Online Teacher Training in Higher Education Institutions of Pakistan: A Qualitative Study of Gaps and Aspirations

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates the lived experiences of teachers in Pakistan in professional development. Focus group discussions and open-ended survey responses of in-service faculty members at higher education institutions in Southern Punjab, Pakistan were utilized. This was part of a larger mixed-methods doctoral investigation on the preparation of an online teacher training module. Thematic analysis identifies seven interrelated themes that define the teachers’ experiences, assessments, and visions of professional development: (1) professional pride and structural frustration; (2) fragmented and passive training landscape; (3) persistent disconnect between training content and classroom realities; (4) top-down design overlooking teachers’ voices; (5) superficial incorporation of technology despite self-taught digital adaptation during the pandemic; (6) gendered and rural–urban barriers to participation; and (7) a detailed teacher-generated vision of an ideal online training module. Findings suggest that teachers in Pakistan are reflective and self-aware professionals whose development needs have been systematically neglected by an under-resourced, centrally imposed training system. The study argues that any future professional development intervention, especially one that is delivered online, needs to be co-designed with teachers, delivered in Urdu, optimized for low-bandwidth mobile access, and embedded within a broader policy framework that formally values and incentivizes continuous teacher learning. The implications for policy, practice and future research are discussed.