The research concerns the professional development of English language teachers in teaching and scientific research and other related activities. Having a prescription for teachers' professional development increases the knowledge of teachers and policy makers on how to develop professionally and design a program to stimulate teachers to have such professional activity that effectively leads to their professionalism. Because of the important role of teachers, educational researchers have studied teachers from many different angles including professional development.
Mushayiwa and Lubben (2009) define professional development as a process of accumulating skills, professional knowledge, values and personal qualities, which enables teachers to continuously adapt within the educational system (p. 375). Recently, there has been an increased interest among ELT practitioners in studying teacher professional development from different perspectives, as identifying and describing professional development is very complex. Giraldo (2013) conducted action research on a professional development program and its impact on the teaching performance of university ESL teachers.
A case study conducted by Mora et al (2014) found that two Mexican English teachers perceived that professional development programs such as certification and English proficiency testing increased confidence in planning and teaching. To what extent are university English teachers involved in institutional professional development in ELT context? The professional development activities of teachers in which they are involved on their own initiative to develop professionally.
Research Significance
Scope of the Study
Definition of Key Terms
Institutional professional development is the situation in which the authorities of universities or faculties provide professional activities for teachers in the field of teaching, research and other relevant activities. Teacher-initiated development refers to the situation in which teachers actively participate in their own professional development by designing plans based on their preferences, beliefs and perceived needs in teaching, research and other relevant activities. The discussion covers the basic concept of teacher professional development, aspects of teacher professional development, and research on teacher professional development.
Teacher Professional Development in ELT
As the heart of the education system, EFL teachers certainly cannot detach themselves from improving the knowledge and current pedagogy of language and content teaching. Both language and content teaching have specific requirements, as students' language skills and mastery of content need to be carefully taught, especially when it concerns a foreign language. Consider the context of teaching writing, the approaches and methods of teaching writing. The writing assessment will also be an important point to discuss.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to explore factors related to EFL language and content teachers' professional development.
Aspects of Teacher Professional Development
Richards (2011 in Gonzalez, 2014) explores ten core dimensions of the profile of exemplary English language teachers. The author explains how native and non-native speakers of English must master a number of skills related to how they use the language. The second dimension is the role of substantive knowledge, which is divided into two: disciplinary substantive knowledge and pedagogical substantive knowledge; the first is specific to language learning and includes knowledge of the history of this field, including disciplines such as pragmatics, sociolinguistics, phonology and syntax; the latter includes the ability to plan curricula, reflect on practice and manage classroom environments.
The fourth dimension is contextual knowledge, which refers to the knowledge that teachers have about the conditions and human and material resources of the contexts in which they teach; to know the school's curriculum and policies for. Richards (2011) defines identity as “the different social and cultural roles that teacher-students enact through their interactions with their students during the learning process” (p. 14). Richards argues that teachers' philosophies should be addressed in professional development programs because they help teachers learn.
The author explains how teacher communities must work together toward common goals and involve more individualistic members to share with the community at large. professionalism is the tenth dimension, and it relates to the idea that language teachers are part of a scientific academic educational field and that, as a result, they must be familiar with what is current in the field. Although these approaches share certain characteristics, the impact they have on educational institutions and teachers' PD profiles varies. Edge (2002) emphasizes the argument that this view is closely related to personal development and is therefore completely satisfying and fulfilling for those committed to the foreign language teaching profession.
It is a top-down approach where something is done against the teachers rather than with them, often only to improve technical skills (Craft, 2000; Day, 1999; Fullan &. Hargreaves, 1992). This approach can therefore lead to superficial cosmetic institutional changes (Myers & Clark, 2002) and difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff (Craft, 2000) due to low teacher morale and high stress levels. The positive aspects of this view of PD are, firstly, that it values the teachers'.
Second, because PD experiences emerge from teachers' interests, teachers are more likely to commit to them, and the changes that emerge from these experiences are deep and long-lasting (Kohonen, 2002) and can be transferred to broader contexts such as the language classroom, the learning quality of students and the personal lives of language teachers. Biesta and Tedder (2006) defined agency as “the ability to exercise control over and direct one's life” (p. 9).
Researching Teacher Professional Development
Ultimately, it is individuals who empower global institutions that shape themselves (Giddens, 1991; Holstein & Gubrium, 2000). This issue is evident in the rapidly changing nature of today's schools, and this in turn. Grounded theory analysis suggests seven themes that underlie such decision-making, in turn representing two key drivers of self-directed professional development.
This article explores the potential of using these attractors to stimulate self-directed professional development within formal professional development programs, especially among the disadvantaged. Sakamoto (2011) The author traced the professional development of an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher by examining her story and identifying the transformation of her consciousness or kizuki. To demonstrate how powerful and important the concept is for teacher development in the Japanese context, the author studied team-based project-based EFL teaching in a Japanese high school for nine months.
A qualitative analysis of the teacher's story highlights that different types of her kizuki – cognitive, emotional and collegial – were generated and that its transformative power enabled her to take ownership of teacher learning, which would hopefully lead to professional development. Twenty-two experienced teachers were interviewed to better understand the types of self-initiated learning activities in which they participate and the organizational characteristics that influence their participation in those activities. Analysis of the data revealed that experienced teachers engaged in three types of self-initiated learning activities: knowledge sharing, experimentation, and environmental scanning. Participation in these activities was influenced by resource availability, physical layout, and grade level.
From a narrative research perspective, it aims to illuminate the complexity of teacher identity in the context of a reform where teachers must reconcile. Exclusion from the workplace community of practice can be seen as an alternative form of participation in the reform. Rahman and Borgohain (2014) The study aims to uncover the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) practices of the secondary school 'English'.
The study concluded that a little support in the form of resources can encourage teachers to take control of their own professional development and the formation of state and district-level subject matter expert groups with whom teachers can communicate, for any teaching-learning problem that can help teachers in their professional growth. Drawing on a case study methodology, which involved the use of a series of three interviews and other qualitative data collection methods, the article demonstrates the intimate and complex relationship between teachers' identities and their professional development.
RESEARCH METHOD RESEARCH METHOD
- Research Design
- Data and Data Source
- Data Collection
- Data Analysis
Data for research question no. 1 teachers' involvement in institutional professional development are gathered to guide teaching, research and other relevant activities. The research also elicits information about teachers' preferences for what both institutional teacher-initiated professional development activities should do and views on the importance of professional development. Based on the answers of the teachers, it is established that teachers mostly have the same professional development activities at the institutional level.
The grant has different clusters which basically aim to improve the quality of teachers and higher Islamic education. The forum followed by teachers is very related forum for teachers' knowledge such as ELT seminars. The teachers hope that there will be more funds available for academic activities, is the expectation of most teachers.
RN: "the university supports and provides funds to all lecturers who will accompany the seminar/conference". VNS: "The university (faculty/university) provides several activities to help teachers develop their expertise, covering the tridharma of higher education, e.g. annual program for each teaching and research in the form of a training or workshop.''
Having teaching load and other professional activities affects teachers' time to have supportive professional activities based on their own needs. VNS: 'TPD improves better individual' and M: 'TPD is to improve teachers' competence as well as professionalism'. With the teachers' efforts to update their knowledge, it will be obvious that the quality of teaching will improve.
TPD is essential for developing teachers' creativity, as MAB states: 'it is essential for developing teachers' creativity'. As YWH says, “it affects all performance: teaching (choosing the technique, students responding), researching (productivity, finding new things), and community service (community, self, and institution). The role of TPD in educational performance has been very essential. The findings of the study provided some preliminary information on university faculty involvement in institutional and teacher-initiated teaching activities.
Profiling teachers' continuing professional development and linking it to their beliefs about learning and teaching.