IMPACT OF CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ENHANCING ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS' PEDAGOGICAL COMPETENCIES AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL

Abstract

The Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of teachers strengthens pedagogical skills and improves student outcomes in teacher education. The aim of the research was to evaluate CPD services and pedagogical skills of teachers and to evaluate learning outcomes of students at the elementary school level. The study adopted a quantitative survey design based on a positivist research paradigm. Six-two English language teachers at the elementary school level were surveyed. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS-27. The results of the reliability test indicated that the data had a high degree of reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha = .751). Because data was not normally distributed, the researcher used Spearman’s correlation to analyze the data. The results showed that lesson planning, teaching and learning methodologies, classroom management, the use of technology in teaching, and CPD services positively impacted the professional confidence of teachers. Teachers stated that CPD services positively impacted the academic performance and the engagement of the students. In addition, positive relationships were reported between CPD and professional competence of teachers (r = .510, p < .01), CPD and student learning outcomes (r = .553, p < .01) and professional competence of teachers and student learning outcomes (r = .405, p < .01). This research recommends that CPD services be sustained and adapted to specific contexts.