Effectiveness of Formal Professional Development Activities in Vietnam: What Affects English-as-Foreign-Language Lecturers’ Perceptions
Main Article Content
Abstract
In the era of constant innovation in English language education, teacher professional development is of critical importance as it possibly contributes to changes in teachers’ attitudes and practices as well as changes in teaching and learning outcomes. Given this perspective, a vast number of teacher professional development activities have been provided by administrative levels in Vietnam with a hope that teachers’ capacities will be enhanced for better teaching and learning. However, how effective these formal teacher professional development activities are might be perceived differently by the stakeholders. The present study aims to investigate how English-as-foreign-language lecturers perceive the effectiveness of the formal professional development activities provided for them and the reasons for their perceptions. The study employed the qualitative approach in which the data were collected via interviews with fourteen teachers from different universities. The findings showed that the provided professional development activities were effective to a certain extent as perceived by the participant English-as-foreign-language lecturers. Their perceptions were affected by the elements of professional development activities, the coherence between specific elements of the professional development activities and the lecturers’ personal context or social context. The research findings possibly inform English-as-foreign-language lecturers, institution managers and professional development organizers in Vietnam and comparable contexts about how to maximize the effectiveness of formal teacher professional development activities.
Keywords:
Formal professional development, teacher perception, English-as-foreign-language lecturers.
References
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[2] M. T. Vu, T. T. Pham, Training of Trainers for Primary English Teachers in Vietnam: Stakeholder Evaluation, The Journal of Asia TEFL, Vol. 11, 2014, pp. 89-108.
[3] P. Hudson, H. T. Nguyen, S. Hudson, Mentoring EFL Preservice Teachers in EFL Writing, TESL Canada Journal, 2009, pp. 85-102.
[4] L. T. Vo, H. T. M. Nguyen, Critical Friends Group for EFL Teacher Professional Development, ELT Journal, Vol. 64, 2010, pp. 205-213.
[5] T. K. A. Dang, Identity in activity: Examining Teacher Professional Identity Formation in the Paired-placement of Student Teachers, Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol. 30, 2013, pp. 47-59.
[6] T. Mai, M. Ocriciano, Investigating the Influence of Webinar Participation on Professional Development of English Language Teachers in Rural Vietnam, Language Education in Asia, Vol. 8, 2017, pp. 48-66.
[7] B. Avalos, Teacher Professional Development in Teaching and Teacher Education over Ten Years, Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol. 27, 2011, pp. 10-20.
[8] L. M. Desimone, A. C. Porter, M. S. Garet, K. S. Yoon, B. F. Birman, Effects of Professional Development on Teachers’ Instruction: Results from a Three-year Longitudinal Study, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Vol. 24, 2002, pp. 81-112.
[9] J. C. Richards, T. S. C. Farrell, Professional Development for Language Teachers: Strategies for Teacher Learning, Cambridge University Press, 2009.
[10] E. V. Reimers, Teacher Professional Development: An International Review of the Literature, International Institute for Educational Planning, 2003.
[11] M. C. Lohman, Environmental Inhibitors to Informal Learning in the Workplace: A case study of Public School Teachers, Adult Education Quarterly, Vol. 50, 2000, pp. 83-101.
[12] T. R. Pokhrel, S. K. Behera, Expectations of Teachers from Teachers Professional Development Program in Nepal, American Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 4, 2016, pp. 190-194.
[13] L. Sutherland, S. Howard, L. Markauskaite, Professional Identity Creation: Examining the Development of Beginning Preservice Teachers' Understanding of Their Work as Teachers, Teaching and Teacher Education,
Vol. 26, 2010, pp. 455-465.
[14] H. Vonk, Some Trends in the Development of Curricula for the Professional Preparation of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Europe: A Comparative Study, British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol. 39, 1991, pp. 117-137.
[15] R. Sancar, D. Atal, D. Deryakulu, A New Framework for Teachers’ Professional Development, Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol. 101, 2021, 103305.
[16] T. R. Guskey, Evaluating Professional Development, Corwin press, 2000.
[17] M. Kubanyiova, Teacher Development in Action: Understanding Language Teachers' Conceptual Change, Springer, 2010.
[18] L. M. Desimone, Improving Impact Studies of Teachers' Professional Development: Toward Better Conceptualization and Measure, Educational Research, Vol. 38, 2009, pp. 181-199.
[19] H. Borko, Professional Development and Teacher Learning: Mapping the Terrain, Educational Researcher, Vol. 33, 2004, pp. 3-15.
[20] F. Lipowsky, Theoretische Perspektiven und Empirische Befunde zur Wirksamkeit von Lehrerfort-und-weiterbildung [Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Findings on the Effectiveness of Teacher Professional Development], in E. Terhart, H. Bennewitz, M. Rothland (Eds.), Handbuch der Forschung zum Lehrerberuf, 2nd ed, Waxmann, 2014, pp. 511-541.
[21] F. Lipowsky, D. Rzejak, Key Features of Effective Professional Development Programs for Teachers, Journal on Learning, Research, and Innovation in Education, Vol. 7, 2015, pp. 27-51.
[22] H. Borko, J. Jacobs, K. Koellner, Contemporary Approaches to Teacher Professional Development, International Encyclopedia of Education, Vol. 7, 2010, pp. 548-556.
[23] T. R. Guskey, The Characteristics of Effective Professional Development: A Synthesis of Lists, Presented at The Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association - 84th, Chicago, 2003.
[24] T. R. Guskey, Yoon K. S., What Works in Professional Development?, Phi delta kappan, Vol. 90, 2009, pp. 495-500.
[25] G. Alibakhshi, N. Dehvari, EFL Teachers' Perception of Continuing Development: A Case of Iranian High School Teachers, Profile Issues in Teachers' Professional Development, Vol. 17, 2015, pp. 29-42.
[26] L. D. Hammond, M. E. Hyler, M. Gardner, Effective Teacher Professional Development, Learning Policy Institute, 2017.
[27] J. H. Holloway, Connecting Professional Development to Student Learning Gains, Science Educator, Vol. 15, 2006, pp. 37-43.
[28] A. Bayar, The Components of Effective Professional Development Activities in Terms of Teachers' Perspective, Online Submission, Vol. 6, 2014, pp. 319-327.
[29] K. Patton, M. Parker, D. Tannehill, Helping Teachers Help Themselves: Professional Development that Makes a Difference, NASSP bulletin, Vol. 99, 2015, pp. 26-42.
[30] S. E. Boyd, E. R. Banilower, J. D. Pasley, I. R.Weiss, Progress and Pitfalls: A Cross-site Look at Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement, Horizon Research, 2003.
[31] T. K. A. Dang, Exploring Contextual Factors Shaping Teacher Collaborative Learning in a Paired-placement, Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol. 67, 2017, pp. 316-329.
[32] M. C. Garbin, M. F. Garcia, S. Ferreira do Amaral, D. Silva, R. Rodrigues de a Breu, Teachers Perception on Collaborative Learning Process: Experiencing Continuing Teacher Education in Brazil, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 191, 2015, pp. 2231-2235.
[33] E. H. Margison, Enhancing Teacher Performance: The Role of Professional Autonomy, Interchange, Vol. 41, 2010, pp. 1-15.
[34] V. C. Le, T. T. Nguyen, Teacher Learning within the School Context: An Ecological Perspective, Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 2, 2012, pp. 52-67.
[35] W. Admiraal, W. Schenke, L. D. Jong, Y. Emmelot, H. Sligte, Schools as Professional Learning Communities: What Can Schools Do to Support Professional Development of their Teachers?, Professional Development in Education, Vol. 47, 2019, pp. 684-698, https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2019.1665573.
[36] M. L. Rosen, Teacher Leaders as Professional Development Providers: Factors Driving Teacher Learning Opportunities, Journal of Education and Human Development, Vol. 6, 2017, pp. 1-15, https://doi.org/10.15640/jehd.v6n2a1.
[37] F. King, Teacher Professional Development to Support Teacher Professional Learning: Systemic Factors from Irish Case Studies, Teacher Development, Vol. 20, 2016, pp. 574-594,
https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2019.1665573.
[38] A. M. Lazar, L. M. Reich, What School Leaders and Teacher Mentors Can Do to Support Teachers for Social Equity, in A. M. Lazar, L. M. Reich (Eds), New Teachers in Urban Schools: Journeys Toward Social Equity Teaching, Springer International Publishing, Vol. 2016, pp.121-139, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26615-2.
[39] N. Farakish, T. Cherches, S. Zou, Faculty Success Initiative: An Innovative Approach to Professional Faculty Onboarding and Development, Journal of Formative Design in Learning, Vol. 6, 2022, pp. 112-126,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41686-022-00069-x.
[40] M. Sarwar, S. Hussain, A. A. Shah, Effectiveness of University Teachers Training Modules, Journal of Education Research, Vol. 20, 2017, pp. 1-20.
[41] C. Menges, Toward Improving the Effectiveness of Formal Mentoring Programs: Matching by Personality Matters, Group and Organization Management, Vol. 41, 2015, pp. 98-129, https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601115579567.
[42] A. Kennedy, Collaborative Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for Teachers in Scotland: Aspirations, Opportunities and Barriers, European Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 34, 2011, pp. 25-41.
[43] M. Q. Patton, Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice, SAGE Publications, 2014.
[44] M. Q. Patton, Enhancing the Quality and Credibility of Qualitative Research, Health Services Research, Vol. 34, 1999, pp. 1189-1208.
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