IATEFL GISIG Newsletter, Vol. XVIII (2005) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AS A GLOBAL ISSUE Gabriel Díaz Maggioli In most professions, the need for ongoing and proactive professional development is seen as a driving force both for learning and development within the organization. In this sense, organi zations invest a significant amount of resources on activities aimed at furthering and deepen ing the knowledge and skills of the professionals they employ with the conviction that these actions have a positive impact on their daytoday performance. In the field of English Language Teaching (henceforth ELT) the status of professional development is not so clear as one would expect. Although embraced as a valid belief by many, the actual implementation of professional development programs has suffered from limitations, which render it ineffective at times. At a recent gathering of ELT teachers from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Australia, this lack of direction in professional development became apparent. During the “Amazing Young Minds” conference organized by Pearson Longman in the United Kingdom in July 2005, I decided to explore the issue from a more global perspective. Through unstructured interviews and surveys give to the 50 odd participants, the following were identified as problems affecting all the teachers present in terms of their professional development: Lack of adequate preparation for trainers Participants complained about the fact that most trainers do not contextualize their content to the situation of the schools they are supposed to advise, and that a one sizefitsall approach is generally adopted. Lack of systematization of professional development efforts Often, professional development events are a oneshot attempt at communicating new ideas. These ideas are generally dictated by current fads or trends in the profession thus failing to adequately respond to the pressing needs teachers experience on a daytoday basis. Lack of time Professional development events are seldom extensive in terms of their duration, and are limited to intensive communication of information for brief periods of time. Lack of money Embarking on professional development endeavours requires adequate funding. Given the economic situation of teachers and educational institutions, these funds are not always readily available. Abundance of courses to choose from In contrast to the fact that actual investment of time and resources on professional development is limited, the offer of development opportunities is vast, which makes it difficult for teachers to choose the most adequate source. Lack of recognition and incentives Having completed their professional development session, teachers do not perceive significant rewards in terms of their professional positioning or in terms of economic improvements. Lack of support and follow up Most professional development events do not provide adequate support systems for the teachers who are to implement changes in their teaching. Thus, the transfer of the knowledge gained in the event to the actual classroom is made even more cumbersome.