Abstract
During the Preparatory Year Program (PYP) year, the English Language Institute (ELI) concentrates on raising the level of English of new students so that they are able to adequately cope with studying in their desired department in the following years. Such a drastic change in the institution’s goals has led to some changes in the professional development programme in order to handle these new changes. For the first part of this research study, a review of the past and current research studies on professional development and professional identity issues will be presented. The second part of this paper will report on a small-based inquiry conducted with four (two male and two female) ELI teachers aiming to explore two important and related issues. First, there is the issue concerning the role of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in planning and structuring the professional development programmes offered by the ELI, while the second looks to examine the professional identity of the teachers as sensed by the teachers themselves. In the third and final section, a reflection on how this inquiry can lead to the awareness of the teachers’ role (male and female) in training and professional development programmes as well as professional identity perceived by the teachers, which ultimately, should lead to a much deeper interpretation of the status of the English language teacher profession.
Highlights
The teaching profession is probably considered one of the most contentious and argued about professions today
There is the issue concerning the role of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in planning and structuring the professional development programmes offered by the English Language Institute (ELI), while the second looks to examine the professional identity of the teachers as sensed by the teachers themselves
This research study argues that such practices of Professional Development (PD) are crucial and should be focussed upon where the teachers are involved in them at the ELI in order to expand their knowledge base of learning the different opportunities of PD that can be taken advantage of
Summary
The teaching profession is probably considered one of the most contentious and argued about professions today. Robottom (1987), on the other hand, defines professional development from a different perspective He argues that there are two kinds (paradigms) of professional development: one on a personalized level and the other on an institutional level. To consider PD event a successful one, it should include the need to develop the teachers to ensure their own professional growth as well as to improve the performance of the school as a whole. Their definition aligns well with Kent (2004) definition since they both identify the need to address specific needs of teachers’ in addition to institutional needs
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