was administering the same scale used in this study but on pre-service instead of in-service teachers. Compared to the scale item means for both studies' participants, it shows that all of them tend to highly evaluate their practice as "often or always" when responding to the survey. The findings of the quantitative analysis (table 1) revealed that the sample of EFL in-service teachers valued the practice of reflective teaching by integrating its skills and attitudes into their daily practice. They reported their awareness of the complexity of the education process and its being multi-dimensional. While they planned, they believed that they often put into consideration the facts of having diverse learners in the classroom, their teaching experiences, their students' feedback, and their students' individual differences. In the classroom, they reported giving their students opportunities to evaluate themselves, to express themselves, to solve problems, and to be responsible for their learning. EFL in-service teachers said that they used class activities to help their students discover their interests and abilities. Besides that, they helped them to recognize their strengths and weaknesses. EFL teachers thought they regularly engaged in selfevaluation of their beliefs and assumptions about teaching. EFL in-service teachers thought that they had sufficient vocational knowledge and abilities to be successful teachers, which reflects a sense of satisfaction about their practice.
In the qualitative data findings, the teachers' narratives indicated that they were not engaged in reflective teaching at all, and they held the attitudes of pre-reflection level as outlined in Larrivee (2008). Conforming to the definition of this level is what K. M. Zeichner and Liston (1996)describe: "If a teacher never questions the goals and the values that guide his or her work, the context in which he or she teaches, or never examines his or her assumptions, then we believe that this individual is not engaged in reflective teaching" (p. 1).The teachers presented their beliefs without supporting them with evidence from experience, theory, or research. Also, they tended to attribute ownership of problems to others, seeing themselves as victims of circumstances. They described problems simplistically or unidimensionally. The context in which they taught was not present in their reflection. In addition, the teachers were preoccupied with management, control, and student compliance. As a researcher who had been a student for 12 years in the Ethiopian school system, I found minor changes had happened regarding the classroom management strategies when I visited them to do this research. Most of the strategies I observed in the classrooms tended to use traditional methods, such as the teacher as an expert in the subject knowledge and the controller of the learning; students sat in rows; rote learning was the predominant method, and teachers used threats in case of noncompliance. None of the teachers questioned their methods of classroom management. Some of the teachers mentioned these methods as factors that contributed to their success. However, Pinto (2013) invites teachers to be involved in the process of reflection to evaluate their classroom management strategies because some teachers unconsciously teach in the same way they were taught in school. So, reflective practice is a way to consciously examine the teaching decisions and break the cycle. Through teachers' reflections, they show no connection between teaching actions and student learning or behavior. In addition to that, they made fixed assumptions about their students. Kattan (2008) thinks "existing assumptions about the curriculum or about what particular groups of students can learn can prevent teachers from examining how effective their own practice is in promoting student learning" (p. 20). Assefa (2006) outline the issue of Ethiopian EFL teachers' having limited knowledge about different students' learning needs, which is consistent with the findings of this study. Also, he mentions that EFL teachers may misunderstand key concepts in teaching. This study also shows how some teachers build their criticism on a false understanding of some teaching methods, like independent learning. Instead of their "contextualized knowledge," as Coyle (2002) refers to it, the sample EFL teachers rely on external resources such as school libraries for learning.
The teachers critique the teacher training program's short time length and describe the subjects they usually tackle, such as: subject knowledge and the new curriculum, teaching strategies, and classroom management. This finding is consistent with Hussein (2006), who found that in-service training programs that are presented by the Ministry of Education in Ethiopia are held in a short time and relate to subject knowledge, time management, improving teachers' confidence (e.g., presentation skills), and technology. Finally, the teachers during the interviews sometimes found it difficult to engage in a deep critique of their practice. According to Cruickshank (1987), questioning of one's beliefs and assumptions concerning such events, actions, or decisions is a main feature of reflective practice. Also, teachers tend to defend their less successful actions and try to not go further with reflection. An example of that is what teacher E says, I do not think the absence of this learning aid largely affects the success of "finding the meanings of words" activity and the proof of that is the high participation of the students and their ability to locate the accurate meanings. What really makes me satisfied with all of this is my ability to provide a safe environment for my students and a good relationship with their parents. Bengtsson (1993) recommends that teachers create a distance between themselves and their practice to enable them to reflect better, or as Brookfield (1995) describes it, "stand outside ourselves" (p. 28).
Generally, from the above quantitative and qualitative data discussions, it can be inferred that although they have relatively better facilities and training opportunities than those who live in rural areas, EFL teachers in the secondary schools of the study area have no good understanding or they have a knowledge gap in their understanding of reflective teaching. Thus, the result of the study indicated that teachers' understanding of the concept and use of reflection as a teaching strategy is below the expected one. Thus, it would help them little to ensure that the importance of reflection in preparing their students to become reflective learners is blocked from the learners' own way of reflection and less model as well.
The present study also implies that the emphasis of teachers' professional development, according to their narratives, focused on discrete teaching strategies instead of decision-making skills, and this was one of the concerns that were raised by Borg (2003) when he expressed the concern of training teachers on practicing routines instead of giving them the tools to develop better judgment. Giving teachers instructions on how to teach their subject without promoting them to modify their teaching to reach out to their students is a large obstacle to reflective teaching.

Conclusion
The findings of this study were able to indicate a gap that should be bridged for facilitating inservice teachers' reflective learning practices. Examining the findings of the mixed method provides an insight into how the survey participants may perceive the scale questions and end up rating their teaching positively. Following the mixed-methods approach served the purpose of this study by providing many details about the reflective practice among Ethiopian EFL inservice teachers. The contradiction between the two strands of findings revealed a third dimension to how the teachers translate the reflective teaching skills into their practice. The misconception of students' individual differences and getting students' feedback raises questions about how the teachers perceive other aspects of reflective teaching, which they claim to possess. These aspects included revising one's beliefs about teaching, being open to innovative thoughts, and understanding different students' needs. That leads to the conclusion that there is a lack of actual knowledge among Ethiopian teachers of what applying these skills and attitudes entail. The teachers seem to have a misconnection between the teaching strategies they use and their theoretical and research basis. They lack the research-based knowledge they need as teachers. That results in distorted applications in their classroom and a misunderstanding of the correct application of reflective teaching. The results of this study revealed that this situation goes back to the fact that those teachers are not encouraged to pursue their own professional development as individuals. They receive resources from the school district and mention it as the main source of learning about teaching besides the internet sources and their colleagues. None of the teachers mentioned participating in discussions about their beliefs or assumptions with others to help them resolve their teaching problems. However, the concept and process of reflecting upon one's own teaching is viewed as an essential component in developing knowledge and theories of teaching and is hence a key element in one's professional development. This study implies that teacher education and training programs should be budgeted to offer training for teacher educators, mentors, and school principals and provide support for secondary schools. In addition, the professional development staff should provide in-service teachers with professional training about reflective practice and work with the school leaders to produce a culture of inquiry in their schools. Providing teachers with in-service training courses such as thinking skills, problem solving and decision-making techniques, and guided reflective practice that will contribute to overcoming their shortcomings and mistakes is thought to improve their reflective thinking skills. The study suggests teachers must give more attention to practical, continued, and open-ended learning engagements that will facilitate reflective learning practices that are very useful for coping with the dynamic and complex nature of the teaching profession.