Exploring EFL Teachers' Motivations for Engaging in Reflective Practice: A Case Study from Papua
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reflective practice, teacher motivation, Papuan EFL teachersAbstract
Reflective practice is widely regarded as an important dimension of teacher professional development, yet less is known about why EFL teachers engage in reflection, particularly in multilingual and geographically remote contexts such as Papua, Indonesia. This study examines the motivational orientations associated with EFL teachers' engagement in reflective practice. It considers how these orientations are shaped within the institutional, geographical, sociocultural, and multilingual conditions of their professional work. Using a qualitative interpretive case study design, the study involved five EFL teachers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and relevant institutional and reflective documents. The data were analyzed inductively and interpreted through the lens of Self-Determination Theory. The analysis identified four motivational orientations: institutional accountability, professional self-improvement, responsiveness to students' learning needs, and relational and affective engagement with students. Institutional accountability was associated with supervisory and accreditation requirements, whereas the other orientations reflected teachers' personally valued professional and pedagogical concerns. The findings suggest that teachers' engagement in reflective practice cannot be reduced to either external compliance or intrinsic motivation. Rather, different motivational orientations may coexist as teachers navigate institutional expectations while attending to professional improvement, students' learning, and classroom relationships. In the Papuan context, these orientations are situated within geographical remoteness, sociocultural diversity, and multilingual classroom realities. The study contributes to research on teacher motivation and reflective practice by showing how institutional and personally valued purposes can operate concurrently in teachers' everyday professional work.
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