Teachers’ Learning and Continuous Professional Development in Lebanon: A View Gained through the “Continuous Training Project”

Abstract

This naturalistic study describes and analyzes the perspectives of teachers and trainers who participated in the new continuous professional development program in Lebanon (CTP). Qualitative methods and descriptive statistics are used to examine the teachers’ learning and professionalism as well as the establishment of learning communities as active collaborative means of professional development.

The results indicate growth in professionalism and awareness to new teachers’ and trainers’ roles. Collaboration is related to establishing shared and common perspectives on teachers’ learning and development of a professional identity. Perceptions about learning communities are related to identity transformations taking into consideration the social, political context and new learning environments such as marketization of knowledge.

This research discusses also the institutionalization of CTP. The results indicate that more efforts should be done especially regarding allocating resources, getting support from all partners, establishing clear expectations and policies, and aligning organizational structures with desired changes and communicating results.