Developing EFL teachers' competencies through an INSET program in Turkish MONE context: An exploratory case study

Professional development and continuous deepening of knowledge and skills are critical components of educational systems' change and growth. Teachers participate in short- and long-term activities to enhance their knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes towards teaching and learning throughout their careers. Considering this process, the primary purpose of this research was to focus on the competency development of English language teachers through an in-service teacher training (INSET) program prepared in the context of Turkish MONE. In addition, this study investigated the relationship between participants' competency levels and the changes in their learning gains, perspectives, and subjective evaluations based on their teaching and learning experiences after participating in an INSET program. Keeping these aims in mind, the research was designed as an exploratory case study, including pre-, while- and post-training phases. As for the pre-phase, the snowball sampling method was utilized to determine the self-perceived competency levels of 267 participants through the English Teachers Field-Specific Competencies Assessment Scale. Simultaneously, 27 English teachers filled in written interview forms prepared by the researcher to obtain in-depth knowledge on the relevant subject. Based on the results obtained from the data, a new training program was designed using the framework of the INSET programs prepared by the Ministry of National Education, General Directorate of Teacher Development and Training for the while-phase of the research. The training evaluation form and KWLA chart were used to collect the necessary data from 24 EFL teachers recruited by a purposive sampling criterion to evaluate the effectiveness of the INSET program and learning gains. Following this, for the post-training phase, the maximum variation sampling method was used to collect data from the wide range of perspectives possible about the five teachers' sustained learning gains and possible challenging situations they faced while implementing what they learned in their educational contexts through semi-structured interviews, lesson observations, and bi-weekly reflective teacher journals. In terms of data analysis, thematic content analysis was employed to analyse all qualitative data from both deductive and inductive perspectives. Additionally, the SPSS software was used to perform descriptive and inferential statistics for the analysis of the obtained quantitative data. The necessary steps (e.g. consent form, member-check, thick description and triangulation) were taken to ensure the reliability and validity of the processes from the pre- to the post-training phases of all these data collection and analysis procedures. The main results indicated that participants were uncertain about their professional skills in teaching English to students with special needs. It was also revealed that teachers had similar views on improving students' English-speaking abilities. In addition, it was found that education level, professional experience, and participation in previous INSET programs statistically affect teachers' self-perceived competency levels. It was understood that developing language skills, more specifically speaking skills was the most common need, followed by the demand to progress their digital skills. Besides, during the INSET program, the teachers were generally found to develop their professional skills, namely, skills related to managing the learning and teaching process. Regarding the effectiveness of the INSET program, teachers also expressed their agreement that the trainers fulfilled the training objectives and that the instruction was highly qualified for them. However, they recommended taking part in a more practical INSET program and more diverse topics to be included in other programs. Furthermore, in the post-training part, the results revealed that although personal or contextual dynamics may affect the level of influence differently, the INSET program mostly benefited teachers, especially by developing a more positive attitude towards professional growth and enhancing their professional skills. Lastly, teachers identified students' opportunities, the school's insufficient technical, financial, or physical circumstances, overloaded curricula and coursebooks, language difficulties, insufficient lesson time, and students' bias toward language learning as the factors responsible for their difficulties in applying and adapting new knowledge and skills in their educational contexts. In the light of the findings, in addition to short-term INSET programs, it is suggested that EFL professional development communities be organized to increase teachers' professional expertise, meet students' learning needs, develop cooperation between teachers, engage in joint activities between different classes and age groups, and provide feedback on other teachers' practices at 'Professional Development Centres' to be established within the Provincial Directorates of National Education. Keywords: teacher competencies, INSET program, professional development