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Description
Professional development (PD) is a multifaceted ongoing process referring to a diversity of experiences and activities intended to improve teachers’ professional knowledge, abilities, and attitudes for better students’ learning (Darling-Hammond, Hyler, & Gardner, 2017). Kennedy (2005) proposed that PD models should be grouped into three broad categories: (1) Transmissive (training model, award-bearing model, deficit model, and cascade model), (2) Transitional (standards-based model, coaching/mentoring model, and community of practice model), and (3) Transformative (action research model and transformative model). When it comes to the construct of a community of practice, it is defined as “a group of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who, through ongoing interaction, deepen their understanding and knowledge of this area” (Wenger et al., 2002, p.4). In this vein, this study aims at delving into EFL secondary school teachers' perceptions of their PD through the interactions in CoPs in alignment with survey research. A Likert-scale questionnaire of 15 closed-ended questions was used to gather data from 100 EFL secondary school teachers in Tien Giang Province. The findings indicated that EFL secondary school teachers expressed their straightforward views of the significance of interactions in CoPs in their PD process regarding three key areas: (1) pedagogical knowledge; (2) measures for classroom critical incidents; and (3) desires for further education. Hopefully, the results could raise EFL teachers' awareness of the importance of interactions in CoPs in their PD plans.
Key words: Professional development, interactions, communities of practice, EFL secondary school teachers
