‘I have survived and become more confident’: effects of in-service TKT-based training on primary school English teachers’ professional beliefs and self-efficacy

ABSTRACT

Promoting professional development of in-service language teachers is key to maintaining education quality. However, extant studies on test-based continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers do not emphasise primary school contexts in China, leading to difficulties in the professional development of this teacher group. Therefore, this paper reports the influences of CPD, based on the Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) programme for in-service primary school English teachers in China, particularly concerning dynamic changes in their professional beliefs and self-efficacy due to participation in the programme. In this study, 42 English teachers were recruited from 15 primary schools to participate in the CPD programme. Through focus groups and teachers’ journals, the findings showed that the teachers experienced complex transformations in their professional beliefs and self-efficacy, and revealed some influential factors of the change. This paper provides suggestions to optimise CPD programmes and facilitate long-term professional development for teachers.

KEYWORDS:

• Professional beliefs
• continuing professional development
• English language teachers
• self-efficacy
• teaching knowledge test

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The length of the discussion was suggested by all the participants, as they did not want it to occupy too much of their personal time.

2. WeChat is a social networking application in China that allows people to set up discussion groups and share documents, audios and videos.