Students’ Perceptions Of Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge And Their Impact On Their Choice Of Specialty

Résumé: This study investigates second year students’ perceptions of their teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge and their effect on their choice of specialty in third year in the Department of English at the University of Algiers 2. The study focuses on teachers of two content courses, Linguistics and Literature for they are the two available graduation degree options. To this end, a questionnaire was administered to 70 second year students with the aim of capturing their perceptions regarding their teachers’ performance. The questionnaire adapted from Jang, Guan and Hsieh (2009) comprised twenty-eight items arranged within four main categories representing the four components of Pedagogical Content Knowledge. It also included three extra questions the aim of which was to unveil students’ choice of specialty and the potential impact of their perceptions of their teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge on their preference. The study revealed that participants have relatively consistent views regarding their teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Nonetheless, in general terms, students perceive teachers of Linguistics as having a slightly higher Pedagogical Content Knowledge than their colleagues of Literature. The study also showed that although Linguistics seems to be a more attractive option among students, their perceptions of their teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge has a limited impact on their choice of specialty. Their inclination may therefore be due to other factors such as personal preference and perceived easiness of one course over the other.

Publié dans la revue: Aleph