Continuing Professional Development in EAP: Mapping the Landscape

In the dynamically evolving field of EAP, the need for sustainable continuous professional development (CPD) focusing specifically on the expertise of the EAP practitioner is imperative. However, surveys of the literature suggest that structured routes for EAP teacher accreditation and development are limited (Bruce, 2022; Ding & Campion, 2016; Fitzpatrick et al., 2022). Moreover, despite the spread of EAP provision in both anglophone and non-anglophone contexts, we still know little about how EAP practitioners engage in CPD, their motivation for doing so and what support is provided. The BALEAP Teacher Education in EAP special interest group carried out a survey into practitioner CPD practices at both the individual and institutional level, presenting the preliminary overall findings in 2024 (Knox et al, 2024). In this talk, we will briefly describe the methodology underpinning the survey and approach to quantitative analysis and then go on to present the second stage of the data analysis. This explores similarities and difference in responses in relation to a range of factors, including context of work (e.g., anglophone/ non-anglophone), practitioner roles (e.g. full or part-time or seasonal) and levels of experience. The survey asked not only what types of activities practitioners engaged in but also about the focus of their endeavours. We will relate findings to conceptions of the EAP teacher knowledge base and the BALEAP competency framework, again exploring key variables.