Perceptions of experienced and novice English teachers working in private elementary schools in the State of Guanajuato

Abstract

In our days, private elementary schools in the State of Guanajuato offer English classes as part of their school curricula. This has generated an increase in the number of teachers hired to teach English classes. Some of these professionals are beginning their teaching journeys, while others have a wide experience. This study was carried out with the purpose of knowing the current perception among novice and experienced teachers in relation to their teaching practice in private elementary schools in the State of Guanajuato. For this purpose, a case study was conducted, where ten participants were selected due to their level of experience teaching in private elementary schools. Five of the participants had more than three years of experience, whereas the other five had three or fewer years of experience. The data gathering tool used for the study was an online questionnaire distributed via WhatsApp. The results obtained reveal that the level of experience of a teacher does affect their perception of their teaching practice in private elementary schools. The differences between experienced and novice teachers were in relation to administrative issues and the use of textbooks, despite the fact that their view remained the same in terms of technology and facilities provided by private schools.