Evaluation of an in-service training program for primary-school language teachers in Turkey

Abstract

Despite the critical importance of in-service education programs (INSETs) for teachers' on-going professional development, educators often report problems concerning many INSETs. However, due to lack of systematic evaluation studies of INSETs in especially language education field, specific problems in these courses cannot be diagnosed, and they are left unresolved. The present study, therefore, evaluates a one-week INSET offered by the Turkish Ministry of Education to explore its sustained impact on language teachers' attitudes, knowledge-base, and classroom practices. The program is first evaluated against the criteria for effective INSETs suggested by previous literature. Then, data are gathered through course materials analysis, interviews with trainers and teachers, and through a questionnaire distributed to 72 teachers 18 months after the course ended. Findings indicate that although the teachers' attitudes are positive towards the course in general, the program has limitations especially in terms of its planning and evaluation phases, and its impact on teachers' practices. Implications for future INSETs will be provided based on the findings.