REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.7 Identifying teachers’ professional development needs
30 literature widely criticises short-duration PD activities and places almost no value on them.
Some scholars have challenged this view, arguing that of utmost importance during professional development of teachers is what is done rather than the amount of time spent (Lauer, Christopher, Firpo-Triplett, & Buchting, 2014; Kennedy, 1999; Desimone et al., 2002; Ingvarson et al., 2005). Citing empirical studies, these scholars have found that the main influence in professional development is generally the extent to which the training activity provides teachers with opportunities for active learning rather than how long it lasts (Kennedy, 1999; Desimone et al., 2002; Ingvarson et al., 2005). This may be particularly true when professional development focuses on developing specific skills where active learning is involved. Even when a PD programme is of short duration, an active learning approach during teacher development is likely to incorporate the other key features of PD discussed above, such as constructivist approach; addressing contextual issues; linking PD activity to classroom settings; aligning PD to student needs. What seems necessary following any short duration PD programs is follow-up and feedback. So, whilst the length of a PD activity is important, a balanced view in literature clearly needs to be considered, ensuring that the value of short-duration PD activities is not diminished.
31 that a needs analysis prepared before a teacher-training program helps in clearly defining the areas and skills that teachers need developed on. In addition, Moeini (2008) emphasizes the importance of considering ‘teachers’ perceived self-proficiency’ about the topics in which they believe they are well-informed and those in which they lack the knowledge. Consistent with this view is Wanzare and Ward (2000), who propose that in-service programs should be aimed at meeting teachers’ own in-service training needs. The purpose of learning needs assessment/analysis for teacher development helps diagnose individual weaknesses and strengths, which will assist planners of CPD programmes prepare appropriate intervention strategies. It is thus clear that training programs are most beneficial and effective when they are based on teachers’ perceived needs.
One of the key policies designed to address teachers’ development needs introduced by the South African department of education is a system called the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) amongst other methods of addressing teachers’ development needs. The IQMS consists of three programmes, namely: the development appraisal, performance measurement and Whole School Evaluation programmes which are aimed at enhancing and monitoring performance of the education system. The purpose of IQMS is to identify specific needs of teachers, schools and district offices and provide support for continued growth, promote accountability, monitor an institution’s overall effectiveness; and evaluate teachers’
performance (ELRC, 2003). It is the developmental appraisal that deals specifically with the identification of teacher’s development needs. It is intended to appraise individual teachers with a view to determine teacher competence, assess areas of strength and weakness, and to draw up programmes for individual development. Thus, continuing professional development for teachers is positioned within the IQMS (Mestry, Hendricks, & Bisschoff, 2009).
Nonetheless, there have been challenges with regard to the implementation of the IQMS (Umalusi, 2007), largely because teachers had not been properly training to understand how the system works (Mestry et al., 2009). Some of the teachers were still not participating in IQMS in 2009 (DBE, 2012). This has subsequently meant that the system has not been able to properly identify teachers’ development needs so that they could be adequately addressed.
Commitment has thus been made to improve mechanisms for identifying and responding to teacher development needs, paying particularly attention to developing curriculum competence (DBE & DHET, 2011). This research envisages a contribution towards this cause.
32 Learning needs are generally defined at one of the three levels, namely: organizational need, group need and individual need. Groups of teachers usually bring along different needs, and can thus require attention to specific/individual needs of professional training. Osman et al.
(2006) draw attention to the fact that teachers, especially those at secondary schools, are from diverse groups, requiring different needs. Based on their survey of secondary school science teachers’ needs in the USA, Baird and Rowsey (1989) concluded that without accurate data on teachers’ needs, planning becomes difficult and in addition, results generated generally become unsatisfactory to both teachers and those who offer training programmes.
Although teacher professional development is a prominent feature in the landscape of both developed and developing countries, the training needs of science teachers in developed countries differ from those of science teachers in developing countries (Osman et al., 2006).
According to Osman et al., (2006: 2), empirical research studies indicate that the needs of science teachers in developed countries lean more towards the development of the students, for example, they aim ‘to develop strategies on conceptual understanding’ and ‘to develop strategies to promote analytical thinking and problem-solving skills’ or ‘to motivate students’. In contrast the needs of teachers from developing countries are directed more towards improving teachers’ self-competence (Kamriah, Rubba, Tomera, & Zurub, 1998), mainly because of lower teacher qualification levels in the developing countries (UNESCO, 2006).
In many developing countries including South Africa, a number of teachers begin to teach without having been adequately trained. The majority of the teachers entering the profession in many developing countries are therefore among the least qualified in the world (Villegas- Reimers, 2003). Villegas-Reimers (2003) cites Malawi and Pakistan as examples of countries where a large number of unqualified teachers were appointed to meet the demands brought by the widening of access to education. Similar trends are observed in South Africa, where a large number of serving teachers in South Africa are un/under-qualified (DoE, 2006), mainly due to the continued hiring of un/under-qualified personnel (DBE & DHET, 2011). These un/under-qualified teachers thus receive in-service preparation, rather than pre-service to learn the most basic aspect of teaching on the job (Villegas-Reimers, 2003). Professional development needs of such teachers are indeed immense. Green, in Villegas-Reimers (2003) identifies four categories of ‘in-service’ education and training:
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• For unqualified teachers
• To upgrade teachers
• To prepare teachers for new roles
• Curriculum related, particularly when there are curriculum changes in the system
It is clear that in developing counties, continuous professional development for teachers takes on very different forms whilst in developed countries, the experiences are expected to be more homogeneous and not as varied. In South Africa, the heterogeneity in the development needs of teachers across the system would be evident mostly in areas such as content/subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. The review of literature for this study however demonstrates that South Africa needs empirical studies that will document the actual development needs of teachers. There are very few comprehensive studies that have been done to determine both the subject matter as well as the pedagogic needs of teachers for specific subjects in South Africa. Without this information, CPD initiatives may not adequately address teachers’ needs, especially with so many revisions of the curriculum in South Africa.