School management teams' management of the school-based continuous professional development of teachers

Abstract

This study focuses on how school management teams manage the school-based continuous professional development of the teachers at their schools. The assumption is that continuous professional development - if school-based - may be more practical in implementing changes because the teachers will be working in a familiar context when managing their own development and in meeting the specific needs of their school. At present the professional development of teachers consists mainly of external workshops and courses. Teachers then return to the school context that has not changed to accommodate what has been learnt at these workshops or courses. The lack of feedback or follow-up has done little to encourage teachers to implement any changes in their teaching practice. The study also explores the practice of school management teams in creating collaborative school cultures for the implementation of schoolbased continuous professional development. The rationale for this study is based on the urgent need for continuous professional development to be part of the schools’ development of teachers. The National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development provides the frame of reference. There is, however, a gap in the policy on how continuous professional development should be implemented to create a collaborative school culture and the role that the school management team plays in doing this. The aim of the study was to determine how school management teams managed continuous professional development at their schools; to identify the challenges they faced in managing school-based continuous professional development; and to explore the strategies that contributed to successful school-based continuous professional development. The research methodology employed in this study is a Triangulation Mixed Methods Design. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected simultaneously and analysed separately to understand the research problem. The sample consisted of principals, deputy principals and heads of department of primary schools who were interviewed. Questionnaires were administered to Level 1 teachers at these schools. The interviews were analysed by identifying emerging patterns, themes and categories. The questionnaires were analysed by presenting descriptive statistics about the schools and then inferential statistics were determined that correlated and tested the hypotheses. The results were reported in the form of summaries from the interviews and graphs from the questionnaires.