Pakistani Science Teachers’ Experiences of Professional Development: A Phenomenological Case Study

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to study how secondary school science teachers describe their lived experiences of professional development (PD) in Punjab (Pakistan). The study included 15 secondary public school science teachers using purposive sampling from Punjab. Semistructured, in-depth phenomenological interviews were used as the primary source of data. The data were analyzed using 3-stage coding methods and thematic analysis. The results indicate that science teachers are the major stakeholders in their PD and they should be taken on board before designing any PD program for their professional growth. The findings strongly suggest that PD efforts for science teachers in Punjab need to be reformed. The barrier to PD learning in this study existed in different forms and mostly related to institutional and administrative procedures of selecting trainers and teachers, discipline-specific content, participant selection, and access. The study draws the attention of policymakers and PD providers to the fact that science teachers cannot act as expected unless their needs and voices are included in the PD efforts.