Educator Sentiments on How Primary School Staff Development Programmes could be Made More Effective: In Quest for Educational Excellence

Abstract

This study explored the sentiments of educators on how primary school staff development programmes could be made more effective; in pursuit of educational excellence. The case study design within the qualitative research paradigm was adopted. A sample of 42 educators in Zimbabwean primary schools; comprising 36 teachers and 6 head teachers was used. Focus Group Discussions and Interviews were utilised to generate data. The major findings were that school management should consider teachers’ staff development needs as the major priority and that the relevant ministry should also support staff development programmes in order to promote their effectiveness. Accordingly, the researcher concluded that the efficacy of primary school staff development could be enhanced if all stakeholders would work together in order to ensure their effectiveness while educators should be made to realise the importance of staff development programmes as being part of their professional development.