The Role of Continuous Professional Development in Improving Secondary School Teachers’ Teaching and Learning Competencies to Deliver Quality Education in Ethiopia: A Case of Secondary School

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to understand the role of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in improving secondary school teachers’ teaching and learning competencies at Basso Preparatory and Secondary School (BPSS). In so doing, single case study design was employed, and the participants of the study were teachers, principals, supervisor and CPD coordinator of the school and experts at district and Zonal levels, and the data sources were CPD framework and toolkit, portfolio module, teachers’ CPD plans and portfolios. The data collection methods were questionnaire, interview and document analysis, and the data collected were analysed. The result depicted that CPD has improved the teaching competencies of some teachers whereas there are some teachers who have problems in their teaching methods, assessment and evaluation, and subject area knowledge. Besides, the findings from the document analysis disclosed that there are also gaps in the framework and toolkit not to including all the expected teaching and learning competencies in line with the current literature. The portfolio module was not also well conceptualized. This implies that CPD is not playing its best role to developing teachers’ teaching and learning competencies as a whole to deliver quality education at BPSS, and implications for the stakeholders at different levels were forwarded.