Sara Haghi - Department of English language and literature, faculty of humanities, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran
Mohammad Aliakbari - Department of English language and literature, faculty of humanities, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran
Ali Yasini - Department of Administrational Management, Faculty of literature and human sciences, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran

Despite a strong background in education and human resources, teachers’ Individual Development Planning (IDP), as a reflective tool for further learning, has remained untouched in the domain of ELT. Therefore, the current study is an attempt to investigate EFL teachers’ IDP in light of the grounded theory approach in an Iranian context. To do so, a semi-structured interview was conducted with ۱۷ expert participants selected through purposive sampling in the field of IDP from all over Iran. Interviews were transcribed and labeled as open, axial, and selective codes. The results led to ۹ main categories of EFL teachers’ IDP: identifying EFL teachers’ current status, identifying EFL teachers’ duties, tasks, and educational needs, school and teachers’ mutual agreement, setting goals, providing resources, planning for an IDP, implementing an IDP, self-evaluation, and reformative acts. Data also unveiled the causal, contextual, and intervening conditions in the way of developing and implementing an IDP. The findings of the study can have theoretical and practical implications for EFL teachers, school principals, and educational policymakers.

EFL teachers, Individual Development Planning, Grounded Theory, contextual conditions, intervening conditions