Developing an Inventory to Investigate Current Professional Development Needs of Iranian EFL Teachers

As part of a large-scale study, the study investigated the current professional development (PD) needs of Iranian English teachers through a validated questionnaire and semistructured interviews. The results showed that such traditional approaches as one-shot workshops and self-study are the dominant PD methods through which inservice courses are presented to Iranian English teachers. The results of the needs analysis indicated there was a discrepancy between the content of the inservice PD programs presented to the teachers and their actual PD needs because the content of the courses is often selected by those other than the teachers themselves. Furthermore, the results showed that whereas inservice PD programs presented to the teachers mainly followed traditional methods, the teachers preferred such interactive and collaborative PD methods as interactive workshops, teacher study group, online teacher learning, peer observation, and supervised teaching practice. Based on the results of the needs analysis, a combination of interactive PD activities was designed and implemented in various schools throughout a large city in the west of Iran. Finally, the findings bear some implications for foreign language education policymakers in general, and English teacher trainers and supervisors, in particular, which might be generalized to other similar contexts.