An Analysis of English Language Teachers Attitudes towards Professional Development in Public Sector Secondary Schools in Pakistan

Abstract

The present research examines the public sector secondary school English language teachers’ perception regarding formal professional development and their attitude towards it. The purpose of this research is to explore the underpinning factors concerned with the professional development that hinders the outcomes of professional development programs arranged by the public sector administration. To fulfill the objectives of this study a mixed method approach has been selected.  The research tools include:  survey questionnaire, class room observations and interviews. The result reveals that most of the English language teachers are well aware of formal professional development. However, their attitude towards their professional development is not positive. The findings of this study also uncover some of the factors such as job security, equal annual increments, lack of resources, poor classroom environment, and absence of feedback and lack of collaboration among teachers, principals, program organizers and teacher trainers which are very crucial in framing the attitude of English teachers. The result of the research further suggests that the entire education system requires improvement including collaboration among the teachers and administration, class room environment, examination system, performance based promotion system, relevance of the professional development programs with teacher’s professional development needs and teaching practices.