An investigation of the effectiveness of the school- based workshops approach to staff development in secondary schools in Botswana

Abstract

The development of staff in any organization in order to attain quality results is a sine qua non. The human resource of any organization, including schools and colleges is central to its effectiveness. What matters is the model that is used to enable the development of staff, in this case the development of teachers in secondary schools. This article argues that the school-based workshops as a component of staff development in the schools is the most effective due to several reasons, among them, the contextuality of the approach, its needs-driven nature, and the collaboration and teamwork that are its hallmark. Apart from the above, the study highlights some advantages that accrue such as being cost-effective and time saving and not being disruptive to the teaching and learning processes. The study combines both the qualitative and quantitative approaches to research. Key words: staff development; school-based staff development; Botswana; school-focused