Exploring Novice English Language Teachers’ Meaning-Making of Professional Development: A Qualitative Inquiry

Hemmati, Ali

doi:10.30479/jmrels.2026.23185.2595

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Ali Hemmati

Department of English Language Teaching, Farhanganian University, P.O. Box 14665-889, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30479/jmrels.2026.23185.2595

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates how novice English language teachers perceive and make sense of professional development (PD) during the earliest stages of their careers. Drawing on an integrative framework that brings together teacher cognition, sense-making, and professional identity perspectives, the study examines how teachers interpret and internalize both formal and informal learning experiences across pedagogical, relational, technological, and ethical dimensions. Twenty-four novice teachers working in public high schools in Kermanshah Province were purposefully selected through criterion-based sampling to ensure analytically rich and contextually grounded accounts. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis supported by MAXQDA 2022 software, which enabled a systematic and iterative identification of salient patterns, interpretive processes, and cross-participant convergences. Findings indicate that novice teachers conceptualize PD as a dynamic, evolving, and context-embedded process shaped more by experiential learning, reflective practice, and professional interactions than by formal workshops alone. The key dimensions of PD included maintaining up-to-date professional knowledge, strengthening instructional competence, fostering learner engagement, exercising ethical responsibility, and participating collaboratively in school and curriculum processes. Feedback from students and colleagues, involvement in professional networks, and navigating structural and technological constraints also played influential roles in shaping teachers’ developmental trajectories. Overall, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of early-career teacher learning by emphasizing the identity-oriented, reflective, and context-sensitive nature of PD, advocating for models that recognize teachers as active agents who co-construct their professional pathways.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Qualitative research

References

Aghabarari, M., & Rahimi, M. (2020). EFL teachers’ conceptions of professional development during the practicum: Retrospective perceptions and prospective insights. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 5(1), 6-16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-020-00084-0

Ahmed, S. K., Mohammed, R. A., Nashwan, A. J., Ibrahim, R. H., & Khalid Ahmed, S. (2025). Using thematic analysis in qualitative research: A 16-item checklist to enhance rigor. Journal of Medicine Surgery and Public Health, 6, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glmedi.2025.100198

Akçor, G., & Ergül, H. (2025). A needs analysis study of novice EFL teachers’ professional development in Türkiye. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 19(1), 117–136. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15210710

Akiri, E., & Dori, Y. J. (2022). Professional growth of novice and experienced STEM teachers. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 31, 129–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-021-09936x

Alosaimi, M. (2023). Language teachers’ identity development post-COVID-19. Frontiers in Education, 8, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1275297

Ambler, T., Sinnayah, P., & Lim, J. (2024). Exploring experience: Teacher narratives and narratives of teaching. Education Sciences, 14(12), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14121375

Borg, S. (2019). Language teacher cognition: Perspectives and debates. In X. Gao, X. (Ed.) Second handbook of English Language Teaching. (pp. 1149-1170). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02899-2_59

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), 328–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2023). Toward good practice in thematic analysis: Avoiding common problems and be (com) ing a knowing researcher. International Journal of Transgender Health, 24(1), 1–6. https://doi.org /10. 108 0/2 68 95269. 2022. 2129597

Byrne, D. (2022). A worked example of Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis approach. Quality & Quantity, 56, 1391–1412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-021-01182-y

Carcary, M. (2024). The research audit trail: Methodological guidance for application in practice. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 18(2), 11-24. https://doi.org/10.34190/JBRM.18.2.008

Clandinin, D. J. (2023). Engaging in narrative inquiry (2^nd ed.). Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/EngaginginNarrativeInquiry/Clandinin/p/book/9781032146102

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. (2024). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (5^th ed.). Sage Publications. https://www.amazon.com/Qualitative-Inquiry-ResearchDesign Approaches/dp/1544398395

Datnow, A., Wishard Guerra, A., Cohen, S. R., Kennedy, B. C., & Lee, J. (2023). Teacher sense-making in an early education research-practice partnership. Teachers College Record, 125(2). 66-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681231161391

Eradze, M., De Martino, D., Tinterri, A., Albó, L., Bardone, E., Sunar, A.S., Dipace, A. (2023). After the pandemic: Teacher professional development for the digital educational innovation. Education Sciences, 13(5), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13050432

Estaji, M., & Molkizadeh, A. P. (2022). Developing and validating a professional development inventory: Novice and experienced teachers’ perceptions in focus. Journal of Language and Education, 8(1), 50‑68. https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.11115

Gao, L. X., & Yang, J. J. (2022). From a novice teacher to a teacher leader: An EFL teacher’s cognitions about her professional development. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.921238

Hayes, K. N., Preminger, L., & Bae, C. L. (2023). Why does teacher learning vary in professional development? Accounting for organisational conditions. Professional Development in Education, 50(1), 108-128. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2023.2283433

Huang, L., Liang, M., Xiong, Y., Wu, X., & Lim, C. P. (2024). A systematic review of technology-enabled teacher professional development during the COVID-19 pandemic. Computers & Education, 223, Article e105168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105168

Khosravi Asl, M., Marandi, S. S., & Tajik, L. (2024). Investigating English language teaching policies for online courses at an Iranian language institute. Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies, 11(4), 97–120. https://doi.org/10.30479/JMRELS.2024.19529.2280

Kim, J.-H. (2022). Understanding narrative inquiry: The crafting and analysis of stories as research (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.

Kiger, M. E., & Varpio, L. (2020). Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131. Medical Teacher, 42(8), 846–854. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030

Manning, M. N. J. (2024). University lecturers’ lived experiences of teaching critical thinking in Australian university: A hermeneutic phenomenological research. Higher Education, 88, 2057–2073. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01200-6

Naeem, M., Ozuem, W., Howell, K., & Ranfagni, S. (2023). A step-by-step process of thematic analysis to develop a conceptual model in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231205789

Nazari, M., De Costa, P. I., & Karimpour, S. (2023). Novice language teacher identity construction: Similarities, differences, and beyond. Educational Linguistics, 2(1), 1‑28. https://doi.org/10.1515/eduling‑2022‑0013

Neupane, B. P., & Gnawali, L. (2023). Narrative analysis in English language teachers’ professional identity research: A review. Journal of NELTA, 28(1), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v28i1.61371

Savin-Baden, M., & Van Niekerk, L. (2023). Qualitative research: The essential guide to theory and practice. Routledge.

Shapouran, F., Ranjbar Mohammadi Bonab, R., Yousefi, M., & Asadollahfam, H. (2024). Conceptualization of Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions of their professional learning practices: Implications for teacher development. Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies, 11(3), 101–124. https://doi.org/10.30479/jmrels.2024.19379.2268

Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2022). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research (2^nd ed.). Sage Publications.

Sydnor, J., Davis, T. R., & Daley, S. (2024). Learning from the unexpected journeys of novice teachers’ professional identity development. Education Sciences, 14(8), 895. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14080895

Terry, G., Hayfield, N., Braun, V., Clarke, V. (2017). Thematic analysis. In C. Willig, & W.S. Rogers, (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research in psychology (pp. 17–36). Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526405555.n2

Tirri, K., & Kuusisto, E. (2022). Teachers’ professional ethics: Theoretical frameworks and empirical research from Finland. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004532649

Tracy, S. J. (2024). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact (2^nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.

Yang, S., & Han, J. (2022). Perspectives of transformative learning and professional agency: A native Chinese language teacher’s story of teacher identity transformation in Australia. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.949673

Yanto, E. S. (2023). The what and how of essential thematic analysis. The Qualitative Report, 28(11), 3120-3131. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2023.6744

Zhukova, O. (2018). Novice teachers’ concerns, early professional experiences and development: Implications for theory and practice. Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education, 9(1), 100-114. https://doi.org/0.2478/dcse-218-0008

Exploring Novice English Language Teachers’ Meaning-Making of Professional Development: A Qualitative Inquiry

References

References

Volume 13, Issue 3June 2026Pages 1-35

Volume 13, Issue 3
June 2026
Pages 1-35