Language professor professional development in higher education: a PRISMA-based systematic review

Flores-Adrianzén R.D.P.; Sánchez Trujillo M.D.L.Á.; Dextre-Beteta C.F.; Fernandez-Malpartida W.M. · Frontiers in Education (2026) · DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2026.1716171

Resumen

The purpose of this article is to review current empirical research on language teacher professional development in higher education from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and ERIC adopting the PRISMA methodology. This revision led to 10 articles demonstrating that language professors opt for a more student-centered approach and highly communicative lessons demonstrating their openness to new educational paradigms. Second, when institutions offer professional development training programs, their content should be designed considering language educators’ experience, expectations, and necessities. Not following this will favor resistance and dissatisfaction among educators. Third, even though modern e-learning tools are beneficial, language educators do not use them actively due to insufficient IT support and training; they often rely on self-learning. Finally, it is also argued that continuous training, peer observation, senior mentoring, and teacher autonomy are necessary for language teacher professional development. Copyright

Instituciones: Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola