Exploring the turkish teachers’ professional development experiences and their needs for professional development

The purpose of this study was to examine the activities of professional development that Turkish elementary and secondary teachers experienced individually in the previous two years. Survey method was used and data were collected through an instrument developed by researcher. Sample consisted of 507 elementary and secondary teachers employed in 12 elementary and 11 secondary schools in Kırıkkale. Results of the study indicated that the most common activities, teachers participated in, were “to search on the internet to follow the latest developments (new methods, techniques or activities etc.) related to their fields or education and use these in their lessons” , “to participate in forums on the Internet related to education or teachers to share opinions, documents or activities for professional development” ”, “to visit another school (in or outside city) with the aim of professional development. Besides, four-fifths of the teachers needed professional development. The most required professional development areas were “new instructional approaches/techniques/methods, subject field, the use of instructional technologies, teaching students with special needs, recognition of the student psychology and measurement and assessment”.

Professional development ,

teachers ,

need ,

professional development activities ,

teacher quality and effectiveness ,