An investigation of Thai tertiary EFL teacher experience of formal and informal professional development

Research in the Academic and EFL teaching fields about professional development reveals that a variety of approaches have been attempted with differing degrees of success. The most widespread distinction has been between formal ‘top-down’ approaches and less formal ‘bottom-up’ approaches. Thailand provides an interesting PD situation because the Kingdom successfully resisted nineteenth century European colonisation but its leaders recognise the global importance of the English language. The situation is complicated by the relatively recent amalgamation of a tripartite tertiary system into a single arrangement of multiple universities. Little research exists regarding the professional development experience and preferences of a wide range of Thai tertiary EFL teachers, particularly how lecturer characteristics relate to opportunity, experience and outcomes. It was the purpose of this qualitative study involving 100 Thai tertiary EFL teachers from various regions and a range of institutional types, to understand the relationship of lecturer background and their perceptions and preferences regarding professional development. Findings reveal substantial: (a) alignment between policies differing levels of educational authority; (b) agreement among participating EFL staff; (c) ambition to achieve higher degree, and consequent employment, status; (d) perceived balance between formal and informal PD opportunities; (e) desire for longer-term PD opportunities based on perceived teacher needs; (f) willingness of these Thai tertiary EFL teachers to co-operate, bot individually and between institutions. The implications of this study are significant because teacher responses seem rooted in a mixture of professional responsibility for student learning and personal ambition. These lecturers have indicated that informal connections much strengthened the impact of the formal opportunities of which they took advantage, and this phenomenon may have implications beyond the Thai context. The common failure of organised PD to bring about change in classroom practice may be reduced by attention to teacher voice, as presented by this research project.