It has been a common issue for some teacher training programs to underperform. So, the question arises: What needs to be taken into account in order for teacher training programs not to fail?


To be able to meet the needs of our knowledge-based society, the modern educator must constantly learn and evolve. Continuous training is necessary to improve the quality of teaching. Various studies have shown that the appropriate pedagogical approaches and regular teacher training influence students’ success more than other factors such as the number of students in the classroom or the teacher’s previously gained experience. A well-informed educator is able to help his students learn and improve their performance in various disciplines. Given that teachers tend to teach in the way they are taught, there is a need for a complete restructuring of how they are trained.

  1. To begin with, teachers should be motivated to continually improve and train. It is a fact that motivation is one of the main factors that push people towards extensive engagement with a subject of interest.
  2. There should be an active collaborative and continuous involvement of the teacher in the training process
  3. The theoretical part of the trainings should be limited and the focus should be on the practical part so that teachers will be aware of instructional or ideal approaches that will substantially assist them in their teaching. This requires teachers to be provided with feedback and reflection through the training program.
  4. However, in order to achieve the foregoing, the training program must be instructed by qualified trainers and not by persons with superficial knowledge of the subject or lack of technological and pedagogical knowledge of the content. It is advisable for these individuals to have a teaching experience so that they are able to relate the training program to the reality and needs of daily school life.
  5. Another well-known problem is that most teacher education programs are short-term and lack continuity. Therefore it is necessary to find the axes within which training will become continuous, uninterrupted, and certainly not occasional.
  6. Given how technology fits into the modern generation and the ways in which it is used to communicate and learn, it is imperative for teachers to be taught how to use the various technology tools. Without proper training, they are unable to fully exploit the benefits that technology has to offer. Therefore, training programs should provide opportunities to use technology as a tool for understanding and building knowledge.
  7. The era of information and mobile learning requires the systematic use of internet technologies so that the teacher can be trained remotely. After all, it is now assumed that distance education is just as effective as face to face.

In addition to the above, which are solutions to specific educational problems, there are other factors that influence the success of professional development programs. More and more in-depth research is needed to understand the complexity of teachers’ practices and how professional development can help them better serve the needs of their students.