Interrogating the continuing professional development policy framework in Ethiopia: a critical discourse analysis

Abstract

The continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers has increasingly come to be considered an important component of teacher policy reforms throughout much of the world. As part of its comprehensive school improvement and teacher development programmes, Ethiopia has recently developed a national policy framework on CPD for teachers. Arguing from a critical discourse analytic perspective, the present article interrogates the fundamental assumptions and discourses underpinning the framework. An argument is made that the CPD policy framework draws heavily from the discourses of school effectiveness, blame/derision and teacher centrality. As such, it provides too narrow a view of teaching as technical exercise, reconstructs the teaching profession as being one of mastering pedagogical skills, and repositions teachers both as central to educational success and as culprits for falling education standards. The discursive effects of these constructions are further discussed.