Instructors’ views, experiences and expectations of continuing professional development activities in Turkish schools of foreign language contexts, adopting European Commission frameworks EPG,TD-FRAM


Thesis Type: Doctorate

Institution Of The Thesis: University of Lapland, Faculty of Education, Finland

Approval Date: 2021

Thesis Language: English

Student: ARZU ERYILMAZ

Principal Supervisor (For Co-Supervisor Theses): Tuija Turunen, Raimo Rajala

Co-Supervisor: Hatice Karaaslan

Abstract:

Continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers has gained attention in the feld of education, specifcally in English language teaching (ELT). It is therefore essential to have a carefully planned and defned policy or set of strategies that will serve as the backbone for CPD programmes to meet the recognised standards. In the literature it is highlighted that teachers should continue to learn throughout their professional carriers to enrich their pedagogical knowledge and to improve their teaching practices (Bransford, Darling-Hammond & LePage 2005; Cumming, 2011; Turner-Bisset, 2001 Korkmazgil 2005). For that purpose, CPD requires signifcant investments to provide resources such as time, delivery, participation and funding. Literature on CPD also highlights many discussions with regard to teachers’ gaining new knowledge and skills to become more competent and improve professionally (Mosby, Inc., 2009). When teacher professionalism is concerned in Turkey, where English is taught as a foreign language, it is seen that there are no studies concerning CPD of English as foreign language (EFL) teachers’ by adapting European frameworks. In response to this gap in the literature, this multi-method design study seeks to provide an analysis of EFL teachers’ and school leaders’ views, perceptions and expectations about CPD in Ankara and Istanbul in Turkey. Terefore, the main aim of this study is to seek the perceptions of the participants regarding their current CPD policies and practices to enhance the quality and success of ELT and to understand the extent to which they value and implement the European frameworks; TD-FRAM and EPG. In order to understand the CPD phenomenon from the perspectives of participants, this study also explores their general views and perceptions about CPD by exploring some background factors on the personal and organizational levels, the reasons why they take part in CPD, their CPD practices, acquisition and use of new knowledge and skills and the outcomes gained as a result of CPD. In the study, data were collected using both quantitative and qualitative methods to observe and investigate the situation by administering a questionnaire to EFL instructors (n=282) in Ankara, and conducting a series of one-to-one (fve school leaders and fve CPD coordinators) and focus group interviews (eight focus-group interviews with 44 EFL instructors) with the participants in Ankara and Istanbul at public and private universities in Turkey. Te fndings suggested that the EFL instructors were concerned about their heavy workloads and the intense pacing of lessons at universities’ School of Foreign Languages (SFL). It was found out that, the most important criticisms were made about their organizations’ CPD policies, objectives, planning, refection and analysis processes. Furthermore, considering individual diferences, there was a signifcant diference with respect to gender and kind of the school (public- private) in the ways in which the instructors acquired new knowledge and skills and the reasons they participated in CPD programmes. Finally, the results of the study revealed that, except for the participants from one of the private universities in İstanbul, most of the instructors were unfortunately unaware of the European frameworks. On the whole, this study suggests that CPD practices need to be tailored around based on EFL teachers’ needs; there should be better-structured policies and EFL instructors need to be encouraged further to take part in international organizations by providing fnancial assistance from their organizations in Turkey. Keywords: Continuous professional development; CPD; English language teaching; ELT; teacher education; English language instructors; school leaders; CPD units; teacher development; European frameworks; EAQUALS; TD-FRAM; EPG.