Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 235 HIGH SCHOOL EFL TEACHERS’ CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: TARGET NEEDS, REFLECTION, AND CHALLENGES Mulualem Eshete Mekie 1*& Girma Gezahegn 2 1Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia, 2Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia *mulualemeeshete@yahoo.com ABSTRACT This research investigated the high school EFL teachers’ continuous professional development target needs, reflection and challenges. Further, the target needs of the EFL teachers were analyzed by adapting Hutchinson and Waters’ model (1987). The data were collected using a test, questionnaire (consisted of five parts), and interview; these were administered to 20 high school EFL teachers. A test was administered to identify EFL teachers' present situation and difficulties, and questionnaire parts 1, 2 and 4 dealt with the EFL teachers' difficulties, needs and purposes in the program. Moreover, these were used to identify EFL teachers’ target needs centered on their lacks, necessities, and wants to function in the target situation effectively. Parts 3 and 5 concerned high school EFL teachers' reflection and challenges in the professional development program they are involved in. Additionally, interviews were conducted with the high school EFL teachers to gather data to examine in-depth results of the target needs, reflections and challenges. The results suggested that the high school EFL teachers have different views of their lacks, wants and necessities. The findings also demonstrated that the high school EFL teachers reflected that the current professional development program practicing in their school was never conducted to help EFL teachers develop their profession. Finally, the result revealed that high school EFL teachers face various challenges in the current program they are taking. Therefore, the professional development should be revised according to EFL teachers’ target needs, reflections and challenges. Keywords: EFL Teachers, Continuous Professional Development, Target Needs, Reflection, Challenges INTRODUCTION A teacher who has opportunities to develop and improve can provide such opportunities to his or her students. As stated in Hargreaves & Fullan (1992, p. 1), Wood maintains that "opportunities to learn also require opportunities to teach". Several educational theories and practices to enhance the caliber of the teaching and learning process emerged in the 20th century. In order to keep ahead with the change, Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is growingly becoming a crucial factor for teachers' career advancement. According to Hargreaves and Fullan (1992), CPD is required for teachers in http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 236 order to consistently advance their knowledge and abilities in order to improve their teaching techniques and students' learning possibilities. Besides coping with the transition, a teacher's primary responsibility is to create lifelong learners in their students, so in addition to adjusting to change, he or she must show commitment to and enthusiasm for ongoing learning (Day, 1999). In the current global understanding and intellectual and interpersonal communication English language plays a vital role since it is widely used as an international language. As a result of this, English language teaching (ELT) is a significant field, and English language teachers must keep updated with the changes and innovations in their field. Therefore, CPD is an important component in teachers’ professional competency. In line with this, Luke & McArdle (2009) and Curtis as cited in Bailey, Curtis, & Nunan (2001) stated that professional development is a foundational element in teachers' development and staying abreast with the rapidly evolving field of ELT for being an effective foreign language teacher. Since 1980s language education in Ethiopian has shifted from teacher-centred to learner-centered, the importance of teacher's has not declined. Still, to make students autonomous in their learning, teachers have a great role and responsibility to provide favorable conditions. As a result, students can reach the correct and enough knowledge; check, assimilate, adapt and reconstruct that knowledge according to their needs. Therefore, English language teachers are expected to be aware of changes in English language teaching and they have to sustain themselves with these changes. However, the knowledge that teacher gain in their department or field may not be adequate for the intensifying prospects. Therefore, teachers should develop their competency in their working environment. In doing so, teachers ought to follow new innovations, share ideas and experiences with their colleagues, and reflect on their performance through CPD. Experts in the field of education and other fields have been exploring strategies for effective professional development programs, and this can be achieved if the programs are based on trainees' needs. In relation to this, Lee (2005, p. 39) stated that in the professional development program, "administrators put a lot of emphasis on the latest hot topics, rather than attempting to individualize, and personalize professional growth plans". So that, institutions must recognize the needs of teachers to make them more dynamic, change their personal approach, and stimulate them to develop. In other words, professional development programs can be achieved and effective when it is organized according to teachers' personal needs. Therefore, before planning professional development programs, it is necessary to collect data about teachers' needs. The topic covered in the professional development programs are usually determined by the teachers, institutional administrations, or trainers. And, therefore, it is believed that the content usually reflects trainers' interests or chosen among trendy issues in the profession. In order to develop effective professional development programs, trainers' perceptions/feedback, expectations, and needs have to be identified, and the programs must be developed accordingly. Once professional development programs and activities covered in the programs are based on teachers' needs, it is easy to decide what contents to be included and to determine approach/s that will be used. For example, Koc (1992) suggests that professional http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 237 development programs planners should first determine the needs of the teachers and then select the teachers to participate in in-service training. Similarly, Dudley Evans T., & St. John, M. (1998) points out in planning a teacher training program, initially the needs of the trainees should be identified and analyzed. Further, the needs of the trainees should be categorized in terms of skills, knowledge and attitude. Finally, aims should be set, in accordance with participants' knowledge, experience, previous training, the workload and the financial constraints so that participants are selected, and decisions about the program contents are made. Consequently, bearing in mind all factors mentioned earlier, teachers’ need assessment should be done, and the programs must be designed based on the need assessment result. There are a significant number of previous studies conducted on EFL teachers' perceptions, EFL teachers' needs for professional development and EFL teachers' obstacles faced in the professional development program. Further, local researchers, for example, Abrar K. & Hailu G. (2022), investigated the CPD needs of primary school EFL t eachers. The findings showed that teachers must develop their English language proficiency skills, subject matter, and pedagogic and content knowledge. In Getachew W., Eba M. & Zeleke T. (2019), they investigated the primary school English language teachers' professional development needs during in-service training. Moreover, the finding indicated that there was no need assessment of primary school EFL teachers' training before the professional development program was designed. It also indicated that primary school EFL teachers did not perform the minimum requirements expected from them to be English language teachers. Moreover, the finding showed that primary school EFL teachers need to be trained contents like subject area, especially in speaking, writing, grammar, and vocabulary. Belilew M. & Hailemariam M. (2017) investigated self-directed and external professional development program obstacles facing Ethiopian primary school EFL teachers in Southern Zone of Tigray Region. Further, the results revealed that lack of interest, dissatisfaction in their job, unattractive salary, lack of knowledge and skills to action research and misunderstanding of the concept of professional development and how to do it were the major self-directed obstacles to professional development activities. Additionally, it is revealed that inadequate in-service training, supervisors' lack of knowledge, skills and expertise in TEFL, workload, and lack of stakeholder support and recognition were the major external obstacles to the professional development program. Finally, Birhanu S. (2014) assessed EFL teachers' self-initiated PD perceptions and practices. Moreover, the research findings revealed that despite insufficient practices, the teachers had a clear consensus on the need for employing self-initiated professional development in their working environment. Further, there seemed to have more awareness of self-driven professionalism with a few practical experiences in their workplaces. However, their school management problems, limited learning facilities and discouraging traditions of self-improvement created pressure on teachers' implementation of the self-initiated professional development. Researches mentioned above were focused on the primary school EFL teachers' professional development needs, perceptions and practices, and self-directed and external http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 238 obstacles. And, these researches did not use a clearly specified theoretical framework which guided the study and the data analysis methods. However, this study is different from the above studies in terms of the research subject and the theoretical framework used. Besides, this research mainly focused on high school EFL teachers as the subject and analyzing their target needs, feedback and challenges. In addition, this research used Hutchinson and Waters' (1987) needs analysis approach because their ideas were specific and clear target goals. Moreover, their approaches are workable for adult learners with specific occupational courses or programs. Hence, the researcher found the approaches are more practical and feasible in this research and more convenient for analyzing the target situation. Therefore, the researcher found their works are useful for examining high school EFL teachers' professional development needs. In general, in designing a professional development program, designers need to understand and consider teachers as adult learners and identify their need to ease their learning as a principle. Likewise, the professional development program/s may not be successful and may not bring the desired changes unless teachers/learners participate in the designing process. Despite the importance of investigating EFL teachers' target needs, reflection/ feedback, and challenges in professional development program design, the professional development program given at Ethiopian high schools was not preceded by such investigation. Therefore, it seems that providing professional development programs at Ethiopian high schools lacks a solid base to offer effective professional development programs. Therefore, this study investigated high school EFL teachers' target needs, reflections, and challenges in professional development programs. METHODS Participants The participants were twenty high school EFL teachers at the Sawlla and Meles Zenawi secondary schools at Goffa Zone, SNNPR. The samples were chosen using the purposive and comprehensive sampling techniques to select research participants. These sample selection strategies were used since it is the most suitable for this research. Further, the selected participants were experienced in teaching English language at high school level. Therefore, it is assumed that they have enough experience to investigate their target needs, reflection, and challenges in the professional development program. Instruments This study used three instruments to triangulate data: a test, a questionnaire (three in number), and an interview. The purpose of the test was to identify the present situation of high school EFL teachers in terms of professional development areas, as stated by Widodo, H. P. (2018), and to decide on the difficulties they have in their teaching English language. Furthermore, the test was administered to cross-check the exacted difficulties that high school EFL teachers reported. The test was developed based on the knowledge of EFL teachers' needs assessment before conducting professional development programs. These professional development areas have much to do with what competence EFL teachers need http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 239 to develop. Further, particularities of context play an important role in shaping the areas of professional development that EFL teachers need to pursue. In particular, as stated by Widodo, H. P. (2018), EFL teachers' knowledge comprises taxonomies of knowledge. These include content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge. In addition, knowledge of educational contexts, language policy and curriculum knowledge, research knowledge, knowledge of reflection, technological knowledge and literacy, technological pedagogical content knowledge, and knowledge of the disciplinary language are included in the taxonomies. These areas of knowledge were spelled out in the test in high school EFL teachers' needs assessment before conducting professional development programs. Furthermore, the test consisted of 60 multiple choice questions and was categorized according to the abovementioned scopes of EFL teachers' professional development. Furthermore, each of these scopes was represented by a different number of multiple-choice questions (range: 4 to 10). Five different parts of a self-reporting questionnaire were intended to answer the research questions. The first part questionnaire focused on EFL teachers' difficulties in teaching English language. The second part of the questionnaire focuses on EFL teachers’ needs based on EFL teachers’ professional development areas, and the third part was to examine EFL teachers' reflection/feedback on the current professional development program which is implemented. Moreover, these three parts of the questionnaire included fifty (50) items in each and was divided into ten (10) sections based on EFL teachers’ professional development areas identified by Widodo, H. P. (2018). Furthermore, the third part of the questionnaire emphasized EFL teachers' purposes for enrolling in the professional development program and consisted of ten (10) items and organized in the form of a Likert scale. Lastly, the final part of the questionnaire aimed to identify the challenges that EFL teachers face in the professional development program and contained fifteen (15) items. Further, these parts of the questionnaire are structured using a Likert scale. In addition, since the questionnaire was organized in close-ended questions, a semi- structured interview was incorporated to ensure there should not be missed information and to get information that may not be obtained through other tools. This was used to give subjects a chance for free expression of their opinion that they may not want to share with others and to collect rich data, which is valuable to understand subtle meanings in the phenomena under focus. Accordingly, this study employed a semi-structured interview which consisted of three leading questions under the research questions to allow the interviewees to express their feelings and get information that may not be obtained through other tools. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed in light of the research questions. Furthermore, the data derived from the test and questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods, including the mean and standard deviation for all scopes of the test and questionnaires. Meanwhile, the verbal data from interviews were analyzed qualitatively then the findings were analyzed and interpreted. http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 240 Reliability Dornyei (2003) contends that reliability is the measurement of the degree to which the scores on the data collection tool are free of errors. In this case, the method used to measure reliability is internal consistency. It can be measured by the Cronbach Alpha coefficient, which ranges between zero and one. To have acceptable reliability, instruments need to score at least 0.60 (Dornyei, 2003). To calculate the instrument's reliability, SPSS version 21 was used to obtain the Cronbach Alpha. Table 1 below shows the instrument's reliability. Considering that the acceptable reliability should be at least 0.60, it can be concluded that the six instruments shown in Table 1 below are reliable. Table 1. Instruments Reliability No Instrument No. of Items Cronbach’s Alpha 1 Q u e st io n n a ir e s Questionnaire on High School EFL Teachers’ Difficulties according to EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Areas 50 0.908 Questionnaire on High School EFL Teachers’ Needs according to EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Areas 50 0.968 Questionnaire on EFL Teachers’ Reflection/Feedback towards the Current Professional Development Program they are Involved in 50 0.958 Questionnaire on EFL Teachers’ Purposes to Participate in Professional Development Program 10 0.850 Questionnaire on Challenges that EFL Teachers’ are Facing in Professional Development Program 15 0.947 2 Test Test for High School EFL Teachers Based on EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Areas 60 0.750 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Result of the First Question The first research question was, "what are the high school EFL teachers’ target needs in professional development programs?" It sought to identify the high school EFL teachers’ professional development target needs and determine what the high school EFL teachers need to do in the target situation. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) regarded target needs as an umbrella term, which hides several important distinctions in practice. A more useful technique is to look at the target situation in terms of necessities, lacks and wants that were used in this paper to analyze the high school EFL teachers’ professional development target needs. http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 241 In order to get the necessary information and answer this question, the high school EFL teachers were given three copies of the self-reporting questionnaire. This was intended to identify the difficulties they have in teaching English language, determine the needs area that high school EFL teachers want to train in the professional development program, and asked them to respond to 50 items on a five-point Likert scale. Further, to realize the high school EFL teachers’ purposes of participating in the professional development programs asked to respond to ten items on a four-point Likert scale, and a test was administered to cross-check the exact difficulties that high school EFL teachers were reported in the self-reporting questionnaire. Finally, the data obtained through these instruments were triangulated with interview data. Lacks of High School EFL Teachers’ on EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Scopes/Areas Lacks is the gap between what students (in this research, high school EFL teachers) have already known and what they have not known (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). The data was collected through a self-reporting questionnaire (for 20 high school EFL teachers) and a test (for eight high school EFL teachers) to identify the lack of high school EFL teachers. Further, the questionnaire consisted of 50 items grouped into ten scopes of professional development, including five items in each. Moreover, a test was used to identify the present situation of high school EFL teachers in terms of professional development areas, as stated by Widodo, H. P. (2018), and to decide on the difficulties they have in their teaching English language. Furthermore, the test was administered to cross-check the exacted difficulties that high school EFL teachers reported in the questionnaire. The test was developed based on the knowledge of EFL teachers' needs assessment before conducting professional developmen t programs. Therefore, these areas of knowledge were spelled out in the test in high school EFL teachers' needs assessment before conducting professional development programs. Furthermore, the test was confined to 60 multiple choice questions and was categorized according to the scopes of EFL teachers' professional development. Moreover, each of these scopes was represented by a different number of multiple-choice questions (range: 4 to 10). Then, the following section shows the results for the first research question. The difficulty of EFL Teachers' on EFL Teachers' Professional Development Scopes/ Areas The difficulty area of EFL teachers in the professional development questionnaire was used to identify the difficulty that EFL teachers are experienced in performing their teaching according to their professional development scopes/areas. The questionnaire was designed based on the 10 EFL teachers' professional development scopes/areas. It consisted of 50 items (5 items in each scope/areas) to identify the difficulty of EFL teachers in the identified areas. According to the data obtained from the questionnaire, it seemed that the two scopes of EFL teachers' professional development, i.e. technological pedagogical content knowledge and technological knowledge and literacy, with the mean scores of 22.70 and 22.35, respectively, fall into the main difficulty that EFL teachers have in professional development areas (see Table 2). The third and fourth rank was occupied by the research knowledge and knowledge of reflection with the same mean score of 20.60. The fifth rank was occupied by the language policy and curriculum knowledge with a mean score of 19.85. The sixth and http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 242 seventh rank was content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, with the same mean score of 19.55. The eighth rank was for pedagogical knowledge, with a mean score of 18.40. Furthermore, the ninth and tenth rank was the knowledge of educational contexts and knowledge of disciplinary language difficulty of the EFL teachers with the mean score of 17.70 and 16.80, respectively, and falls into the least difficulty that EFL teachers have in EFL teachers' professional development areas. Table 2. Difficulty of EFL Teachers on EFL Teachers' Professional Development Scopes/Areas No Scopes/Areas of EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Mean Std. Dev Rank 1 Content Knowledge 19.55 2.305 5 2 Pedagogical Content Knowledge 19.55 2.665 6 3 Research Knowledge 20.60 1.729 3 4 Knowledge of Reflection 20.60 1.729 4 5 Pedagogical Knowledge 18.40 3.118 8 6 Knowledge of Educational Context 17.70 1.838 9 7 Language Policy and Curriculum Knowledge 19.85 2.455 5 8 Technological Knowledge and Literacy 22.35 1.565 2 9 Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge 22.70 1.559 1 10 Knowledge of Disciplinary Language 16.80 3.813 10 Test Result of EFL Teachers on EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Scopes/Areas Table 3 below shows that the test result of the participants seemed that the test results of the three scopes of EFL Teachers' professional development, i.e. language policy and curriculum knowledge, technological knowledge and literacy and technological pedagogical content knowledge, with the same mean scores of 3.75 respectively, ranked from the first to third that EFL teachers scored in the test. The research knowledge occupied the fourth rank with a mean score of 3.63, and the fifth-ranked test result was content knowledge with a mean score of 3.50. The knowledge of educational contexts occupied the sixth rank with a mean score of 3.13. The seventh and eighth rankings were the pedagogical content and pedagogical knowledge, with the same mean score of 3.00. The ninth rank was for the knowledge of reflection, with a mean score of 2.75. Moreover, the tenth rank was the knowledge of the disciplinary language with a mean score of 2.63, which fell among the lowest test results of EFL teachers. Table 3. Test Result of EFL Teachers on EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Scopes/Areas No Scopes/Areas of EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Mean Std. Dev. Rank 1 Content Knowledge 3.50 0.535 5 2 Pedagogical Content Knowledge 3.00 0.926 7 3 Research Knowledge 3.63 0.518 4 4 Knowledge of Reflection 2.75 1.035 9 5 Pedagogical Knowledge 3.00 0.926 8 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 243 6 Knowledge of Educational Contexts 3.13 0.991 6 7 Language Policy and Curriculum Knowledge 3.75 0.463 1 8 Technological Knowledge and Literacy 3.75 0.463 2 9 Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge 3.75 0.463 3 10 Knowledge of Disciplinary Language 2.63 0.916 10 Wants of High School EFL Teachers’ on EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Scopes/Areas Nation and Macalister (2010) elaborate related to students' wants or subjective needs in terms of what the learners wish to learn. Further, Hutchinson and Waters's third class of needs is wants, i.e. what the learners want and feel they need. These needs are personal and, therefore, are sometimes referred to as subjective needs, which cannot be said to be general. They are quite unforeseeable and therefore indefinable. It is often pointed out that these may differ, even conflict, with necessities perceived by a sponsor or employer and lacks identified by the teacher. Further, to identify the wants of high school EFL teachers in the professional development program, the data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire which consisted of ten items, and they were asked to indicate their purposes for participating in the professional development program and their wants and feel they need to achieve through the program. The questionnaire was organized on four points Likert scale, and the results are presented as follows. Table 4 below revealed that the EFL teachers’ purposes for participating in the professional development program, most high school EFL teachers aimed “to develop my understanding of how teaching and learning are situated in different contexts” and “to develop my understanding and assessing technological tools" were the priority purpose of participating in the professional development program with the same mean score of 3.95. The third ranked EFL teachers' purpose for participating in the professional development program is "to develop my understanding of how a particular subject matter is taught and learned", with a mean score of 3.90. Item 10, i.e. "to develop my understanding of how language is used to teach/learn a subject matter" ranked the fourth purpose of EFL teachers to participate in the professional development program with a mean score of 3.70. The fifth and sixth purpose of EFL teachers to participate in the professional development program occupied by item 5 “to develop my understanding of educational policy and curriculum and the relationship between the two” and item 9 “to develop my understanding of technological tools to teach or learn a subject matter” with the same mean score of 3. 65. The three items are items 1, 6, and 7 ("to develop my understanding of subject matter knowledge”, “to develop my understanding of how to research a subject", and "to develop my understanding of how to reflect on, in, and for educational practices”) were ranked at the seventh, eighth and ninth purpose of EFL teachers to participate in the professional development program with the same mean score of 3.60. Furthermore, the least purpose of EFL teachers to participate in the professional development program was occupied by item 2, "To develop my understanding of how teaching and learning take place in teaching my subject", with the same mean score of 3.55. http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 244 Table 4. EFL Teachers’ Purposes to Participate in the Professional Development Program No EFL Teachers’ Purposes in Professional Development Program Mean Std. Devi. Rank 1 To develop my understanding of subject matter knowledge 3.60 0.503 7 2 To develop my understanding of how teaching and learning take place in teaching my subject 3.55 0.510 10 3 To develop my understanding of how a particular subject matter is taught and learned 3.90 0.308 3 4 To develop my understanding of how teaching and learning are situated in different contexts 3.95 0.224 1 5 To develop my understanding of educational policy and curriculum and the relationship between the two 3.65 0.489 5 6 To develop my understanding of how to undertake research on a subject 3.60 0.503 8 7 To develop my understanding of how to reflect on, in, and for educational practices 3.60 0.503 9 8 To develop my understanding and assess technological tools 3.95 0.224 2 9 To develop my understanding of technological tools to teach or learn a subject matter 3.65 0.489 6 10 To develop my understanding of how language is used to teach/learn a subject matter 3.70 0.470 4 In addition to the questionnaire analysis above, interview and focus group discussion analysis shows that high school EFL teachers want to develop their knowledge in various areas. From the data obtained from these instruments, the interviewees and focus group discussion participants want to develop their content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, the use of technology in a language classroom, research skills, and language teaching methodology. In relation to this, during the interview session Miss. T, Miss. E and Mr D denoted that: I want to develop my content knowledge, pedagogy knowledge, pedagogic content knowledge or language teaching methodology, technological issues and use of technology in teaching English language, etc. (Miss. T) I want to be trained in the program contents, subject-specific research issues, English language teaching methodology, technology use and the like. (Miss. E) I want to be included in the professional development program, and the knowledge I want to acquire is content that can enhance my language skills and teaching methodologies. (Mr. D) http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 245 Moreover, in the professional development program, EFL teachers need to develop their language skills, to develop classroom language, enabling them to teach the subject clearly and effectively. To this end, Miss. N and Mr. S said that: I want to be included and get knowledge in the professional development program issues which enable me to develop my language skills … and to develop a specific language which enables me to deliver or teach the subject clearly and effectively. (Miss. N) I prefer to be included in the professional development program, like issues which can enhance my language skills, issues on English language teaching methodology, and contents which enable me to enhance my research knowledge. (Mr. S) In general, the high school EFL teachers want different issues to achieve and to be included in the professional development program during the interview and focus group discussion. Therefore, program designers and stakeholders should consider the high school EFL teachers' wants to develop their profession and improve students' achievement. The necessity of High School EFL Teachers' on EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Scopes/Areas Necessities are the most important tenure to identify the target needs. These are the types of needs determined by the demands of the target situation and what the learners or trainees have to know to function effectively in the target situation. In the present study, researchers tried to denote the necessities of high school EFL teachers through a self- reported questionnaire which consists of fifty items on 5 points Likert scale (1= Strongly Agree, 2=Agree, 3= Undecided, 4= Disagree and 5= Strongly Disagree). The questionnaire result was triangulated with interview and focus group discussion results. The Needs of EFL Teachers on EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Scopes/Areas The need area of EFL teachers in the professional development questionnaire was used to identify the preference of EFL teachers needs to train in their professional development program. The questionnaire consisted of 50 questions designed to identify the preference of EFL teachers to train in their professional development program per the identified scopes of professional development. When the responses that the participants gave to the questionnaire mentioned above were analyzed, it seemed that the three scopes of professional development, i.e. pedagogical knowledge (M= 22.55), content knowledge (M= 22.50) and technological knowledge and literacy (M= 22.50), fall into the highly preferred that EFL teachers need to train in their professional development program (see Table 5). On the other hand, the fourth and fifth rank was occupied by the knowledge of educational contexts (M= 22.40) and pedagogical content knowledge (M= 22.35). The research knowledge occupied the sixth rank with a mean score of 22.30. The seventh and eighth rank was the technological pedagogical content knowledge (M= 22.20) and knowledge of a disciplinary language (M= 22.05). The ninth rank was for the knowledge of reflection, with a mean score of 22.00. Moreover, the tenth rank was the language policy and curriculum knowledge need of the EFL teachers with a mean score of 21.75 and falls into the least preferred that EFL teachers need to train in the professional development program. http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 246 Table 5: The Needs of EFL Teachers on EFL Teachers' Professional Development Scopes/Areas No Scopes/Areas of EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Mean St. Dev Rank 1 Content Knowledge 22.50 2.19 2 2 Pedagogical Content Knowledge 22.35 2.47 5 3 Research Knowledge 22.30 1.98 6 4 Knowledge of Reflection 22.00 2.18 9 5 Pedagogical Knowledge 22.55 2.09 1 6 Knowledge of Educational Context 22.40 1.93 4 7 Language Policy and Curriculum Knowledge 21.75 1.51 10 8 Technological Knowledge and Literacy 22.50 2.56 3 9 Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge 22.20 2.35 7 10 Knowledge of Disciplinary Language 22.05 2.53 8 Result of the Second Question The second research question sought to identify the high school EFL teachers' reflections on the current professional development program. In order to get the necessary information for this research question, the high school EFL teachers were asked to respond to a self-reporting questionnaire to examine their reflection on the current professional development program. The questionnaire consisted of 50 items on a five-point Likert scale, and the number is opposite to the questionnaire used to identify EFL teachers' target needs. Further, the data obtained from the questionnaire was triangulated with interview and focus group discussion results, and the data analysis is presented below. EFL Teachers’ Reflections/Feedbacks on the Current Professional Development Program Based on the Scopes The reflection/feedback of EFL teachers on the current professional development program questionnaire was used to identify the EFL teachers’ assessment or view of the program. The questionnaire consisted of 50 questions designed to identify the reflection/feedback of EFL teachers towards the program based on the identified scopes/areas of professional development. When the responses that the participants gave to the questionnaire mentioned above were analyzed, it seemed that the pedagogical content knowledge scope of professional development fell into the first that EFL teachers reflected on the professional development scope with a mean score of 22.55 (see Table 6). The technological pedagogical content knowledge occupied the second rank with a mean score of 22.50. The third rank was occupied by the knowledge of reflection, with a mean score of 22.37. The fourth and fifth rank was the content knowledge and knowledge of educational contexts with the same mean score of 22.35. The sixth and seventh ranks were technological knowledge, literacy, language policy, and curriculum knowledge, with mean scores of 22.30 and 22.05, respectively. Moreover, the eighth and ninth rank was the pedagogical and research knowledge, with the mean scores of 21.95 and 21.75, individually. Finally, the tenth http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 247 rank and the least mean score (M=19.55) were occupied by the knowledge of the disciplinary language. Table 6. EFL Teachers’ Reflection/Feedback on the Current Professional Development Program No Scopes/Areas of EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Mean Std. Dev. Rank 1 Content Knowledge 22.35 2.478 4 2 Pedagogical Content Knowledge 22.55 2.089 1 3 Research Knowledge 21.75 1.517 9 4 Knowledge of Reflection 22.37 2.56 3 5 Pedagogical Knowledge 21.35 1.747 8 6 Knowledge of Educational Contexts 22.05 2.433 5 7 Language Policy and Curriculum Knowledge 22.05 1.986 7 8 Technological Knowledge and Literacy 22.30 1,976 6 9 Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge 22.50 2.188 2 10 Knowledge of Disciplinary Language 19.55 2.305 10 In addition to the above questionnaire analysis, the interview depicts that EFL teachers' reflections on the current professional development program offered in their school were similar and related to each other. For example, Miss. T's statement below illustrates that the current professional development program contents are not subject- specific, and it is not designed specifically for EFL teachers, which shows that the program is not successful: The current professional development program that we are taking is unable to help us become effective EFL teachers, and it emphasizes the general concepts of teaching. Farther, the program is not specific to EFL teachers, so the result is not as expected. The above idea also supported Mr. D’s opinion and said that: In the current professional development program, EFL teachers are forced to participate or be trained with other subject teachers. Therefore, the program needs to be offered to EFL teachers separately because the nature of English language subject is different because it dealt with skill and knowledge. Although it is believed that the designing process of a program or a course should be based on needs analysis, almost all interviewees stated that the current professional development program does not align with their needs as EFL teachers. Therefore, they are not interested in attending the program, although it is an obligation. For example, Miss. N said: Surprisingly, the current professional development program is not aligned with my need as an EFL teacher. ….. I just participate in the program to complete the top administrators' duty and not fail in the evaluation done by the directors and supervisors. Further, during the focus group discussion, Mr. Y reflected that: http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 248 Nevertheless, we have been taken and trained on different issues in the professional development program teachers are participating because just it is an obligation, and we are not acquiring important knowledge to enhance our profession. The other reflection given by the interviewee on the current professional development program offered in their school was that there is no trained facilitator or trainers with enough skill and knowledge on the issues included in the program. Moreover, the school directors and higher officials select and cascade the contents. In line with this, for example, some interviewees and focus group discussion participants indicated that: … there are problems in selecting trainers, which is done just haphazardly and selected by the majority hands raised by the teachers. Also, it is not done without considering the competence of the teacher and knowing or understanding their knowledge to proceed and to be a trainer in the program. (Mr. S) The current professional development program is delivered by the trainers who do not have enough knowledge and training on the contents included in the program, even though the topics are given or selected by the school. ….. the contents are selected and cascaded from the top management. (Mr. D) … and the contents or issues included in the program were selected and cascaded by the need of the school directors and sector higher officials. (Miss. Tt) To summarize, among the most important reflections given by interviewees were the current professional development program practicing in their school was not conducted in a way to help EFL teachers to develop their profession, the current program is not aligned with their needs, and it is not subject specific rather emphasize on the general issues, contents or topics in the current professional development program are selected and cascaded from school directors and sector higher officials. Further, the interviewees reflected that the teacher selects the trainer without considering the experience and knowledge, and there is a lack of stakeholder supervision and support. Finally, interviewees reflected that they are participating in the current professional development program because it is an obligation. Result of the Third Question The fourth research question was "what factors are perceived by the high school EFL teachers as hindering factors in professional development programs?" to investigate the perceived hindering factors that affect high school EFL teachers in the professional development program they are practicing. In order to answer this research question, the high school EFL teachers were asked to respond to a self-reporting questionnaire which intended to investigate their perceived hindering factors in the current professional development program. Furthermore, the questionnaire consists of 15 items and is organized on a five-point Likert scale (5=Most Serious, 4= More Serious, 3= Serious, 2= Less Serious and 1=Least Serious). Additionally, the data obtained from the questionnaire was triangulated with interview and focus group discussion results. http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 249 EFL Teachers’ Challenges Faced in Professional Development Program From table 7, the most hindering factors that affect EFL teachers’ participation in the professional development program were item 11, "Professional development program is not well planned and managed", and item 13 ", Low level of understanding of stakeholders toward professional development program” that occupied the first and second rank with the mean score of 4.25 and 4.05 respectively. The third, fourth and fifth hindering factors that affect EFL teachers’ participation in the professional development program were ranked and occupied by item 3, "Lack of budget”, item 10 “, Less committeemen/moral of teachers to their profession", and item 12 "Lack of support from the stakeholders” with the same mean score of 3.80. The sixth, seventh and eighth rank towards the hindering factors that affect EFL teachers’ participation in the professional development program was occupied by item 15, "Lack of knowledge of teachers toward professional development program” (M=3.75), item 2 “, Lack of resources” (M=3.70) and item 4 “Lack of trained professional development program facilitators” (M=3.60). Item 1, "The less commitment of leaders to support professional development program", ranked as the ninth hindering factor that affects EFL teachers’ participation in the professional development program with a mean score of 3.50, and item 14 ", Lack of incentives” (M=3.40) ranked tenth. The eleventh and twelfth hindering factors were occupied by item 5, "Workload", and item 9 ", Suitability of provision/ poor delivery of professional development program", with the same mean score of 3.35. Further, item 6, "Shortage of time for teachers", and item 8 ", The content of professional development program does not address my needs and wants", were ranked thirteenth and fourteenth hindering factors with the same mean score of 3.30. The last ranked and the least hindering factor was item 7, "Lack of support from colleagues", with a mean score of 3.25. Table 7. Challenges EFL Teachers Face in Professional Development Program No Hindering Factors Mean Std. Dev Rank 1 The less commitment of leaders to supporting professional development program 3.50 1.051 9 2 Lack of resources 3.70 1.218 7 3 Lack of budget 3.80 1.105 3 4 Lack of trained professional development program facilitators 3.60 1.142 8 5 Workload 3.35 1.309 11 6 Shortage of time for teachers 3.30 1.129 13 7 Lack of support from colleagues 3.25 1.118 15 8 The content of the professional development program does not address my needs and wants 3.30 1.129 14 9 Suitability of provision/ Poor delivery of professional development program 3.35 1.137 12 10 Less committeemen/moral of teachers to their profession 3.80 1.281 4 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 250 11 The Professional Development program is not well planned and managed 4.25 1.070 1 12 Lack of support from the stakeholders 3.80 1.005 5 13 Low level of understanding of stakeholders toward professional development program 4.05 .999 2 14 Lack of incentives 3.40 1.231 10 15 Lack of knowledge of teachers toward professional development program 3.75 1.209 6 Moreover, most of the hindering factors identified in the questionnaire above were reinforced by results gained from the interview and focus group discussion. From the data obtained from these instruments the interviewees and focus group discussion participants indicated the challenges they are facing in the current professional development program were lack of interest and motivation, redundancy of contents included in the program, lack of supervision, feedback and support from program facilitators and trainers, and teachers' workload. In connection to this, for example, Miss. E, Miss. N and Mr. D denoted that: The main challenge that we are facing during the program is the contents are similar for a long time, there is a lack of supervision and feedback from the trainers, and it results in a lack of interest in the teachers. (Miss. E) The main challenge we are encountering in the current professional development program is that the contents included are not subject-specific and are not designed based on the need assessment. (Miss. N) The main challenge we are encountering in the current professional development program is a lack of supervision and support from the stakeholders. The other problem is the teachers' workload. (Mr. D) Moreover, the current program is not in line with EFL teachers' needs since the current professional development program is not subject-specific and lacks trained facilitators and trainers. To this end Miss. Tt and Mr. D said that: The professional development program we are taking is not satisfying my need as an EFL teacher, and the contents or issues included in the program were selected and cascaded by the need of the school directors and sector higher officials. (Mr. Tt) The current professional development program is delivered by the trainers who do not have enough knowledge and competence on the contents included in the program, even though the topics are given or selected by the school. (Mr. D) In general, among the most significant hindering factors designated by the interviewee, there were different challenges they faced in the current professional development program. Therefore, stakeholders should consider the identified factors to achieve the intended outcome of the professional development program. http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 251 CONCLUSIONS From the research findings, the following conclusions are made. First, the high school EFL teachers have difficulty with the ten identified EFL teachers' scopes of professional development even though the extent is varied. The content of the professional development program should cover the gap between what EFL teachers have already known and what they have not known. Third, related to what the high school EFL teachers want and feel they need, they have related demands and need to develop in the professional development program. The last component and the most important tenure to identify the target needs are necessities. In the present study, high school EFL teachers have similar demands on the scopes of EFL teachers' professional development program in order to function effectively in the target situation. Second, the high school EFL teachers were not comfortable with the current professional development program they are taking. Moreover, this happened because the program was not subject-specific, not aligned with their target needs, and school directors and higher officials selected content. Finally, there are various hindering factors that high school EFL teachers face in the current professional development program they are taking. Therefore, the professional development program should be revised, and stakeholders should undertake program evaluation. The program should consider the high school EFL teachers' target needs in the professional development program. Further, the professional development program must be cognizant of the high school EFL teachers' reflection/feedback and the challenges that the high school EFL teachers face if it is intended to achieve its aim. REFERENCES Abrar kedir & Hailu Gutema (2022). Primary School EFL Teachers’ Continuous Professional Development Needs. Communication and Linguistics Studies. Vol. 8, No. 1, 2022, pp. 1- 15. DOI: 10.11648/j.cls.20220801.11 Bailey, K., Curtis, A. &Nunan, D. (2001). Pursuing professional development: the self as source. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle. Belilew M. & Hailemariam M. (2017). An Insight into Professional Development Obstacles Facing Ethiopian Primary School EFL Teachers. International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching & Research. Volume 5, Issue 17, spring. Berwick, R. (1989). Needs assessment in language programming: From theory to practice. In R.K. Johnson (ed.), The second language curriculum (pp. 48–62). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Birhanu S. (2014). EFL Teachers’ Self-Initiated Professional Development: Perceptions and Practices. Educational Research and Reviews. Vol. 9(21), pp. 1109-1114, 10 November, 2014. DOI: 10.5897/ERR2014.1898 Brindley, G. (1989). The Role of Needs Analysis in Adult ESL Program Design. In R. Johnson (Ed.). The Second Language Curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 Copyright © The Author(s) Vol. 3, No. 4, October 2022 e-ISSN: 2723-4126 p-ISSN: 2776-8880 252 Day, C. (1999). Developing teachers: The challenges of lifelong learning. London: Falmer Press. Dornyei, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Dudley Evans, T., & St. John, M. (1998). Developments in ESP: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fullan, M., & Hargreaves, A. (2002). Teacher development and educational change. New York: Routledge. Getachew W., Eba M. & Zeleke T. (2019). Primary school EFL teachers’ professional development needs in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State. International Journal of Management, Technology and Engineering. Volume IX, Issue II, FEBRUARY/2019, ISSN No: 2249-7455 Page No: 1029 Hargreaves, A., and Fullan, M. G. (Eds.). (1992). Understanding teacher development. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University. Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Hutchinson, T., Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 53–56. Koc, S. (1992). University, Ankara, Turkey. Teachers on-line: An alternative model for in- service teacher training in ELT, ELT and Teacher Training in the 1990s. Tradition and Innovation, 1, 47 – 53 Lee, H. (2005). Developing a professional development program model based on teachers' needs. Professional Educator, 27(1-2), 39-49. West, R. (1997). Needs analysis: State of the art. In R. Howard and G. Brown (Eds.), Teacher education for languages for specific purposes (pp. 68-97). London: Multilingual Matters. Widodo, H. P. (2018). Needs Assessment in Professional Development (PD). The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, First Edition. Edited by John I. Liontas (Project Editor: Margo Delli Carpini). © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0887 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689 http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689