SUPPORTING TEACHER AGENCY AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (IN ELTAS) IN LOW-RESOURCED CONTEXTS: REFLECTIONS FROM CAMELTA

Abstract

Research into ELT teacher development and teacher association research has gained currency over the last decade, yet with limited attention paid to how teachers in low-resourced contexts navigate professional development. The literature on teachers’ working conditions and the changing perspectives on ELT has been the reason behind seminars and multiple training activities organised on areas considered necessary for teachers in low-resourced contexts. However, the idea of necessity tends to be judged by the ‘experts’, who determine what work best for their participants. Current-day professional development initiatives require that experiential knowledge of the participants be made the basis of any professional development activities. This goes beyond basic pedagogic knowledge to the broader context in which teachers find themselves. This paper assesses the relevance of selected ELT seminars in Cameroon to argue against their sporadic nature and training that ignores the participants’ work contexts. It analyses teacher engagement in two professional development (PD) projects run by the CAMELTA Research Group to posit the beneficial effects of a systematic set of activities determined mutually by the teachers on common goals. This supposes engagement of the participants in PD activities across a period of time during which a sense of agency is gradually cultivated into automatic behaviour.