A Systematic Review of Professional Development Programs for Language Teachers over ten years: Regional Perspectives

Year 2018, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 42 - 63, 01.05.2018

Halil İbrahim Çınarbaş , Rabia Hoş

Abstract

The concepts of what it means to be a learner
and a language teacher have radically changed with the developments that caused
English language to become a lingua franca around the world. In response to
such radical changes, language teachers are urged to constantly reconstruct
their knowledge, improve their practices, attitudes and beliefs accordingly.
Professional Development (PD) programs are a way of improving language teachers’ practices. In this systematic review, the
qualitative studies about PD programs in the field of foreign language teaching
were reviewed according to predetermined criteria. Selected studies were
analyzed using MAXQDA software. The analysis of selected articles shows that
there are regional patterns in terms of the purpose of PD. While Region 1 focused on framing PD
activities around educational policies, the studies in Region 2 focused on
integration of technology and collaboration in PD activities. In addition,
the studies were diverse in their methodological and theoretical frameworks. It
is concluded that there is a need to explore the experiences of language
teachers after they attend PD programs. 

Keywords

professional development (PD), teacher learning, English language teaching, systematic review, MAXQDA

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