A Regional Investigation On The Professional Development Of Teachers

With the development of economic globalization, English, as one of the importantinformational media, has penetrated into every field of social life and become the focus ofnational education development. Teachers play a crucial role in English education development,and their qualities decide the improvement of education. With the processing of NewCurriculum Reform in our country, the gap between the educational requirements and thequality of English teachers has become increasingly prominent. Therefore, English teachersurgently need to update their educational concept, increase professional knowledge, improvetheir professional ability and to realize holistic development.Based on the theory of English teachers’ professional development, the study has chosen100senior high school English teachers as samples from six high schools of Qingzhou. Bymeans of questionnaire and interview, the investigation involves teachers’ basic information andtheir current situation of professional development. The questionnaires are handed out to100English teachers, of which90questionnaires are returned. The effective rate is90%, so thesample is representative and it can offer a comparatively objective reflection of Qingzhousenior high school English teachers. The questionnaires are divided into three parts includingEnglish teachers’ basic information; the four dimensions of teachers’ professional development:professional knowledge, professional ability, educational concept and professional attitude; themeans of teachers’ professional development. The1-5-grade scoring criterion is adopted, that is,the higher the total score, the better the professional development.Through analysis and discussion, the study has come to the conclusion that Qingzhousenior high school English teachers have outstanding professional ability, determinedprofessional attitude, clear educational concept and relatively weak professional knowledge.There are many problems existing in Qingzhou senior high school English teachers’professional development. First, English teachers lack the consciousness of teachers’professional development and have no idea on its connotation and promoting means, so theyalways ignore their own subjective status and students’ activeness. They are so significantlyaffected by the inertia at work that their teaching knowledge and methods are monotonous, and traditional teaching abilities have dropped. In addition, senior high schools lack scientificevaluation standards for teachers, consequently, English teachers’ needs of professionaldevelopment are always ignored.Based on the existing problems, the study puts forward the following suggestions. First,education authorities should study the general tendency of teachers’ professional developmentand establish reasonable professional standards, which is a prerequisite to achieving theintegrated teacher education. Second, financial and teaching staff support should be given toteacher training institutions to help design a scientific training goal and a curriculum system.Finally, senior high schools should encourage English teachers to establish their professionaldevelopment concept of constructivism through reflective teaching.High school is a very important educational stage, and English is one of the mostimportant subjects in senior high school. It is helpful for teachers’and students’ improvement toexplore a scientific way for teachers’ professional development. Combining the theories ofteachers’ professional development and the field investigation, the study analyzes the currentsituation of teachers’ professional development, and puts forward some suggestions. The authorhopes that it is beneficial to senior high school English teachers.