Evaluating Professional Development Programs for Primary School English Teachers in Tunisia

Abstract

It has become commonly held among ELT professionals and practitioners that continuing professional development for English language teachers is extremely important for refining the quality of teaching and learning as well. Therefore, over the course of time, planning and implementing effective professional development activities have always been intended to address the individual needs and concerns of English language teachers, in general, and of primary school teachers, in particular. The study aimed to delve into primary school English language teachers’ perspectives on the merits of the current training program they are taking part in. It seeks to investigate their views of the effectiveness of the program and to what extent it responds to their specific school-based needs, and, hence, it attains their aims of development and learning. A questionnaire was shared with a group of primary school English teachers who were chosen randomly. The questionnaire includes 27 different questions organised in three main parts. Working with a sample of 40 teachers from diverse areas of the country revealed a clear awareness of the significance of the training program but unveiled multiple views on its effectiveness. These different views would later on impact teachers’ commitment and motivation to follow through or give up working with young learners. Only 12% of them have already received some kind of knowledge on how to teach English, while 88% never had the opportunity to learn about this issue. It should also be noted that differences among teachers regarding their professional experience are shown in the number of years they spent instructing English. 27% of these teachers have been teaching the subject since its early beginning, since the Clubs phase. Others, 6%, have recently joined the experience, tackling the subject for the first time. According to the results obtained from the analysis of the participants' responses, primary school English language teachers differ considerably not only in terms of professional experience, academic qualifications and backgrounds, degrees of motivation and commitment, but also in terms of the difficulties they face in teaching English to young learners. More research that offers deeper insights into the teacher`s current training and its impacts and shortcomings is required by Tunisian researchers.