| dc.description.abstract | This study explores the influence of Teacher Professional Development (TPD) on female English foreign language (EFL) teachers in Saudi Arabia. The primary goal of the study was to identify the weak and strong points of in-service TPD for female EFL teachers in order to improve the current situation for female teachers in intermediate and secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. The research presents and analyses the experiences of EFL teachers, headteachers and English supervisors through questionnaires and interviews, in order to assess the effects of TPD provided to them by schools and Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia. The participants of the quantitative study (using questionnaires) consisted of 121 female EFL teachers who were randomly selected from schools in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. More specifically, there were 68 teachers selected from intermediate schools, 27 teachers from secondary schools and 26 selected from mixed intermediate and secondary schools, where teachers teach at both schools. The vast majority of participants were native Saudi teachers and relatively few were expatriates. All participants spoke Arabic as their mother tongue. Meanwhile, the qualitative study (using interviews) comprised 12 participants, namely, eight EFL teachers, two head teachers and two English language supervisors. The findings reveal that current TPD training courses benefitted teachers in the provision of knowledge, the reinforcement of their attitudes, and other effects relating to increased levels of motivation. Nevertheless, they were negatively perceived by female EFL teachers on the grounds that their needs were not appropriately taken into account, the courses were not useful or applicable to regular teaching practice, and they did not promote teaching improvement and were not presented in a way that integrated teachers’ schools within a wider system such as local society and other educational institutions in the area. The findings conclude that TPD training courses alone are not an effective way to raise teaching and learning standards in Saudi Arabia. The important factors to be considered, as highlighted by the Saudi EFL teachers, is the introduction of appropriate support structures, paired with systems of supervision and reward. This research proposes key factors that need to be addressed when implementing TPD in similar context. | en_GB |
