TEACHERS’ AWARENESS OF THE BENEFITS OF CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Continuing professional development (CPD) is an essential part of teachers’ professional life and an important prerequisite for high quality and sustainable development in education. However, the scope, purposes, and benefits of CPD are not always clear and straightforward to the teachers who are the primary beneficiaries of the process. In the context of the recent changes in the Bulgarian Ministry of Education policies regarding teachers’ qualification and professional status, the article discusses the findings of a small-scale survey with practicing EFL teachers involved in CPD about their awareness of its nature, scope, and benefits to themselves and to their students. The survey aims to identify teachers’ perceptions and beliefs about CPD, their reasons for participating in it, as well as their previous experience of CPD events.