Impact of COVID-19 on Teacher Professional Development Needs: A Longitudinal Case Study from Pakistan

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted schooling systems worldwide and led to an unprecedented expansion of teacher professional development initiatives, particularly in low- and middle-income countries such as Pakistan. This longitudinal case study examines changes in teachers’ self-assessed professional competencies and professional development needs before COVID-19 in 2020 and five years later in 2025, following extensive pandemic-era training. Using a mixed qualitative approach, the study draws on teacher self-assessment data across multiple domains, including lesson planning, assessment, ICT integration, inclusive practices, understanding learners, promotion of 21st-century skills, and professional satisfaction, alongside semi-structured interviews with K–12 teachers in Pakistan. The findings indicate that teachers reported increased competence across all domains by 2025, with the most substantial gains observed in ICT-related skills. However, the results also reveal a critical post-COVID shift. Despite higher levels of ICT competence, the frequency of professional development sessions declined sharply after the return to in-person schooling, and many digital pedagogical practices introduced during the pandemic were no longer sustained. Interview data suggest that institutional priorities, reduced accountability, and a return to pre-COVID instructional norms contributed to this regression. The study highlights a disconnect between teacher capacity and actual classroom practice in the post-COVID period and underscores the importance of sustained, institutionally supported professional development to ensure that crisis-driven innovations translate into long-term instructional change. These findings contribute to ongoing discussions on the sustainability of teacher professional development reforms in post-crisis educational contexts.