Teachers who teach English as a foreign language (EFL) should constantly develop their skills and knowledge by taking part in professional development programs (PDPs) which keep them aware of the most recent teaching trends. This mixed method study seeks to explore how PDPs influence EFL teachers’ teaching practices in activating 21st century skills, and therefore their students’ acquisition of these skills. It also examines the correlation between EFL teachers’ activation of 21st century skills and their students’ acquisition of these skills. The study used a sequential explanatory research design by utilizing questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that the two dimensions of 21st century skills that got the highest level of activation were the collaboration and communication skills. Furthermore, the results showed that the students acquire all 21st century skills with different levels of acquisition. Finally, the results showed that EFL teachers’ activation of 21st century skills had no significant direct correlation with students’ acquisition of these skills. These findings could provide insights on the area of PDPs that need to be researched more in different contexts. They also suggested that PDPs designers should incorporate all dimensions of 21st equally to be activated accurately by teachers in higher education institutions. Keywords: professional development, EFL teachers, EFL learners, 21st century skills activation, 21st century skills acquisition

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As being an international language, English is described as a communication tool all over the world. The field of teaching this language is affected by the changeable characteristics of this technological era. Therefore, learners and teachers are changing and in order to meet the demands of this change, teachers must keep up to date and improve their teaching practices and beliefs. This can be done through professional development programs (PDPs) and inservice training for English as foreign Language (EFL) teachers. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify EFL Teachers' needs for PDPs. A total of 11 empirical studies were chosen for thorough review upon detailed selection criteria. The reviewed papers were related to in-service EFL teachers' training needs in journal articles published between 2015 and 2019. In this review, methods and results of different research studies were analyzed via a collection of systematic techniques. The results of the study indicated that there were eight categories of EFL teachers' needs for PDPs. Through this systematic review, authors provided recommendations for researchers and PDPs designers.

The corona (Covid-19) pandemic caused the closure of kindergarten institutions and schools around the world which forced higher authorities to shift focus towards online distance education. The impact of the pandemic was so severe that it affected almost a quarter of the people lives, public health and above all the education sectors. The present study was designed according to the Servqual Model using sample perceptions of early childhood parameters in Saudi Arabia and Jordan utilizing online questionnaires to collect the responses from 157 teachers.  The quality of the online education services provided for primary school children due to Covid-19 suffered greatly as the teachers were not accustomed to the technology of distance learning. The present study recommends the need to explore the research of the high level for primary school children’s study tool where teachers and parents will be able to deal with online platforms effectively. During the present unavoidable crisis, the article presents an easier and equitable platform for every child in the family.

Professional development programs (PDPs) are the door for teachers to learn and acquire the latest approaches in the teaching process. This study aimed to find out the EFL teachers’ needs that should be incorporated in PDPs and the extent to which the current PDPs at Taif University English Language Center (TUELC) met the EFL teachers’ needs. These aims were fulfilled through an explanatory sequential research design which used questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that teachers need to be trained on most of the proposed educational skills such as teaching skills, research skills, and management skills. Furthermore, the current study revealed that years of teaching experience is not a factor in determining EFL teachers’ needs of PDPs. They also showed that the current PDPs have met EFL teachers’ needs to some extent. However, there were few important needs that should be focused on during the designing of PDPs. Therefore, this study recommended to have needs analysis before conducting any training program as success of PDPs depends on identification and understanding teachers’ perceptions and needs. Needs Analysis enables the training programs designers to focus on teachers’ needs without wasting their time and efforts. This study contributed to the knowledge of EFL teachers’ needs in PDPs which were identified based on its findings.