Teacher-centred professional development: exploring teacher cognition and autonomy in Australian English language centres

This thesis explores professional development (PD) for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in Australia. Through a sociocultural perspective and ideas of learner autonomy, it positions teachers as learners in their own development. Relevant literature and frameworks by professional bodies recommend greater autonomy, collaboration and flexibility in PD programs, but little is known about their impact on practice. The study focusses on the perspectives of teachers, their experiences and their ideal programs for the future. A constructivist perspective of negotiation and co-creation of meaning is employed throughout, with the main data source being interviews with teachers. A survey, co-created mind maps and reflexive journals give a thick description of the area of study. A key finding was that participants mostly experienced traditional PD of seminars or workshops with little chance to be involved in planning, delivery or evaluation of their programs. Teachers who were the most satisfied with their programs experienced collaborative and individualised PD embedded into their workplace culture. Most teachers wanted more input into PD and the chance to undertake activities that were meaningful and relevant for them in order to develop both personally and professionally -- abstract.