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.