Perceptions of EFL Teachers to Continuous Professional Development in Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Candidate in TEFL, Department of English Language, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon Branch, Tonekabon, Iran

2 Assistant Professor of TEFL, Department of English Language, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch, Karaj, Iran

Abstract

This study explored how much of the time Iranian EFL teachers partake in constant expert turn of events (CPD) activities and how powerful these activities were in improving their instructing techniques. The current review is meant to investigate the view of Iranian EFL instructors about CPD, additionally, various kinds of CPD activities for example CELTA/DELTA courses that they liked, and explored how frequently Iranian EFL educators partake in the accompanying CPD activities. The members were 55 EFL instructors educating at various language establishments in Tehran and Karaj city. The information was gathered utilizing a three-segment online overview. The survey had been arranged in light of a 5 point-Likert scale and had shipped off members by email. To address the review's exploration questions, enlightening and inferential insights were used. For quantitative investigation, the information was at first placed into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Then, at that point, utilizing enlightening measurable methodologies, different insights for the information were registered and summed up. The discoveries of this quantitative review uncovered that English educators take part in an assortment of CPD activities. The discoveries of the review have suggestions for explicit activities that might be impetuses in building uplifting perspectives towards other CPD activities for EFL educators.

Keywords

1. Introduction

Lately of analysis on instructors and their development and advancement, the idea of expert improvement has gotten expanded consideration, with an expansion in research on educator schooling, advancement, improvement, and strategies for instructor improvement. Educators' expert advancement is a part of any schooling system worried about the planning and training of instructors to acquire the fundamental proficiencies and abilities in educating to work on the nature of educators in their classes (Bolam1993Day1999).

Teachers' development is characterized as a constant pattern of educator discovery that starts with introductory/preservice educator preparing and goes on for the length of an instructor's vocation (in-administration preparing). Educating as a calling convinces educators and raises their social assumptions to consider ways of improving and adding the scholarly results of their understudies. It has likewise been proposed as viable instructors, educators should have a blend of expert information and individual capacities, as well as personal attributes and encounters. Moreover, one of the essential inspirations for educators to be interested in proficient improvement occasions is to acquire new abilities and grow their insight (BaileyCurtis, & Nunan2001Castle2006Murray2010).

As a result of the growing attention to teacher responsibility over the last decade, measures of teacher success have become a significant research and policy concern. Furthermore, growing concerns about the variability in teaching quality and knowledge development prompted academics to look for more precise metrics of teacher success. Furthermore, offering an effective means of supporting and keeping teachers is critical to ensuring a high-quality learning environment for students and a pleasant working environment for instructors. Moreover, policymakers increasingly shifted their attention to enlightening the educational system by implementing school accountability measures centered on teacher qualities (BaileyCurtis, & Nunan2001).

Instructors are regarded as the basis of educational systems, on whom the system's performance is predicated. Teachers' continuing professional development (CPD) is critical for academic growth and development because of their essential role in achieving educational goals (AdeyHewittHewitt, & Landau2004Day1999). It means that instructors should stay current in educational theory and practice to achieve both institutional and personal goals (Craft2000; Good & Weaver2003Richards & Farrell2005).

Instructors assume an indispensable part in the public arena. This implies that the quality of education is only as good as the instructors who administer it. (FordeMcMahon, & McPhee2006 pp. 4-6; Richards & Farrell2005). Continuing professional development seems to be one of the most effective approaches to raising the standard of teachers. Any endeavor to grow teachers' expert information during and past the underlying readiness stages is alluded to as a deft turn of events (Craft2000Johnson & Golombek2011). Professional turn of events, then again, is respected to incorporate exercises that educators will participate in it after they complete their instructor preparation. (Shawer2010).

In instructive cycles, professional development is an urgent thought for educators. Professional development can be portrayed in an assortment of various strategies. Some individuals consider it as preparing, studios, in-administration days, etc.; while others consider it as a lifetime learning process for teachers regarding their callings.

The current review has constraints, for example, the specific quantity of the members engaged with the examination factors. Furthermore, an information assortment system has been led in two urban communities (Tehran and Karaj) in Iran.

According to the significance of CPD, this study aims to learn more about the perceptions of EFL teachers to continuous professional development in Iran and their chosen activities to engage in professional growth. At last, the following research questions were formulated: 

(1) What do Iranian EFL teachers comprehend by CPD? 

(2) What are the favored CPD activities for Iranian EFL teachers?

(3) How regularly do Iranian EFL teachers take an interest in the accompanying CPD activities?

2. Review of the Related Literature

It is contended that CPD is a reliable pattern of educators getting the hang of starting with beginning preparation and going on for up to an instructor stays in the calling. Instructing as a public calling empowers educators and builds their cultural assumptions to track down working on understudies' accomplishments (Mushayikwa & Lubben2009). Stout (1996) showed that professional advancement, occasionally called continuing with guidance, can be portrayed as a central gadget for changing teacher rehearses.

2.1 The Meanings and Functions of Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

As indicated by the contention for educators' specific jobs and a colossal commitment, no country can be extraordinary or ascend past the nature of its school system, and no educational structure can move over the nature of its teachers. Just communicated, supporting instructor quality is essential to appropriately layout the schooling system's and society's foundations (Borg et al.2018Pishghadam et al.2019). Educators' proclivity for training-based research practice and regard for their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) needs are two qualities that might point them in the proper heading in this vocation way.

CPD (Continuous or Continuing Professional Development) is characterized as a feature of the continuous cycle to advance in a vocation after going along with it. CPD is defined by Mafakheri (2016, p.45) as a planned, continuous, and lifelong process whereby teachers try to develop their personal and professional qualities and improve their knowledge, skills, and practice, leading to their empowerment, the improvement of their agency and the development of their organization and their pupils." thus, proficient improvement is expected to extend educators' information. It would assist instructors with creating in their vocations and callings by giving open doors for them to explore different avenues regarding new showing techniques and offer their encounters with various experts on an assortment of topics.

Teaching emphasizes change, ambiguity, and complexity over stability, certainty, and simplicity. That is why teacher professional development has been a significant topic for years, and numerous studies have defined the phrase (Borg2015a2015bDay1999Richards & Schmidt2003). Professional development is "the professional growth a teacher accomplishes as a result of acquiring new experience and knowledge and rigorously analyzing his or her teaching," according to Richards and Schmidt (2003, p.542). Borg has emphasized learning via a thorough analysis of one's teaching from a cognitive viewpoint (2003). “Instructors are creative, active decision-makers who depend on intricate, personalized, and context-sensitive networks of knowledge, ideas, and beliefs to generate instructional judgments,” according to Borg (2003). (p. 81). Both definitions of professional growth appear to emphasize experience and knowledge gained through tailored learning that takes into consideration one's particular circumstances.

Changing Roles of Teachers

Instructors' errands have become more broadened because of instructive changes in a more convoluted climate, and their work may now incorporate school the executives, organization, directing, and guiding as well as learning and educating (Fullan2002Glickman2002Guskey19952002Hargreaves2003Sparks2002Sparks & Hirsh1997). Every current intention to change, rearrange, or change schools, as per Guskey (1995), underscores proficient improvement as an essential vehicle in endeavors to achieve required change. All the while, there has been a change in outlook in instructors' jobs, from devotees to pioneers. The expressions "educators as pioneers" (Cranton2000), "instructor administration" (Frost & Durrant2002Lieberman1987), and "circulated initiative" (Harrison & Muijs2003) have shown up often in ongoing informative administration abilities writing that puts a more noteworthy accentuation on educator inspiration.

CPD and Educational Change

Instructors encounter mind-boggling and nonstop turns of events and hardships as schools approach the new thousand years (Herrity & Morales2004). The strain on schools and school chairmen to give excellent training is expanding (Clement & Vandenberghe2003:123). During instructive change or advancement, educators' lives are exposed to critical and progressing changes. CPD is perceived as "a fundamental part of school development" (Lee & Shiu2008, p.5), and it is generally recognized that CPD and fruitful instructive change or development are inseparably connected (Fullan19911993; Huberman & Miles1984). As an outcome, there is an understanding that instructors ought to be urged and upheld to grow actually inside the school system to give special training (Day2002Villegas-Reimers2003). On this point, CPD is seen as an "openly inferred, responsible component of each instructor's ordinary expert life" (Day1993, p.87), as teachers are progressively constrained to "convey" gains in understudy learning (Education Queensland1997OFSTED1998).

After 2000, the expression "proceeding with the proficient turn of events" (CPD) became more well known in writing. It has been now and again used for proceeding with professional instruction and preparation (Earley & Bubb2004). CPD, as per Waters (1998), is "the development that can happen when educators are seen above all else as individuals and are projected on the premise that people are they are generally much more than the parts they play. " (p.30). In all actuality, the expression "proceeding" has been utilized to accentuate professional development as being ceaseless and lifetime with regards to "progressing" change (Curtis & Cheng2001). Joyce (1981) underlines the significance of 'revamping the school into a long-lasting learning lab' for the two understudies and instructors. The more significant part of the writing states that the quick speed of social, financial, and mechanical change is the wellspring of progress and that everybody should now become deep-rooted students since teachers' underlying readiness is deficient in managing a long period of training during dynamic change (DfEE1998). Instructors, as experts, should participate in CPD at different periods of development to meet an assortment of necessities and purposes (Day et al.2007Day & Gu2010; Harrison2003).

CPD and In-administration Education 

CPD is frequently mixed up with in-service education or training. Both of them imply the importance of continuing education throughout one's life. Individual career development is viewed more narrowly in in-service education. CPD is a broad term that includes a wide range of topics. It has the connotation of lifelong learning. It includes all systematic and non-systematic attributes related to an individual's personal and professional development. It's worth noting that CPD includes a holistic approach to development because it targets both personal and organizational demands. Waters (1998, p.30) defines CPD as "the growth that can occur when teachers are viewed first and foremost as people and are projected on the basis that individuals are always much more than the roles they play. "In-service education, on the other hand, is limited to job-related development that primarily serves organizational rather than personal goals, and it is "often handled with attention to instructors' employment requirements and nature" (Chan & Lee2008, p.74).

2.2 What Are the Purposes of Continuing Professional Development for Teachers?

Improvement of Learning and Teaching

CPD for instructors is regularly viewed for further developing learning and educating. "Any expert improvement exercises occupied with by educators to expand their insight and capacities and to empower them to think about their mentalities and ways to deal with the instruction of kids, to expand the nature of the instructing and learning process, as per Bolam (1993). He likewise features three principal elements of CPD:

1. further developing educating and learning through educational plan improvement, rebuilding, and informative turn of events.

2. Further developed understudy assessments

3. Expanded coordinated effort between the school and the guardians.

Adjusting to Educational Change

Because of globalization and expanded responsibility beliefs, the public's assumptions about instructors' obligations have moved. Greater levels of popularity on CPD are an aftereffect of educators' moving jobs because of changing local area requests and assumptions. Instructors have moved from being transporters of knowledge to facilitators of information, from regular "followership" to "administration" obligations in managing fast instructive changes, as the information-based economy has developed (Frost et al.2000). Many investigations have contended that the adequacy of new informative approaches, changes, or advancements relies upon whether educators are fittingly ready and prepared through beginning retraining, and regardless of whether they get the significance of proceeding with a proficient turn of events (CPD) (Coetzer2001, p. 89; Earley & Bubb2004, p.3). CPD is a significant part of effective school-level change and improvement (Day1999; Hargreaves1994).

Illuminating Practice through Action Learning

One more motivation behind CPD is keeping practice which is informed by proof and searching out better learning and showing draws near, as well as working on scholarly execution. CPD empowers educators to go about as "specialists" (Stenhouse1975), while "it is instructors who, eventually, will adjust the climate of the school by appreciating it" (Stenhouse1975). (referred to in Rudduck1988). Instructors gain new abilities and data because of their workplace. They are expected to take an interest in hands-on exercises, for example, driving educational program change, framing and taking part in professional organizations, and thinking about their activities (Cranston2000).

2.3 Qualities of Continuing Professional Development

Past research (for example, Borg2003Day2002) has zeroed in on the quality and viability of CPD exercises, and there has been some agreement on the attributes of good CPD exercises. Different meanings of CPD infer that not all CPD exercises are valuable, and in this way, not all CPD exercises fit each instructor or foundation. 

CPD Activities

In distributed writing, various CPD activities have been examined, ordered, or sorted. In the Teaching and Learning International Survey, the Organization for Economic Co-activity and Development (OECD) made one broad characterization (TALIS). As per OECD TALIS (2009), there are two sorts of learning: a) more organized and coordinated, and b) more unstructured and independent learning.

The organized activities included

*Curriculum and workroom, *Education convention and discussion, *Professional advancement system, *Exclusive and collaborative research, * Mentoring and peer observation, *Consideration visits to different schools, * Qualification programs, 

The casual activities, included 

* Casual discourse to further develop instructing, * Reading proficient writing

In this study, our CPD activities include attending national meetings, attending international conferences, presenting a paper/poster at a conference, attending workshops, being seen by the school administration, reading published research or resource materials on language teaching, and doing CELTA / DELTA courses.

2.4 CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Degree

CELTA (Cambridge English Language Teaching Assistant) is a Cambridge affirmation for leading English as an unknown dialect. It is the most generally perceived and regularly looked for English showing declaration on the planet; three out of each four English language showing positions request a CELTA capability. It centers around viable methodologies and includes eye-to-eye or web-based offering practice with gatherings of understudies, giving you the certainty to begin instructing in as short as about a month.

Having a CELTA certificate shows your abilities with a regarded capability, regardless of whether you're looking for your first training profession or need to show potential businesses.

2.5 Delta (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Certificate

DELTA is an expert advancement program for educators with one year of involvement that consolidates hypotheses and practice. It furnishes you with abilities and methodologies to help you in your calling.

          Who Is DELTA for?

• Experienced instructors who wish to extend their insight in a particular field

• English language instructors with somewhere around one year of involvement

• English language educators who need to progress into more senior posts, for example, head of English and instructor preparing

DELTA might be utilized to show understudies of any age, from kids to grown-ups.

Theoretical Framework

A large number of reviews have featured the requirement for skilled, successful instructors, as well as the need to layout powerful strategies for setting them up in the study hall (e.g., Darling-Hammond et al.2005Jourdenais2009Kamhi-Stein2009). To address these requests, scholastics have proposed an assortment of educator schooling draws near (Jourdenais2009). However, as per the post method instructional method (Kumaravadivelu2001), there is no agreement on a solitary model for language instructor training; instead, each showing setting, because of its uniqueness, requires the incorporation of different parts found in the many models introduced (Kumaravadivelu2001). No one model gives off an impression of being equipped for meeting all of an instructor instruction program's comprehensive, friendly, social, and phonetic necessities.

Different appraisal approaches, for programs, have been proposed (Ross2009). This study utilized Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick's (2006) model of preparing evaluation, which comprises four levels: reaction, learning (information, ability, and mentality), conduct, and authoritative outcomes. The reaction level of assessment surveys how members respond to the program. This degree of evaluation depends on the estimating of perspectives, which is, for the most part, achieved using the utilization of a survey or a semi-organized interview. Learning is the evaluation of headway in information and abilities when a program's growth opportunity. Information is often surveyed utilizing prior normalized or educator-made tests. A presentation test, and a perception agenda, are generally used to evaluate abilities. The point of level three, conduct, is to check whether students change their hands-on direct because of taking an interest in the program. Level three assessment centers on how well data and capacities are moved from the homeroom to the work environment. The one-bunch pretest-posttest configuration is maybe the most constant conduct plan. Rather than tests, perception agendas may be utilized in this plan as another option. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2006) additionally address the review overview plan, which is a typical strategy for surveying the movement of learning. They accept that the assessor can overview the learners and coaches (through surveys or meetings). At last, the expression "result" alludes to the results of an association.

As per Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2006), level three outcomes are generally significant, regardless of whether level four advantages are rarely totally demonstrated. Thus, the motivation behind this study was to perceive how successful the preservice EFL instructor schooling program was in advancing EFL educator students' academic subject information through their reactions, education, and behavior. They imagine that proof of response, learning, and conduct will be enough in many cases to assess the suitability and utility of a preparation program.

 3. Method

This study intends to find out about Iranian EFL teachers' perspectives on CPD and such exercises they decide to take part in to develop expertly. This study utilized a quantitative methodology. A cross-sectional connection research configuration is used in this enlightening, non-exploratory review. The data was assembled quantitatively by using an internet-based study. 

3.1 Participants

There were 55 EFL teachers were teaching at different language institutes in Tehran and Karaj city. Of these teachers, 35 females, and 20 males with diverse ranges of ages from 20 to 55 participated in this study. The participants were TEFL, English translation, and English literature graduates.   Besides, their certifications went from B.A. to Ph.D. with different years of experience. Some of the participants also had other certificates, including Delta (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and CELTA (Cambridge English Language Teaching Assistant).

Table 1 exhibits the segment data about the members that were associated with the concentrate exhaustively.

Table 1

Segment data regarding members

Participants

 

1. Gender

 

Female

35

Male

20

2. Age

 

Female

20-45

Male

30-55

3. Education

 

B.A

10

M.A

45

Ph.D.

5

3.2 Data Collection

The information was collected utilizing a three-area online review. This survey had sent by email to all members. The specialist made the main piece of the poll to gather the segment information on the members' orientation, age, insight, instructive status, and obligations outside of education hours. Different courses and additional accreditations pertinent were likewise asked their expert from the members. The remainder of the archive was adjusted from the Educational Professional Development Survey proposed by Gasket (2003). The second part of the survey, CPD action acknowledgment, zeroed in on the exercises that the members believed were significant for their expert development. This segment had seven things on a 5-point Likert scale going from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). 5 Point, Likert scale examination, is regularly involved because respondents can undoubtedly address inquiries in this configuration. Because they don't need to overthink and compose many lines to reply. They just can browse previously given replies. It is likewise simple to break down. Along these lines, the third segment examined how frequently the members partook in these CPD exercises. Information was suitable to be similar to seven things on a 5-point Likert scale going from Never (1) to Always (5).

4. Results

Both graphic and inferential insights are two categories that were utilized. The information was initially placed into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for quantitative investigation. Then, at that point, utilizing enlightening measurable methodologies, different insights for the information were figured out and summed up.

Analysis of the interview 

Data were extracted and analyzed under each study topic in this section. Findings are organized topically under the study themes, with quotes from respondents to highlight them. Individual interviews were grouped to show the number of people who shared similar viewpoints.

4.1 What Do Iranian High School EFL Teachers Understand by CPD?

This topic elicited a wide range of responses, which were categorized into five parts. All of these subjects have one thing in common: CPD entails some sort of learning. This might involve gaining new skills, continuing education, or staying current with current events. The most common interpretation of CPD is that it improves one's abilities.

1. CPD as Skills Advancement

In the first place, the respondents saw CPD as acquiring specific abilities, with attention on being ready to educate effectively inside their establishments. These were recognized as capacities that teachers might not have recently experienced. This subject is isolated into six sub-topics: showing approach advancement, language capability, material planning, board homeroom, innovation utilization, and language testing. Each of these is portrayed in the outline beneath:

• Upgrades in teaching strategy, • Upgrades in test planning, • Upgrades in satisfied readiness and adaption, • Upgrades in innovation utilization

2. CPD as Uninterrupted Learning

The second most normal meaning of CPD is constant learning all through an educator's vocation, from the primary day of work until retirement. CPD was defined as learning that attempts to increase the value of a teacher's professionalism via improved practice and skills.

3. Keeping up-to-date

Teachers keeping themselves educated and updated with advancements and innovations in EFL is the second most often reported impression of CPD. Most participants who saw CPD as a means of keeping up with current events said that it was critical for them to seek out opportunities to learn about new methods and learning theories in their area, as well as whatever other disciplines that straightforwardly or by implication impacted their work as educators.

4. CPD as Learning for Happiness

The notion of CPD as learning for personal interest is the fourth articulated concept of CPD. Such learning may or may not be related to EFL themes.

5. CPD as Teachers’ Professional Revivification

The latest meaning of CPD centers around rousing and renewing teachers through support in professional advancement exercises. A portion of the members asserted that CPD permits them to examine new thoughts and safeguards them from becoming outdated. This idea of CPD seems to incorporate the primary job it plays in saving educators' excitement for instructing alive.

Finally, CPD is considered abilities situated preparing that spotlights on acquiring capacities applicable for educating effectively inside an institutional system. Moreover, CPD should be regarded as upgrading present proficient capacities to perform great in the working environment. Second, CPD was viewed as a deep-rooted discovery that was affected by current EFL progress and brought about a noticeable upgrade to a higher level qualification. The third component was created has to do with educators' continuous endeavors to remain current with new advances in their fields. Professional learning as a strategy to keep educators connected with and energetic regarding their instructing, as well as expert development and learning as a crucial part of their callings, is one more expressed point of view of CPD.

4.2 What are the favored CPD activities for Iranian EFL teachers?

The members in the current review detailed that they occupied a broad scope of CPD exercises to grow expertly. These are assembled under seven classifications. Among the CPD exercises that interviewees occupied were going to public gatherings, going to global meetings, introducing a paper/banner at a conference, going to studios, being seen by school organizations, perusing distributed examination or asset materials on language educating, doing a CELTA/DELTA courses. Table 2 exhibits the rates of favored CPD exercises by Iranian EFL educators.

Table 2

The percentages of favored CPD activities by Iranian EFL teachers.

 

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agreed

Attending National Conferences

0

9.09

1.81

34.54

54.54

Attending International Conferences

45.45

36.36

0

18.15

0

Presenting a Paper/ Poster at a Conferences

0

18.18

0

72.72

9.09

Attending Workshops

0

12.72

5.45

18.18

63.63

Being Observed by School

9.09

18.18

0

63.63

9.09

Reading published research or resource materials on language teaching

0

0

9.09

81.81

9.09

Doing a CELTA/DELTA Course

9.09

18.18

9.09

36.36

27.27

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1

 What should be included in the list of CPD activities? (Percentage)

 image

* Attending national conferences: As shown in table 2, because of the availability and low costs of national conferences, 54.54% of participants strongly agreed with this item, while only 9.09% of participants disagreed.

 * Attending international conferences: In contrast to national conferences, 45.45% of participants strongly disagreed with international conferences because of the high costs and inaccessibility of these conferences.

* Presenting a paper/poster at a conference: As shown in table 2, because of upgrading the scientific level and increasing the scientific credibility, 72.72% of participants agreed with presenting a paper or poster at conferences, while 18.18% disagreed. 

* Attending workshops: Due to the increased level of awareness and understanding, and also its diversity, 63.63% of participants strongly agreed with attending workshops, while 12.72% disagreed, as shown in table 2.

* Being observed by school administration: Due to developing teachers in their respective fields, promoting accountability, and, formative assessment, 63.63% of participants preferred to be followed by the school administration, while 9.09% strongly disagreed.

* Reading published research or resource materials on language teaching: Because of the cost-effective time and the accessibility of this activity, one of the most preferred CPD activities by Iranian EFL teachers was reading published research or resource materials on language teaching with 81.81% of agreement, while there was no dissenting opinion.

* Doing CELTA / DELTA courses: Because of the lack of necessary facilities to run these courses, doing CELTA / DELTA courses were the less preferred CPD activity with 36.36% of preference, and 9.09% of participants strongly disagreed with this activity, as shown in table 2.

The most regularly preferred CDP activity was reading published research or resource materials on language teaching, and the less frequently preferred CPD activity was doing CELTA / DELTA courses.

4.3 How regularly do Iranian EFL teachers take an interest in the accompanying CPD activities?

The subject's third inquiry was how regularly Iranian EFL instructors drew in with CPD activities that they were coordinated similar seven things on a 5-point Likert scale going from Never (1) to Always (5). Having investigated their inclinations, the accompanying part, asked about the apparent adequacy of these exercises. Table 3 shows how regularly Iranian EFL educators take part in the concurrent CPD activities.

Figure 2

How often do you participate in the following CPD activities? (Percentage)

image

Table 3

How regularly do Iranian EFL  teachers take an interest in the accompanying CPD activities?

 

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Usually

Always

Attending National Conferences

0

5.45

14.54

70.9

9.09

Attending International Conferences

62.27

23.63

7.27

1.81

0

Presenting a Paper/ Poster at a Conferences

0

5.45

52.72

25.45

16.36

Attending Workshops

0

3.63

10.9

34.54

50.9

Being Observed by School

9.09

27.27

36.36

18.18

9.09

Reading published research or resource materials on language teaching

0

1.81

7.27

21.81

69.09

Doing a CELTA/DELTA Course

49.09

45.45

5.45

0

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Attending National Conferences: As shown in table 3, Iranian EFL teachers usually try to participate in national conferences with 70.90% of participation, while only 5.45% rarely try to participate.

* Attending International Conferences: In contrast to national conferences, 67.27% of participants were never trying to participate in international discussions because of the high costs and inaccessibility of these conferences.

* Presenting a Paper/ Poster at a Conferences: Duo to upgrade the scientific level and increase the scientific credibility, 52.72% of participants sometimes try to present a paper or poster at conferences, as shown in table 3.

* Being observed by school administration: As shown in table 3, Iranian EFL teachers sometimes try to be followed by the school administration with 36.36% of participation.

* Reading published research or resource materials on language teaching: Because of cost-effectiveness in time and the accessibility of this activity, one of the most preferred CPD activities that Iranian EFL teachers Always do, was reading published research or resource materials on language teaching with 69.09%.

* Doing CELTA/DELTA Courses: Because of the lack of necessary facilities to run these courses, doing CELTA / DELTA courses was the less participated CPD activity that Iranian EFL teachers never tried to join in 49.09%.

5. Discussion

Exploring the availableness of the expert improvement provides a clearer perspective on the effectiveness of the model in emphasizing objectives, as well as its impact on understudies' learning. Doran (2014) states an expanding need to investigate the expert growth opportunities that prepare educators to offer fitting instruction.

The discoveries from this study are steady with Hansen's (2005) concentrate on distinguished subject information and expert advancement as immediate supporters of positive expert certainty and capacity. Notwithstanding, as Ball et al. (2008) show, simply realizing a subject well may not be adequate for helping without knowing the training systems to convey the illustration content. Like this, great PD exercises are expected to help educators with expanding how they might interpret content information and academic substance information to assist them with further developing their instructing practice.

With a likeness to the current review, Alibakhshi and Dehvari (2011) examined how Iranian EFL instructors proceed with the proficient turn of events and investigated their center experienced improvement exercises. This study utilized a phenomenological research plan with twenty English language educators being evaluated. The scientists observed that EFL educators saw proceeding with professional improvement to include the upgrade of skills, progression of getting the hang of, refreshing of information and abilities. As to strategies for leading adept turn of events, educators expressed that they do such through working, formal schooling, and joining in and introducing themselves at CPF meetings and studios.

In a qualitative case study with Japanese teachers, Yoshimoto Asaoka (2015) explored EFL student teachers' perspectives and experiences of their professional development. The study concluded that EFL student teachers’ professional development is not candid since every meditational activity the instructors employ is not adequate. The study suggested that teachers should work more closely with their supervisors to help those teachers enhance their experiences. 

In a subjective contextual analysis with Japanese instructors, Yoshimoto Asaoka (2015) investigated EFL understudy educators' viewpoints and encounters with their expert turn of events. The review inferred that the method of EFL understudy educators' expert improvement isn't natural to life since each meditational movement the teachers utilize isn't satisfactory. The study proposed that educators should work intimately with the bosses to assist those instructors with improving their encounters.

Alharbi in his research (2011) investigated the impression of the experts in program planning, as well as the qualified educators. Five instructors were noticed and talked about within this review. Like the investigation of Sabah et al., the analyst utilized a steady correlation process. Results showed that taking an interest, instructors liked discussing ceaseless expert improvement arrangements. They likewise communicated positive perspectives regarding the substance, exercises, and the strategy for the program conveyance, explicitly the open conversation.

Additionally, Sabah et al. (2014) led a study to investigate the viewpoints of Science and Mathematics Continuing Professional Development (CPD) suppliers concerning the nature and status of CPD arrangement in Saudi Arabia. The analysts executed an open-finished poll with twenty Science and Mathematics CPD suppliers to accomplish the goals of their review. After an inductive topical examination, the review closed three subjects: CPD arranging and conveyance, assessing the impact of PD, and perspectives on the practical CPD. The investigation discovered that the customary model is the focal expert improvement model in Saudi Arabia. The review proposes joining different structures of professional advancement in Saudi Arabia to permit more open doors for an effective expert turn of events.

To address the significance of permitting the objective instructors to take part in the plan of the expert advancement program, Yumru (2015) directed a review to investigate EFL educators' inclinations for instructor learning exercises in an expert improvement course in Turkey. As the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MEB) fabricated another English language showing programs for the K-12 schooling, instructors were deprived of an expert advancement program to assist them with adapting to these changes. The review process was directed to examine the instructors' assumptions about the expert advancement programs by distinguishing their impression of the main educator learning exercises that add to their education rehearses. The review showed that the educators exceptionally rate the practical and experiential activities that help them to obtain the necessary abilities to notice and survey their study. The educators express that gifted improvement program should address their requirements, layout a culture of strengthening at schools and fabricate neighborhood instructors' local area.

6. Conclusion

The studies aimed to learn more about Iranian EFL educators' perspectives on CPD and such activities they decide to take part in to develop expertly.

The study's first question was about the comprehension of CPD by Iranian EFL teachers. The following conclusions can be drawn based on the findings of this study and comparable studies: CPD is a setting ward, and educators from various working settings have a different view of CPD. The results of this study show, as a matter of first importance, that instructor improvement is socially and socially positioned. Likewise, CPD is non-static and somewhat messy. It relies upon the perspectives on educator schooling that instructors, foundations, and expert advancement associations have.

The second research question was to explore the favored CPD activities for Iranian EFL teachers. Among the different types of CPD activities, reading published research or resource materials on language teaching was the most frequently preferred CDP activity, because of its cost-effective time and the accessibility of this activity, and participating in CELTA / DELTA courses was the less frequently preferred CPD activity, because it is not necessary to run these courses.

The third research question was “how regularly are Iranian EFL teachers interested in the accompanying CPD activities?” Among the different types of CPD activities, reading published research or resource materials on language teaching was the most frequently preferred CDP activity, because of its cost-effective time and the accessibility of this activity, and attending international conferences was the less frequently preferred CPD activity because it is not necessary to run these courses.

The current review has restrictions, for example, the specific quantity of the members associated with the examination factors Also, the information assortment strategy has been focused on two parts (Tehran and Karaj) in Iran. In light of the discoveries and constraints of the momentum study, a few ideas can be made for future examination. Initially, the current review can be replicated in other unknown dialect schools to check whether the outcomes can be summed up and comparative ends suffocated. The recent study could likewise be rehashed in state and private schools to look into the distinctions between the recent study and a future report to check whether the kind of school will yield a distinction in the teachers points of view towards CPD.

 

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Volume 7, Issue 1
2022
Pages 105-131
  • Receive Date: 15 January 2022
  • Revise Date: 07 March 2022
  • Accept Date: 07 March 2022