SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ INTEREST IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Dr. Bekir Özer
Anadolu University

Abstract

At the beginning of the 2000s the most important problem of the Turkish education system is the quality in education. It’s obvious that high-quality education can be provided by highly qualified teachers. There are two main factors which enhance the quality of teachers. One factor is the pre-service training programs and the other is the in-service professional development activities. It is only possible for teachers gaining the modern understanding of education, using the new methods and technologies in teaching, and meeting the students’ changing needs if they participate professional development activities continuously. However, prior to this, teachers do need to be aware of the need for professional development, to believe in the necessity of it, and to be willing to learn continuously. In short, teachers must take great interest in professional development before all else. In a survey on 2273 secondary school teachers in Turkey, it was found that most of the teachers needed professional development at a high level. In the same survey, the teachers declared that they needed professional development for important purposes and they expected to get important advantages from the in-service training programs aiming at professional development. In spite of that, most of the teachers declared that they did not attend those in-service training programs willingly. Besides, they declared that they have been facing some obstacles for professional development such as “not being able to afford to buy and read the publications on the profession”, “lack of motivational factors for professional development”, “lack of adequate activities geared for professional development in schools” and “not asking for teachers’ opinions in determining the topics of in-service training programs”. To the results of the survey, it could be expressed that the secondary school teachers are ready for professional development affectively, but the obstacles they have faced for professional development are needed to be overcome before all else.

Keywords

Teacher training, professional development, in-service training, secondary school teachers