English abstract
This study is aimed to identify to what extent the professional development programs Oriented to Post-Basic Education Teachers are effective from the perspective of the teachers themselves, and whether there are statistically significant differences in the effectiveness of professional development programs and in the obstacles that may hinder such effectiveness due to some variables: gender, years of experience, and the region of the educational directorate the teachers might belong to. In order to achieve the aims of the study, the researcher designed a questionnaire. The questionnaire's overall reliability coefficient (alpha Cronbach ) was (0.82) and it consisted of (25) items, spread over 3 areas: the effectiveness of professional development programs, the constrains that limit the effectiveness of professional development programs and the factors that increase the effectiveness of professional development programs. The study sample covered ( 3371) teachers of post- basic education from six different educational provinces (Muscat, Batinah South, Batinah North, Interior region, North East region, Buraimi). The study came up with the following findings: - The effectiveness of professional development programs for the teachers of post basic education seems to be weak from the point of view of the teachers themselves. - There are statistically significant differences at the level of significance (a<0.05) between the mean estimates of the study samples in the areas of the effectiveness of professional development programs due to the gender variable which was in favor of females. - There are statistically significant differences at the level of significance (a<0.05) between the mean estimates of the study samples in the areas of the effectiveness of professional development programs due to the variable of years of experience for the benefit of teachers with experience (less than ten years, and from five to ten years) compare to the experienced teachers (more than ten years). - The lack of statistically significant differences at the level of significance (a<0.05) between the mean estimates of the study sample in the areas of the effectiveness of professional development programs due to the variable of educational region. - The study shows no statistically differences at the level of significance (a<0.05)between the mean estimates of the study samples in the areas to the constrains that limit the effectiveness of professional development programs attributable to any of the variables (gender, year of experience, the educational region) Based on the findings of the study, the researcher suggested a number of proposals and recommendations which can make the professional development programs deeper and more effective.
