What do EFL Teachers Seek in Professional Development Programs? Voices from Teachers.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ikala.3208Keywords:
needs, teacher education, professional development, needs assessment, teacher trainingAbstract
This article reports the findings of a qualitative study about the needs reported by EFL (English Foreign Language) teachers in their professional work, carried out in Medellín, Colombia. Two groups of public school teachers and two of private school teachers participated in the data collection. Focus group sessions and a questionnaire were used as data collection instruments. Results suggest that EFL teachers experience needs in three different domains of their professional lives: as workers, as instructors, and as learners. Traditional approaches have overestimated their role as instructors denying the importance of the other two domains. The authors conclude that EFL teachers look for professional development programs that address the three domains holistically. They call for teacher educators' attention to explore possibilities to fulfill those needs.
Received 03-07-02 / Accepted 12-08-02
How to reference this article:
González M, A.; Montoya A, C. & Sierra O., N. (2002). What do EFL Teachers Seek in Professional Development Programs? Voices from Teachers. Íkala. 7(1). pp. 29 – 50
Downloads
References
Arias, Clara, 1994, Teacher Development: Meeting the Challenge of Changing Worlds. Keynote speech at the 29th ASOCOPI Congress, Medellín, Colombia.
Debus, Mary, 1988, The Handbook for Excellence in Focus Group Research Academy for Educational Development / HEALTHCOM or the Communication and Marketing for Child Survival Project / U.S. Agency for International Development.
Dendinger, Martha Jo, 2000, How to Organize a Focus Group. Meetings & Conventions. Taken from http://www.findarticles.com.
González, Adriana, Claudia Montoya, Nelly Sierra, 2001, EFL Teachers look at themselves: Could they grow together?. HOW Journal of the Colombian Association of English Teachers, Special issue 9, 27-33.
Knowles, M. S., 1989, The Making of an Adult Educator: An Autobiographical Journey, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers. Education: Andragogy vs. Pedagogy, New York, Association Press. , 1978, The Adult Learner: a neglected species, Houston, Gulf Publishing. Maslow, Abraham, 1943, A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370-396.
________, 1970, The Modern Practice of AdultEducation: Andragogy vs. Pedagogy, New York, Association Press.
________, 1978, The Adult Learner: a neglected species, Houston, Gulf Publishing. Maslow, Abraham, 1943, A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370-396.
_________, 1970, Motivation and Personality, 2nd ed., Harper & Row.
Norwood, George, 1996, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Taken from http://www.connect.net/ georgen/maslow.htm, June.
Schutz, William, 1958, The Interpersonal Underworld, Palo Alto, Science and Behavior Books.
USGS, 1998, Focus Groups Hints, Focus Groups Interview - U.S. Geological Survey Taken from http://www.usgs.gov/customer/page14.html
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2002 Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
