Qualitative Insights into Teacher Professional Development and Classroom Practices in Bangladeshi Primary Schools

Teacher professional development (PD) is widely regarded as important for enhancing the quality of teaching, yet its influence on day-to-day classroom work in Bangladesh is inconsistent. This study investigates how primary teachers understand the training they receive and how far they are able to use it in their regular lessons. The study followed a qualitative approach and drew on semi-structured interviews with ten teachers alongside twenty-five classroom observations in government primary schools across urban and semi-urban settings. The findings indicate that PD encourages teachers to plan lessons more deliberately, focus more clearly on learning objectives, experiment with interactive strategies, manage classrooms more confidently, and use formative assessment more regularly. Even so, the extent to which these practices appear in classrooms varies from teacher to teacher. Large class sizes, limited teaching resources, pressure to cover the curriculum, and the absence of structured follow-up support often make it difficult for teachers to apply what they learned during training. Many teachers also remarked that PD sessions tend to describe ideal situations that do not match the realities they face. The study suggests that although PD strengthens pedagogical awareness, its impact depends on continuous guidance, supportive school conditions, and training models that reflect the actual context of primary classrooms. Bringing together teachers’ reflections with observed practice, the study points to the need for school-based professional learning, collaborative support, and practical follow-up processes to narrow the gap between training and classroom implementation.