A comparative study on EFL instructors' attitudes towards professional development activities in State and Foundation universities

In accordance with the latest search for change and improvements in education and teaching activities, the professional development of English instructors at universities in language programs has gained importance. The aim of this study was to investigate the language instructors' perceptions, both those working for state and those working for foundation universities towards professional development activities and the factors hindering their participation. 40 language instructors from Erciyes University School of Foreign Languages constituted the state university sample, and 40 language instructors from Melikşah University School of Foreign Languages represent the foundation university sample. The data collected through questionnaire was analyzed descriptively to find out instructors' perceptions and differences in the different universities. The analyzed data indicated that language instructors working for the different type of universities perceived professional development activities as important to varying degrees. A difference in the frequencies of instructors' working for different type of universities was also noted. Instructors' participation in professional development activities were hindered by different factors depending on the university types, too.