Content and Process of the Major Training Programme for State EFL Teachers in Greece: A Critical Review

What is important for teacher development is to seek professionalism through collaboration with other colleagues, sincere critical reflection on one's practices, sharing of problems and strong desire for self-improvement for the benefit of both learners and teachers. This form of professionalism was the expected outcome of the so-called Major Training Programme (MTP) addressed to state EFL teachers in Greece which implied that state-school foreign language learning should be transformed into a forum where informed, principled experimentation is encouraged in cooperation with other stakeholders, bringing a real-life flavour to the whole learning experience. In general terms, the MTP was a teacher education programme conceptualized, developed and implemented on the basis of the 'New School' philosophy and it followed the reflective model of teacher education allowing a role for both the trainer and trainees in the process by most importantly emphasizing the development of trainees' own ability to reflect on their teaching practices. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the MTP providing a critical analysis and evaluation of its content and process relying on concepts and theories derived from the teacher education literature.