THE GAP BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ENGAGEMENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MATRIX FOR EFFECTIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Successful professional development engagements and programmes of teachers are key and essential elements in sustaining and enhancing quality teaching and learning in a classroom. And to achieve this, teachers need to learn continuously and be practicing teachers, whereby they hold the key to the transformation of schools, training and preparing learners to face challenges, and improving the learners’ performances. But the question is, how can administrators and professional development planners and organizers facilitate professional development engagements that transform teachers into practicing teachers? Also, what kind of professional development activities or experiences would teachers need? What are the essential elements that should be inherent or embbeded into the profeesional development activities of teachers? Addressing these questions and based on quantitative and qualitative data, this presentation describes the gap that exists between theory and practice in professional development engagements of English language teachers in the Malaysian context, and the key indicators that need to be considred in the development of a matrix for effective professional development. Some of the integral factors taken into account for the Matrix include teaching experience, professional satisfaction of teachers and current practices of thier professional development.