Koşar, G. (2020). A phenomenological study of the place
of joining Erasmus+ Program in pre-service English
teachers’ professional development. International
Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET),
7(3). 878-889.
https://iojet.org/index.php/IOJET/article/view/883
Received: 04.04.2020
Received in revised form: 14.05.2020
Accepted: 20.05.2020
A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE PLACE OF JOINING ERASMUS+
PROGRAM IN PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Research Article
Gülten Koşar
Hatay Mustafa Kemal University
gencoglugulten@gmail.com
Dr. Gülten KOŞAR is working in the department of English Language Teaching at Hatay
Mustafa Kemal University. Her research concentrations include second language learning,
teaching language skills, language teacher education, and teaching English to adult and young
learners.
Copyright by Informascope. Material published and so copyrighted may not be published
elsewhere without the written permission of IOJET.
https://iojet.org/index.php/IOJET/article/view/883
mailto:gencoglugulten@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4687-4382
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878
A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE PLACE OF JOINING
ERASMUS+ PROGRAM IN PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Gülten Koşar
gencoglugulten@gmail.com
Abstract
This phenomenological research aims to explore the place of the Erasmus+ program (EP)
in enhancing pre-service English teachers’ (PSETs) professional development. Additionally,
this study targets learning about their experiences in the EP and their recommendations on how
the program could be ameliorated to better serve prospective PSET participants. The data
collected through in-depth interviewing were analysed adopting an inductive approach. The
findings revealed that the PSETs believed participating in the EP helped them to develop their
speaking skills and broaden their extant knowledge of different cultures, yet they
overwhelmingly pointed out that since some courses they took at the host universities were not
directly related to the field of English language teaching, the EP did not significantly contribute
to their professional development. The findings also demonstrated PSETs’ suggestions
concerning how to improve the EP to alleviate the problems they confronted for other PSETs
whose future plans contain participating in the program.
Keywords: EP, in-depth interviewing, initial English language teacher education,
professional development, PSETs
1. Introduction
The EP, popular among university students (Bell, 2016), is developed to support Europeans
in “education, training, youth and sport”, and it targets “stimulating the sustainable
development of its partners in the field of higher education and contributing to achieving the
objectives of the EU youth strategy” (European Commission [EC], 2019). One of the youth
strategies embedded in the EP is aiding young people in taking responsibility for their own
learning through surmounting diverse challenges to be faced in the program. The youth goals,
mirroring the conceptions of European youth, involve “connecting EU with youth, equality of
all genders, inclusive societies, information and constructive dialogue, mental health & well-
being, moving rural youth forward, quality employment for all, quality learning, space and
participation for all, youth organizations & European programmes” (EC, 2019). Moreover, a
comprehensible emphasis is placed upon mutual learning between member states in the EP.
PSETs’ professional development has been explored from a wide range of perspectives,
from the role of initial English language teacher education program (e.g., Darwin & Barahona,
2019; Ramdani & Widodo, 2019) to that of field experience (e.g., Choy, Wong, Goh & Low,
2014; Jones & Ryan, 2014; Makina, 2019); yet, no study has been undertaken to scrutinize the
effect of joining the EP on PSETs’ professional development and to explore their experiences
of the EP. The present study thereupon targets investigating the role occupied by the program
in PSETs’ professional development, their experiences in the program, and uncovering their
suggestions for improving it.
mailto:gencoglugulten@gmail.com
International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET) 2020, 7(3), 878-889
879
1.1. Literature Review
Relevant literature encapsulates limited number of research exploring the advantages of
participating in the EP, the findings of one of which demonstrated that the benefits of joining
the EP encompassed professional development, and improvement in linguistic, social and
intercultural skills (Golubeva, Parra & Mohedano, 2018). In the same vein, enhancing
professional and personal development was reported as a profit to be reaped by joining the EP
in the study done by Salajan and Chiper (2012). Another advantage of participating in the EP
was reported in the literature as the greater likelihood of finding jobs and the higher chances
of asking for higher salaries as against non-participants (Iriondo, 2019). According to Roy,
Newman, Ellenberger and Pyman (2019), the outcomes produced by participating in
international student mobility programs involved cultural, language, personal and employment
ones.
The reasons university students set out to study abroad were explored in the study conducted
by Jeanpierre and Broadbent (2016), the results of which showed that learning about a different
culture, being away from home, building up self-confidence, learning a language, increasing
the chance of employability, and improving final year grades were the reasons lying behind the
desire to participate in the EP. The most significant motive for the subjects in the research
carried out by Juvan and Lesjak (2011) to participate in the EP was related to professional and
personal growth. Likewise, the research undertaken by Llurda, Balsa, Barahona and Rubio
(2016) demonstrated that participating in the EP enabled students to feel more comfortable
about using a foreign language and that their enthusiasm to improve their proficiency in that
language grew by virtue of joining the program. The study done by Messer and Wolter (2007)
revealed that the reasons for participating in the EP involved increased probability of getting a
post-graduate degree or that of being employed with higher starting salaries. The results of the
research undertaken by Llanes, Tragant and Serrano (2012) showed that joining the EP led to
the development in participants’ speaking skills and that individual differences played a
prominent role in learning a second language in the program.
A set of determinants such as cost of living in the host country, language, climate,
educational background and distance are identified as the factors affecting mobility flows most
(Gonzales, Mesanza & Mariel, 2011). Reasons behind not participating in the EP were
investigated in the research carried out by Beerkens, Otero, Wit and Huisman (2016), which
revealed that home-ties and lack of interest in the program were the prevalently stated reasons
by students for not participating in the program irrespective of their nationalities.
The problems that are likely to be encountered in the EP were pinpointed in the study by
Delmartino and Beernaert (1998) as the obstacles with coordinating student mobility, students’
unwillingness to learn a not-widely spoken language, non-conformity between the education
systems and organizations of the academic years of the home and host university. The
significance of informing students on the advantages of being a part of the EP could increase
the number of students having benefitted from the program to date (Otero, Huisman, Beerkens,
Wit & VujiĆ, 2013).
This research was undertaken with an eye to seeking answers to the following research
questions:
1. What are PSETs’ evaluations of their experiences in the EP?
2. To what extent does joining the EP contribute to PSETs’ professional development?
3. How could the EP be improved to better serve prospective PSET participants?
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2. Methodology
2.1. Research Design and The Context
This study was designed as a phenomenological research, in which, according to Creswell
(2014), “the researcher describes the lived experiences of individuals about a phenomenon as
described by participants” (p. 14). Considering the primary purpose of this research, which was
gaining a full understanding of the lived EP experiences of the PSETs, and the rationale behind
employing phenomenological research, the reason for the research design used in this study
could be uncovered. In the context of this study, PSETs are to fulfil the following requirements
to join the EP:
a) The student applying the program needs to be a full-time student enrolled in the
institution.
b) The average grade of the applicant should be minimum 2.70 over 4.00.
c) The applicant needs to have sufficient ECTS, which is 60 ECTS per academic year.
d) Not exceeding the time frame of 12 months on the condition that the applicant has
benefitted from Erasmus + or lifelong learning program before.
e) The student should be at least a first year student to apply for the program (Hatay
Mustafa Kemal University, 2019).
PSETs meeting the above-mentioned requirements could take both the written and oral
exam administered by the commission set up by the Rectorate of the university. 50% of their
final grade is determined by their exam scores while applicants’ general academic average is
worth the remaining 50%.
2.2. Participants
Purposive sampling was used in selecting the study participants consisting of 28 PSETs
studying at a state university. Ten participants were male while the rest were female. The mean
age of the participants was 22.04. Six of the participants were fourth-year students while the
remaining were third-year students when this research was carried out. All of them participated
in the EP in the spring term of the academic year 2018/2019. The participants were informed
about the purpose of the study and their consent was obtained before commencing to collect
the data. The name of the participants will not be mentioned to protect their confidentiality and
each participant is assigned a number such as PSET 1, PSET2 etc.
2.3. Data Collection and Analysis
In-depth interviewing was administered with an eye to gathering data in that Smith, Flowers
and Larkin (2009) point out “in-depth interviews … may be the best means of accessing a rich,
detailed, first-person account of … experiences” (p. 58). The date and time of the interviews
were determined by keeping in sight participants’ convenience. Each audio-recorded interview
lasted 30-35 minutes and transcribed verbatim.
The interview questions were produced after reviewing the literature on examining higher
education students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of participating in student mobility
programs. Thereafter, the questions were emailed to two English language teacher educators
to ensure they would serve as the agents to find answers to the research questions and to avoid
the probability of leading participants’ responses due to the choice of words used to formulate
them. In light of the feedback offered by the teacher educators, the questions were reworded.
Afterwards, the interview was conducted with five PSETs having participated in the EP before
and studying at a different university to make sure the questions were clear for the interviewees.
In view of the five PSETs’ answers to the questions, minor changes were made to them, and
International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET) 2020, 7(3), 878-889
881
then, the process of preparing interview questions was finalized. Below are the questions asked
in the interviews.
1- What was your EP experience like for you?
2- What do you think about the effect of your EP experience on your professional
development?
3- What differences and similarities are there for you between the teaching styles of the
lecturers who have been teaching you at your home university and those of the lecturers
who taught you at the host university?
4- How do you think the EP could be developed to better serve PSETs wishing to
participate in it in the future?
The first question in the interview was asked in an attempt to seek answers to the first
research question, yet the answers given to it were also referred to as presenting the findings
on the second research question. Interviewees’ responses to the second question were used to
find answers to the second research question. The answers given to the third question in the
interview contributed to the findings with respect to the first and second research questions and
the last question in the interview was posed to look for answers to the third research question.
An inductive approach was applied in the analysis of the collected data. Two coders, one of
whom is the researcher, read through the transcriptions in their entirety several times to gain
an overview of them, coded them, and created categories from them. An iterative process was
gone through during the analysis via rereading the transcriptions in order to be able to arrive at
a deeper understanding of the responses of the PSETs, which helped the coders to achieve a
consensus over the discrepancies between the categories they created and to refine them.
Afterwards, themes were developed. Member checking was used to validate the accuracy of
the data and their interpretations, which was realized by sharing the findings with ten
participants to make sure the results reflected what they had in their minds (Creswell, 2012).
3. Findings
3.1. PSETS’ Evaluations of Their EP Experiences
The analysis of participants’ responses on their evaluations of their experiences in the EP
indicated that they had both positive and negative experiences.
3.1.1. Positive experiences
The analysis of participants’ positive experiences in the EP led to the emergence of the
themes of heightened intercultural awareness, higher level of self-confidence, development in
speaking skill, and opportunity for comparing and contrasting education systems of the home
and host universities.
Heightened intercultural awareness
The participants stated that by virtue of joining the EP, they enhanced their intercultural
awareness. They had the chance to gain information about different cultures, and also to
provide information about Turkish culture to the EP participants of different nationalities.
Following are the statements of two participants that could typify other participants’ opinions
on increased intercultural awareness enabled by participating in it.
I had two Georgian, eight Korean, 2 Japanese, 1 Greek, 1 Italian, 5 Polish friends and many
others from different countries. With my Korean friend, we came to İstanbul and hanged
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around when the program was continuing. I introduced our culture to him and we stayed in
my uncle’s house, he learnt many things about Turkish culture and promised to invite me to
Korea. (PSET 19)
I built a close friendship with a Spanish student and an Italian one. I cooked Turkish meals
for them and they cooked their traditional meals for me. We spent time, visited European
countries together, and I realized that we really resembled each other. I hadn’t thought before
that people from different countries could get along well with each other that much. (PSET 1)
Higher level of self-confidence
Another theme that developed from the content analysis of participants’ positive
experiences in the EP is the increased level of self-confidence. Knowing that their families
would fall back upon them whenever they needed support led the participants not to take
responsibility in their home country; nevertheless, being alone at the host institution abroad
helped them to learn to survive by solving any problem they had thought they would never be
able to overcome on their own without receiving help from family members.
The biggest contribution of joining the EP was feeling more self-confident. I confronted many
problems and fortunately solved them. If I had been in Turkey when I had those problems in
my life, I would have not been able to solve them myself. After the EP, I am now more self-
confident, and I will not ask my parents to do something for me anymore. (PSET 6)
Development in speaking skill
Having the chance to improve their speaking skills through practicing speaking without
being paralysed by the fear of being subjected to people’s humiliation appears to be
participants’ common gain brought by the program. Two participants’ statements could
epitomize those of others.
I spoke merely English for three and half months in lessons, and I needed to speak it to survive
in real life. This helped me develop my speaking skill. The only place where I spoke Turkish
was the kebab saloon I went to. (PSET 14)
I did not have self-confidence before participating in the EP to participate in discussions in
lessons because I believed that I would be ridiculed by my classmates if they heard my English.
Then, when I decided to join the EP, the drive for me to join the program was getting a chance
to practice speaking and I did so. Now, I think I can speak better because I have really
developed my speaking skill. (PSET 17)
Opportunity for comparing and contrasting the education systems of the home and host
universities
The participants stated that they also had the opportunity to compare and contrast the
education systems of their own university and that of the host university when they were in the
EP. Participants’ responses showed that while there were participants viewing the teacher
educators working at their home university as more friendly than the ones in the host university,
there were participants claiming that the importance attached to student learning in their host
universities was higher than the one placed on it in their home university as, according to them,
exams mattered more in the home institution.
After taking the courses in the program, I started to think that I am a lucky student because I
believe that our instructors are friendly people and I can talk to them anytime I need help but
the instructors at my host institution were more serious and the only way I could talk to them
was sending emails. (PSET 17)
International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET) 2020, 7(3), 878-889
883
I went to university X and had a chance to observe how student teachers are educated in that
university and compared it with the way student teachers are educated at my university. The
thing I have realized, for example, is that Turkish students are more concerned about the exams
and the scores they get, but exams are not very important at university X; I mean, permanent
learning is more significant than students’ scores on exams. (PSET 9)
3.1.2. Negative experiences
Participants’ responses in relation to their experiences in the EP showed that they had
negative experiences in the program as well as the positive ones, originating from the difficulty
in having communication with local people, and the troubles with the courses that they selected
or had to select.
Problems with communicating with the local people
Some participants stated in the interview that they confronted problems with communicating
in English with the local people at markets and at dormitories. It was highlighted by the
participants that particularly elderly people did not speak English.
I really do not know why the local people did not want to talk to us in English because most
probably they could speak English, at least could answer very basic questions, but they insisted
on speaking in their mother tongue. Interestingly, the security staff at the dormitory did not
talk to me in English, either. I used google translation to ask my questions or requested a local
friend to help me with translation. (PEST 16)
Problems with the selected courses
Nine of the participants stated in the interview that they encountered acute problems with
some of the courses they had selected and approved by the coordinator of their own university
and that of the host university. The reasons for the serious problems with the selected courses
could be found in the statements of one of the PSETs given below.
I selected courses before I went to university X by looking at the courses offered at the
department on the website of the university. When I arrived at the university, I realized that
three of the courses I had chosen were no longer offered and when I talked to the coordinators,
they told me to choose from among other courses, but choosing different courses and getting
them approved took one and half months. Well, you know, I was in university X for just four
months and spent third of it on finding courses the contents of which were in line with the
content of the courses offered at my own university in the same term. (PSET 8)
3.2. The Effect of the EP on PSETs’ Professional Development
The second research question was posed with a view to investigating whether or not joining
the EP contributed to participants’ professional development. The findings revealed that,
except two participants, the PSETs believed that participating in the EP contributed to their
professional development to a certain extent. The participants not believing that joining the
program enhanced their professional development pointed out that the courses they took at the
host institution were not directly related to English language teaching but to general knowledge
and/or literature. Additionally, they stated that it was not a matter, because they had invaluable
experiences in the EP, which was more significant to them. The analysis of the responses of
the PSETs conceiving that joining the EP contributed to their professional development to a
certain extent led to the construction of the themes of improvement in speaking skill and the
likelihood of integrating the accumulated intercultural knowledge they gained into their
instructional practices in the future. Nonetheless, those participants also underscored that some
of the courses they took in the host university were not relevant to English language teaching.
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Improvement in speaking skill
All the participants believing that joining the EP enhanced their professional development
stated that being able to speak English well was a significant part of their profession and joining
the EP helped them develop their speaking skills. The statements of one of the participants
could mirror the opinions of others on the impact of the program on improving their speaking
skills.
Thanks to God, I decided to join the EP and went to university Y. I really could not speak
English before going to university Y, and because of that, I was feeling terrible. I used to ask
questions like ‘What am I doing here?’, ‘Can I become an English teacher?’ because speaking
English well is, I believe, one of the qualities of a good English teacher. If I had not joined the
program, I would not be able to speak English now. I am sure about that. (PSET 4)
The likelihood of integrating accumulated intercultural knowledge into teaching
The PSETs stated that the wide knowledge they gained on different cultures could be used
in the lessons they would teach in the future. They accentuated that English is the lingua franca
of the world, and hence, integrating the knowledge of different cultures into teaching it might
enrich the content of lessons.
I have lots of friends from different countries now and we spent time together, hanged around
together and got to know each other and each other’s cultures. I can use this knowledge in my
lessons when I start to teach so that my lessons can be more enjoyable for my students. Any
person can read about Spanish, Italian or English culture but I experienced them and I believe
this has contributed a lot to my professional development. (PSET 3)
3.3. PSETs’ Suggestions Concerning How to Ameliorate the EP for Prospective PSET
Participants
The third research question was asked in an effort to figure out PSETs’ recommendations
with regard to what initiatives could be undertaken to improve the EP. The content analysis
produced three themes: placing less number of Turkish students in the same host institution,
training EP coordinators on how to support EP participants and widening the number of the
countries on the list to offer more alternatives to applicants.
Less number of students of the same nationality should be placed in the same host
institution.
Studying at a university with numerous students of the same nationality was criticised
heavily in the interviews. The major concern the participants expressed in regard to the large
number of students of the same nationality placed in the same host university was the
probability of speaking in the mother tongue more in place of English.
I believe that a rule should be established to predetermine the maximum number of students to
study at the same university. For example, no more than 10 students of the same nationality
can go to the same university. Then, I guess the program can be more useful for PSETs because
their friends will be mostly foreigners and they will have to speak English with them. (PSET
11)
Training EP coordinators in how to support EP participants
The possibility of having things run smoothly before the start of, during and at the
completion of the program was bound up by the participants with getting in contact with
coordinators regularly and easily. It was highlighted in the interviews that the participants
encountered intractable problems as a result of not being able to reach coordinators who did
not check their e-mail boxes on a daily basis, and thus, did not respond to their questions on
International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET) 2020, 7(3), 878-889
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time. Therefore, the participants pointed out the necessity of warning coordinators to reply
participants’ e-mails rapidly. Another recommendation concerning EP coordinators was
training them in how to fully support EP participants because they did not view coordinators
as knowledgeable enough about the program.
Multiplying the number of the countries on the list to offer more alternatives to applicants
The number of universities with which a university signs agreements for E+ study mobility
programs varies from university to university. The participants in the present study complained
about the insufficiency of the number of universities with which their home university signed
agreements.
We had really limited choices as to the universities we could select. I had a different country
in my mind but I had to go somewhere else because that country was not on the list and I was
really disappointed about not being able to go to the country I had imagined. (PSET 2)
4. Discussion
This phenomenological research was conducted to investigate PSETs’ evaluations of their
experiences in the EP, the contribution of joining the EP to PSETs’ professional development
and to figure out their suggestions for ameliorating the EP to better serve prospective PSET
participants. The results demonstrated that the participants raised their awareness of other
cultures and introduced Turkish culture to other EP participants; that is to say, participants’
intercultural awareness was heightened as a consequence of participating in the EP. This
finding is congruent with the findings of the studies carried out by Golubeva et al. (2018) and
Roy et al. (2019). PSETs’ higher level of intercultural awareness subsequent to participating
in the program parallels the objectives of the EP specified by the EC (2019) because fostering
intercultural exchange is one of the primary objectives of the EP. Another positive experience
the participants had in the EP and reported in this study is building up self-confidence to handle
any problem they could confront in their lives in the absence of help they usually get from
family members. Enhanced self-confidence is also likely to cater for the PESTs in their future
professional lives as they will obviously face problems in their professional lives with students,
parents, administration so on so forth, and their boosted self-confidence can support them in
overcoming them.
Another theme that developed from the responses of participants’ evaluations of their
experiences in the EP was developing oral skills, which is in compliance with a number of
studies on investigating the impact of student mobility programs on participants (e.g., Llanes
et al., 2012; Llurda et al., 2016; Juvan and Lesjak, 2011). Conceiving the EP as a means to
improve speaking skills is undeniably crucial for PSETs studying in EFL settings inasmuch as
they have limited opportunities for using English to communicate in their daily lives.
Participating in the EP can, hence, substantially contribute to the development in their speaking
skills. Another point worth underscoring is the significance of improving speaking skills to an
English teacher as students imitate their teachers, and for this reason, teachers should be good
models for them by speaking English well.
The participants had the chance to compare and contrast education systems of the home and
host universities in regard to how assessment and teaching was conducted. One of the issues
raised by the participants was that exams occupied a significant place in their home university,
creating a strain on the PSETs while exams were not that much significant in the host
universities, instead, profound importance was given to student learning. The participants
experiencing the positive impact of prioritizing student learning rather than exams may try to
convert dreary and exam-oriented lessons into interesting, enjoyable and learning-centred
lessons in the future.
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The PSETs voiced the problems with the selected courses in the host university, because the
courses presented on the web site as offered were no longer taught, which they learnt when
they arrived at the university, and finding courses in place of them took a long time.
Universities’ websites need to be updated regularly in order that students can start to take the
courses they have selected on time and do not lose time trying to choose other courses the
contents of which are congruent with those of the ones in their home university. Furthermore,
the cooperation and collaboration among Erasmus coordinators needs to be promoted to help
EP participants tackle any problem with the courses they have selected.
The findings as to the research question of if participating in the EP enhanced PSETs’
professional development revealed that the improvement in their speaking skills was the most
remarkable contribution of the EP to their professional development. The need for speaking in
English in the EP to survive on campus, in lessons, at dorm, and to socialize with other students
seems to be the motive for the participants to develop their speaking skills. Moreover, the
probability of reflecting the knowledge of different cultures the participants obtained in the
program in their teaching practices in the future was presented as one of the positive impacts
of joining the EP on their professional development. Since English is no longer a property of
the countries where it is the native language, enriching lessons by sharing their experiences in
the EP and the knowledge of different cultures could make English lessons more interesting
and enjoyable for students than merely following the coursebook.
In line with the findings on the PSETs’ negative experiences in the program as regards the
selected courses, one of the suggestions put forward by the participants to ameliorate the EP
for the PESTs planning to join the program was training the coordinators in how to advocate
EU participants better. Organizing trainings for EP coordinators could serve as a means to
ameliorate the program considering the roles they play during the application process, after EP
participants start to get education in the host university, and at the completion of the program.
Another theme reported in the findings is imposing a quota to the number of students of the
same nationality to study at the same host university, which makes more sense keeping in mind
the urge PESTs feel for practicing speaking English more. Some students may have a tendency
to come together with the students from their own country whereas there could be another
group of students trying to keep away from them to engage in communication in English more.
The PSETs also recommended their university to sign agreements with more universities in
diverse countries not to restrain applicants by few choices. Providing a list involving a wide
range of universities from which students can select the university they want to study at might
motivate them more.
5. Conclusions
This paper concerns whether participating in the EP enhances PSETs’ professional
development. The review of related literature on PSETs’ professional development unveils
notwithstanding the fact that professional development in initial English language teacher
education has been investigated from a wide array of aspects involving on-campus and school-
based learning, no research has been carried out heretofore to scrutinize the contribution of
participating in the EP to their professional development. The results in this research showed
that even though participating in the program did not considerably enhance their professional
development; it took a fundamental role in improving their speaking skills, perceived to be
particularly significant for PSETs. The recommendations offered by the participants need to
be taken into account seriously by the authorities responsible for the EP not only in the context
of the present study but also abroad so that the obstacles PSETs may encounter in the program
could be surmounted with their support.
International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET) 2020, 7(3), 878-889
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6. Limitations of the Study and Recommendations for Further Research
The data in this study was collected from 28 PSETs, which is insufficient to generalize the
findings to broader population. For this reason, more research in which higher number of
participants participates needs to be undertaken. To be able to compare and contrast the
experiences of PESTs of different nationalities in the EP and the differences in the effect of the
program on their professional development, researchers from different countries could produce
a paper together.
7. Conflict of Interest
The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.
8. Ethics Committee Approval
The author confirms that the study does not need ethics committee approval according to
the research integrity rules in their country.
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