High School EFL Teachers’ Continuous Professional Development: Target Needs, Reflection, And Challenges

Abstract

This research investigated the high school EFL teachers’ continuous professional development target needs, reflections, and challenges. Further, the target needs of the EFL teachers were analyzed by adapting Hutchinson and Waters’ model (1987). The data were collected using a test, a questionnaire (consisting of five parts), and an interview; these were administered to 20 high school EFL teachers. A test was administered to identify EFL teachers’ present situation and difficulties, and questionnaire parts 1, 2, and 4 dealt with the EFL teachers’ difficulties, needs, and purposes in the program. Moreover, these were used to identify EFL teachers’ target needs centered on their lacks, necessities, and wants to function in the target situation effectively. Parts 3 and 5 concerned high school EFL teachers’ reflections and challenges in the professional development program they are involved in. Additionally, interviews were conducted with the high school EFL teachers to gather data and examine in-depth the results of the target needs, reflections, and challenges. The results suggested that high school EFL teachers have different views of their lacks, wants and necessities. The findings also demonstrated that the high school EFL teachers felt that the current professional development program practiced in their school was never conducted to help EFL teachers develop their profession. Finally, the results revealed that high school EFL teachers face various challenges in the current program they are taking. Therefore, the professional development program should be revised according to EFL teachers’ target needs, reflections, and challenges.

Keywords

• efl teachers
• continuous professional development
• target needs
• reflection
• challenges