The Reality of Continuing Professional Development for Teachers of Learning Disabilities from their Perspectives in Madinah Region

The current study aimed to identify the reality of continuing professional development (CPD) for learning disabilities teachers from their perspective in Madinah region. The descriptive approach was used through a questionnaire, which was applied to a sample of (121) learning difficulties teachers in Medina, comprising (61) male and (60) female teachers. The study reached a number of results, including: The reality of CDP for learning disabilities teachers obtained an arithmetic mean of (3.647), which is high, indicating that CPD programs are positively evaluated by teachers and improve their skills. The challenges of CPD programs for learning disabilities teachers obtained an arithmetic mean of (3.370), which is high, indicating that there are challenges facing CPD programs from the teachers' perspective. Meanwhile, the arithmetic means of the proposed solutions to improve CPD programs for learning disabilities teachers obtained (4.281), which is high, indicating that the proposed solutions are positively evaluated by teachers and are effective in enhancing CPD programs. The results also showed that there are statistically significant differences in the reality of CPD programs between males and females, in favor of females. However, no statistically significant differences were found in the challenges and solutions of CPD programs between the sexes. However, there are statistically significant differences in the reality of CPD programs attributed to the variable of years of experience, in favor of intermediate experience. However, no statistically significant differences were found in the challenges and solutions of CPD programs. Furthermore, there are no statistically significant differences in (the reality, challenges, and proposed solutions) in CPD for learning disabilities teachers attributed to the variables of academic qualification, educational stage, and total training hours. The study recommends increasing focus on CPD programs for learning disability teachers and enhancing cooperation between schools and educational administrations to encourage teachers to participate in CPD programs.