International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
prior to planning and initiating a training program. Additionally, training sessions should have more emphasis
and should be more specifically tailored to the APs field of expertise and their professional needs as well. We
also suggest that different modes of delivery be implemented; for example, training programs should provide
APs with workshops to not only practice what they have learned of the theory, but also get feedback from
trainers and peers alike about their teaching methods. As was indicated in the data above APs prefer trainers who
are specialized for teacher training and are employed professionally as experts in training within that field, as
opposed to regular staff and faculty. As proximity to one's own institution seems to be important to many APs
while training, we recommend that all training be conducted within the institution in which the APs will be
working. Additionally, our research suggests that training for an institution should include pre-service training as
well as continuous in-service training. This is of paramount importance as it ensures APs are up to date with the
most current methods and practices and are consistently learning new techniques and honing those they already
possess. In conclusion, we feel that the changes to the methodology of training future APs will not only benefit
their respective institutions and students, but also the APs themselves.
CONCLUSION
The present study was meant to evaluate the professional development system adopted by the University of
Sousse for its freshly recruited APs. It shows that this system is failing to meet the needs of its beneficiaries for a
number of reasons that have to do with several of its components. It appears that the authorities need to adjust
their teacher training policies to meet the expectations of the trainees for any program to be successful. The
ultimate objective should no longer be tenure but rather promotion of teaching quality. In other words, teacher
training should become a pedagogical provision and not a mere bureaucratic formality.
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Fishman, J. J., Marx, R. W., Best, S., & Tal, R. T. (2003). Linking teacher and student learning to improve
professional development in systemic reform. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19, 643–658.
Garet, M., Porter, A., Desimone, L., Birman, B., & Yoon, K. (2001). What makes professional development
effective? Analysis of a national sample of teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 38, 915–945.
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