Teacher Professional Qualification and Development: Experiences of Professionally Unqualified Practicing Teachers as a Case Study Investigation Using Cultural Historical Activity Theory

This qualitative embedded single case study investigated the professional qualification and development experiences of Professionally Unqualified Practicing Teachers (PUPTs) in Palestine using the Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and characteristics of Effective Teacher Professional Development (TPD) as theoretical frameworks. The study responded to the significant population of unqualified in-service teachers in the Global South and addressed a gap in research by diagnosing the structural mechanisms governing their qualification experience. The study explored the alignment between the qualification program offered by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and its stated objectives, as well as the lived experiences of PUPTs within the program. Data were collected through systematic observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. Participants included 14 PUPTs and three teacher educators enrolled in the Specialized Professional Diploma in Education program in Palestine. Findings revealed a profound duality of the object, demonstrating that the program’s official goal of teacher qualification and pedagogical improvement was functionally compromised by an unannounced, yet dominant, object of career advancement. The study asserts that quaternary contradictions, rooted in geopolitical and economic precarity, were the dominant forces shaping professional development. The study offers critical theoretical implications for refining CHAT in contexts of extreme power asymmetry and provides specific policy guidance for designing resilient, contextually relevant TPD frameworks in the Global South.

Author

• Halawani, Jade J.

• Contradictions
• Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT)
• Duality of the Object
• Global South
• Professionally Unqualified Practicing Teachers (PUPTs)
• Teacher Professional Development

Identifier

hdl:1920/15237

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:MARS:1920/15237