Developing and Validating a Model for Exploring Iranian EFL Teachers’ Perception of Professional Development

Abstract

The present study aimed at exploring Iranian EFL teachers’ perception of professional development. To this end, 200 EFL teachers teaching at private language institutes in Iran were selected as the participants of the study. First, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 50 participants of the study based on which Professional Development Perception Questionnaire was developed and pilot-tested (i.e. subjected to exploratory factor analysis) with 82 similar EFL teachers. The questionnaire was then expert viewed and administered to all the 200 participants of the study and was subjected to another factor analysis to ensure its validity and reliability more comprehensively. The findings yielded a valid model or inventory for assessing EFL teachers’ perceptions of professional development. The results also revealed that the participants perceived professional development enhanced their pedagogical knowledge, improved students’ learning outcomes, and helped them understand their own pedagogical weak points and strong points and those of their colleagues. Furthermore, the results of chi-square analyses indicated that high-experienced teachers had significantly more positive perceptions of professional development than their low-experienced counterparts. The results of the current study yielded a valid and reliable model for measuring English teachers’ perception of professional development which can be adopted safely by other similar studies. The findings might also contribute to policymakers and managers of language institutes to establish proper professional development activities for their teachers which might consequently lead to learners’ improvement in learning.