Professional development needs of primary EFL teachers: perspectives of teachers and teacher educators

Abstract

This study investigates the professional development (PD) needs of primary English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers whose professional field has received significant interest at the global level in the past two decades. The study takes a different stance from previous research that exclusively generated data from teachers because it sought the perspectives of teacher educators as well. The decision to include teacher educators in this study has proven useful to generate ample data that suggest the inseparable relationships between primary EFL teachers’ profiles, their needs and the specific typicality of their professional environment. The study proposes a model of needs-based PD for primary EFL teachers that exemplifies these aspects. The discussion in the study brings implications for future research into the PD needs of primary EFL teachers. It will also inform teacher educators and educational policy-makers to develop a framework of reference for the design of PD programmes that well attend to primary EFL teachers’ needs.

Keywords:

• professional development
• primary education
• English as a foreign language
• primary English as a foreign language teachers
• teacher educators

Acknowledgements

The author would like to extend gratitude to the two anonymous reviewers for their highly constructive feedback on the earlier versions of the manuscript and to Professor Jim O’Brien for facilitating the review process in this journal. Any shortcomings are the author’s alone.