Professional Development Experiences of Autodidactic Teachers

In this study, it was aimed to determine the views of self-learning teachers on their professional development. In this direction, phenomenological research design from qualitative research methods was used in the research. In the research group, there are 16 teachers working in Meram district of Konya province between June and December in 2023 and giving importance to their professional development. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview form and content analysis method was used to analyse the data. As a result, it was concluded that the participant teachers frequently participated in in-service training activities for their professional development experiences, used social media effectively, felt the need for professional development because they did not consider their current training sufficient, they have been learning teachers since they started their profession, and their motivation and self-confidence increased after the trainings they attended, that they have learning outside the profession and that they learn through social media, professional courses and experts, that their sources of motivation for professional development are student expectations and appreciation, that they receive support from their families, but that they are not provided with sufficient support by their managers and colleagues.