Evaluating the Efficiency of In-Service Programs on Iranian EFL Teachers’ Knowledge Base: A Delphi Study

The present study investigated high school English language teachers’perspectives on the usefulness of In-service Education and Training (INSET)classes on their Knowledge Base (KB). Three rounds of the Delphi study weredesigned: one qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and twoquantitative ones. Twenty-nine teachers were selected based on purposivesampling. The criterion for sample selection was teachers’ participation in theINSET classes held by the Education and Training Organization of GuilanProvince. The teachers were familiar with the Prospects and Vision textbook seriesand agreed to participate in the study. After conducting semi-structured interviews,common issues related to the teachers’ KB were extracted using MAXQDAversion 12. Then, based on EFL teachers’ responses to the interview questions inthe first Round (R1), the second Round (R2) was conducted, resulting in thedevelopment of a 27-item questionnaire on a five-point Likert-type scaleaddressing teachers’ KB to which the participants responded. The third Round (R3)was performed with the same questionnaire and participants to verify their viewsstated in R2. Paired samples t-tests were used to analyze the data in R2 and R3.The results showed conformity among teachers’ responses to the interviews and R2and R3 questions. Teachers expected the classes to be more practical, focusing onstep-by-step instruction and planning to enhance their pedagogical, technological,and content knowledge bases. The findings suggest that appropriate INSETprograms need to be developed and implemented to promote teachers’ quality ofpractice and, thus, students’ learning.