Becoming and being a PDT: The relations between personal and professional life

The Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (IED-AKU) was established in 1993, and it started preparing Professional Development Teachers (PDTs) through a two-year field based Master in Education (M.Ed.) programme. The PDTs are expected to be exemplary teachers, teacher educators and change agents to bring improvement in their home institutions. Understanding teachers\u27 life is one of the main focuses of present day educational research enderours. The purpose of this study was to explore the personal life investment in the professional life of the PDT. To study this aspect of her life, a life history approach was employed. Data were generated through eight interviews and document analysis. The findings of the study were analyzed against the predetermined categories as subsidiary questions of the study, and the data revealed that family environment, school environment, college life, life overseas, life at AKU-IED, some professional experiences and her own natural abilities are the factors that influenced her professional life. Each category is further sub-divided under sub-categories and discussed. The implications of the study emerged on the basis of significance of the study and in the light of the findings. Further more, suggestions for further investigation followed at the end