USING REFLECTIVE JOURNALS AS A PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT TOOL: VOICES FROM PRIMARY SCHOOL

EFL TEACHERS
Huynh Thi Nha Nha; Phan Quynh Nhu
University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University
[email protected]
(Received: 10/09/2023; Revised: 30/10/2023; Accepted: 20/12/2023)
Abstract: This paper reports a qualitative case study on the use of reflective journal writing (RJW)
as a professional development (PD) tool by three Vietnamese primary school English language
teachers (VPETs). The study aims to explore their attitudes towards RJW through the data collection
tool of interviews conducted with the teachers before and after they spent eight weeks writing
reflective journals on their English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching at primary schools. The
interview results indicated that the teachers shifted their attitudes toward the use of RJW as a PD
tool, from being hesitant and doubtful of its advantages to being enthusiastic and welcoming to
RJW. Regarding the influences of RJW on their teaching performance, the issues of time and
insufficient training experience were reported as the barriers in journal teaching writing. However,
RJW was acknowledged to help improve the teachers' teaching performance and personal
development. The findings suggested that RJW could be used as a valuable PD tool to enhance both
teaching effectiveness and professional growth among EFL teachers.
Keywords: Reflective journals, reflective teaching, teacher professional development, EFL
teachers, primary school

1. Introduction
Professional development (PD) has been regarded as a crucial process in teacher teaching
profession, in which teachers keep themselves updated with the latest teaching methodologies and
strategies to improve their students' learning (Avalos, 2011). Thus, PD plays an essential part in
improving education quality. Aimed at enhancing teachers' knowledge and skills in language teachers,
various forms of PD have been conducted at school-based or individual-based levels (Brown & Lee,
2015; Díaz-Maggioli, 2003; Richard & Farell, 2005, 2011). While the former group of PD activities
such as training courses, workshops, and conferences are considered formal and direct forms of
teaching, individual-based PD activities such as reflective teaching journals or self-monitoring engage
teachers as active, self-directed, and reflective agents in their learning process. Thus, the latter group of
PD activities would allow for more reflection, self-assessment, and critical thinking in their teaching
thinking, and thus promote more teacher development (Richard & Farell, 2005; Avalos, 2011;
Kwakman, 2003; Tran et al., 2020). It is suggested that reflection helps them gather information on
their instruction and student achievement to evaluate their practice and enable teachers to be more
conscious of their beliefs and make informed decisions by contrasting them with their classroom
practices (Cirocki & Farrell, 2016; Farrell, 2014).
Previous studies have explored the use of reflective teaching journals in various contexts
(Belvis et al., 2013; Kinsella, 2001), but few have deeply examined in-service teachers' perceptions and
practices of writing teaching journals in the Vietnamese context. A scarcity of research on the use of
reflective journals among in-service primary school EFL teachers makes it more crucial to conduct a
study on how Vietnamese primary EFL teachers (VPETs) perceive reflective journals as a PD tool to
improve their teaching. In alignment with the aim, a qualitative case study was conducted to seek the
answers to the research question "What are the attitudes of in-service Vietnamese primary EFL teachers
towards reflective journal writing?"
2. Literature review

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2.1 Key concepts

Professional development
The concept of professional development (PD) has been extensively discussed in the literature
on teacher development and education (Farrell, 2013). Bell and Gilbert (1994) define PD as developing
teachers’ beliefs in classroom practice and attending to teachers’ feelings associated with change. In
line with this, Day (1999) notes that PD is a complicated, continuous, and long-term process that aims
at both intelligent and emotional change on the part of the teachers to keep or grow the quality of
education in the classroom. Put more emphasis on the active role of the teacher and the context-
embedded nature of teacher learning, Diaz-Maggioli (2003) defines teacher development as "an
evolving process of self-disclosure, reflection, and growth that yields the best results" (p. 3). Teacher
learning is not a one-off event, but a long-term process, continuously developing teachers' knowledge
of their "self, students, subject matter, curricula and setting" (Johnson, 2006, p. 9). To be more specific
about the focus of the teacher learning process, Avalos (2011) regards PD as an instructor's learning
process, learning how to learn, and putting their knowledge into practice for their students’ progress.
Drawing on the aforementioned features of teacher professional development, PD in this study is
defined as an ongoing reflective process in which teachers make inquiries about their self, students,
subject matter, teaching experiences, and social, cultural, and political features of their teaching context
with its outcomes of positive impacts on students’ learning.
Reflective teaching
In education, the concept of reflective teaching (RT) was initiated by John Dewey (1933), and
then by other linguists and educational researchers over the last century. According to Dewey (1933),
teachers do not learn from experience, but from reflecting on experience or reflective teaching. It is a
systematic process of problem-solving that involves teachers intentionally reflecting on a particular
event, occurrence, or circumstance. Since a teacher alone does not suffice for learning if he or she does
not reflect on his or her experience, he or she should actively consider what he or she has done for
adventure. To improve teachers’ practice, Dewey advises teachers to combine practical teaching
experiences with sincere, systematical reflections. In a similar vein, Simmons and Schuette (1988)
define a truly reflective teacher as the one who makes instructional decisions intentionally and
tentatively, thoughtfully weighs all relevant contextual and pedagogical factors, actively seeks evidence
regarding the outcomes, and continues to adjust these decisions as the circumstances require. Lysons
(1998) also equates RT with how teachers interrogate their teaching practice, asking questions about
the effectiveness of their teaching practice and how they might be refined to meet the needs of students.
In addition, Lysons (1998) compares RT to teachers' methods of questioning their methods of
instruction, seeking to improve them to meet the needs of students. In more detail, Farrell and Mom
(2015) describe RT as a cognitive process followed by a set of attitudes in which instructors routinely
get information about their practice while conversing with others and use that information to guide their
practice both within and outside the classroom. Based on the definitions suggested in the literature, RT
in this study is defined as a process by which teachers think critically before, during, and after teaching
practice and quest for evidence of effective teaching.
Reflective journal writing
As far as reflective teaching is concerned, a variety of PD tools have been adopted by teachers
to reflect on their teaching, namely narrative, classroom observation, peer sharing, action research, and
reflective journal writing (RJW). Among these, RJW has widely been used in the field of education
(Stevens & Cooper, 2020). RJW, according to Dyment and O'Connell (2003), is the recording of daily
events, personal reflections, questions about the environment, and reactions to experiences. Bolton

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(2010) claims that journals are one of the fundamental pillars of RT, and they could be seen as a person's
journey. They can be kept as a diary, written to and for each other in pairs or groups, or carried in the
form of a diary. Cirocki and Farrell (2017) note that logs and diaries are frequently used interchangeably
with journals. Lesson planning, attendance, and the description and interpretation of classroom events
are common examples of the objective data kept in teaching journals. Teachers can then check for any
disparities by comparing their stated views with their noted classroom activities (Farrell, 2007). In this
way, second language teachers can use teaching journals to legitimize and solve problems while
reflecting on new teaching ideas.
About what has been suggested in the literature about RJW, this study adopts RJW as a process
of writing about teaching experiences, including what happened before, during, and after teaching
practice that helps teachers strengthen their personal and professional development.
2.2 Benefits of reflective journal writing
Reflective journal writing used as a PD tool has been proven to benefit teachers in various
aspects of the teaching profession. The triple-faced merits of RJW include fostering teachers' self-
awareness, enhancing their critical thinking, and promoting problem-solving skills.
Fostering self-awareness
It has been found in extensive previous studies that fostering teachers' self-awareness is the
prominent advantage of RT through RJW (Casanave, 2013; Genc, 2010; Good & Whang, 2002). The
results of Genc's (2010) study show that keeping a reflective journal helps in‐service EFL teachers in
Turkey realize their own opinions and background information regarding teaching and studying foreign
languages. In a similar vein, Good and Whang (2002 ) note that writing reflective journals provides
preservice teachers with more opportunities to link their past personal experiences with future
development. Donyaie and Afshar (2019) also found similar benefits of RJW in enhancing the cognitive
awareness of EFL teachers in Sanandaj by allowing them to learn from their own teaching experiences.
Enhancing critical thinking
RJW has been proven to improve critical thinking in teachers by assisting them in revisiting
their understanding of their inner teachers through a process of active and skillful reflection (Farrell,
2004; Lee, 2007). Apart from helping teachers understand themselves, RJW is a tool for teachers to
clearly define the particular features of their classes (Richard & Lockhart, 1994). Conducting a study
with in-service teachers in Hong Kong, Richard and Lockhart (1996) found that recording events that
occur around the classroom by writing could provide teachers with basic critical reflections on how to
develop their lessons more effectively. In the same vein, Farrell (2004) emphasizes journal writing can
allow in-service teachers later review and assist them in gaining a deeper understanding of their work.
Moreover, through critical reflection, teachers can clarify their beliefs on teaching and their students’
learning; thereby, they can meet the needs of the students and promote student outcomes. Similarly, the
findings of Lee’s (2007) study support that journal writing enables pre-service teachers in Hong Kong
to engage in reflective thinking in their teaching practices.
Promoting problem-solving skills
Previous studies highlighted that RT facilitates teachers in dealing with unexpected teaching
situations (Farrell, 2014; Greiman & Covington, 2007; Wallace, 1998). Wallace (1998) asserts that
journals are the ultimate instruments for teacher reflection because they allow teachers to analyze
classroom critical incidents and discuss possible solutions in their diaries. Therefore, they could
properly handle unexpected situations in the classroom. Likewise, Farrell (2014) explains that RJW
guides teachers’ learning to an analysis of various issues in their work, by addressing and resolving
problems that arise inside and outside the classroom. RJW, in other words, is a means to create a link

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between theoretical and practical issues (Woodfield & Lazarus, 1998), between the course content and
their real-life experience, which might construct their understanding of matters that occur in the class
(Abednia et al., 2013). Likewise, Greiman and Covington (2007) emphasize teachers identified
pedagogical problem-solving as the second most frequent benefit of journaling, lending support for the
development of critical thinking skills through the writing process. As a result, RJW is the way for
teachers to create better problem-solving strategies and come up with new ideas for teaching practice.
2.3 Challenges of reflective journal writing
In contrast to the aforementioned multiple benefits, two major challenges of RJW, including
teachers' time deficiency and insufficient training experience have been extensively discussed in the
literature.
Time deficiency
The issue of time deficiency has been reported in a large body of previous studies in different
settings (Abednia et al., 2013; Farrell, 2014; Greiman & Covington, 2007; Zulfikar & Mujiburrahman,
2018). From Zulfikar and Mujiburrahman’s (2018) findings, time constraint was reported as a
hindrance to in-service English teachers in the United States in their process of performing reflective
thought. Likewise, Farrell (2014) states that the time for writing and reading journals could be a
considerable problem in the process of RT to a novice male English as a second language teacher at a
language university in Canada. In a similar vein, pre-service teachers and in-service teachers in Iran
spend limited time reflecting on their teaching after long working days because they are overloaded
with duties and responsibilities they have to fulfill (Abednia et al. 2013). As a result, most of the teachers
fail to write journals regularly, which may affect the quality of their reflection entries.
Insufficient training experience
Insufficient training experience is another issue that has been reported in the literature. Russel
(2005) argues that although extensive attention has been drawn to reflective practice, few teacher
trainers equip their teacher trainees with fundamental insight and specific skills for performing
reflective teaching. Empirical evidence from previous works reveals a similar situation. Lai and
Calandra (2007) report that limited knowledge of RJW and a lack of RJW principles and guidance are
the major factors in the failure of performing online reflections of a group of pre-service teachers in the
United States. In a similar vein, the findings from Greiman and Covington’s (2007) study revealed that
pre-service teachers in the United States feel confused because they have insufficient knowledge of
what and how to perform their RT and, thus, find it struggling to identify what to write in their journals,
which might have decelerated their professional development.
The merits and drawbacks of RJW have been acknowledged in various contexts of teacher
training and development; however, a dearth of empirical evidence on the use of RJW by Vietnamese
EFL teachers, significantly in primary school settings. Therefore, the current research was conducted
to explore the implementation of RJW as a PD activity specifically in the context of primary schools in
Vietnam with its social, cultural, and political features.
3. Methodology
To investigate in-service primary teachers’ attitudes towards the use of reflective journal
writing, this study adopted a qualitative case study as a research framework guiding its process of
designing and implementing the research (Cresswell, 2014; Holliday, 2015; Yin, 2018) to obtain in-
depth and detailed understanding about the teachers' authentic experience in RJW in their specific
teaching context.
3.1 Participants
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 This case study carefully selected participants based on relevance and availability, ensuring
voluntary participation and a good population sample for the research implementation process (Higgins
et al., 2019; Manohar et al., 2018). For the first criterion of relevance, the participants selected in this
study were based on their age range, years of experience, and school setting. The three teachers are
currently working as in-service teachers in three primary schools in a city in central Vietnam and have
over 10 years of teaching English as a foreign language to primary pupils. Regarding the issue of
availability, within the researcher's network of acquaintances, three VPETs, who used to be her teachers.
The teacher participants were well informed of the research's aims and data collection plan and
voluntarily participated in the study by writing weekly reflective journal entries for eight weeks and
attending pre- and post-interviews. For their confidentiality, pseudonyms are used for the teachers'
names and schools'. Their qualification, teaching experience, and other demographic information are
presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Profile of teacher participants
Nam Hoa Cuc
Profile
(pseudonym) (pseudonym) (pseudonym)
Gender Male Female Female
Age 46 47 43
Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Bachelor's degree in Bachelor's degree in
English Language English Language English Language
Teaching Teaching Teaching
School setting Sao Mai Primary School Sao Kim Primary School Sao Hoa Primary School
Grade of teaching Grades 2, 4, 5 Grades 2, 3, 4 Grades 3, 4, 5
Class period per week 24 22 20
Years of EFL teaching 21 19 11
Engaging in the current study, the three teachers were suggested to write reflective teaching
journals weekly on their teachings of EFL to their different classes at their school for the whole week.
Via a Google document shared by the researcher, each of the three teachers was asked to reflect on their
teaching based on guiding questions for eight successive weeks (see Appendix 1). The guiding questions
focus on their preparation for the lesson and teaching performance.
3.2 Data collection and analysis
This study utilized semi-structured interviews as the major data collection tools to investigate
teachers' attitudes toward reflective journal writing (RJW). The semi-structured interviews were guided
by predetermined questions, allowing for further discussion. With their consent, each of the teachers
was invited for two interviews, namely a pre-interview before their writing reflective journals and a
post-interview after their eight weeks' writing journals.
Before starting writing reflective journals, the three participant teachers were interviewed to
explore their attitudes toward the use of reflective journal writing as a PD tool. The interview included
10 open-ended questions, which were divided into two main parts. The first part aimed to collect data
about the teachers' attitudes toward the use of RT as a PD activity (Questions 1-5) and the second aimed
to explore their attitudes toward the use of RJW (Questions 6-10). (See Appendix 2)
After completing reflective teaching journals, the three teachers were invited for the second
interview, which aimed to find out their attitudes towards their experience in RJW and explore the
influences of RJW on their development and teaching performance. The interview included 5 questions,
which were divided into three main parts. The first part aimed to collect data on any transformations
that the teacher made in his or her observed lesson and their possible reasons (Questions 1-2). The
second part sought to find out the teachers' attitudes about RJW after experience writing six reflective
journals over a six-week period (Question 3). The third part explored the influences of RJW on teacher
development and teaching (Questions 4-5). (See Appendix 3)

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Each interview lasted about 30 minutes, conducted in face-to-face mode at the teachers' schools
for their convenience and in Vietnamese language for the clarity and accuracy of the data collected. The
transcripts were coded and analyzed to ensure the data was reliable and consistently identified (Miles
& Huberman, 1994). In this study, the interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded by the
researcher and her supervisor under three overarching themes related to the teachers' attitudes toward
using reflective journal writing as a professional development tool, namely PD experience, benefits of
RJW, and challenges of RJW. The themes were evaluated before giving them names and started writing
the report once the themes were decided upon by her supervisor.
4. Findings
4.1 Teachers’ attitudes towards reflective journal writing
This section presents and analyzes the collected data based on pre-interview responses to clarify
the three teachers’ attitudes prior to their experience in writing reflective journals. Then, the section
continues to present and analyze data from the post-interviews to explore their attitudes after conducting
RJW for eight successive weeks. Noticeable differences in the teachers' attitudes before and after RTW
implementation will be discussed.
4.1.1 Teachers' attitudes before conducting reflective journal writing
In the first stage of the study, the three teachers were interviewed about their PD experience
and their prior knowledge and experience in RJW.
When being asked about professional development (PD) experience, all three participant
teachers reported that they had prior experience with such various PD tools as group discussion, and
classroom or peer observation. However, none of the teachers recalled their experience in doing
reflection journal writing (RJW). Being specifically asked about RJW, the three teachers shared similar
stories that RJW was not popular in their teaching practice as it was merely briefly introduced in teacher
training programs, but had not put it into practice. Mr. Nam admitted that “group discussions and
observations are two tools I use a lot. Talking about RJW, I have learned about it in some training
programs, but not ever used it.” (Pre-interview 1). Teaching in another primary school, Ms. Hoa
reported a similar PD experience “I join a group discussion each week, and 4 peer observations each
school year. I have no experience with RJW, I just heard somewhere, maybe teacher training
workshops.” (Pre-interview 2). In a similar vein, Ms. Cuc said: “I often take a group discussion weekly
and am proactive in observing my colleagues. I know RJW, just a little because it is not familiar to me,
and I never use it.” (Pre-interview 3).
These interview quotes indicate that although the teachers have previous experience with PD,
RJW has not been as familiar to these teachers as other PD tools, specifically group discussions or
classroom or peer observations. Their lack of real experience in exercising RJW in practice could
account for the fact that they were reluctant to use RJW in teaching practice and showed skeptical and
unsure about RJW’s benefits, which is illustrated in the following extracts from pre-interviews data.
Being asked about RJW's benefits, Mr. Nam admitted: “I am not sure but I think this tool will
help teachers prepare for lessons.” (Pre-interview 1)
Similarly, Ms. Hoa stated: “This tool may support teachers in changing their teaching methods
and plan lessons, but I'm not sure.” (Pre-interview 2)
And Ms. Cuc responded: “I think it may help teachers improve their teaching skills and methods to suit
their students, but I have not used it before, I don't know.” (Pre-interview 3)

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 It is clear from the pre-interview findings that VPETs’ little experience in RJW would lead to
their reluctance to or skepticism about the possibility and benefits of using RJW as an effective PD tool
in their setting, which has been proven effective in an extensive body of previous works in various
contexts (e.g., Good & Whang, 2002; Farrell, 2014; Greiman & Covington, 2007).
4.1.2 Teachers’ attitudes after conducting reflective journal writing
The data collected from the post-interviews indicated that all three teachers realized the merits
of RJW in their professional development after spending eight successive weeks writing reflective
journals on their EFL teachings at their primary school. The teachers expressed their interest in
reflecting on their teaching as Mr. Nam and Ms. Cuc admitted: "It was really interesting to write about
what I taught, and my teaching improved after each entry.” (Mr. Nam, Post-interview 1) or “This tool
made me know my true ability more than others, it attracted me to write all things in class.” (Ms. Cuc,
Post-interview 2). They also shared that they started to be more familiar with the reflection experience
and felt “getting better day by day.” (Ms. Hoa, Post-interview 3).
Regarding the reported attitudes of the participants before and after their RJW experience, it
could be noticed that after the RJW was implemented for two months, the participant teachers seemed
to be more positive towards the possibility of implementing RJW and its possible benefits in their
teaching practice.
The study's findings found that initially, all three teachers were skeptical about the benefits of
RJW in teaching development. However, upon further investigation, it was found that their skepticism
was due to their limited understanding and experience with RJW. Being involved in the implementation
of writing journals, each of the participant teachers changed their attitudes towards RJW and expressed
positive views about its advantages in teaching development. This outcome of this study is supported
by Lee's (2007) argument that teachers' attitudes towards RJW change as they gain experience with it.
They changed their views on the use of RJW in their professional development from being hesitant and
doubtful of its advantages to being enthusiastic and welcoming to RJW. This shift in their attitudes
towards using RJW as a means of professional development can ultimately lead to enhanced teaching
practices and improved student outcomes.
4.2 Benefit of reflective journal writing
Being asked about RJW's benefits, all three participant teachers reported that RJW was a useful
tool for teaching performance, particularly improvement in heightening self-awareness, and promoting
critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
4.2.1 Heightening self-awareness
The three participant teachers reported that they had a chance to think about their feelings and
behaviors while writing teaching journals. As Mr. Nam stated: "I evaluate myself when writing journals.
I recognize that teaching delivery is good or not. What I need to improve, what I should avoid, and then
straighten up my knowledge, and skills to be the best version." (Pre-interview 1). Similarly, Ms. Hoa
claimed that RJW helped teachers assess themself by “seeing what they are not good at, what they
should learn more, and what skills they lack.” (Pre-interview 2). And Ms. Cuc reported that: "I realized
that I need to learn a lot, not only specialized knowledge but also technological skills, or communication
skills. I should develop myself to create interesting lessons that attract the students' engagement and
motivation." (Pre-interview 3). RJW has had a positive impact on teachers by providing them with
valuable self-assessment opportunities. This self-reflection process allows teachers to identify their
strengths and areas for growth, enabling them to make informed decisions about their instructional
practices. By gaining a deeper understanding of themselves and their teaching methods, the teachers

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could enhance their effectiveness in the classroom and ultimately improve their students' learning
outcomes.
4.2.2 Promoting critical thinking
The post-interview findings indicate that RJW would provide the participant teachers with
opportunities to critically reflect on how to develop their lessons more effectively. The following
extracts from their interviews illustrated how RJW influences their adoption of teaching methods in
their EFL classrooms.
Mr. Nam replied: “This tool helps me think about how to prepare lessons effectively.” (Post-
interview 1)
Similarly, Ms. Hoa stated: “Writing journals helps teachers make a decision in changing their
teaching methods and plan lessons.” (Post-interview 3)
And Ms. Cuc responded: “When writing journals, I evaluate my teaching performance, then I
improve my teaching skills, and methods on how to suit my students.” (Post-interview 2)
The findings reveal that RWJ helps the participant teachers critically reflect on their adoption
of teaching methods and activities and selection of the teaching and learning materials used in their
English language as reported in other works (e.g., Zulfikar & Mujiburrahman, 2017). By incorporating
a range of activities, teachers could create a dynamic and engaging learning environment that promotes
active participation among students.
4.2.3 Problem-solving skills
In the post-interviews, the three participants admitted that avoiding unexpected problems when
teaching was impossible, so preparing ahead would help them easily address them. They all shared that
when writing about these problems in their reflective journals, they could contemplate all possible
solutions and select the best one to solve if a similar problem occurs. The development of their problem-
solving skills is illustrated in the teachers' sharing. Mr. Nam said: "Thinking about and preparing for
incredible situations helps teachers come up with solutions without being time-consuming." (Post-
interview 1). Similarly, Ms. Cuc admitted: “Teachers will teach based on a clear plan for next week that
helps them prepare carefully about the content and create activities flexibly.” (Post-interview 2). She
expected what would happen in the lesson, and if some of them occurred, she easily addressed it without
hesitation. Similar to what Ms. Cuc shared, Ms. Hoa claimed “When planning lessons, I select activities
within proper time allotment and plan to carry them out in an appropriate process, and students in each
class can follow the lesson easily." (Post-interview 3). These findings from their post-interviews are
supported by Farrell's (2014) claims that RJW focuses on teachers’ learning about different issues in
their work, including addressing and resolving problems that arise inside and outside the classroom. In
brief, writing for planning lessons helped the teachers make proper decisions to solve possible problems
in their lessons and their teaching delivered effectively.

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4.3 Challenges of reflective journal writing
In contrast to the findings on the upsides of RJW, the data collected from post-interviews reveal
two main groups of constraints, namely the issue of time deficiency and lack of knowledge and skills
of performing RJW among the three teachers.
4.3.1 Time deficiency
As discussed earlier about the teachers' prior experience with RJW, before writing their
journals, all three teachers expressed their concern about their limited time availability for journal
teaching writing. After spending eight successive weeks writing their weekly reflective journals, the
teachers confirmed that time was a significant barrier as they struggled to allocate sufficient time to
reflect, revise their entries, and improve their writing skills. Mr. Nam reported that "because of a lot of
work at school, it is difficult to keep writing." He continued that the workload at school has been
overwhelming, leaving little time for writing. Despite his willingness to write journals, the demanding
nature of his job has hindered him from being inspired and energetic to continue with RJW. Being
female teachers, Hoa and Cuc blamed their school and household responsibilities for their reluctance to
“maintain the habit of writing journals.” They expressed that fulfilling both their teaching duties and
domestic responsibilities has left them feeling mentally and physically drained, making it difficult to
prioritize writing reflective journals.
In short, the issue of time constraints was the prominent challenge for the participant teachers
to persist and continue writing reflective journals. The teachers in this study expressed that their tight
schedules and heavy workloads were major hindrances to their reflective journal writing. This finding
is in line with the challenges faced by teachers in various teaching practices (Abednia et al., 2013;
Farrell, 2014; Greiman & Covington, 2007; Zulfikar & Mujiburrahman, 2018). Their time challenge
was, however, exacerbated by the fact that journal teaching requires careful planning and feedback,
which can be time-consuming (Abednia et al., 2013).
4.3.2 Insufficient training experience
The post-interview data showed that besides the issue of time, the three teachers were prevented
from writing journals regularly and in a confident mode because of their insufficient knowledge and
skills of RJW. Their deficiency in RWJ's fundamental knowledge and specific skills is illustrated by
the following quotes from their post-interviews.
Mr. Nam: "If there was not a guided question, I did not know where to begin, what, and how to
write teaching journals." (Post-interview 1).
Ms. Hoa: "It is difficult for me to write reflective journals by myself because I do not know
how to write." (Post-interview 3).
Ms. Cuc: "If more teachers at my school had used journals and showed how to use this tool and
share their journals, it would be better, wouldn't it?" (Post-interview 2).
These findings reveal that the lack of knowledge and skills of RJW were the major challenges
that the three teachers faced in writing journals reflecting on their own teaching experiences. This
finding is supported by Lai and Calandra (2007), who report that limited knowledge of RJW and a lack
of RJW principles and guidance are the major factors in the failure of performing online reflections of
a group of pre-service teachers in the United States. In a similar vein, Smith and Johnson (2018) found
that teachers often cited time constraints and a lack of clear guidelines as barriers to consistent
journaling. Therefore, it could be claimed that limited training of RJW could be the major cause of
teachers' reluctance to write reflective journals.
5. Conclusion and recommendations

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The findings of the current study indicate that adopting RJW as a PD tool for in-service teachers
teaching English as a foreign language to primary school students in central Vietnam was positively
appreciated by the teachers. The results reveal that while the participant teachers had no prior PD
experience in RJW and were reluctant to its possibility and benefits before engaging in RJW activities,
they showed their positive attitudes towards the adoption of RJW as a PD tool in their process of
learning to teach EFL to their primary school students after extensively producing reflective journals
for eight successive weeks. It was acknowledged that RJW enables the teachers to grow both personally
and professionally as EFL teachers teaching in their particular context. The issues of time constraints
and limited insight and skills of RJW could result in their reluctance to reflect on their teachings.
However, as the benefits and challenges were reported by only a small group of teachers teaching EFL
in three primary schools in central Vietnam, further research with a larger sample size in various settings
could provide more comprehensive insight into the adoption of RJW as a professional development tool
for teachers doing their teachings and reflections within their particular social, cultural, and political
contexts.
About the current study's findings, it is suggested that in-service primary school teachers in
Vietnam and other similar contexts could be introduced with RJW as a PD tool for its merits in
developing teachers' professional and personal knowledge. Teachers would be trained with fundamental
knowledge and specific skills to perform RJW more confidently and skillfully as Russel (2005)
recommended. School leaders would develop PD plans and for teachers to stimulate their critical
reflections on their teachings, which thereby improves students' learning.
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 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 8, số 1, 2024

Appendix
Appendix 1: Guiding questions for reflective writing journals

Part 1 How many hours /classes did you teach for this week? Question 1

What lessons did you teach this week? Question 2

Part 2 What challenges did you have upon delivering the lessons? Question 3

What lesson/activity/situation did you like most? Question 4

How did your pupils learn? Question 5

What aspects of your teaching do you think you would have done better? Question 6

What changes would you like to make in your teaching next week? Question 7

What challenges did you have upon preparing for the lessons? Question 8

Appendix 2: Pre-interview’s focuses

Part 1 Their prior knowledge of PD tools Questions 1-4

Their perception of PD's benefits Question 5

Part 2 Their prior experience with RJW Questions 6-7

Their willingness to use RJW Question 8

Their expectations about RWJ benefits Question 9

Their expectations about RWJ challenges Question 10

Appendix 3: Post-interview’s focuses

Part 1 The changes in the lesson observed Question 1

The possible reasons for changing Question 2

Part 2 Their attitudes about RJW Question 3

Part 3 The benefits of RJW Question 4

The challenges of RJW Question 5

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 SỬ DỤNG NHẬT KÝ CHIÊM NGHIỆM NHƯ MỘT CÔNG CỤ
PHÁT TRIỂN CHUYÊN MÔN: QUAN ĐIỂM CỦA GIÁO VIÊN
TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC
Tóm tắt: Bài viết này báo cáo một nghiên cứu định tính tình huống về việc sử dụng viết nhật
ký chiêm nghiệm như một công cụ phát triển chuyên môn của ba giáo viên dạy tiếng Anh tiểu
học ở Việt Nam. Nghiên cứu này nhằm mục đích khám phá thái độ của họ đối với việc viết
nhật ký chiêm nghiệm thông qua công cụ thu thập dữ liệu từ các cuộc phỏng vấn được thực
hiện với các giáo viên trước và sau khi họ dành 8 tuần để viết về việc giảng dạy tiếng Anh tại
các trường Tiểu học. Kết quả phỏng vấn chỉ ra rằng các giáo viên đã thay đổi thái độ đối với
việc viết nhật ký chiêm nghiệm như một công cụ phát triển chuyên môn, từ do dự và nghi ngờ
về lợi ích của nó sang nhiệt tình và chào đón nó. Về những ảnh hưởng của việc sử dụng viết
nhật ký chiêm nghiệm đối với hiệu quả giảng dạy của họ, các vấn đề về thời gian và kinh
nghiệm đào tạo không đủ được cho là những rào cản trong việc viết nhật ký. Tuy nhiên, việc
viết nhật ký chiêm nghiệm được thừa nhận là giúp cải thiện hiệu suất giảng dạy và phát triển
cá nhân của giáo viên. Các kết quả cho thấy việc sử dụng viết nhật ký chiêm nghiệm có thể
được sử dụng như một công cụ phát triển chuyên môn có giá trị để nâng cao cả hiệu quả giảng
dạy và phát triển chuyên môn của các giáo viên dạy tiếng Anh.
Từ khóa: Nhật ký chiêm nghiệm, chiêm nghiệm trong dạy học, phát triển chuyên môn giáo
viên, giáo viên tiếng Anh, trường Tiểu học

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