Transformational professional development for rural educators in Azerbaijan: An exploratory study of identity development among school teachers and principals

• In Event: Social justice, compassion and inclusion in teacher education and professional development

Proposal

This paper proposal examines how a professional development program, namely “An Educator’s Manifesto: Excellence in Teaching and Educational Leadership” (henceforth, AEM), designed for educators in rural parts of Azerbaijan, shapes the participants’ personal and professional identity development. AEM is a year-long professional development program developed by ADA University for primary and secondary school teachers and principals from the regions of Azerbaijan, excluding the capital city of Baku and Sumgayit city. The purpose of this research project is to better understand in what ways AEM has contributed to program participants’ personal and professional identity development. Using the narrative inquiry approach and interviews with program participants, this study was guided by the following research questions: 1) How, if at all, do program participants describe their personal and professional identity development?, 2) What, if any, qualities and characteristics do program participants use to characterize a strong personal and professional identity?, and 3) How, if at all, do program participants perceive the influence of AEM on their personal and professional identity? These questions help us unpack the participants’ personal and professional identity development during and after the program.

Background

Since 2021, AEM has recruited more than 100 participants from rural schools of Azerbaijan. The program delivery is hybrid, incorporating in-person and online synchronous teaching and learning sessions to accommodate working professionals. The in-person sessions take place at the ADA University Gazakh Center, Baku campus, and Washington, D.C. Center. The purpose of the program is to empower teachers, improve the teaching profession in Azerbaijan, create a network of educators dedicated to the success of their students and schools, and enhance partnerships among teachers and principals for educational leadership.

The program involves three main components: a) study of subjects such as fundamentals of teaching and learning, research methods and inquiry, instructional leadership, academic writing, and English to enhance participants’ professional skills and knowledge; b) exposure to emerging/contemporary issues and arts and culture to broaden their understanding of global issues and contribute to a well-rounded educational experience; and c) networking among participants and with local elementary, middle, and high schools in the United States through a range of workshops and field trips.

The program culminates in a Capstone Project, where participants collaborate with a panel of faculty and administrators from partner schools in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The Capstone Project focuses on improving participants’ classes or schools in Azerbaijan. A gala event marks the end of AEM, where top performers are awarded monetary prizes for implementing the project in their schools upon returning to Azerbaijan. Such a holistic approach ensures that participants not only enhance their professional and language skills but also develop a comprehensive understanding of global issues and innovative educational practices.

Research Design

This study uses phenomenological research design to examine the personal and professional identity development among educators who completed AEM, a year-long professional development program. This design is appropriate due to its heuristic nature allowing researchers to center participants’ experiences, their reflections, and how they make sense of their experiences. Exploring educators’ professional development experiences through narrative inquiry has been recognized as one of the most appropriate ways of exploring the changes influenced by professional development (Barkhuizen, 2007, 2014; Bell, 2002; Clandinin and Connelly, 2000; Johnson and Golombek, 2002). This research project aims to better understand how the program participants make sense of their professional and personal identity development upon completing AEM. For this purpose, narrative frames (Barkhuizen, 2014) were designed to capture the narrative data pertinent to professional identity development.
We employ a qualitative approach gathering data about participants’ personal and professional identities through open-ended surveys and semi-structured in-depth interviews. Narrative frames specifically designed for this study were proposed to the AEM participants online through an open-ended survey to collect data from a large group of participants. The final sample included 65 participants from three cohorts of the program. The narrative data were analyzed to identify commonalities and differences across the participants’ narrated stories.
In the second phase of the research project, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a group of participants from different program cohorts. Semi-structured interviews allow us to better understand how participants talk about their personal and professional identity development and whether AEM has had any influence on their growth. Participants (n=22) from three cohorts of AEM were recruited for the interviews.

Preliminary Findings

We have completed the data collection phase and are in the data analysis stage. Many study participants report career promotion after completing AEM. A lot of graduates of the program receive job offers for roles in public and private teacher training institutions. Participants also report high levels of satisfaction with the AEM program delivery, its components, especially the study tour to the US.
Preliminary findings show that the AEM program made participants reexamine and reconfirm the value of being a teacher as well as the values associated with the teaching profession such as honesty and justice. Large majority of the participants report stepping into leadership roles at their schools and mentoring their colleagues after AEM. In rural contexts, where participants face many challenges such as limited resources and lack of infrastructure at their schools, implementing change is extremely difficult. This study has implications for policy and practice. Better understanding of how to design effective teacher education programs that support rural educators is a significant contribution of this study.

Authors

• Vafa Kazdal, ADA University

• Ulviyya Tofiq Mikayilova, ADA University

• Abbas Abbasov, The University of Texas at El Paso