Abstract:

Teachers’ contribution to societal transformation cannot be underestimated. Their learning is a comprehensive, transformative, and collaborative learning process. Effective professional development results in changes in teacher practice and improvement of students’ learning outcomes. In comprehensive system of teaching and learning, a well designed and implemented professional development of teachers should be considered as key component that supports students to improve their knowledge and competences [1]. To attain or maintain a high standard of teaching and develop a high-quality teacher workforce, education systems attempt to provide opportunities for teachers to improve and extend their competencies [2].

Georgian teachers are facing challenges in their professional development such as a lack of critical self-reflection on their professional competencies and resistance to accept educational novelties. These challenges are often associated with teachers’ attitudes to their continuous professional development, which they consider as not sufficiently relevant and not contributing to the change of their pedagogical practice. Therefore, it is important to analyse barriers which restrain teachers from successful learning, and which also may lead to the arrested professional development [3]. Arrested professional development is defined as the situation when professionals attain the acceptable proficiency level and try to maintain this stable level of performance for the rest of their career [4].

The research design was based on a qualitative research methodology. The data was collected by semi-structured interviews with 11 teachers from general education schools in Georgia. The data from interviews was analyzed following the methodology of thematic analysis [5].

The study revealed that teachers are lacking critical evaluation of their professional activity. However, collaboration appears as a driver that leads teachers to develop their professional expertise. Teacher collaboration is a crucial part of professional practice, and it needs to be supported in challenging learning environments.

References:
[1] L. Darling-Hammond, M. E. Hyler, M. Gardner, „Effective Teacher Professional Development”. Palo Alto/California: Learning Policy Institute, 2017.
[2] Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Supporting Teacher Professionalism: Insights from TALIS 2013. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2016.
[3] K.A. Ericsson, “Deliberate Practice and Acquisition of Expert Performance: A General Overview”, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, vol.15, no.11, p.p-988-994, 2008
[4] K. A. Ericsson, “The influence of experience and deliberate practice on the development of superior expert performance”. In K. A. Ericsson, N. Charness , P. Feltovich , & R. R. Hoff man (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance, pp. 685–706, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
[5] V. Braun & V. Clarke, Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101, 2006.

Keywords:

Teachers, professionalism, professional development, arrested professional development.