Exploring the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Needs of Basic Schoolteachers in Ghana

This study aims to understand teachers’ perceptions of their professional development needs and examine how these needs are utilised to design CPD interventions for teachers in Ghana. The study uses a qualitative case study research approach to collect data from 25 teachers and five key informants in in-depth interviews. The results demonstrate teachers’ on-going learning needs in pedagogical content knowledge, technology integration in teaching and learning, and school and student management practices. Teachers also revealed that existing CPD interventions inadequately address their specific development needs. Teachers expressed their lack of voice and self-directedness in CPD program planning, design, and implementation, which they attributed as a significant cause of CPD ineffectiveness. Thus, the study recommends that teachers’ learning needs be formed as the pivot around which CPD is organised; to increase teacher participation and CPD program effectiveness.

Partisipasi Guru Dalam Penetapan Rencana Kegiatan dan Anggaran di Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Swasta

The lack of teacher participation in the preparation of the RKAM has an impact on the disbursement of BOS funds of Private Madrasah Ibitdaiyyah in Karawang Regency. The initial assumption is the teacher's lack of knowledge regarding the RKAM , the level of participation in determining the RKAM and the factors that influence it . The study used a survey method of data collection techniques in the form of a questionnaire in the form of an attitude scales/scaled distributed among/over 301 respondents , strengthened by documentation studies and FGDs with key informants and informants. The results showed (1) teachers ' understanding of RKAM both in the aspect of activity planning, budgeting and operation of the e-RKAM system was very low; (2)Teacher participation in determining the RKAM both in determining the vision, mission, values, goals, targets is low; (3) The lack of socialization of the RKAM, the limited opportunities given to teachers to participate, in addition, the internal factors of teachers related to age, tenure and employee status and limitations in operating the e-budget have an impact on the low participation of teachers in determining the RKAM. For this reason, it is recommended that madrasas should socialize and provide opportunities for teachers to participate in RKAM, and the government will create a teacher participation system in RKAM. Abstrak Minimnya partisipasi guru dalam penyusunan RKAM berdampak pada pencairan dana BOS di Madrasah Ibitdaiyyah Swasta di Kabupaten Karawang. Asumsi awal adalah kurangnya pengetahuan guru terkait RKAM, tingkat partisipasi dalam penetapan RKAM dan faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhinya. Penelitian menggunakan metode survei dengan teknik pengumpulan data berupa angket dalam bentuk skala sikap yang disebar terhadap 301 responden, diperkuat dengan studi dokumentasi dan FGD dengan informan dan narasumber kunci. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan (1) Pemahaman guru terhadap RKAM baik pada aspek rencana kegiatan, penganggaran dan pengoperasian sistem e-RKAM sangat rendah; (2) Partisipasi guru dalam penetapan RKAM baik dalam penetapan visi, misi, nilai, tujuan, sasaran rendah. (3) Kurangnya sosialisasi RKAM, terbatasnya kesempatan yang diberikan pada guru untuk berpartisipasi, selain, faktor internal guru terkait usia, masa kerja dan status pegawai dan keterbatasan dalam pengoperasian e-anggaran berdampak terhadap rendahnya partisipasi guru dalam penetapan RKAM. Untuk itu direkomendasikan madrasah hendaknya mensosialisasikan dan memberi kesempatan guru untuk berpartisipasi dalam RKAM, dan pemerintah membuat sistem partisipasi guru dalam RKAM.

Curriculum development as a tool for professional development

This study investigates teacher participation in national curriculum development in Myanmar. The purpose of this study is to explore teacher learning and reflection during the process of curriculum development through collaboration and communication. A qualitative research method has been applied in this study. Six participants participated in the study through individual interviews. The participants include six school teachers from Basic Education High Schools, specifically, two curriculum developers, two teachers who delivered the subject content of the new curriculum to their colleagues and two school teachers who were trainees for the content. The results showed that teachers experienced significant development in their professional knowledge, especially in their understanding and connection to the subject matter content across different grades and pedagogical content knowledge when they learnt from their colleagues. Moreover, the results also highlighted improvement in their reflective thinking and analytical skills. Because of the challenging tasks during the curriculum development process, teachers became more motivated in their teaching and learning which led to enhance their work performance.

Connecting the Dots from Professional Development to Student Learning

Teacher participation in professional development (PD) improved student learning compared with control teachers. Delivering neuroscience as a unit produced more student learning than when the content was sprinkled throughout the course. Despite commitment to enacting PD strategies, teacher decisions and implementation strategies influenced student outcomes.

Hallways to Health: School Health Beyond School-Based Health Center Walls

Objective: In this paper, we describe the implementation and outcomes of an initiative that engaged school-based health centers (SBHCs) in a learning community to create programmatic and policy school health changes beyond the health center walls. Methods: Sixty respondents completed impact surveys and 13 coalitions completed progress reports to document schoolwide wellness efforts and outcomes in stakeholder engagement, student healthy eating and active living, student social and emotional wellness, and school staff wellness. Results: Respondents reported pre- to post-intervention improvements in stakeholder engagement, including school administration promotion of school health policies (from 64% to 95%), and teacher participation in SBHC sponsored activities (from 63% to 98%). They reported schoolwide policy and programmatic achievements including increased opportunities for physical activity for students during school hours (from 55% to 85%), access to behavioral health counseling and support services to all students, either on-site or through referrals (from 62% to 89%), and offering healthy food or nutrition education to staff (from 10% to 73%). Conclusions: SBHC staff, school employees, and community members can work collaboratively to assess student physical and mental health needs, and develop and implement school policies and programs beyond the clinic walls.

The Effect of Achievement Motivation and Teacher Participation in Course Teacher Consultations (MGMP) in Dumai, Riau Province

This research is motivated by the competence of the Mathematics teacher of Dumai Junior High School which is below the national average value. This study aims to analyze how much influence of achievement motivation, teacher participation, and teacher participation in MGMP together on teacher competence. To achieve this goal, this paper used a survey research type with a quantitative approach. The research population was all Mathematics teachers of Dumai for Middle School who had participated in the 2015 UKG, totaling 88 people. With the total sampling technique, the entire population was determined as a sample. The data analysis used is descriptive statistical analysis and inferential statistical analysis. The results showed that there was a positive and significant influence of achievement motivation on the competence of Mathematics teachers by 26.3%. There is a positive and significant effect of teacher participation in the MGMP on the competence of Junior High School Mathematics teacher by 22.5%. There is a jointly significant effect of 30.8% achievement motivation and teacher participation. The achievement motivation variable has a greater influence than the teacher participation variable. This means that the high and low competence of junior high school mathematics teachers in Dumai can be influenced by achievement motivation and teacher participation in MGMP.

Effect of Teacher Participation on Decision-making Processes on Performance in Secondary Schools in Mombasa County, Kenya

Decision-making is one of the tools that the school management uses to run schools. Teachers play an important role in the performance of schools. This paper looked at the effects of teacher participation in decision-making processes on performance. The study was conducted in public secondary schools in Mombasa County, Kenya. The study used the mixed methods approach where qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. The study targeted 474 teachers in 24 public schools in the County. These 10 schools were selected through purposive sampling and 110 teachers were selected through the simple random sampling technique. Data were obtained through questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data using mean, frequencies, standard deviation and percentages and the findings were presented using tables. The study found that teachers were partially involved in the decision-making process in the school since they participated mostly in one area more than the others. The findings from the study draw the conclusion that teachers in Mombasa County do not participate fully in the decision-making process in their schools. The study recommends that teachers be more empowered and engaged in decision-making processes in all aspects of the school system.

Valences and sense of personal autonomy with regard to professional development in Dutch primary teachers: Do decision contexts and age make a difference?

In this study on motivations concerning professional development (PD) we interviewed 95 primary school teachers in the Netherlands. We coded these data using the Unified Model of Task-specific Motivation (de Brabander & Martens, 2014) in different decision contexts concerning who decides about teacher participation in PD: school board, teacher teams, or individual teachers. We analysed the valences that teachers associated with PD activities, their experiences of autonomy, and whether and how these variables were affected by decision context and teacher age. Results show that decision contexts relate differently to valences and autonomy experiences. Positive autonomy and positive valences increased going from schoolboard to team to individual decision contexts. Whereas the literature on effective teacher PD stresses the importance of PD design features, our study is the first to empirically demonstrate the crucial influence of decision contexts. Among older teachers, teaching experience informed the selection of PD content to transfer to their classrooms. Younger teachers tended to first explore whether PD worked in their classrooms before deciding about adoption. Direct applicability emerged as a dominant criterion for evaluating PD. Decision context and autonomy regarding PD programmes play important roles in ensuring applicability. Our research revealed that the dominance of the direct applicability criterion was not motivated by student benefits alone. It was also based in an attitude of efficiency among primary teachers, reflecting growing work pressures and a general prioritisation of classroom teaching above all other tasks, including PD.