School-based professional development in one Lebanese school

Abstract

This case study examines the attitudes of the secondary and middle school teachers at one school in Lebanon regarding the effect of the school’s professional development (PD) programs on the quality of their teaching practices and motivation. It also examines teachers’ attitudes regarding PD as well as their recommendations to improve the quality of the PD program provided by their school. Questionnaires, focus group interviews and observations were conducted to collect and triangulate data results. Results show that teachers regard PD in their school as beneficial in general but able to be enhanced further. Although the attitude of novice teachers towards PD is more favorable than that of veteran teachers, findings show that the overall teachers’ attitude towards PD is a negative one. Modifications and suggestions to improve the quality of the PD activities are proposed by the teachers. The school offers a prosperous PD program, but its fruitfulness will remain limited unless an organizational structure is created.