On the function of teacher professional development (TPD) programs in improving language teachers’ engagement in online education environments: voices from Chinese English teachers

Abstract

Given the integral role of teacher engagement in the efficiency of education, factors contributing to increased teacher engagement have always been at the forefront of researchers’ attention. Simply put, great attention has been dedicated to the predictors of teachers’ physical, cognitive, and emotional engagement in classroom contexts. However, factors predicting teachers’ engagement in online classes have somehow been neglected. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, no inquiry has considered the role of teacher professional development programs in language teachers’ engagement. To address these gaps, this study looked into the determinants of teacher engagement in virtual language courses and the function of professional development programs in increasing Chinese teachers’ engagement in online English classes. To accomplish this, an open-ended inventory was given to 37 Chinese English teachers. The thematic analysis of the dataset indicated that most of the participants perceived extrinsic factors such as user-friendly platforms, effective professional development programs, and principals’ transformational leadership to be more influential in teacher engagement. Data analysis also showed the majority of respondents viewed professional development programs to be highly effective in promoting teacher work engagement. The outcomes may be instructive for all teachers and educational principals working in online education environments.