Investigating In-service Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions and Experiences of a Training Programme in Saudi Arabia: a Case Study

Abstract
This research aims to investigate early childhood teachers’ perceptions and experiences of an in-service training programme in Saudi Arabia. The methods included face-to-face interviews and focus group discussion with a convenient sample of in-service early childhood teachers who attended a training programme. Data collected during this research is used to explore the current provision of training programmes for Saudi in-service early childhood teachers and investigate the impact of available in-service training programmes on the teachers’ professional knowledge. In addition to this primary data, secondary data in the form of documents and literature was also collected. Data, both primary and secondary, was triangulated to answer four research questions on current provision of training programmes, teachers’ perceptions of these programmes, the impact of the training on teachers’ knowledge and practice and recommendations of the teachers to improve in-service training.