An Evaluative Case Study of a Professional Development Program for Primary School English Teachers in a Rural Region in China

Abstract

Although government institutions, universities, and other organizations are enthusiastically offering teacher education programs for teachers of young learners of English, research examining how these programs support primary school English teachers in China and other Asian countries is relatively limited, and even less is known about the situation in rural areas with limited resources. To address this gap, this study evaluates an in-service teacher professional development (PD) program for elementary English teachers in a rural area in South China, with a view to exploring the extent to which the program has successfully achieved its intended objectives. It is found that the participants in the study have a generally positive evaluation of the program with regard to aspects such as promoting the teachers' competencies in English pronunciation and phonics, and designing language pedagogical games and activities. The findings also reveal issues such as lack of local responsiveness and practicality, insufficient follow-up support, insufficient opportunities for participating in PD programs, different attitudes toward the medium of instruction, and demand for the PD of teacher educators. This chapter in the end offers some recommendations for more effective implementation of PD programs for elementary English language teaching.