Using Technology to Support the Professional Development of Iraqi ESL Teachers in the Post-Invasion Context

This thesis sets out to explore the status of the professional development of the Iraqi EFL teachers in post-invasion Iraq. English language teaching in Iraq has witnessed a huge transition period after the invasion and a new English language curriculum was introduced as a result. The introduction of the new English language curriculum has, therefore, brought huge challenges for the EFL teachers. EFL teachers are in the middle of a challenging transitional period as far as their professional development is concerned due to the absence of in-service training. The new curriculum is significantly different from the old one because it contains a lot of communicative activities and technology based tasks that Iraqi teachers are not used to. They seem to be following the old professional development style and training that is stuck in their minds from the period prior to the American invasion of the country (although nothing available at the moment) which has now become unsuitable for the new curriculum that requires more up to date methods in teachers’ training and development. From 2003 access to technology and the Internet became available in Iraq, but learning through the Internet has not been applied yet in the education sector. As there is currently a lack of in-service training for Iraqi EFL teachers, this study investigates whether teachers in the ‘new’ Iraq consider it feasible to use technological tools as a platform for teachers’ professional development. Using a thematic perspective, the study investigated the perceptions, understandings and responses to status of teachers’ PD in a complex and chaotic setting in one province in Iraq. Data were generated through multiple qualitative interviews carried out over five research phases. What has emerged from the findings of this study is that the teachers’ professional development process currently remains in a state of chaos as a result of the political changes in the country following the American invasion in 2003 and the educational changes that followed. The data shows how English teachers in one city have responded to the idea of using technology for their PD purposes. It suggests that use of the now widely available aces of technology, and particularly the Internet, might provide a solution to the lack of more formal PD provision