Editorial: Enhancing collaboration between school professionals and local communities

Purpose: The persistent academic underperformance in public secondary schools in Kenyan rural areas has raised concerns among educators, policymakers, and local communities. The purpose of the study is to evaluate how teacher professional training and development influence academic performance. One of the key factors believed to have contributed to this challenge is the lack of sufficient and effective professional training and development programs for teachers. There is a growing need to examine how teachers' professional training and development influence students' academic outcomes. The problem this study seeks to address is the unclear and under-researched relationship between teachers' professional development and students' academic performance in Ndhiwa Sub-County. Methodology: The study used descriptive research design and 15 public secondary schools, 113 teachers and 522 students were involved in the study as study respondents. The study used document analysis and semi structured questionnaires to collect the quantitative data, which was analyzed through descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages). Findings: The study reveals that teachers' professional training and development have a significant impact on students' academic performance in public secondary schools in Ndhiwa Sub-County. The findings also indicated that teachers who undergo continuous professional development are better equipped with modern teaching strategies, content knowledge, and student engagement techniques, which in turn positively influence students' academic outcomes. Teachers with higher levels of training and access to ongoing professional development demonstrate improved classroom management, increased use of learner-centered methodologies, and more effective assessment technique. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: From the study findings, the study recommends that schools and educational authorities should develop more structured and regular Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs that focus on subject-specific training, pedagogical skills, and updated teaching methodologies. This is because the study findings likely indicate that teachers who engage in regular training and development show better performance in student outcomes. The education policy makers should come up with the programs that forge partnerships between secondary schools and local universities or teacher training colleges to provide advanced training opportunities and access to educational research.

In this article, Janice Wearmouth, formerly professor of education at the University of Wellington, New Zealand and now at Liverpool Hope University, Rawiri McKinney, an advocate for Rangatahi who has recently completed his Master of Education degree, and Ted Glynn, foundation professor of teacher education at the University of Waikato, discuss two examples of restorative justice in practice to illustrate how community norms and values can help to encourage more socially appropriate behaviour. Both examples come from a New Zealand Maori context and interventions undertaken with young men whose behaviour was of concern in school and in the local neighbourhood. The interventions operated through traditional Maori protocols to shift the focus away from individuals on to the whole community in order to focus on‘putting things right’between all those involved in the wrong‐doing. These examples show how the use of traditional community conflict resolution processes was able to resolve tensions, make justice visible and re‐establish harmonious relations between the individuals, the school and between members of the community. The use of restorative practices in schools is not straightforward, however. The authors of this article argue that it requires that schools do not own or completely control the process but are responsive to the local context and recognise the important sources of support that may be found in some of the families and local voluntary community groups within it for addressing problematic student behaviour.

Make It So: Harnessing Technology to Provide Professional Development to Regional Museum Workers

Background: It has been proposed that twenty-first century physical education needs to be reorientated and restructured to meet the lifelong learning needs of pupils from diverse socio-cultural, emotional, and developmental backgrounds. It follows that quality physical education (PE) Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for practising professionals are needed to support these aims. In Scotland, professional and policy-making groups have specifically called for at least 120 minutes of quality physical education to be delivered each week by appropriately trained staff. Purpose: This paper highlights three phases of PE CPD beginning in 2001 that have been structured to include teaching professionals working in Scottish primary schools. We illustrate how collaborative learning communities emerged through the PE CPD. While emphasising the merits of collaborative learning principles, we also describe how these learning communities operated as complex educational systems. We specifically discuss how these communities were linked in a ‘nested’ relationship with local schools and local authorities. We also discuss how learning communities self-organised and innovated in relation to the instigation of ‘turbulent’ practices and knowledges. Findings: The study follows ten practitioners who participated in Basic Moves PE CPD programmes over the past 10 years in Scotland. During the initial phase (2001–2004), the participants were enthused about the reflective and collaborative learning model that was used in regular workshops and courses. These members felt that this approach to PE CPD improved on traditional one-day and generic courses. In Basic Moves PE CPD courses, administrators provoked critical and even uncomfortable discussions in order to challenge teachers' pre-existing views of physical education. Consequently, the group organised and emerged as a ‘community of practice’. Many of the study participants continued to work together and even became Basic Moves PE CPD instructors themselves. However, as the programme increased in popularity and expanded to a national level in 2004, the PE CPD followed an ‘empty vessel’ model, whereby new participants were given course material over a short duration in a few centralised workshops. Feedback suggested that this ‘top down’ approach would not facilitate the emergence of learning communities, as many of those involved in local PE delivery became isolated and felt marginalised in their practice. Subsequent discussions led to the development of learning communities that were supported in local communities by former and current participants. These ‘tutor networks’ reflected the complex relationships that existed between pupils, teachers, headteachers, PE specialists, local authority managers and policy makers. Conclusion: Our analysis suggests that the PE practitioners in our study worked alongside a range of educational stakeholders within a broader ‘nested system’ that was constantly evolving and changing. Accordingly, we argue that contemporary PE CPD must challenge practitioners to become critical and innovative learners in the context of dynamic learning communities. This version of PE CPD requires sustained support at the local level and directly involves PE practitioners, their peers, and local authority leadership in the planning and operational phases.

Getting to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Professional Development in University Faculty

Contributors

Basic education is the primary foundation for the development of individuals and societies. The quality of basic education plays an important role in shaping the character, knowledge, and skills of future generations. The research is aimed at analyzing the quality of primary education institutions, the process of improving the quality of the primary educational institutions through the implementation of strategic management, and the problems and solutions to improving the quality of basic education. His research method uses qualitative research methods, and his data analysis uses Miles Huberman's model of quantitative data analysis. The results of his research are: the quality of the educational institute MIN 1 East Kutai has achieved a good quality, even though there is still evil that continues to be fertilized. The quality improvement process is carried out through the implementation of strategic management, which consists of curriculum renewal, teacher training, technology investment, and enhanced partnerships. While the problems are: limited resources, budgets, and facilities; lack of training and professional development; attachment of students' parents and local communities. The solution is to conduct professional training and development for teachers, revision of curricula, investment in facilities and resources, involvement of parents and communities, and efficient financial management. These solutions can also help institutions become inclusive, innovative, and results-oriented learning centers.

Editorial

This article responds to the research literature gap in professional development (PD) for Vietnamese ethnic minority leaders. Thematic analysis of 32 interviews with ethnic minority public leaders from the northern mountain regions identified PD needs of leaders from disadvantaged backgrounds including (i) ideological and political training, (ii) contemporary issues in local communities, (iii) diversity and inclusion training, and (iv) leadership skills. Three key barriers to their participation in PD were also found, namely (i) poor learning environment, (ii) lack of community engagement experience, and (iii) limited government and employer support. This study underscored that northern mountain ethnic minority leaders encounter ‘mountainous challenges’ when participating in PD activities. The paper concluded with strategies towards more effective PD for ethnic minority leaders in the northern mountain regions of Vietnam. The article carries practical and policy implications for PD developers as well as ethnic minority researchers and practitioners.

Foreword by Dennis Sparks Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction What Has Happened Since the First and Second Editions The Enduring Challenges of Professional Development Carrying on Susan Loucks-Horsley's Work Purpose of the Book Changes in the Third Edition The Audience for This Book Organization of the Book How to Use This Book Values Shared by the Authors 1. A Framework for Designing Professional Development Inputs Into the Design Process The Design and Implementation Process 2. Knowledge and Beliefs Supporting Effective Professional Development Learners and Learning Teachers and Teaching The Nature of Science and Mathematics Adult Learning and Professional Development The Change Process 3. Context Factors Influencing Professional Development Students and Their Learning Needs Teachers and Their Learning Needs Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment Practices, and the Learning Environment Organizational Culture and Professional Learning Communities Leadership National, State, and Local Policies Available Resources Families and Communities Resources for Investigating Context 4. Critical Issues to Consider in Designing Professional Development Building Capacity for Sustainability Making Time for Professional Development Developing Leadership Ensuring Equity Building a Professional Learning Culture Garnering Public Support Scaling Up 5. Strategies for Professional Learning Selecting Strategies for a Professional Development Structures A Repertoire of Stratgies for Professional Learning 6. The Design Framework in Action Tapping the Knowledge Bases, Framing Beliefs: We Stood on the Shoulders of Giants Knowledge and Beliefs About the Nature of Learning and Teaching Mathematics and Science Equity Matters: All Humans Are Educable Knowledge and Beliefs About Teachers Knowledge of Effective Professional Development Knowledge of the Change Process Reflect and Revise: Experience as a Source of Knowledge Making Compromises Context The Professional Development Design Process Design Framework in Action: Cases References Index

EFL teachers’ professional development in Colombia has been characterized by top-down policies that neglect the regions in terms of contextualized professional development programs and resources. This article is an effort to make EFL teachers’ needs in the Eastern region of Antioquia, Colombia, visible for academic institutions and local authorities to propose coherent professional development programs. This report is based on a section of the findings of a larger study called “Diagnosis of the needs about plurilingualism in the regions of Antioquia”. Findings show that EFL teachers in the Eastern region claim for ongoing and contextualized professional development programs, differentiated for primary and secondary-school teachers, and focused on instructional material design and adaptation according to the resources available in the local communities. Conclusions from this study outline implications for educational institutions to support teachers in pursuing their professional development within their contexts, methodological limitations for researchers, and possibilities for further research for stakeholders in the territory.

EFL teachers’ professional development in Colombia has been characterized by top-down policies that neglect the regions in terms of contextualized professional development programs and resources. This article is an effort to make EFL teachers’ needs in the Eastern region of Antioquia, Colombia, visible for academic institutions and local authorities to propose coherent professional development programs. This report is based on a section of the findings of a larger study called “Diagnosis of the needs about plurilingualism in the regions of Antioquia”. Findings show that EFL teachers in the Eastern region claim for ongoing and contextualized professional development programs, differentiated for primary and secondary-school teachers, and focused on instructional material design and adaptation according to the resources available in the local communities. Conclusions from this study outline implications for educational institutions to support teachers in pursuing their professional development within their contexts, methodological limitations for researchers, and possibilities for further research for stakeholders in the territory.

Viewing learning as a social and cultural process the premise of this paper is that learner teachers’ developing expertise should not only reside in the knowledge domains typically established by universities and schools. A crucial knowledge domain that is often overlooked by schools and teacher education institutes (TEIs) is the community beyond the walls of the school classroom and university lecture hall. This paper attends to the question of what constitutes an effective teacher in an era of rapid change and throws light on the process of becoming a twenty-first century educator through examining an innovative curriculum design which has made experiential learning (EL) mandatory for all novice teachers at a TEI in Hong Kong. This challenging curriculum initiative in teacher training has enabled a powerful synergy between the core functions of our teacher-training faculty and the wider community. I seek to present findings that point to real impact on student teachers’ professional development – or their sense of becoming – and also in the way TEIs work within their local communities which are positioned as a powerful knowledge space and knowledge holder in the teacher education process. I will also show how community partners such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a highly significant role in the development of beginning teachers and how they might even be seen as ‘co-educators’ in the complex but compelling process of teacher preparation.

Motivation is of crucial importance for the life of every individual because in order for people to live, work and create, a person has to have a will, a desire, a need - in one word - they have to be motivated. Motivation is certainly important for teachers, teaching profession, professional development and self-development. Motivation is actually an internal driving force that makes an individual want to achieve something, to accomplish, to advance. No one can improve or advance unless being driven either by extrinsic or intrinsic motivation. Motivation in a person starts with the will, desire, strength, and persistence. Professional development of teachers is a long-term integrative process during which their skills, knowledge and abilities are improved through learning, work and cooperation with other fellow teachers and starting with them as individuals largely responsible for the quality of their own work. Teachers should be given the opportunity to develop professionally. However, their professional development is largely linked to their self-development as the key element of the teaching profession. Professional development of teachers makes possible for continuous acquisition, increase and improvement of their knowledge, and development and enhancement of skills and abilities desirable for successful teaching activities implementation. Professional development also contributes to a high-quality teaching process, successful and efficient cooperation with parents, fellow colleagues and the local community. The aim of this research is to investigate the attitudes and opinions of teachers in reference to the importance of motivation for professional growth and self- development.

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