Turkish in-service and pre-service EFL teachers’ views on professional development and related activities

A large and growing body of literature has investigated the issue of teacher professional development in the EFL context. However, there have been relatively limited studies regarding the comparison of in-service and pre-service teachers’ perceptions of professional development. This study, therefore, aims to present in-service and pre-service teachers’ perceptions of some professional development activities and to investigate whether differences exist between these two groups regarding their attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions. The participants of the study consisted of six in-service and six pre-service EFL teachers from a state university in Turkey, all of whom participated in the study voluntarily. The participants were e-mailed and asked about their beliefs about the potential contribution, necessity, and future intention to use professional development activities. Their responses were analyzed by content analysis. The findings indicate that both groups of teachers think positively about professional development and professional development activities and are willing to pursue professional development.