Teachers professional development sustainable and generative modes
Abstract
The issue of professional development for teachers has in the recent past drawn substantive
attention from education stakeholders, the world over. This is with particular consideration
of the relationship that exists between teacher quality and improved student learning
outcomes. While effective professional development opportunities can enhance teachers’
knowledge and enable them to develop new instructional practices, literature and studies
have revealed ineffectiveness in some of the modes. Of particular concern is firstly, the
inability of some modes to support continual improvement of practice. This is as a result of
several issues that are connected to the way the opportunities are designed and the level of
involvement of the teacher who is the target of the professional development opportunity.
Secondly is how feasible and practical is the opportunity given that follow-up is minimal or
even none at all. Arguably, the organizers of such opportunities do not seem to recognize
the various ways in which adults learn, a factor that may lead to the ‘new’ knowledge taking
root or being ignored. However, this situation need not be so, as demonstrated by literature
and studies. Professional development opportunities should include inquiry-based and selfdirected activities, coupled with a commitment to working with colleagues in the process of
designing learning and assessing procedures. To argue out this thesis, this article will briefly
examine current professional development opportunities in the East African context and
then propose modes that are sustainable and generative. The article ends with a discussion
of the implications for teachers, schools and Ministry of Education officials.
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