An Exploratory Study of EFL Teacher Candidates’ Webinar Experiences During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors : Kardelen ASLAN, Osman SOLMAZ

Pages : 475-492

Doi:10.19171/uefad.1256068

View : 117 | Download : 122

Publication Date : 2023-08-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Online teacher professional development has become a critical component of the evolving educational landscape, which has been further impacted by the proliferation of digital learning technologies and the COVID-19 pandemic. The present research reports on a study that aimed to explore the experiences of pre-service EFL teachers who attended online professional development webinars during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 15 EFL teacher candidates who participated in professional development webinars offered by a variety of global and local institutions. Data were collected through individual and focus group semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The study found that webinars had a positive impact on the professional growth of English language teacher candidates, providing additional support to their formal education. However, attending webinars also presented several challenges and issues for teacher candidates. The findings of this study provide insights into the use of webinars as a potential platform to address the professional development needs of EFL teacher candidates, with implications and recommendations for teacher education programs.
Keywords : Çevrimiçi mesleki gelişim, İngilizce öğretmen adayları, Web seminerleri