School-based Teacher Professional Development Research Articles

Adult learning theory tenets: A panacea to ICT skills gaps among educators in South Africa

The integration of information communication technology (ICT) in education is vital for achieving educational objectives, and South Africa has undertaken diverse efforts and initiatives to promote this integration in schools. Despite policy support and financial backing, there persists a gap in educators' ICT skills uptake. This paper adopted conceptual analysis to make sense of the principles of adult learning theory (ALT) as a veritable tool for improving ICT skills uptake among educators. The paper outlines the Department of Basic Education's efforts in promoting ICT integration in schools and discusses the associated challenges. Overall, the article advances ALT tenets in planning and implementing ICT-focused, school-based teacher professional development (SBTPD) in schools. These tenets include the need-to-know principle, self-concept or self-directedness principle, learners' experiences principle, readiness-to-learn principle, orientation-to-learning principles, and intrinsic-motivation principle as effective correlates of ICT-oriented SBTPD training. Based on the explication, the paper recommends reforming existing teacher professional development policies, promoting a decentralised approach to ICT training, and conducting comprehensive ICT needs assessments to design effective ICT-oriented needs-based SBTPD training.

School-Based Teacher Professional Development Framework (SBTPDF): A Blueprint for School Principals in Nigeria

There is a growing body of knowledge on effective Teacher Professional Development (TPD), with a consensus that skews in favour of decentralised, school-based and teacher-centred approach to TPD as opposed to the centralised, traditional and top-down approach. On the contrary, developing countries such as Nigeria still practise a centralised education system where traditional top-down TPD remains the norm, with the attendant consequence of professionally deficient teachers in the classroom. This situation has left a deficiency in centralised district/cluster-based teacher development. This study explored teachers’ and school administrators’ perceptions on the existing effectiveness TPD, with a view to developing a school-based TPD framework that caters for teachers’ professional needs. The study was a qualitative multiple-case study informed by the interpretivist paradigm. The study used, as its lenses, two complementary theories: Distributed Leadership Theory (DLT) and Adult Learning Theory (ALT). Three schools were selected using the purposive sampling technique. Four participants were selected from each school using a combination of purposive and snowball techniques. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using the Thematic Analysis (TA) procedure. The findings revealed that one-size-fit-all centralised schools cluster TPD no longer meet the professional needs of teachers. The result also showed that participants preferred school-based teachers’ professional development to centralised approach. Hence, the study proposed a data-informed and theory-driven model known as School-Based Teacher Professional Development Framework (SBTPDF) as a blue-print for the implementation of school-based TPD for school administrators.

Challenges in school-based teacher professional development

Teacher education has a long tradition of prescriptive curriculum-based and skills-centered models that convey simplistic conceptualisations of teacher learning. Only recently, this trend has shifted towards promoting teachers' agency in their own professional development. In this work, we reflected on the challenges faced ?while building one partnership based on teachers' inquiry during and over the pandemic. The intervention was targeted to promote classroom dialogue and should have employed the use of video recordings to capture and analyze teachers' practice. The main point addressed here was the teachers' tacit rejection of the video recording and the building of a new tool. Moreover, the cordial culture among teachers and researchers did not offer space for critical reflection on practice. Overall, despite the school leadership being willing and committed to the ?programme, the implementation revealed how the schooling system does not value or ?create conditions for TPD.

Teachers’ perception of school based continuous professional development in Zambia

This study aimed to explore teachers' perceptions, practices, and challenges in Zambia school based teacher professional development programs. The survey sample consisted of four primary schools, four school principals, four schools’ continuous professional development (CPD) coordinators, one DEBS official, and 198 teachers. The major findings show that there is a positive perception of teachers toward school-based CPD programs. In addition, the results show that even though teachers have positively perceived school-based CPD well, the practice of CPD program implementation is at a low level in secondary schools. Furthermore, the study findings indicated the lack of teachers' support from school management and supervisors and lack of collaboration with teachers and school leaders were among the factors that affected the implementation of the CPD program. The study also shows that teachers with more teaching experience positively perceive the school-based CPD programs, and teachers with degree holders practice more CPD activities than diploma holders.

The Implementation of School-Based Teacher Professional Development in a Selected South African Rural Context: A Need for Change to Deal with Crises

This paper examines the dynamics experienced by teachers, school principals and the circuit manager in implementing school-based teacher professional development (SBTPD) in a selected South African rural context in dealing with crises such as COVID-19. Teachers, school principals and the circuit manager are not appropriately equipped to meet the challenges and needs of this developing country through the accurate implementation of school-based teacher professional development. The advent of COVID-19 has compounded such challenges, particularly in rural schools. Underpinned in the qualitative interpretive approach and using a multiple case study as a mode of inquiry, this paper employed four schools in one education circuit. It generated data through interviews with the circuit manager and each of the four school principals as well as focus group discussions with all teachers in each school. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that the researched schools solely relied on the cascade model to implement SBTPD and that there was a lack of collaborative practices among teachers. Considering the findings, this paper suggests that schools initiate their school-based programmes designed to accommodate crises and that teachers, school principals and the circuit manager (CM) undergo capacity-building in appropriately implementing SBTPD, particularly during crises. Keywords: School-Based Teacher Professional Development, Teacher Professional Development, COVID-19, Rural contexts, Dealing with situational crises

Peer Observation of Teaching as an approach for School based Teacher Professional Development: Minghang Senior High School Teachers’ Perspectives

Teacher professional development is regarded as one of the key factors that help in achieving quality in education, especially in the developing and less developed countries where a large number of teachers do not have any teacher education, and education institutions are still dependent to great extent on the traditional methods in teacher preparation.
 This study mainly aimed at exploring (Minhang Senior High School – Shanghai - China) teachers’ views on using peer observation of teaching as an approach for school based professional development and knowing the extent of its effectiveness in enhancing teaching practice according to their views. As it also aimed at investigating the extent of teachers’ perception for how peer observation of teaching is done.

Timor-Leste: reforming the education system through school leader capacity building and school-based teacher professional development

ABSTRACT After decades of conflict with Indonesia, Timor-Leste is gradually rebuilding its education infrastructure and reclaiming its identity as an independent country. In the first decade post-independence the education sector faced many challenges, including a lack of school buildings and resources, the need to replenish and upskill the Timorese teacher workforce, and inappropriate curriculum. In more recent years, a locally written child-centred curriculum has been rolled out and a systematic and ongoing school leadership and teacher professional development programme has gradually been established. The programme requires school leaders to support ongoing teacher professional development, and to participate in regular mentor visits. The underlying change model focuses on school leader capacity building, so principals work with their teachers to improve their classroom skills, with resultant impact on student learning. This article provides details of the leadership programme and reports some results for the school regions initially involved regarding leader and teacher skills improvement and student learning outcomes. The results provide early indications of the value for developing countries of a leadership capacity-building and school-based teacher professional development programme which involves a whole-of-system approach and ongoing mentor support and monitoring.

An investigation of school based continuous professional development: Perception, practices and challenges

This paper aims to explore teachers' perceptions, practices and challenges of school-based teacher professional development program. The survey sample consisted of four secondary and preparatory schools, four school principals, four school continuous professional development (CPD) coordinators, one CPD focal person and 198 teachers. The major findings of the study were 1) there was positive perception of teachers toward school based CPD program in the study area, and 2) even though teachers have positively perceived but the practice of CPD program implementation is at low level in the sampled school. As the findings of the study confirmed, teachers’ lack of support from school management and supervisors, and lack of collaboration with teachers and school leaders were among the factors that affected the implementation of CPD program in the stduyarea.The study also indicate as teachers with more teaching experience relatively positively perceive the programs and teachers with 2nd degree holders practice more CPD activities than 1st degree holders in the study area. On the basis of these results, some suggested were recommended for policy makers and future research.

Challenges and Opportunities in the Implementation of School-Based Teacher Professional Development: A Case from Kenya

This study investigated how a school-based professional development programme, designed by the Headteacher and staff of a Kenyan primary school, and delivered by a Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) team, supported teacher learning and growth. The TESSA team observed teaching in the classroom before the implementation of the school-based teacher professional programme. This was followed by the training of the teachers in the school. The TESSA team did an evaluation of the school-based training programme through classroom observation, an interview schedule and a teacher questionnaire. The evaluations were done three months and one year, respectively, after the school-based training. The findings indicate that teachers experienced professional growth through collaborative learning with colleagues, used a greater range of approaches and learned to self-reflect on their classes with more use of active learning. Teachers made productive use of textbooks as well as accessing and using TESSA OER in teaching.

Interconnectedness and difference between action research and a lesson design study in Shanghai, China

ABSTRACTThe professional development of teachers in China takes place, to a large extent, in Teaching Research Groups (TRG) that exist in all schools. Though there are diverse models of TRG activities, these might, on the surface, appear to resemble forms of Action Research (AR) or include elements that might resemble AR. In conducting a Lesson Design Study (LDS) with a TRG in Shanghai, we encountered the specific challenge of what might be the interconnectedness and differences between AR and our LDS. To address this issue, we applied a research-informed depiction of the distinguishing characteristics of AR to our LDS. Based on this analysis, we found that (1) in contrast to the depiction of AR that encompasses a choice of methods, our LDS follows a specific ‘design research’ methodology, (2) whereas the depiction of AR is simultaneously directed towards teacher self-change and restructuring the organisation or institution within which the teacher works, LDS concerns more than the practical questions in one local social context and aims to tackle bigger questions across the social contexts in the subject research field, and (3) whereas in the depiction of AR, teachers engage in a process of authentic collaboration with other teachers seeking to improve their practices, in the LDS community the external researchers and expert teachers play other roles in the TRG. Even though there may be differences between the depiction of AR and our LDS, the interconnectedness is important in that both AR and our LDS contribute directly to school-based teacher professional development.

A Review Paper On: Identified Effective Methods Which Are Used In School-Based Teacher Professional Development in Sri Lanka

A Review Paper On: Identified Effective Methods Which Are Used In School-Based Teacher Professional Development in Sri Lanka

SCHOOL-BASED TEACHER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SRI LANKA

Teacher professional development is the ‘key’ of the developing students’ quality of the outcomes in the 21st century. Under such a situation, teachers have to update and intensify their knowledge, skills, attitudes and practices according to students’ current expansive demand. In this context, School-Based Teacher Professional Development is a very important concept, because it allows teachers to plan, organise and implement their own professional development programs, considering their particular needs, as well as those of students and school. However, this concept has not been extensively developed in the Sri Lankan education context. Focusing on the Sri Lankan secondary school context, this study examines the possibilities, effectiveness, strategies, issues and challenges involved in implementing these programs in the teachers’ professional development. Simultaneously, the situation of the Non-School-Based Teacher Development programs are also examined because these are currently prominent and this study assumed that both programs need to be integrated in order to provide balanced teacher professional development. The qualitative research approach and the case-study method has been employed. The data were collected by conducting interviews, non-participative observation and sample-based documentary searching. According to the findings, strong recommendations were proposed and relevant guidelines were suggested for future researches.

Leadership for school-based teacher professional development: the experience of a Chinese preschool

In recent years, the role of school principals in providing leadership, and the impact of that leadership in promoting teacher professional development for building school capacity has attracted increasing attention worldwide. The study described in this paper explores the practices of leadership for promoting school-based teacher professional development (SBTPD) through a case study of a preschool in Hong Kong, the Special Administrative Region of China. The case study examines leadership and SBTPD. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The research participants were the management team and teachers from the case study school. The findings of the study indicate that direction setting, communication and collaboration were associated with the practice of leadership for promoting SBTPD. We argue that teacher participation in decision-making is an important factor influencing the practice of leadership and its impact on SBTPD. There are implications for developing a critical awareness of the constraints that limit the extent to which SBTPD can be empowering in the hierarchical school structure in a Chinese educational context.

Curriculum Implementation: Strategies for Improved Learning Outcomes in Primary Schools in Kenya

Education in Kenya requires rethinking as the country faces the demands of educational and socio-economictransformation of the 21st century. One of the general objectives of primary education in Kenya states that primaryeducation should provide the learner opportunities to acquire literacy, numeracy, creativity and communication skills.There is evidence from research reports that the objective has not been fully met. A number of learners go throughthe primary school course without acquiring the basic literacy skills which negates the focus of the country todevelop a knowledge based economy. The purpose of this study was to find out the extent to which teachers usedteaching learning resources and learner centred strategies in primary school classrooms. The methodology adoptedwas survey research design. A total of 490 primary school teachers from five counties were purposively sampled anda total of 402 teachers participated; out of the total, 70 were observed teaching and 332 filled in a questionnaire. Outof 35 TAC tutors selected, 27 participated. A total of 80% of the teachers observed teaching used teacher centredteaching learning approaches with little learner involvement. The majority, 61.4% of those who filled in thequestionnaire, indicated that they used teacher centred teaching learning approaches. Only 1(3.7%) was ‘good’ in useof resources for teaching learning in class, the rest were poor or did not use resources. It was found that teaching andlearning approaches employed in the classroom by most teachers was teacher centred and encouraged rote learninghence lacking in active student involvement in the learning process. It was recommended that there should besustained school based teacher professional development activities specifically addressing pedagogy for improvedcurriculum implementation and ultimately improved learning outcomes.

TOWARDS REVITALIZATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

This paper examined the needs to revitalize instructional leadership of primary and junior secondary schools headteachers in Nigeria, for successful implementation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme. Instructional leadership, as viewed in the paper, has to do with creating a school culture that makes students’ learning a priority and provides the resources necessary to support teachers’ efforts to improve students’ learning. The need for revitalization of instructional leadership in the Nigerian Basic Education schools emanates from the identified problems of lack of clearly defined general instructional visions in the schools in question, dearth of instructional materials, ineffective instructional supervision by the headteachers, and absence of school-based professional development programmes for teachers. With the introduction of UBE and subsequent curricular review, the paper discovered that there was the need to re-orient teachers towards effective teaching of the newly infused contents of the 9-year basic education curriculum. The paper, based on the identified needs for the revival of instructional leadership has recommended clear definition of schools’ instructional vision, effective classroom supervision, organizing school-based teacher professional development programmes among other things as foremost measures to be taken to improve this vital function of the school headteachers in question.

21st Century Learning: Professional Development in Practice

This study examined a school-based teacher professional development program as it was being conceptualized, designed, and put into practice. This article addresses four distinct, but interrelated components of the study. The first section presents a broad overview of literature situating 21st century learning. This examination specifically focuses on how this construct is conceptualized and defined by a variety of influential organizations as well as the various competencies often associated with this pedagogical perspective. The review concludes with a brief critique of this construct. The second section addresses the program areas under evaluation as well as the nature of the program and both its goals and context. The third section discusses the research questions, findings, and recommendations for action. The article concludes with comments for K-12 schools planning to implement teacher-centered professional development.

Sensitivity analyses for clustered data: An illustration from a large-scale clustered randomized controlled trial in education

In this paper, we demonstrate the importance of conducting well-thought-out sensitivity analyses for handling clustered data (data in which individuals are grouped into higher order units, such as students in schools) that arise from cluster randomized controlled trials (RCTs). This is particularly relevant given the rise in rigorous impact evaluations that use cluster randomized designs across various fields including education, public health and social welfare. Using data from a recently completed cluster RCT of a school-based teacher professional development program, we demonstrate our use of four commonly applied methods for analyzing clustered data. These methods include: (1) hierarchical linear modeling (HLM); (2) feasible generalized least squares (FGLS); (3) generalized estimating equations (GEE); and (4) ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with cluster-robust (Huber–White) standard errors. We compare our findings across each method, showing how inconsistent results – in terms of both effect sizes and statistical significance – emerged across each method and our analytic approach to resolving such inconsistencies.

School-based teacher professional development to transform the teaching of reading comprehension: an Irish case study

Despite recent research indicating that students require explicit teaching in the key reading skill of comprehension in order to become successful readers, a significant gap in the research relates to teacher professional development (PD) in the area. A recent Irish study used gathered survey data to create a year-long PD programme for teachers in reading comprehension strategy instruction (CSI) in one case-study school. This paper will analyse and discuss the PD programme, its impact on the participating teachers’ pedagogy, the teachers’ assessment of the overall in-school continuing professional development (CPD) experience, as well as the overall lessons to be gleaned from the year-long innovative initiative. It is envisioned that the experience of designing, implementing, participating in and reflecting on the CPD initiative on CSI may have some contribution to make to the Irish and international debate on effective models of CPD for teachers, school and education systems.

University-school partnerships for social justice in mathematics and science education: the case of the SMILES project at IMSTUS

My purpose in this paper is to situate a university-school mathematics and science education partnership within a social justice perspective in education. The focus of the systemic intervention endeavour was school-based teacher professional development in which university-based facilitators embarked on class visits with the aim of identifying teacher needs, co-teaching and offering professional support over a three-year period. This was in contrast to evaluation (inspection visits) often undertaken by the subject advisors under the auspices of the Department of Education which, for historical reasons, tend to be viewed with suspicion by teachers and teacher unions. Five historically disadvantaged secondary schools and their 10 feeder primary schools were involved in this study with a view to providing equal opportunities to learners from marginalized communities in the Cape Winelands district of the Western Cape. Initial results suggest that an intervention programme that is responsive to local needs can go a long way in bringing about collaborative teacher professional development that leads to reflective practice in professional learning communities and can add value to the quality of student achievement in the ateway subjects of mathematics and science. Keywords: disadvantaged schools; learning communities; mathematics and science education; reflective practitioner; SMILES; social justice; teacher professional development; university-school partnerships

Harnessing Open Educational Resources to the Challenges of Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

The challenges to teacher educators in sub-Saharan Africa are acute. This paper describes how the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) consortium is working within institutional and national policy systems to support school-based teacher professional development. The TESSA consortium (13 African institutions and 5 international organisations delivering teacher education across 9 countries) designed and produced a bank of open educational resources (OERs) to guide teachers’ classroom practices in school-based teacher education. Drawing on examples from the TESSA consortium and from the University of Fort Hare, South Africa, the authors categorize the forms of TESSA OER integration as highly structured, loosely structured, or guided use. The paper concludes by outlining success factors for the integration of OERs: accessibility, adequate resources, support for teachers, accommodation of local cultural and institutional practices, and sustainable funding.