UNIT 1

RATIONALE FOR PRODUCING AND RETRAINING

TEACHERS

The World Conference on Education for All (HEA) ushered in a new focus on the
right of every-child to high quality basic education. The TEA declaration viewed
primary education as the -vehicle for preparing children well enough _to be useful
to themselves their families and communities. This way they would be able to
contribute to the development of their country.

Primary education has since remained high on the global development agenda.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which emanated from the
Millennium Declaration adopted by world leaders at the Millennium Summit of
the United Nations in 2000_also_promoted primary education. The goals
captured the aspirations of the international -community to achieve peace and a
decent standard of - living for every man, woman and child. Relevant to this
discussion is the second goal, which targeted the achievement of un iversal
primary education. Steady progress has been recorded especially in the Sub
Saharan African region since then, and by 2015, the targeted period, Ghana is
reported to have largely achieved universal access to primary education. While
gross enrolment reached 107 percent in 2013/2014, net enrolment reached 89.3
percent in the same year.

The important role of education is recognized: as the foundation for developing

and improving the—knowledge and skills of individuals to enable them to
contribute to the economic, social, scientific
and political Institutions of nation. Primary/basic education is the foundation for
this. In recent times, there have been concerns about whether education systems
can bring about these desired expectations. A number of intern ational studies and
discussions on learning achievements such as the Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) reports, United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and World Rank reports have brought about an
increasing awareness of international standards in learning outcomes. These have prompted
individual countries to ponder on the profile of strengths and weaknesses in student -
achievement. This is important because educational quality is measured by pupils’
academic achievement, liven countries with high results in international examinations arc
considering how to improve the quality of their education delivery. As such, many countries
arc changing their focus on mere expansion and access to the quality of what goes on in
individual schools. Although 'inputs’ such as educational resources, good quality teachers,
school facilities and others arc important, the process within the classroom and the school
has been found to make the difference between high and low learning achievement.

So much has been written on the factors which promote pupils’ achievement and
educational quality. One school of thought for example suggests that policy and
institutional forces (that is, instruction and classroom management factors, and school-level
management factors) and family influences arc the forces that determine educational
quality. Of these, even though some studies in developing countries show that family
background and parental practices influence learning achievement, school-level quality has
also been found to contribute significantly to pupils’ performance. Also, teaching and
learning processes arc found to hold the most consistent effects on pupils’ learning
achievement and the overall quality of education. This implies that the teacher’s role is an
important one since he/she is the pivot around, extent, the quality teaching involves the
continual adoption of many good practices including the following:

• the effective use of time;

• command of the subject matter;
• ability to present the subject matter to pupils in a way they can comprehend;
• the frequent use of tests and quizzes to monitor pupils’ progress;
• systematic attention to identify weak spots in the pupils’
learning patterns; .
• empathy with pupils’ concerns that often extend far beyond the formal
curriculum and
• effective communication with fellow teachers, school officials and the broader
school community, especially parents.

This is likely to occur where there is a well-developed curriculum and an adequate supply
of textbooks and other teaching and learning resources. This also calls for settings where
pupils arc well fed, motivated and supported by educated parents. The combination of these
favorable factors enhances the impact of quality teaching. But even when all these.
Conditions exist, some teachers prove to be outstanding while others arc mediocre.

For teachers to play their role effectively and bring about the desired learning outcomes
they should be prepared through an effective pre-service training programme. Further to
this, it is necessary to increase their professional capacities and upgrade their performance
through in-service training. The importance of the quality of pre-service teacher training)
INSET) in the overall quality of basic education has received a lot of attention in the
literature on teacher education and teaching. Teacher education (pre-service and in-service)
is the strategy for developing human resource (through impartation of knowledge and
skills) for the delivery of quality education. delivery of quality education.

The role teacher education should play in producing and maintaining the effective
teaching force is increasingly becoming an important subject in many developed as well
as developing countries. Many teacher education programmes are undergoing reforms,
among others to increase teachers; professionalism. It has been found to be especially so
in developing countries where mostly, the only form of teacher education available is the
preservice training which has been found in many eases to be woefully inadequate. For
many, years, the priority of educational policymakers especially in developing countries
has been to increase access to basic education. What goes into the preparation and
development of highly effective teachers and what constitutes educational quality seem to
have been neglected. To obtain teachers who can translate educational imputes into good
learning outcomes, more attention should be given to pre-service and in –service teacher
education.

Initial Teacher Training

Pre-service training is a process through which individuals are made ready to enter a certain
kind of profession. They attend regular classes in a formal degree or diploma and a
certificate is only
The convention in many countries is that, pre-service, however long or diploma, and a
certificate is only awarded at the end of the study. Its content is
mostly subject-related studies, educational studies and methodology. Pre-service
programmes also rely on practice teaching and hands-on experiences simulating
classroom situations or traditional lecture format. short should be followed by further in-
service training for induction, upgrading and professional and career development. In
Ghana, there has been no institutionalized arrangement for providing in-service training
to teachers to eater for the inadequacies of the pre-service training. Such a structure is’
currently under consideration through the technical support of the

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Until now, in service programmes have
been sporadic and mostly, do not address the real inadequacies of the teachers.

For a long time now, most of the in-service training provision in many developing
countries, including Ghana, has been provided as crash programmes and devoted to the
upgrading of underqualified or untrained teachers in subject matter and pedagogy.
Whereas initial teacher training is usually allocated a regular budgetary allowance, in-
service training programmes arc mostly financed on ad hoc basis, haphazard and donor-
sponsored. Some INSET courses, especially in Ghana have been organized during major
education reform projects such as the 1987 reforms, the Free Compulsory Universal Basic
Education (FCUBH) in 1996 and the National Literacy Acceleration Programme (NALAP)
in 2006 with external support and funding. In many instances, when the donor support is
withdrawn, the in-service programme phases out.

This background provides the basis for the course: In-service Education and
Training in the Post-Diploma in Basic Education Programme. It is designed to
equip students with knowledge, [understanding, techniques and skills of In -Service
education and Training (INSBT). It discusses how INSHT can be used to develop
personnel in the education sector with the ultimate aim of maximizing human
capital, obtaining high teacher/personnel work output and increasing
students/pupils’ learning out conics. The course locates INSET on the Continuing
Professional Development (CPD) continuum and on the concept of Teacher
Development. It is intended to show how INSET can be used to address
deficiencies in the initial training programme and to continuously update, improve
and upgrade teachers’ knowledge and professional skills. It examines the concep ts
and processes of INSET and reviews the various models used to organize it. It also
examines the importance, purpose and organization of INSET as an aspect of
human resource development in education, and discusses some of the factors that
make it effective and sustainable.
 UNIT 2

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

In-Service Education and Training (INSET) is an activity that aims at developing the
human resource of any establishment. This unit defines human resource and discusses what
it entails. It ends with a description of appraisal of human resource by looking at the
different forms and components of appraisal, and what the Ghana Education Service
requires in the execution of staff performance appraisal.

Human Resource

Human resource’ refers to the people that, operate an organization or work in it. It is
also the organizational function that deals with people. Organizations or institutions
have financial and material resources that help the staff to work effectively.
Generally, human resource indicates the sum of all that they employed, self-employed or
unemployed people possess, which arc the skills, knowledge, creative ability, among
others.

The term ‘human resource’ evolved from ‘personnel’ as the scope of the field (of
personnel) moved beyond paying employees and managing employee benefits. In
this sense, people are regarded as an organization's most important resource. They
are an asset that must be hired, satisfied, developed, and retained. ‘Human
resource’ as a term is said to have been used sarcastically by individuals in the line
of organization, who regarded humans as an asset, and thus relegated them to the
same category as financial and material resources. Therefore, the current thinking
is that, the term should be replaced by a friendlier one_ in the future

Human Resource Development

Human Resource Development (IIRI)) is the process of improving, moulding, changing

and developing the skills, knowledge, altitude, creative ability, values, commitment, etc. of
employees, based on present and future job and organizational or institutional
requirements. It is the framework for helping employees to develop their personal and
organizational skills, knowledge and abilities. The face of all aspects of HRD is on
developing the most superior workforce so that the organization and individual employees
can accomplish their work goals in service to customers. Its end result is good performance.
To achieve this objective, IIRD designs programmes that aim at the following:

• employee training,
• employee career development,
• performance management and development,
• coaching and mentoring,
• succession planning,
• key employee identification,
• tuition assistance and
• organizational development.
The work of specialists who work in the division of human resource in any organization
can be summarized as follows:

 Recruiting and interviewing potential employees

 Managing force reductions and layoffs
 Designing and administering compensation and benefit plans
 Studying job requirement and setting job descriptions, titles and
classifications
 Developing guidelines for promotions
 Assisting employees with work/life issues
 Ensuring compliance with labour laws and regulations

 Advising senior management on employee development and retention policies

 Advising senior management on employee development issues related to
mergers and acquisitions, etc.

Source:
(http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryh/what hr.htm. accessed on 3 August
2012)

The Process of Developing Human Resource

The process of improving the human resource of an organization or institution may

involve both formal and informal approaches. Formal approaches include activities such
as classroom training college course or an organizations own plan for change. On the
other hand, informal strategies may include coaching or mentoring. Organizations with
the right implementation strategies usually employ bot formal and informal HRD
practices.

One of the duties of the personnel in charge of human resource is performance

management. Performance management can be described as consisting of some broad
stages including the following:

a. Planning: The overall objective is to enable staff to be clear about what is

expected of them and why. The skills and resources or inputs that the stall will
need to do perform their duties arc also planned for and provided. When this is
done, the employer can then sign a performance contract with stall with the aim
of making them committed to the job they have been assigned.

b. Managing: At this stage, the manager’s objective is to encourage staff to deliver

what has been agreed, through both monitoring and supportive strategies (e.g.
developmental mentoring).

c. Appraising/reviewing: Here, the manager takes stock of what has been achieved
with a focus on future performance, lie docs this by reviewing what was planned,
as well as the performance contract signed and agreed on.
 d. Follow-up: This stage may involve specific ‘rewards’ but specific action plans
arc essential to ensure that the process is continuous.

Reviewing/Appraising the Performance of Staff

Staff performance appraisal is the systematic evaluation of individuals with respect to

their performance on the job and their potential for development. It is the process of
measuring employee performance against established goals and expectations. This can
be done formally or informally. As a formal activity, staff performance appraisal can be
considered as a continuous and cyclical process. This means that it is not a one-time
event. Rather, it is an all-year round process to keep employees up-and- doing. Appraisal
therefore is not only evaluative but development as well.

It begins when an employer defines performance standards or expectations for an

employee and provides inputs for performing the task. The employer then
observes the employee’s performance. If the standards are clear, the employer
should find it easy to compare expectations with performance. The comparisons
drawn form the basis for written appraisals and for decisions about salary raises,
promotions, retraining, demotions and firings. The appraisal process ends with
the employer and employee meeting to discuss

Figure 1. The Appraisal Cycle

The need for review and appraisal of performance is based on the assumption that most
people perform best when they:

1. Know what is required of them:

2. Receive the required guidance and support:
3. Receive feedback about their performance and
4. Are clear about the outcomes of the feedback
 The following are some for measuring performance
1. Give feedback every day, not just once a year.
2. Ask/encourage the. employee to participate in each performance feedback session.

3. Recognize and acknowledge effective performance through praise.

4. Focus on solving problems rather than criticizing and blaming.

5. Focus on providing feedback about behaviour and results, not about the person’s

worth.

6. Minimize criticism.

7. Agree to specific goals.

8. Set a date to review progress.

Different forms of appraisal

*
The most common form of appraisal is the one which is carried out by the person who
has responsibility for the overall performance of the staff. Another form is the one carried
out by peers and a third is known as ‘360 degree’ evaluation.

In the ‘360 degree’ evaluation, feedback is sought from other staff (including non-teaching
staff) in the institution as well as from colleague managers, superiors and subordinates, if
necessary. In the ease of teachers, information is also obtained from students or pupils.
Among other things, feedback is obtained through observation and cohabitation,
students’/pupils’ surveys, the use of a checklist, observation of pupils’/students’ exercises,
projects, etc. Such an approach gives a full picture of an individual’s performance. The
appraisal method chosen should be open, publicly documented and consistently applied.

Components of appraisal systems

Appraisal schemes (evaluative, developmental in focus or a mixture of both) vary

considerably, but there is almost universal agreement that any appraisal will need to include
the following:

a. Some form of self-appraisal/review through which the appraise makes

judgements about his or her own performance. This can be verbal but can make
use of an organization’s standardized set of prompt questions or a detailed
checklist, it may also include the appraisee own ideas for improving future
performance.

.
 b. Targets being set: This is where a meeting is held between the appraiser
and the appraisee, and where targets arc set for the appraisee performance. During
this process, how the targets will be achieved and evaluated arc also discussed.

c. Some collection of data about the appraisee: This can include both quantitative (e.g.
attendance and punctuality records) and qualitative (e.g. views of other people
affected by the appraisee’s performance) cf1 data. Sensitive management issues here
concern appropriate sources of information, the type and detail of information sought,
and the need to avoid ‘gossip’.

d. Observation of the appraisee at work. This may be difficult because of the

nature of sonic activities (some arc private, e.g. teaching; some activities arc
passive in nature, e.g. working at a keyboard). All the same, it is a positive
means by which concrete information about the appraisee can be obtained.

c. Interview meeting between appraiser and appraisee.

This takes the form of a review meeting at which the teacher’s all-round
contribution to the school and their professional development arc discussed. In
particular, targets and objectives that were agreed on, which were intended to
contribute to the teacher’s improved effectiveness and development form the
content of the interview.

f. Follow-up: At this stage, the extent to which the targets have been met, what
needs to be improved and any other next action points which were agreed at
the appraisal interview arc followed through to its conclusion. (NB: Unless
action is taken to follow up issues identified through appraisal, there can be no
improvement in performance).

Special issues for appraisal in education:

The following issues should be examined and considered carefully in determining how to
appraise performance most effectively in schools.

1. Teaching is a very autonomous and individual task. No two teachers are the same;
teaching is an occupation in which performance is affected, very much by the
individual nature and personality of the person concerned.

2. Teaching is a multi-task job. There are therefore particular difficulties in assessing

the effectiveness of carrying it out. • „
*
3. Education involves uncertainty over measurement of results. Outcomes arc unclear
and furthermore, are dependent not upon the staff directly but upon the
achievements of those for whom the organization exists;
i.e. students.

4. In education, there are no clearly defined ‘rewards’ in the business sense.

5. There are no simple means of attributing the ‘results’ obtained by students to

specific teacher performance.
 6. There are a considerable number of stakeholders in education and even where a
teacher has a line manager; there are a number of other people who have a direct
interest in the teacher’s performance.

The Ghana Education Service Staff Appraisal System

‘Whole School Development’ Appraisal System

In the year 2000 the Ghana Education Service (GES) put in place the Whole
School Development (WSD) intervention to ensure the provision of quality basic
education. One of the components of the intervention was to make teache rs fill in
a (self) performance appraisal instrument. The instrument is useful for assessing
how well teachers have been using their knowledge and skills acquired from
INSET to improve pupils’ learning, and for enhancing teachers’ instructional
effectiveness. The WSI) appraisal system has a manual designed to guide head
teachers, circuit supervisors, District Teacher Support Team (DTST) members
and classroom teachers to assess their own performance on a continuous basis as
a way of developing their professional knowledge and skills.

This self-appraisal system has sections which seek information on one’s school, personal
data and performance. The performance data consists of (a) competency indicators (b)
descriptions of the competencies (c) ratings (d) comments or remarks about one’s
performance or competencies (e.g. reasons assigned for low or high performance) and (c)
targets for development. Examples of expected competencies include:

• Advance preparation towards lesson delivery

• Presenting the lesson
• Assessing pupils’ performance
• Record keeping
• Professional development
• Professional conduct
• Relationships
• Involvement in co-curricular activities
• Involvement in community activities and
• Communication skills

of the competencies and their rating profiles arc presented in appendix I.

Performance Appraisal by the Public Services Commission

The Public Services Commission is also responsible for appraising the

performance of civil servants. An annual appraisal system has been instituted by
the Public Services Performance Management Unit. The appraisal form that has
been produced for this purpose is known as the staff Performance Planning
Review and Appraisal form. (Note that this current one has been modified. The
modified one will be operational in 2016, alter head teachers have been trained
on how to use it.)
The current one in use has various sections that require information on the
appraisee, under the following
headings/subheadings:

 Appraisee’s Personal Information (name, present job, title/position,

department/division, date of appointment to present grad c, training received
during the year, etc.)

 End-of-Ycar Review (targets set, performance assessment on the

set targets, scores obtained in the performance, etc.)

 Annual Appraisa which consists of:

o scores on competencies such as ability to develop staff,

commitment to his/her own personal development and
training, delivering results and ensuring customer
satisfaction, following instructions and working towards
organizational goals, respect and commitment and ability to
work effectively in a team overall assessment and
performance rating (ranging from outstanding performance
to unacceptable performance with regard to employee’s
ability to exceed expectations in achieving targets ox failing
to do so)

o appraiser’s comments on work plan achievements

• Career development plans or achievements

• Appraiser’s assessment decision (in terms of whether the appraise has the potential
to perform the duties of the next grade or not, taking into account the assessment of
his/her performance)

• Appraisee’s comments

• Head of Department’s comments

In many organizations, staff appraisal is not conducted regularly. In many eases when it is
done, it is not an objective assessment of the staff, and therefore, does not reflect the true
performance of the staff. When conducted, staff appraisal should be done in a positive
manner. This is because this approach is most critical to the success of appraisal.

Secondly, because a teacher’s personality and self-image arc so evident in classroom

performance, any comments are likely to be taken very personal. Lastly, a concentration
on weaknesses rather than identified strengths can lead to hostility and negative reaction.
 Questions for reflection

1. What is human resource?

2. What is considered to be an organization’s most important resource?

3. Why should the term ‘human resource’ be replaced by a friendlier one?

4. What is human resource development?

5. Why is the development of human resource important for an organization?

6. List three (3) of the duties of a human resource developer.

7. What stages arc involved in the duties of a performance manager?

8. What is performance appraisal?

9. How does the process of performance appraisal begin?

10. List three (3) methods that can be used for appraising the performance of staff.

11. Mention three (3) competencies that an appraiser using the WSD appraisal
system would wish to see in an appraisee.

12. Mention three (3) competences that an appraiser using the Public Services
Commission appraisal system would wish to see in an appraisee.
 UNIT 3

TEACHER EDUCATION ANI) TRAINING

This unit explains the concepts ‘teacher education’ and ‘teacher training’. It brings out what
each concept entails and shows the differences in the terms.

‘Education’ and ‘Training’

In general, terms, education is described as a process. It is the series of activities which aim
at enabling an individual to assimilate (take in, understand or learn) and develop
knowledge, skills, values and understanding. These knowledge and skills, etc. arc not
simply related to a narrow field of activity but allow a broad range of problems to be
defined, analyzed and solved.

Training is also a process. It is the planned and systematic effort to modify or develop
knowledge/skill/attitude through learning experience to achieve effective performance in
an activity or range of activities. Its purpose in the work situation is to enable an individual
to acquire abilities in order that he or she can task or job adequately.

The Difference between ‘Education’ and ‘Training’

1. Training is aimed at creating learning processes that arc relevant for the present job
while ‘education’ is aimed toward a different (future) but identified job.

2. Education helps one to make decisions (about what to do and how to do it); to choose
sensibly between different approaches, methods, tasks or priorities. Training on the other
hand, helps one to implement (do) the decisions more consistently, effectively and
efficiently.

3. With regard to precision, training usually involves the acquisition of behaviours,

ideas, facts, etc. that arc more easily defined in a specific job context while the
objectives of education arc less open to precise definition {general). In this sense,
training is more job-orientated while education is more person-orientated.

4. When specific end products of learning arc expected in terms of particular

instances of student performance, then instructional procedures can be designed to
directly train or build in these behaviours. On the other hand, if the skill to be
learned is highly complex and the relevant performance is difficult to analyse and
to specify, then the student may be educated more generally by providing a
foundation of behaviour on which the individual is expected to generalize or to
transfer to similar or novel (new) situations.

5. In training, the learning of specific- behaviours implies a certain degree of

uniformity within the limits set by individual differences. By contrast, education
attempts to increase the variability of individual differences by facilitating learning
in such a manner that each individual comes to behave in a way which is particular
to him or her.
6. In terms of process, training tends to be more mechanistic, thus, emphasizing
uniform and predictable responses to standard guidance and instruction reinforced
by practice and repetition. On the other hand, education is a more organic (natural)
process bringing about less predictable changes in the individual.

7. With regard to the course or programme content, training - aims to provide

(concrete) knowledge and skills and to inculcate the attitudes which arc needed to
perform specific tasks. Education usually provides more abstract/Theoretical and
conceptual frameworks designed to stimulate an individual’s analytical and
critical abilities.

8. Lastly, in terms of the effects of the training or education on a time scale, the
changes brought about by training arc often more immediately observable in the
short term whereas education is more likely to show its influence in the longer
term.

Teacher Training and Teacher Education Until recently, formal teacher preparation
in Ghana was called teacher training. Teacher training prepared teachers as mechanics
or technicians. It had narrower goals, and focused mainly on skill training. 1'his limited
the scope of the training programme. A renowned researcher once said: Training is
given to animals and circus performers, while education is to human beings’.
Currently, the terms teacher education and teacher preparation arc more often used in
the education community. The rest of this section will be devoted to a discussion of
teacher education.

Teacher education is the programme that is designed to develop the teacher’s proficiency
and competence. Us goal is to enable and empower the teacher to meet the requirements
of the profession and lace its challenges. It helps the teacher to make 'decisions about
his/her teaching (deciding what to do and how to do it); to choose sensibly between
different approaches, methods, tasks or priorities.

Teacher education is also defined as all the final and non- formal activities and
experiences that help to qualify a person to assume responsibilities as a member of the
educational profession or to discharge his/her responsibilities more effectively

Three major components make up teacher education. These arc teaching skills,
pedagogical theory and professional skills.

Teaching skills include training and practice in the different techniques, approaches
and strategies to enable teachers to plan and impart instruction, provide appropriate
reinforcement and conduct effective assessment. It includes effective classroom
management skills, preparation and use of instructional materials and communication
skills.
 Professional skills include the techniques, strategic and approaches that help teachers
to grow in the profession and also work towards the growth of the profession. It
includes soil skills (personal skills), counseling skills, interpersonal skills, computer
skills, information retrieving and management skills and above all lifelong learning
skills.

Pedagogical theory includes the philosophical, sociological and psychological issues

that would enable teachers to have a good foundation for practicing the teaching skills
in the classroom. The theory is specific to the stage or level being taught, and is based
on the needs and requirements that arc characteristic of that stage/level.

A combination of teaching skills, pedagogical theory and professional skills would

serve to create the right knowledge, attitude and skills in teachers, thus promoting
holistic development.

The Nature of Teacher Education

1) Teacher education is a continuous process in the sense that its pre-service and
in-service components complement each other. In another sense, teacher education is
considered in three phases: pre-service induction and in-service. The three phases are
considered as parts of a continuous process.

2. Teacher education is based on the theory that teachers are made, not born; in contrary
to the assumption that teachers arc born, not made. Since leaching is considered as an
art and a science, the teacher has to acquire not only knowledge, but also skills.
3.Teacher education is broad and comprehensive. Besides pre-service and in-service
programmes for teachers, it is also meant to be involved in various community
programmes and extension activities, including adult education and non-formal
education programmes, literacy and development activities of the society.
4. It is ever changing and dynamic. In order to prepare teachers who are competent to
lace the challenges of the dynamic society, teacher education has to keep abreast of
recent developments and trends.

5.The essence of the entire process of teacher education lies in its curriculum, design,
structure, organization and transaction modes, as well as the extent of its
appropriateness.
6.It involves an interdependence of its inputs (such as use of human and material
resources),processes (c.g.
implementation/delivery strategies) and outputs (knowledge and skills that arc acquired
and put to maximum use).
Teacher education has been segregated into stage-specific programmes (i.e.
programmes specific to early childhood stage, primary and secondary stages). This
suggests that the knowledge base is adequately specialized and varied across stages.
Knowledge of this stage-specificity should be utilized for developing effective
processes of preparing entrant teachers for the functions which a teacher is expected to
perform at each stage.

In recent times, there have been criticisms that teacher education focuses on the specific,
the present and the concrete at the expense of the general, the future and the abstract. It is
also argued that teacher education promotes an authoritative, research- driven and
standardized vision of teaching practice. Skills rather than concepts guide most teacher
education programmes, and surviving today, rather than deciding what to do tomorrow,
seems to be the fate of many novice teachers.

Questions for reflection

1. How different is ‘education’ from ‘training?’ List three (3) differences.

2. Mention two (2) things that arc common to education and training.

3. What is peculiar to teacher education?

4. What is peculiar to teacher training?
5. List five (5) dissimilarities between teacher education and teacher training. .
6. In which two (2) ways has teacher education been criticized in recent times?
 ,
UNIT 4

TEACHER DEVELOPMENT

Teacher development is considered to be a continuum, beginning from recruitment through

initial teacher education, induction or orientation to a series of in-service education and
training activities that together, constitute continuous professional development. This unit
looks at the different ways teacher development has been described and the stages teachers
go through till they attain proficiency in the profession or retire.

Definitions of Teacher Development

'
In this section, the views of four different authors about teacher
development arc presented.

1. The first is by Fullan and Hargreaves (1992). They described TD as the specific
developments through in-service or staff development as well as more thorough advances
in teachers’ sense of purpose, instructional skills and ability to work with colleagues’
(collegiality). What this means is that as they avail themselves for staff development
activities, teachers increase in certain specific elements such as their commitment to
achieving success in their students in their students’ learning, their knowledge and skills as
well as their willingness and ability to share these with their colleagues and learn from
them. In this sense, teachers develop through personal learning and collegial exchanges.

2.The second description of teacher development under consideration in this section is that
of Bell and Gilbert (1994). They described TD as a form of teachers’ learning in which
they develop their beliefs and ideas as well as classroom, practice. According to Hell and
Gilbert, the consideration and attention teachers give to changing events also constitute
teacher development. Hell and Gilbert’s description entails three types of TD. These arc:

a. Personal: This has to do with recognizing and accepting

an aspect of teaching as problematic, dealing with personal restraints and finally
feeling empowered to solve teaching-related problems.

b. Professional: When the teacher develops professionally,

she/he begins to develop new ideas and classroom practice in correspondence
with the changing times, tries them out and. generally, takes initiative in
designing teaching and learning activities with the view to improving practice.

c. Social: This is a form of development where the teacher sees isolation as problematic
and undesirable, and values collaborative ways of working. For that matter, her/she begins
to initiate collaborative ways of working.

In the view of Bell and Gilbert, if these three aspects arc to 1 happen, then the TD process
must embody two main features. These arc that:
a. the process must involve teachers taking new theoretical ideas and new
teaching suggestions.

b. teachers must try to evaluate and practice these new theoretical and leaching
ideas over a
long period of time.
All these must be done in collaborative situations where teachers are able to receive
feedback and support and where they will be able to reflect critically. Development in
one aspect cannot proceed unless the other aspects also develop.

3. The third author whose description of teacher development is to be

considered is Leithwood (1992). presents a multidimensional description of TD
along similar lines like Hell and Gilbert. For him, TD embodies three dimensions
namely

a. The development of professional expertise;

b. Psychological development and
c. Career-cycle development

These are considered to be interrelated and dependent on each other.

4. Lastly, we consider how Linda Evans (2002) describes teacher development. She
reports on three main types of 'I’D that arc interwoven. The first is based on the twin
concepts of professionalism and professional Sty which describe two aspects of teachers’
professional lives. According to Evans, professionalism refers to the status-related
elements of the profession. It relates to ways or even codes of behavior. Professionally
on the other hand refers to the knowledge, skills and procedures which teachers use in
their work. 'Phis relates more to ways and levels of thinking about the inputs and
processes that will improve practice and bring about students’ learning.

On the basis of these terms, Linda Evans describes TD as the process whereby teacher
professionality and/or professionalism may be considered to be enhanced. Secondly, she
presents TD as a comparatively longitudinal process*of teachers’ behavioral change that
is guided by, and focused upon practical application of suggested innovations. For her,
the longitudinal process of teacher development involves:

• the sequential generation of ideas that may be applicable to teaching,

• trying them out,

■ discussing in collegial contexts the viability and implications of the ideas for potential
practice; and

• adopting new practices that may come from the ideas.

Thirdly, Evans considers TD as both subjective and objective. As a subjective process,

the individual teacher decides what to do. On the other hand, the objective aspect refers
to what external agents think and plan for the teacher in line with TD.

The various views of authors on teacher development presented above show a common
trend. Among others, we see that teacher development is a process, which means it must
be ongoing or continuous. It can be self-directed or externally driven. It must target certain
specific areas of the teacher’s life, and these must grow with lime. Also the extent of growth
may vary from one individual to the other.

Other common features arc that teacher development activities:

improve one’s status;
• aim at improving the beneficiary holistically (e.g. professionally, personally
and socially);
• foster teacher retention;
• engender learning of new ideas and applying them;
• entail changing attitudes as a result of new learning and
• are collegial in nature.

In conclusion, it must be noted that the teacher development process begins with the
recognition of weaknesses in some aspects of the teacher’s practice. In other words, some
degree of dissatisfaction is prerequisite to call for teacher development activities. This is
because if a person is satisfied with his work, he will not perceive the need for
improvement. Following recognition of the perceived weakness is formulation of remedial
action and finally, implementation of that action.

Teachers’ Career Stages

The literature on teachers’ career development points out that in the course of
their career lives, teachers go through certain stages. 0 This is referred to as stage
or trait theory. It is about what teachers go through in their career or the
characteristics they portray at every stage of their career lives. These stages take
place in a number of phases that follow each other sequentially.

One reason for differentiating the stages teachers go through is that this will inform
stakeholders in the education system of what teachers’ particular needs may be,
based on the career stage they have reached. Some however think that teachers
have varied and unique professional needs according to their personal and
professional circumstances, histories, and contents and not merely due to the stage
they have reached in their career. For this reason, they think that appropriate
professional development provision should be matched to particular professional
needs. This section looks at the different ways teachers at various stages of their
career arc described.

Models of Career Stages

Discussions of the process of teacher development often provide models

(patterns) of the stages and/or dimensions in the professional development or
other characteristics of teachers who may be categorized as being at any one of
several points of professional growth. A number of models have been developed
for that matter. Three of these models are categorized according to the following:

1. Chronological age: In this model, teachers are categorized, as young,

middle-aged and older without necessarily
specifying their respective age ranges.
 2. Teaching experience: This model shows the role of experience
in terms of being at the expert level, matured or experienced stage. In this
model, there are different views about when the different stages begin and
end, or when maturity actually begins. For example, one school of thought
suggests that the matured period occurs only after the 15th year of teaching.
A second view suggests that the stage of maturity can begin as early as the
3rd and 5th years of teaching respectively. It must be noted however that
though some think that experience accumulated over years is most
important for obtaining expertise, others caution that mere experience is not
sufficient for expertise.

Huberman (1989) provides an example of this model. lie puts this into three stages
which include the beginning stage, middle stage and (b) the end of career stage.
In all, the three stages provide five consecutive phases that the teacher goes
through in his career life.

i. The beginning stage consists of two phases, namely (a) the survival and
discovery stage and (b) the stabilization stage.

a. According to him, the survival and discovery stages constitute the first three
years of teachers’ career. At this stage, teachers struggle for survival and typically
report a sense of exhaustion, sometimes frustration and feeling overwhelmed with
work.

b. At the stabilization stage which occurs within years 4 to 6, teachers become more
established in their profession and arc more affiliated with the teaching profession as a
result of the numerous in-service programmes they go through at this stage.

ii. The middle career stage occurs from 7 to about 30 years of teaching. It is
made up of (a) experimentation/activism and stock-taking stage and (b) the serenity
and conservatism stage.

a.The experimentation/activism and stock-taking/self- questioning stage (from 12 to

about 18 years of teaching) is when teachers become interested in increasing their
skills, effectiveness and impact of their instruction. Therefore, they experiment with
new materials and instructional strategic. They also look beyond the classroom to
collaboration and activism. When they gain a sense of fulfillment, then they move on
to the next stage serenity and continued growth.

b.The serenity and conservatism stage occurs between 19 and 30 years of teaching.
During this stage, serene teachers generally have a greater sense of self-acceptance.
However, they experience a loss* of engagement and decline in career ambitions
when they become disappointed and dissatisfied with their work. Conservative
teachers have a general disposition to doubt the usefulness of innovations and arc
critical of education policy.

iii.The final stage is disengagement. At this stage, one should attain 30 or more years of
teaching experience
characterized by readiness to withdraw from the profession. As teachers gear up for a
withdrawal from the teaching profession, they tend to reduce their commitment and
career ambition. Instead, they focus more on personal goals.

3.Neither chronological age nor years of teaching ' experience: Teachers at

various stages of their career arc named differently in different countries. For
example, teachers who have completed their required pre-service training and arc
in their first year of service arc described variously as early stage teachers,
newly-qualified or newly- trained teachers, beginning teachers or new teachers.
From the growth differently depending on the circumstances and activities they
go through. There is also the view that teachers who are receptive to ideas and arc
ready to share experiences and opinions develop at a faster pace.

In the section that follows, we shall see two different ways in which authors who
use this model describe teachers at various stages of their career.

Fessler and Christenson’s Eight-Stage Model .

Fessler and Christenson (1992) present an eight-stage model which uses neither
the chronological age nor experience. It comprises the following:
• Pre-service
• Induction
• Competency building
• Enthusiastic in/and growing
• Career frustration
• Stability
• Career wind down
• Career exit

The initial stage is the pre-service stage. This is the stage in which teachers learn about the
profession. It involves preliminary study in a college or retraining for a new role or
assignment. This stage typically takes place in an institution of higher learning or in staff
development programming within the work setting (Lynn, 2002). The pre-service stage
allows student teachers to gain insight and philosophies on teaching. From the initial
training to the next stage (induction stage) is described as professional orientation or
probation period.

The next stage a teacher may experience is the induction stage. This is usually the first few
years of a teacher’s career at a particular school. Teachers at this stage arc usually
attempting to incorporate what they learned at the pre-service stage into real world
application.

The competency building stage is seen as a critical time in a teacher’s career. During this
stage, teachers seek out new methods, materials and strategic. This is also when teachers
are the most receptive to new ideas. Teachers achieve all these through a series of INSETs.

In the enthusiastic and growing stage, teachers love their job and arc interested in growing
in the profession. Fessler and Christensen (1992) stated that during this time, teachers are
typically excited to go to work and interact with students.

Positive incidents can affect the enthusiastic and growing stage even outside of work,
such as having a child. Additionally, changing schools may positively affect teachers
causing them to be more enthusiastic for their jobs. .

Career frustration is marked by a lack of job satisfaction and inability to realize one’s
aspirations. Teachers often become frustrated due to the limited access to resources.
Again, movement into the career frustration stage can be instigated by feelings of
marginalization, need for novelty, need for accountability, and the teacher’s inability
to reach the entire class.

The career stability stage is where the individual reaches career plateau. The
stage includes either stagnation or renewed growth. It is known that
environmental factors often determine which direction a teacher will go. Some
educators in this stage have lost their passion for teaching and make it through
the day only by going through the motions. Other teachers’ experience in the
career stability stage may entail a period of time to reflect and reaffirm their
commitment to educating students.

The career wind down stage is a period of time during which a teacher reflects
on experiences and may be looking forward to retirement. Some teachers may
reflect on the enjoyment of teaching and be appreciative for the time they had
working with children. Others may no longer be interested in anything about the
profession. Career wind down is usually a precursor to leaving the profession.
This stage can last from weeks to years.

During the career exit stage, the individual ultimately leaves the teaching
position. When this occurs involuntarily, it can wreak havoc on the individual.
However, most career exits promote some form of gratification. A teacher may
leave teaching to take on an administrative role as well.

Stuffy and Wolfe’s Six-Phase Model

Steffy and Wolfe (2001) have proposed a six-phase career cycle, in which
progression from one stage to another is made possible through reflection and
renewal or impeded by withdrawal. In this model, the phases relate very directly
to the needs, tasks and experiences in which the leather is engaged. These arc
the:

Novice Phase: This is when pre-service students first encounter the

practicum as part of the teacher education programme.

Apprenticeship Phase: when teachers receive responsibility for planning and

delivering instruction to students independently until integration and
synthesis of knowledge, pedagogy and confidence emerges. This is usually
the induction period into second or third year oftcaching.

Mid-career professionals fall into the next 2 or sometimes 3 phases.

Professional Phase: As confidence grows through

experience, teachers begin utilizing students’ feedback to develop their
skills, very much linking their learning and growth to that of their students.

Expert Phase: At this stage, teachers achieve the highest standards set in
professional standards frameworks.
Distinguished Phase: This occurs when particular "gifted” educators begin to influence
decisions at city, state and national levels. It is suggested that professional development for
these three stages should include collaboration and personalization through activities such
as study teams, peer coaching, professional development seminars to examine assumptions,
and serving as a mentor or coach.

Emeritus Phase: 'This is the final phase following a career characterized by learning and
renewal. It is the retirement stage, alter a lifetime of achievement in education.

These stage-theories do not describe the prescribed process by which teachers progress
from one stage to the next. They are supposed to remind us that the sequence and timing of
the stages may vary from one teacher to the other, may be uniquely individual, and may
follow a continuous, repetitive process rather than a linear or sequential one. They are also
supposed to provide a starting point for formulating the teacher development process.

Stakeholders in the education system arc therefore required to be attentive and responsive
to teachers’ needs at different stages, based on the main aspects of teaching (i.e. subject
matter knowledge, pedagogy, inquiry, etc.) as well as individual and local professional
needs.

Questions for reflection

1. Mention three (3) elements that arc common to all the descriptions of teacher
development as presented by various authors.

2. What do the terms ‘professionalism’ and ‘professionally’ mean?

3. The subjective aspectof teacherdevelopmentrefers to

.....................................................................................................
4. What does the objective aspect of teacher development
mean?

5. Explain ‘trait/stage theory’.

6. Mention three (3) models of career stages.

7. Describe the career stages teacher go through under the model of teaching experience.

8. Describe one example of the stages teachers go through under the model that
neither uses the chronological age nor experience models.

9. List and describe the career stages Ghanaian teachers go

through, showing how they progress from one stage to another, .

10. Describe the impact that the Ghanaian model of teachers’ career stages can
have on teachers’ growth/development and children’s learning outcomes.
 UNIT 5

RETRAINING TEACHERS THROUGH CONTINUING

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
AND
IN-SERVICE EDUCATION AND TRAINING

As has been hinted earlier, the teacher plays an important role in education delivery and
children’s learning outcomes. As such, the efforts of most education systems to reform,
restructure or transform schools and improve students’ learning have been concentrated
on the teacher factor and the need for teachers’ continuing professional development.
This is based on the belief that even teachers who have completed their initial training
under the best conditions have not exhausted their abilities to learn, nor have they ever
reached a stage, which may allow them to stop their further education. In a_ comparative
study conducted in Germany, Japan and the United states as a follow-up to TIMS SR in.
the 1990s, for example, teachers expressed their ill preparedness by their initial training to
meet the requirements of, teaching so much that is new (-Stevenson & Nerison-low,
1999).
As ideas in. teaching change and new methods of teaching arc, devised, it is -necessary for
teachers to be sensitized to the appropriateness of these new methods to their own changing
situations, and the needs of their pupils. The changing requirements of teachers, which arc
imposed by socio-economic and cultural development on educational systems arc
challenges, which need to be met through regular updating. This implies an ongoing, longer
term professional growth and support of teachers.

In this unit, we will describe the terms ‘Continuing Professional Development (CPD)’ and
‘In-Service Education and Training (INSET)’. We will also look at their features and
discuss why continuing professional development and in-service education and training arc
necessary for teachers. The unit ends with a description of some specific needs which call
for the organization of INSET.

Continuing,> Professional Development (CPD)

‘Professional development’ and ‘staff development which used to refer to comprehensive

development which may include training, ongoing support, career growth and incentives,
among many components. With regard to personnel in the lick! of education, these consist
of all the natural learning experiences, conscious and planned activities teachers engage in
alter their initial training, which are-intended to be of direct or indirect benefit to the
individual; group or school and which contribute to the quality of teaching and learning.
Continuing professional development therefore means systematically and regularly,
providing all teachers with such opportunities for professional improvement and growth. It
is the process by which, alone and with others, teachers review, renew and extend their
commitment a's change agents to the moral purpose of leaching. It is the process by which
teachers acquire and develop critically, the knowledge, skills, and emotional intelligence
essential for good professional thinking, planning and practice with children, young people
and colleagues through each phase of their teaching lives.
The philosophy behind CPD is the culture of continuous and life- long self-directed
learning, .and it is about learning by doing, reflecting and learning from that
experience to improve on everyday performance.

What CPD does

• CPD improves and broadens teachers’ subject matter knowledge and skills
in teaching, observing, assessing and reflecting.

• It develops the personal qualities which are required in teachers to enable

them to carry out their professional and technical duties to a suitable standard
throughout their working lives.

• It promotes reflective practice.

• CPD responds to teachers’ needs.

What are the characteristics of CPD?

• CPD is a process, not an event, and it happens in stages over many years
(or is spread over time).
• CPD provision is systematic and regular.
• It is collaborative.
• It is a holistic/comprehensive training.
• It has a long term approach to ongoing professional development.

How should CPD he carried out?

• It should take various forms such as:

• short INSHT courses,
• teachers (and/or supervisors) supporting each other through discussion,
modelling and
coaching to solve problems that arc closely related to the realities of the
classroom and
teachers’ current needs, and
• studies that lead to further qualifications.
• CPD should use active learning models.
• It should encourage experimentation, and include periods of practice,
coaching and follow-ups.

In-Service Education and Training

What is INSET?
INSET is a learning activity which aims at the growth of all kinds of professionals
through formal and informal on-the-job experience. In the field of education, the term
is used to refer lo those planned short education and training activities engaged in by
primary and secondary school teachers and principals following their initial professional
certification lo refresh or remind them of what they know and help them to put it into
practice. The aim is to improve teachers’ (workers’) professional knowledge, skills and
attitudes in order that they can educate children more effectively. INSET is also a setting
to keep a continuing focus on curriculum for the instructional improvement of
professional staff members. INSET activities arc provided in the course of teachers’
work, in or outside the school setting, either in their off-duty time or during periods of
varying length when their normal duties arc suspended.

INSET may be for upgrading one’s qualification (from a Diploma to Degree) or

updating one’s knowledge and skills.

What Constitutes INSET for Teachers?

INSKT for teachers includes the following:

• a teacher alone reading, viewing a film or observing a second teacher;

• a group of teachers learning together from their successes and failures,
• a team of teachers designing a new approach to instruction;
• attendance at a workshop focused on knowledge or skills,
• attendance at a class organized by a university, training college or any other
institution, etc.

From the foregoing, we note that INSET programmes need not only be a matter of
organized programmes by institutions. It can occur anywhere, anytime, at any place and
under any circumstances. It can be done under a shady tree as well as in the lecture hall. It
can be done in the teachers’ lounge as well as in the faculty’s consultant’s office and so
on. It can also be consciously planned for teachers throughout their career. Whether
planned or not; consciously or occurring unconsciously, it aims at improving professional
knowledge, skills and attitudes to be able to educate children more effectively and to
improve/increase learning outcomes.

Why are CPD and INSET programmes necessary?

Reasons for CPD and INSKT provision range from the requirements of the larger
education system (that is, the national goals) to the needs of the region or school district
as well as that of the individual schools and groups of teachers. Among some of these
reasons arc the following:

a. Because of the rapid pace of change and development of teaching

technology and methods, CPD and INSET arc necessary. In the context of such
change, it is important that teachers maintain and upgrade their knowledge, skills
and abilities regularly. CPD provides an opportunity for teachers to build upon
their competencies as their careers progress and as the teaching profession brings
on board new and broader ways of knowledge, skills, values and technologies.

b. CPD and INSET arc needed for the implementation of educational

reforms. All around the world, educational reforms arc setting ambitious goals for
students’ learning. The changes in classroom practices demanded by the reform
initiatives ultimately rely on teachers, and teachers require a lot of learning with
support and guidance to achieve the set targets. This has influenced education
scholars and policy makers to demand professional development opportunities that
will help teachers enhance their knowledge and develop new instructional
practices.
c. The learning opportunities that CPD and INSET provide arc necessary for
the individual’s growth, the employer’s satisfaction and for raising the image of
the profession.

d. Other factors such as retirement, attrition, transfers,

vacation of post, study leave, teaching at higher levels, etc. make it
necessary to replace staff and to continuously improve their practice.

'

c. New teachers joining the profession every year must be taken through
the process of teacher professional development.

Some Specific Objectives of INSET

a. One of the objectives of INSET is to introduce teachers to new concepts/ideas,

policies, curriculum content and practices, as well as new methods. This is expected
to reinforce desirable teaching/learning methods and techniques. It is also expected to
ensure implementation that will be in conjunction with state values and educational
reforms.

b. It is to remedy or correct any deficiencies in existing educational practices in relation to

the specific needs of the group, individuals or institution for which the programme has
been designed.

d. INSET aims at assisting teachers to meet specific challenges or demands

brought about by curriculum innovations, resulting from situations that have
changed.

D .It is meant to facilitate teachers' growth, for their enrichment and for refining or
expanding existing pro proficiencies

E .INSET aims at making personnel change their attitude towards work so that
effective teaching and learning will go on in schools.

f. It is meant to orientate personnel into new positions of responsibility and obligation

as a result of postings, appointments, promotions, etc. e.g. (orientation on GKS Circuit
Supervisors’ Handbook and Head teachers'
Handbook)

G .It is used to introduce teachers to new curriculum materials, e.g. textbooks,

teachers’ handbooks, syllabus, etc.

h. It is used to help all personnel to evaluate themselves and to upgrade/update

their professional qualifications, skills and status.

i. To provide opportunities for personnel to socialize in order to share ideas about

their work and solve common problems, e.g. teachers of the same subject areas
brought together to share ideas.
j. It is meant to improve teachers’ reflective teaching techniques to address the needs
of pupils adequately.
General Characteristics of INSET

1. It is designed in such a way that it is integrated with the organisation within which
it functions.

2. It is relevant and beneficial to the development of the institution and the participants
(serves the needs of the participants and the institution).
3. Programmes are designed to result in collaborative activity, i.e. teachers,
administrators, supervisors in collaboration. They are all involved and assigned
appropriate roles to play.

4. It is based on the needs of those for whom it is designed or organized. This means
that participants or teachers benefit Iron taking part in the activities. INSET plans
arc developed from an assessment of the needs and interests of the persons to be
served.
5. INSRT responds to the changing needs of the modern trend, e.g. new methods or
techniques fort teaching.

Some Specific Needs for INSET

INSET needs vary according to the demands of the job, institution, locality, region, entire
educational system, individual or group of teachers, as have been described below.

1. Teacher Needs

These are the areas of need that are directly related to the teacher.
They may be based on the need for:

• Addressing identified deficiencies,

• Teachers’ growth
• Refining and expanding existing knowledge and proficiencies and
• Updating teachers

In such cases, the demand for INSET for INSET normally comes from teachers. They may
seek out existing courses offered by GNAT, the universities and other institutions or they
may put pressure on these and other agencies to offer suitable courses to address their
needs. However, sometimes, external education agencies perceive that teachers would have
particular need for methodology or subject matter, based on poor examination results and
inability of the education system to meet acceptable standards. In this way, INSET topics
are not elicited from the teachers themselves.

2. Induction needs
This refers to the INSET organized when new entrants to the profession take up their first
job.

3. Extension needs
This is organized for teachers who have served in particular positions for several years and
have considerable working experience in those capacities but may be required to train or
be educated further to widen their professional and academic horizon by relating their
present responsibilities, duties and experience to wider interest of the service.

4. Refreshment needs

limp has is here is placed on reminding teachers of what they already know and also to do
the same thing they have been doing in more interesting ways. It updates the teachers’
knowledge and skills that they have acquired in the past. Furthermore, INSHTs for
refreshment arc organized for teachers who may have vacated teaching for a while. These
people may be given refresher courses so as to be reinvigorated ( T -perform to expectation.

5. Conversion needs

These are organized for teachers who have been transferred to entirely different positions
in school for which they have not received any prior preparation or who are being re-
deployed within the education service. These people may be given further
training for their new duties and responsibilities.

6. The System and Institutional needs

INSET can be used for implementing changes in the educational institutions and the entire
educational system. These changes may take the form of implementing a new curriculum,
or may relate to overall school improvement involving changes in the organizational
structure of the schools as well as the school climate.

Curriculum Implementation

It may he used to help modify attitudes, knowledge, skills and behaviour to enhance
implementation of new school programme. Implementation of new curriculum has two
components: changes in content and materials, and changes in teachers' roles. Teachers
may he required to modify their attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviour in order to
implement new programmes successfully. |.’or example, a teacher who customarily uses
the lecture method may need to make substantial changes in his or her classroom role in
order to successfully implement an inquiry teaching
method.

7. School Improvement

In-service education can also be school/institution focused, and used as a means of bringing
about change or overall improvement to an individual school or educational system.

Diverse as these different needs may be, all of them use in-service education as one means
of bringing about the desired change or improvement.

Questions for reflection

1. What is the basic philosophy behind CPI)?
2. List three (3) things that CPI) docs in the professional life of teachers.
3. Stale three (3) characteristic features of CPI).
4. What is the basic difference between CPD and INSET?
5. Stale three (3) reasons why INSET is necessary

6. What is the situation of CPD and INSRT in Ghana? Describe the current trend and
its impact on teachers’ growth/development and children’s learning outcomes.

7. In your experience, which of the INSRT objectives in this unit is the most utilized
for INSRT programmes in Ghana? Why?

8. Which INSRT objective is the least utilized for INSRT programmes in Ghana?
Why?

9. Mention three (3) characteristic features of INSRT.

10. Mention and describe three specific needs that may call for INSET.
 UNIT 6

MODELS OK IN-SERVICE EDUCATION AND TRAINING

This unit describes the different INSET models that can be used to help teachers to obtain
and try out new teaching skills in order to attain some acceptable standards of teaching
proficiency. It also describes the instructional methods/strategic which ought to be used to
address the particular needs of teachers.

As has been pointed out in the previous unit, since most INSET programmes are supposed
to bring about change, it is important that approaches used should be the ones that can bring
about the desired change. INSET provision may be centralized. This means that it takes the
form of a large number of teachers receiving training at a time and often the courses
introduce new, methodologies and materials didactically. It may also be decentralized,
depending on the nature/focus of the need for change, be it related to the needs of
educational institutions at the local, district or regional level, or to the needs of individual
teachers. Decentralization has been described to mean more than just locating district-
devised staff development at the schools. The meaning extends to the idea of. Shared
control of the INSET activity with school heads and administrators.

INSETs usually take one of three common ways namely:

1.the short-term residency programmers,

2.continuous or lifelong learning programmes and
3.the distance education programmes.

The choice of an INSET model depends on the socio-economic systems in which they
operate and the objectives of the programmers. Some of the most commonly used models
that fall into the three categories above arc enumerated below.

Continuous or Lifelong Professional Development Mode!

The lifelong mode! of INSET which has not become very popular yet, represents a holistic,
long-term approach to ongoing professional development that includes training, support
and career growth (see CPD in Unit 5). Countries which have developed this model include
the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden.

College or Centralized Institution Model

Features
 This model is a planned and formal residential vacation programme (e.g. College of
education or University model) that is used for gaining further teaching and.
administration credentials- Participants in this training model arc required to spend most
of their time away from the school setting (i.e. where they teach). The model takes the form
of a large number of trainees receiving training at a time and often the courses make use of
new methodologies and materials to give quality instruction to trainees.

Advantages of the College-Based Model

• It prepares the individual for tougher job requirements as a result of
challenges in the global job market. A college will help one to meet these tougher
job requirements

• Even through one initially spends a large sum of money at the beginning,
one will most likely earn it back with the increased pay that comes from the
new/further credentials

 One may have many job options once s/he gets a higher qualification.
Disadvantages
• There is weak integration of knowledge and skills with the teacher’s classroom
realities.
• Cost: college/university programmes arc expensive.
Most people do not have enough money to pay for their college or university
education upfront and thus, have to take out loans. One may go out into the job
field in debt.
• Not everybody’s job requires a further qualification or credentials.

Partnership
The partnership programme is another model of INSET, which could be regarded as a
centralized programme. It could be between schools, Universities and other groups. The
type of partnership could either be between institutions in the same country, another
developing, nation or more industrialized nation to provide staff exchanges, shared training,
ideas and (or) support. There could be a partnership programme of INSHT between local
schools and Colleges of Education to provide testing grounds for new research practices
intended .to maximize 'student learning. Again, a partnership programme could be formed
as a result of individual collaboration of teache rs or school districts with institutions of
higher education with the aim of pursuing mutually beneficial project

The ideal typical model of partnership is described as being collaborative and at the same
time, -complementary. In a collaborative partnership, there is a requirement for the co mm
it mentor teacher educators and school-based practitioners to develop a programme where
participants are exposed to different forms of educational-knowledge, some of which come
from the school, some from. higher education and others from elsewhere. Teachers are seen
as having an equally legitimate but 'perhaps different body of professional knowledge from
those in higher education. Participants arc expected and encouraged to build up their own
body of professional knowledge

In a complementary partnership, the school_ and the higher education institution are seen
as having separate and complementary responsibilities but there is no attempt to bring
these two dimensions into dialogue. Many outcomes of partnerships come about not
from the plan or intended expectations but from the way the partnership works. Effective
partnerships arc based on reciprocity where both parties meet on equal grounds with the
desire to improve student learning outcomes and teacher practice. At the same lime, it
must be acknowledged that the development of a partnership needs to be based on the
identification of mutual need.

Features of the Partnership Model

• It is regarded as a centralized programme.

• Partnerships involve institutions in the same country or
from different countries. •
• It involves a higher (e.g. University or College) and lower education institution
(basic education institution).
• In the partnership, the participating teachers are seen as having equally
legitimate but different body of professional knowledge,
• Partnerships arc both collaborative and complementary.
• It is based on identification of mutual need.

Advantages
1. Reciprocity/integration is achieved between partners, though they may
come from different levels of education or high and low income countries.

2. Participants are encouraged to build up their own body of professional

knowledge.

3. Effective partnerships improve students' learning outcomes and teachers’

practice.

4. It aims at pursuing mutually beneficial projects.

Disadvantages
1. Some partners may feel inferior to their counterparts, since they arc from
different levels of education or countries.
2. Partners from lower educational levels or low- income countries are likely to
look up to those from higher levels as experts and expect to be lectured on best practices
or current teaching/learning theories.

3. Partnerships involving two countries are often unsustainable as a result of high

cost of travelling.

Teachers’ Networks

Features

Networks of teachers and schools have been an effective strategy to reduce the isolation
and conservatism of teachers. The objective of networks is to offer a place for sharing
reports of action research and teaching experiences. Networks can be within school sites
or extend to schools working across education district, region or even across the country.

Networks serve individual teachers with learning opportunities in the formation of a

teacher community and collective strategy to work on instructional improvement at a
school or individual classroom level. Close collaboration, trust and mutual respect
between colleagues arc important factors that enable networks to flourish. School
leaders have to devise strategies to facilitate closer working relationships between
colleagues so that trust and mutual supports can develop.

Advantages of Networks

1. It promotes enhanced confidence and self-esteem through the mutual support

offered by colleagues.
2. The support teachers obtain empowers them to perform efficiently.
3. The encouragement of support through networking activities assists in the transfer
of teacher learning to pupil learning. This results in greater impact within the
classroom experience of pupils and increase potential to raise standards and
attainment.
4. Teachers take control and greater ownership of their professional development, and
so the professional development activities and the change that emerges arc not seen
as an imposition by others.

5. Networks create an avenue for sharing knowledge and

experiences.

6. Enhanced individual, team and school performance may

emerge by sharing and developing practice within an atmosphere of mutual trust
and respect, both on a local and wider basis through a dissemination of good
practices and emerging principles.
 7 It may help to reduce or overcome any non-collaborative tendencies within
individual schools.

Disadvantages of Networks

1.Knowledge and experience sharing becomes difficult when those involved (teachers)
arc not conversant with the tools (medium or media) used.

2.Some members involved may be passive contributors to the network.

3.Time constraints due to workload may prevent the network from functioning
effectively.

4.Staff in some schools may be reluctant to take on the additional responsibilities inherent
in coaching and mentoring which arc associated with networking.

Distance Education Model

The distance education model is a decentralized programme of INSET which is

implemented through correspondence courses supported by either short residential
courses or tutorial activities in strategically located learning/resource centres or school
clusters. Its Objectives is to make education accessible to workers who are not able to
attend regular schools or classes. It also eases the pressure on universities. The model
has been found to be a possible cost-effective and more flexible learning approach
compared with the conventional mode. It is an effective way of reaching^ large
numbers of teachers, and in rural areas where the least qualified teachers are found, it
has been found-to be an effective way to develop their knowledge and skills.
Therefore, the model has received much support and high patronage.

Distance education sometimes faces challenges concerning infrastructural support; such

as communication tools, transport, library other resources like continues mentoring,
guidance and support with instructors and either teachers, etc. Nevertheless, if Has
been found to be most effective in upgrading, teachers in academic subjects,
disseminating information about new curricula, and for reaching experienced teachers
who are also independent learners with a strong academic background.

In Ghana, the College of Distance Education (CODE) at the University of Cape Coast
and the Institute for Educational Development and Extension (HIDE) at the University
of Education, Winneba provide distance education (upgrading) for teachers.
 Features

1. The distance education model is implemented through correspondence.

2. There are strategically located training centres for the programme.
3. It is cost effective.
4. It is more flexible in terms of the period for attending tutorials (e.g. weekends)
and for combining work and studies.
5. It supports decentralized programme of INSET.
6. The model is an effective way of reaching teachers on a large scale and in rural
areas where the least qualified teachers arc found.
7. There is no direct contact with faculty on a regular basis as compared with the
conventional mode.

Advantages
1. The distance education model develops knowledge and skills concurrently, as
teachers are able to apply the theory learnt to their practice.
2. It strengthens resource centres and school clusters.
3. It is one of the most effective means of upgrading teachers in academic subjects.
4. The model is good for independent learners with strong academic background.
5. It is flexible; students study at their own pace and convenience.

Disadvantages

1. In some places, it may be overly dependent on technology (e.g, radio/TV lessons,

online tutoring and correspondence, etc).
2. It sometimes engenders academic indiscipline as a result of its flexibility and
convenience.
3. Learners can feel isolated or lonely.
4. Not all courses are available or taught distance mode.
5. It may not be valued by all employers.

School Clusters, Local Teachers’ Centres and Resource Centres Models.

Features
 Cluster schools have been described as a grouping of six to eight primary schools,
organized together for administrative and educational purposes. One of the aims of
clustering schools is to enhance educational quality by sharing resources such as
teaching and learning materials, facilities and staff. Teachers in cluster schools also
meet for the purpose of professional development activities. Often when schools lire
clustered" in an area with common interest arid aspirations, the organization of INSET
is easier.

The type of INSRT in the school clusters, local teachers’ centres and resource centres
is comparatively decentralized and has been found to be helpful where scarce materials
and human resources arc shared, in spite of' often encountered challenges in establishing
resource centres in the school clusters with its peculiar problem of ownership and
maintenance.

Advantages

1. Cluster-based INSRTs enhance participants’ administrative and educational

competence since they plan and implement the INSRT on their own.
2. It is cost effective.
3. Cluster schools can serve as a platform for socialization.
4. It encourages sharing of knowledge, experiences and resources.
5. It develops teacher collegiality.

Disadvantages
1. It can be time consuming when teachers from different schools have to meet regularly to
plan and implement the programme.
.
2. There is the problem of ownership and maintenance of resource materials and resource
centres since different schools are involved.

3. It may not serve the need of individual schools since the cluster is the focus.
4. Much pressure may be put on the limited resources in the name of sharing.

School-based INSET
At the school level, teachers participate in decision making on
both academic and social issues, plan and implement INSIST to solve any related
problems identified.

The school-based INSET aims at promoting:

1.ownership and implementation of credible continuous teacher professional development
programmes that will benefit the schools.

2.the design, development and production of appropriate teaching and learning materials
for use in the classroom;
3.the process of assessing and addressing teachers’ needs relating to teaching and
learning and providing support.
4.the development of schools as resourceful and collaborative learning centres
5.make input into curriculum delivery;
6.conduct peer evaluation;
7.update teacher knowledge and skills and
ultimately, help teachers to develop school improvement plans and keep proper records
on student learning.

Generally, the school-based INSET is known to have a strong impact impact on the
professional development of teachers (NOTE. see Unit 9 for a detailed discussion of the
school-based INSET)

Alternative Needs Response Models

The alternative needs response models are believed to have been developed in the USA
after the Second World War when there was a general worldwide teacher shortage. The
models are still being used in some developing countries to meet the quantitative
problems of teacher supply. Thus, the models are used for either pre service and (or) in-
service teacher training when large numbers of teachers need to be trained and when
training needs are to be delivered more quickly. The alternative needs response models
come in various forms, such as the sandwich model, the distance education model, the
mobile models, cascade, master teacher, teacher centre and outreach models, and
combinations of the above. Examples of the alternative needs response model of
teacher-training in Ghana are the Distance Education Programme organized by the
College of Distance education, University of Cape Coast and the Institute of Education
Development and Extension at the University of education, Winneba.

This model takes a shorter time to train teachers to fill the gap
created by the scarcity of teachers, for example, in Ghana although the colleges of
education continue to train teachers, the Sandwich and Distance Education Centres also
continue to train teachers concurrently. The end result is that, in a short time, more teachers
would be-trained, making room for more qualified teachers to be in the system within the
same space of time.
 Advantages

1. It helps to fill vacant classrooms with trained teachers in the shortest possible
time.
2. It is cost effective for the government because no new structures arc needed to
accommodate the trainees, as the college/university structures arc used during vacations.
3. It is cost effective for the students because they do not have to quit their jobs
while studying.
4.The alternative needs response model provides an avenue for teachers to upgrade
themselves both academically and professionally.
Disadvantage
1. Because of the large number of teachers involved, sometimes the model gives little room
for well organized and supervised practicum.
2. When it employs the sandwich mode, application of theory to practice is not
ensured.
3. It tends to be too theoretical and academic-oriented.
4. College/university residential programmes tend to be expensive since much of the cost is
borne by the trainees.

5. When it is organized during vacations, the model runs for just a short period and in most
eases students arc rushed through the courses due to the short duration (c.g.
Christmas/Easter vacation).

6. The alternative needs response model is sometimes criticized for providing inadequate
training to teachers.

All the models discussed in this unit have been found to be successful in providing training to teachers
in spite of their disadvantages. However, the choice of a particular model depends on many factors
including the socio-economic status of the country, as well as the nature and needs of a country’s
education system.

Questions for reflection

1. Looking at the condition of the education system in Ghana, which of the models
of INSET described in this unit would help to address an identified teacher problem/need?

2. Describe any three (3) models of INSET and show how they can be used
effectively to address identified teacher needs.

3. List and discuss five (5) factors that may determine the choice of an INSET model
 in Ghana.

Unit 7

DELIVERY METHODS FOR IN - SERVICE EDUCATION

AND TRAINING PROGRAMMES

jn the previous unit, we looked at different INSET models. This unit describes some of the common INSET
delivery methods and practices.

Just as INSET can employ many models, it can also make use of different instructional/delivery methods,
once the model has been selected. Generally, INSETs arc often delivered through direct teaching of new
ideas (i.e. courses and lectures), workshops and conferences, particularly for developing awareness of new
teaching methodologies. The workshop method for example has been advocated as one of the most effective
ways of INSET provision because it helps participants to develop skills by doing. This is based on the belief
that when teachers work together (and in the context of their work), relationships that arc built can provide
an environment of support for critical reflection. INSETs may also take the form of job-embedded learning,
or learning in school through peer coaching, mentoring, action research and critical friendships^

Determining the Delivery Method to Choose

INSET delivery methods arc normally determined, by the needs the INSET is meant.to address and the
availability of adequate funding. And resources_(e.g. materials). The duration of anJNS.ET programme
could also determine the type of instructional method to use. If the INSET aims at exposing teachers to the
national curriculum or educational reforms, the lecture method may be the dominant mode. Again, if the
duration is too short and a lot of information would have to be given, there would
be the need to resort to the lecture method. Thus, the content of INSET (what needs to be achieved at the
end of the programme) may have a relationship with the duration, which will also determine the delivery
method to use.

It must be noted however that the general orientation of the new approach to professional development is
more constructivist (meaning new knowledge is actively constructed by learners based on their prior
understandings) than transmission-oriented. This is based on the recognition that all teachers, irrespective
of their career stage (like all learners) bring prior knowledge and experience to all new learning situations.
In addition, it is now generally understood that teacher learning lakes place over a period of time rather than
in isolated moments in lime, and that active learning requires opportunities to link previous knowledge with
new understanding. These must be borne in mind when selecting a particular method for INSET.

The Delivery Methods and Practices

1. Demonstration and Observation

Lessons and preparation of caching and learning materials can be demonstrated during INSLTs to illustrate
a point or present good practices in lesson delivery. These can be done by the presenter, by some of the
participants, or by means of videos or slides. For example, good examples of lessons that have been recorded
on videos can be shown and analyzed. Sometimes, role-plays can be used to involve participants in
situations that illustrate a-concept or intended learning. It can also be used to model a good or bad
teaching/learning situation for subsequent discussion or comment. The advantage is that participants can
see, practice and receive coaching on specific intended learning. It can also be used to model a good or bad
teaching/learning situations for subsequent discussion or comment.

2. Discussion

Discussion provides participants with opportunities to explore and internalize information that is presented
to (hem. Lesson plans, lesson demonstration and observation, ease studies or given topics lend themselves
to discussion. It can be done in small groups or by the whole class; before or after an activity. For example,
before a demonstration lesson, the topic of the lesson can be presented to INSET participants for a
discussion of the different methods and teaching /teaching activities that may be used. Alter the lesson,
participants can be made to critique it and suggest possible alternatives to teaching the topic. A good way
to start a discussion is to ask individual participants to write down key points of what they learned, and then
distribute a discussion guide with questions on it for small groups. These arc then brought together in a large
group.

3. Case studies

4. Case studies are usually descriptions of situations that arc unresolved. They are used for group -
discussion- and for the generation of ideas and solutions. They can be based on real or imaginary
situations that have been created to aid the discussion and for given topic. An imaginary teacher may be
presented in an ease study as explaining that s/he solved the problem of pupils’ reading disability by

caning them. This can be put up for discussion and for alternative procedures to be elicited. In INSET
programmes, these can be given as individual assignments or for group discussion. Be it real or imaginary,
the ease study is supposed to enable participants to apply what they are learning.

lecturette

The term ‘lecturette refers to a short or ‘mini’ lecture.

Lectures arc used to present information to the participants in a short and precise manner. This can he
achieved through presenting information to the large group on flip chart paper, overhead r transparencies,
or through other means such as oral presentations.
The lecture method has dominated many INSET programmes because of the short duration of the
programmes and the amount of information to be given within a short time. The lack of proper planning
and lack of diversification of activities at INSET may cause the resource person to lecture. This is especially
so if materials are not available for the programme. The lecture method is not to be totally rejected but
where its use supersedes the use of other methods, then it becomes a matter of concern since it does not
allow for proper involvement oT participants in the programme.

5. Problem Solving

There are several ways to involve participants in problem-solving situations. One of them is
brainstorming. This technique encourages a free-flowing, spontaneous, and creative mechanism for
generating ideas. A problem is given and participants are asked to provide possible solutions which
arc recorded. No judgment or debate can occur on the ideas at the time of brainstorming. When all
ideas have been exhausted, then solutions are narrowed down to the ones most favoured, by the
group.

A variation of this method is the ‘walk around brainstorming’.

In this method, problem statements are written on flip chart paper. One idea per flip chart
page is listed and then posted on the walls around the room. As individuals, or as small
groups, participants go from one flip chart page to the next, writing down possible
solutions.

The Nominal Group Technique is another way of solving problems. It combines the advantages of
brainstorming, discussion, and prioritization. The participants arc given a problem statement and individuals
arc asked possible solutions. V/hen this has been completed the group leader records all the different ideas
on Hip chart paper. Through discussion, debate and consensus, a final list of solutions is determined. The
last step of the nominal group technique requires each participant to priorities the solutions.5 point to be
given to the highest priority. 4 points for all second highest priority and. so on down to f point. A compilation
of the points then reveals the group prioritization for solutions to the problem statement given at the
beginning of the exercise.
6. Small Group Activities

This is a way of involving participants in presentations. It works by making members of small

groups put their ideas together and report back to the large group. There are several techniques
which can be utilized to involve participants in small groups.

a. The 1-3-6 technique; this technique is used to build consensus in a small group setting.
Participants are asked to answer a question or solve a problem by individually
writing down solutions. Following this, participants are asked to form groups of three and asked to
priorities their solutions or they may be asked to list and discuss all their solutions.
This will ‘depend on the nature of the task. The final step of the process combines two groups of
three in a group of six. The group of six then repeats the process used by the group of three. At
the end, solutions would have been generated, discussion would occur and the topic area would
have been add addressed by the entire group.

b. In another example, a topic of concern or interest is presented to a small group of five to eight
participants. The participants are asked to use their time together to share experiences,
information and ideas. The results of the professional exchange may be shared in the large group,
circulated in printed form later, or left at the discussion stage.

Team Teaching

Team teaching is one of the effective presentation methods for INSET. The benefits for teaming include:

Having two sets of ideas to utilize in designing the INSET activity;

7. Having two people to workTeam
on theTeaching
development of the design; and
Having a built-in coach
Teamforteaching
the presentation
is one of of
thethe INSET.presentation methods for INSET.
effective
The well
benefits for teaming include: keep the INSET presentation fresh and energized.
Two people who work together can continually
1. By taking turns presentingHaving
or leading,
two itsets
is possible
of ideastotoalways
utilizehave one personthe
in designing refreshed
INSETand prepared.
Adjustments and refinements to presentations are also more easily done with two presenters. As one
activity;
2. person is presenting to theHaving
group the
twoother
peopleperson canonbethe
to work listening in so as
development of to
thefill in any
design; identified gaps
and
3. during the next segment of the presentation.
Having Participants
a built-in coach can also benefit
for the presentation from seeing two different
ofthc INSET.
presenter styles.
Two people who work well together can continually keep the INSET presentation fresh and
energized. By taking turns presenting or leading, it is possible to always have one person refreshed
and prepared. Adjustments and refinements to presentations arc also more easily done with two
presenters. As one person is presenting to the group the other person can be listening in so as to fill
Any of these methods should be carefully considered on its own merits before it is chosen. As
aforementioned, it is also important to consider the need to be addressed during the INSET, and how best
to meet that need

Questions for reflection

List and discuss four (4) factors that may determine the choice of an INSET delivery method.

Describe' how any three (3) INSET delivery strategies may be used to address a problem you have identified.

UNIT 8
ORGANIZATION OF IN-SERVICE EDUCATION AND
TRAINING

The success of any INSET programme depends on its conception, how it is

planned, organized and monitored/evaluated. This unit describes the processes
involved in the organization INSET, how to obtain Rinds for the programme and
the organizations involved in the provision of INSETs.

The Processes Involved in the Organisation of INSET

1. Needs assessment/analysis and assessment of employees’ readiness
2. Selection of resource persons .
3. Planning and designing of the course or programme
4. Planning physical resources
5. Financial estimates/budget
6. Sending estimates to sponsoring agency
7. Invitation and feedback of the participants
8. The implementation and delivery of the course/programme
9. Managing the delivery of the course
Monitoring and evaluation of the course - post-mortems and follow-up

The process involved in the organisation of INSET is a cyclical one in the sense that after the post-mortems
and follow-up, the process has to begin again. It will either be done to strengthen the skills learnt earlier or
for the acquisition of new ideas and skills. This is referred to as the evaluation cycle

THE EVALUATION CYCLE

The processes involved in the organization of INSET (listed 1 -

10 in the previous page) constitute the evaluation cycle. The first
step down to the seventh step form part of the planning phase of
the cycle. The eighth and ninth steps of the process constitute the
implementation or ‘DOING’ phase of the cycle with the tenth just- .' .
 step making up the evaluation stage. After the evaluation phase,
plans are taken as to when and how the next INSET can be organized. The details of what is done at each
phase of the cycle arc described in the subsequent sections of this unit.

Assessing the Needs of Teachers

Whose needs should the INSET address? Some of the following can be
considered:
1. It could be the organization’s needs: the organization’s strategy, resources and
management support must determine or inform whether there is a need for training.
2. Employees’ or persons’ needs: it is important to identify which of the employees’
performance can be improved through training.
3. The job/task needs: identify what tasks, knowledge, skills and behaviours are
needed for the job.
How arc Needs Identified?
This can be done through any of the following:
1. Diagnostic documents (e.g.baseline surveys)
2. Questionnaires
3. Interviews
4. Observing pupils’ work, e.g. exercise books, reading, working on the board, etc.
5. Observing teachers to see how lessons arc taught
6. Adaptations of organizational or departmental audit
(examination of work practices)

How to Priorities Needs for INSET

An organization or individuals may have several different needs that must be addressed through INSET.
.However, only a few (or one main need) may be addressed at any one lime. While choosing the one that
must be addressed first, the following must long borne in mind:
 Avoid competing demands.
 Aim at mutual benefit. .
 .Focus on the fact that individual and organizational development is symbiotic.
 To avoid pressure from various sector/individual needs (for INSET), staff development programmes
should be made part of the school’s over-all strategic plan (long term) and development plan (short
and medium term).
Planning and Designing the Programme

It is important to put in place key managers of INSET programmes who will provide professional courses’
calendars for teachers. For effective implementation of the programmes, teachers must be part of the initial
planning and designing.

Whether or not participants will accept invitations to the INSET programme depends on
the experiences about previous INSETs and some other factors including the training
content and method, venue or location of the programme, food and transportation. To
make INSETs attractive, the following points should be noted:
1. The training content and method should be
carefully selected, and there must be a link
between the method and content. This is in
recognition of the fact that there are different
learning styles for adults. Therefore, there
should be range of activities or instructional
methods such as: Projects; c. Discussions,
etc.
2. INSET planners should also consider the kind of participants and the particular
need(s) to be addressed and select resource persons accordingly.

3. Physical resources such as accommodation and materials should be planned in

advance.

4. Funding should be sourced or obtained.

5. liming and duration should be appropriate and convenient!

Implementing the INSET

While the INSET programme is going on, it is important to ask the question: ‘arc we
carrying out what we planned to do?’ and/or ’do we need to adjust our plans?’

Areas to monitor or follow up include __

• Satisfaction with the programme of activities
• Suitability of the provider
• Cost-effectiveness
• Appropriateness of the actual facilities
• Suggestions for future workshop
 Monitoring or follow up:

A process of monitoring should accompany any programme i m p l e m e n t e d in order to

determine progress of effectiveness a n d efficiency. ‘Phis follow-up can take various
forms. The purpose is (0 use the formative evaluation to indicate further training needs
and also to use the summative evaluation to indicate the extent to which teachers
implement what they have learnt at the INSET. Teachers, head teachers and/or the trainer
can do the follow-up. 'The follow-up can take the form of:

, • lesson observations;
• progress meeting with individual teachers or groups of teachers;
• staff meetings;
• demonstration lessons and
• assessment of learners’ work.

Evaluating the Programme .

INSET evaluation can be conducted to find out how successful the activity was and also
to find out the impact of the activity on teachers’ work output. This can be done through
teachers’ opinions (interviews and questionnaires), trainees’ behaviour on the job after
the training and the quality of output, which can be found through observation. During
evaluation, improvement is normally assessed against the objectives or goals for the
training, but sometimes, improvement is not immediately observed. It may take a long
time.

Research indicates that generally, teachers rate INSET sessions highly, rarely answer
open-ended questions and do not successfully implement what they learn during the
INSET. It is therefore important that
77monitoring and follow-up arc conducted

to identify challenges teachers encounter in their effort to apply new theories or practices
and to support them through. The impact of the training should then inform subsequent
programme planning for modifications or changes to be made.

Obtaining Funds for INSET

One of the problems affecting the smooth organization of INSETs is funding. Adequate
funding enables organizers to achieve their objectives and motivate participants.

Funding can be said to be anything that is fiscal (that requires money) or material.
Small-scale (e.g. cluster/school-based) INSETs can be organized With internally-
generated funds from sources such as the capitation grant, sale of art works, levies
from food vendors in schools, money accrued from rental of school facilities (e.g.
to churches) and school worship, voluntary offering/donation, etc. Medium or
large scale INSETs may involve many schools and therefore may require external
 funding. This is where sponsorship from philanthropists, governmental or non-
governmental agencies may be needed. The first thing to do is to identify the
donor. Next, a brief proposal may be required. The proposal should consist of a
detailed description of the following, among others: -. '

rationale for the programme in view of the participants’ need,

• expected outcomes (objectives),
• how the objectives will be achieved, i.e. the type of training or programme that
can address that need, such as a workshop, seminar, lesson study and
demonstration, etc.
• the target group or beneficiaries and expected number.
• the content of the INSET (topic(s) to be treated)
• budget (i.e. Teaching/Learning Materials (TLMs), food, rental of venue,
accommodation if needed, travelling
, expenses!, honorarium for resource persons, etc.)
• timelines for obtaining needed items and for carrying out the programme.

. Sources of Funds for INSET Organization

As has been pointed out earlier, some of the following sources can be used fo obtain
funds for INSET:

1. Internally generated funds from:

a. donations obtained from speech and prize-giving days and durbars;

b. exhibitions;
. c. school projects, e.g. school farm/garden;
d. tolls from petty-traders;
c. ~ silver collection during school worship, etc.
78
2. Parents-Teachers’ Association (PTA): voluntary offering during meetings,
fund-raising.

3. District/Municipal Assemblies, MP’s Common Fund,

, District Assembly’s- Common Fund, District Education

Oversight Committee.

4. GES budget for INSET, e.g. funds from the School Performance
Improvement Plan.

5. Philanthropists. 1

6. NGOs/religious bodies.
j
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT).

Organizations Involved in Providing INSET

4. Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast
Most organizations are concerned about staff efficiency, effectiveness and
competencies. As a result, INSET is the preferred method for staff development since
it is relatively cheaper than other forms of training (e.g. study leave). Many agencies
arc involved in the provision of INSET for personnel in various job sectors. In 1985,
UNESCO identified two categories of organizations involved in the sponsorship of
INSET on the global scene. These are classified as (a) governmental and (b) non-
governmental.

Some of the organizations are known to organize INSETs on behalf of the Education
Ministry of any country which is to benefit from such support system. In that sense,
they are considered as governmental agencies, flic following are some examples:

• UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

• OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

ILO International Labour Organization
NEPAD New Partnership for African Development
• ATRT Association for the Training of Teachers

• ICRT International Council on Education and Training

• WCOTP World Confederation of Organization of the Teaching Profession

• IFTIJ International Federation of Teachers ‘Unions

INSET Organization in Ghana

In Ghana, IN SI IT is provided by numerous organizations, mostly local. Funding for
INSET is mostly obtained from these sources:

• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

• Ministry of Education (MOR)
• Ghana Education Service (GRS)
• Philanthropists/visionary individuals
79 in the society

Manu (1993) observes that in time past, most INSRTs organized in Ghana by educational
authorities concentrated on helping participants to pass promotion examinations as well
as implement new programmes. The organizations noted for providing I-NSRT for
personnel of various levels of education in Ghana include the following:

1. Ghana Education Service (G.R.S)

2. Ministry of Education (M.O.R)

♦
3. Teacher Education Division (T.R.D)
4. Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (I.E.P.A), University of Cape
Coast

5. College of Distancc Education (CODE), UCC

6. Institute for Educational Development and Extension (I.E.D.E), University of

Education, Winneba

7. Subject associations, e.g. CAST - Ghana Association of Science Teachers; GATE-

Ghana Association of Teachers of English
 8. Ghana National Association of Teachers GNAT

9. Curriculum Research and Development Division

(C.-R.D.D.) ,

The G.E.S. ‘
■ conducts INSET on the introduction of new curricula into schools;

■ conducts prescribed and promotion courses to enable some categories of teachers

to qualify for promotion;

* organizes orientation courses for newly trained teachers and officers; .

■ organizes conferences for administrative personnel with the purpose of introducing

them to new educational policies and programmes;

organizes refresher courses for all categories of serving teachers and administrative personnel
with the view to updating their knowledge in identifiable areas.

organizes courses to prepare teachers to pass promotion exams and interviews;

organizes book development workshops to train teachers in effective techniques for writing
textbooks and other instructional materials;

* organizes examination and extra classes to help teachers to up-grade their academic
credentials;

* organizes study circles/conference for teachers to update their knowledge in professional

issues and professional association matters.
80

organize workshops to introduce teachers to new syllabus;

organize workshops to review existing syllabus and teacher support materials to introduce
needed change, or to introduce entirely new ones;

organize workshops to introduce teachers to new ideas 1 coming into specific fields of
study and to introduce members to new methods of teaching.

The Institute of Education, UCC

9 organizes workshops in collaboration with other agencies to review policies,
programmers and curricula for teacher education;
 organizes workshops on lesson notes preparation, lest item writing and assessment
(continuous assessment) for tutors of colleges of education; it also organizes
workshops for college principals and assessment officers on the conduct of
examinations;

■ organizes coordination exercises on marking schemes for marking of college of

education examinations;

■ runs INS If programmers for practicing teachers and other personnel in the education
sector to upgrade their professional and academic qualifications (post-diploma and
M.Ed programmes);

■ The professional board of the Institute of Education organizes conferences and

seminars to review syllabuses and assessment procedures for colleges of education.

I. E.P.A, UCC

• organizes courses and workshops to equip management and administrative

personnel in educational institutions with educational administration and
management skills;

■ collaborates with the G.E.S. to organize courses to prepare G.E.S. personnel for
promotion examinations and interviews.

CODE, UCC •

■ organizes INSET through distance education for teachers and other professionals to
upgrade their academic and professional qualifications;

organizes workshops to equip lecturers and teachers with skills in the writing of distance
education materials.

■ organizes INSET by distance education for teachers and there professionals to upgrade
their academic and professional qualification.

organizes workshops to equip lecturers and teachers with skills in writing of distance
education materials.

Questions for reflection

As the coordinator of INSET in your school, write a proposal to an identified agency for
funding to organize INSET for the
 UNIT 9

CURRENT TREND IN IN-SERVICE EDUCATION AND TRAINING:

THE SCHOOL-BASED MODEL

It has been generally acknowledged that there is no single best way to prepare and support
teachers, but there are common elements that can be incorporated where appropriate, in the
design and implementation of INSET programmes. As such, many opinions run through the
literature on INSET, where for example, some researchers have advocated Tor an approach,
which they deem best for' educational and staff development, known as the “eclectic”'
approach. In this approach, staff developers and teachers collaborate on a joint research
project to improve practice in the school as the locus of decision making. Nevertheless, the
school-based INSET has stood out as the most preferred by teachers and the one which has
the greatest tendency to address their needs. This unit describes the school-based INSET. It
presents its benefits to teachers, how it is organized and the elements that make it successful.

What has necessitated the Shift to School-based INSET?

Most conventional INSET programmes typically centre on providing teachers with

technical knowledge, such as helping them deal with a new developed curriculum or in
updating teachers in the new national development plans which usually go hand in hand
with educational reforms. In Ghana, example of a national programme for which INSET
has been provided centrally is the National Literacy Acceleration Programme
(ANALAP)

Some of the researches conducted on teachers’ perception of their training programmes have
showed that few teachers were happy with the conventional (centralized) INSIST formats,
with the argument that they were either not aligned with their needs or that they were ran by
specialist who never ran a class of children.

Moreover, there are indications that most of the INSET offerings have outlived their eras,
both organizationally and pedagogically. In this regard, some critics think that many of the
staff development activities can be described as ‘‘sit and get” or “go and get”, in which
participants are passive recipients of received wisdom.

Educators have come to realize that the school is the unit of change in education and that the
changes that make a difference in student learning arc directly related to the way teachers
and administrators carry out their professional responsibilities. A study conducted in Japan
(Mori, 1982) for example found that teachers rated INSET in the schools higher than that
provided by administrative agencies whereas school personnel in managerial positions rated
INSET by administrative agencies higher. Furthermore, survey data on administrative
agencies revealed that ^1.6% of the school supervisors who prepared and provided INSET
to teachers thought it met with good results whereas only 28.6% of the teachers agreed with
it. This shows that while supervisors or external agencies think of the INSET they provide to
teachers as beneficial, the teachers for whom it was provided think otherwise.

Similarly, it is strongly believed that the central locus of teachers’ professional development
lies in the teachers’ own schools. In a study, 422 novice teachers were asked to name 2 people
who were most helpful in improving their teaching. Sixty-one percent (61%) of the
respondents named elder teachers and 33%, being the second best response, named
colleagues teaching the same grade or the same subject. Thus, INSETs in schools have been
found to have great effects especially on young teachers as they model themselves after
experienced teachers.

These studies imply the reasoning that INSET programmes in schools arc a great potential
for teachers’ professional development. The school-based INSET has therefore become a
popular activity.

What makes the School-based INSET successful?

The school-based model has been found to be very effective for long-term guided learning,
and is being used extensively in changing classroom practices. It also had the strongest
support in surveys conducted in the 1990s. One of the reasons was that it is the most effective
way to integrate theory and practice as competencies cannot be developed through theory but
rather through teaching experience. The model is believed to work best in a combination of
certain in-school activities such as:

• individual consultations between the teacher and the supervisor or other experts,
especially with emphasis on classroom supervision;
• observation of excellent teachers;
• discussion;
• peer coaching and mentoring;
 • visits to other classrooms and schools;
• support and participation of the head teacher or other designated “director-organizer
and
• control from teachers, outside officials and the head teachers.
The key to achieving all these is the spirit of collaboration and collegiality among teachers
in the school setting.

An Example of a School-based JNSET

The lesson-study is peculiar to the Japanese school-based INSET, and has become one of
the popular ideas of teacher’s professional development. Stigler (2002) define it as an
activity in which teachers get together to plan instruction, to come up with ideas for
improving it, and to try doing it again”. Others describe the lesson study as a form of action
research that allows teachers to work collaboratively as reflective practitioners. It is also
described .as a process which Japanese teachers engage in to continuously improve the
quality of the experiences they provide their students.

The school-based collaborative lesson study is the most common type of school-based
learning with the collaboration of teachers’ from a single school, 'flic U. S. educator, stigler
(2002) recommends it as a good example of a ‘high-quality professional development
programme to ‘expand the teacher’s power in the classroom’.

The characteristic features of the lesson-study are that teachers:

1. get together to plan a lesson,

2. observe what happens when it is delivered through demonstration,

3. analyze what went wrong to come up with ideas for improving it, and

try doing it again in their classrooms.

4. What makes the Lesson Study Successful?

I he lesson study as a school-based activity hinges on the teachers’ professional culture

through collective participation. It is suggested that teachers’ professional culture is best
developed when, in addition to several other conditions, participants feel comfortable with
one another in a non-threatening environment. Again, the lesson-study should honour the
central role of teachers by placing them in the position to decide how the practice (of
Lesson -study) should continue and what issues to focus on.
Successful school-based lesson study sessions depend on the development of the
 professional culture and the habit of writing a lesson plan for others who observe the
lesson. This provides a focus as colleague teachers watch the lesson, whilst maintaining
_
a perspective of the unit (objectives, main ideas, the instructional considerations, unit
goals, number of hours to be spent on each goal, etc) with the teacher playing a central
role in developing these practices

Planning and Implementation of the School-based INSET: the Japanese example

The lesson study is part of school-wide improvement programme that generally goes in three-
year cycles. It is held by most schools at regular intervals of about 3 to 10 times a year or
weekly, offering teachers greater autonomy in their professional development as they partake
in classroom observation and narrative presentations of teaching practices. When planning
it, relevant content as well as delivery methods must be selected carefully to attract teachers’
participation and commitment. The processes involved arc as follows

1. Firstly, a problem area in the curriculum is chosen and used for lesson study for
three years, until that problem is solved. Sometimes, technical support is provided
through the school principals and lead teachers in order to decide on a long-term
research theme in addition to the weekly lesson study activities, and a team to carry
this out.

2. A wide range of activities is then planned to cover one, two or three years
depending on the period indicated in the strategic plan, to examine all aspects of
the teaching- curriculum: lesson plans, instructional materials and content.

3. A typical lesson study activity then begins with a research lesson plan by an
individual teacher or a group of teachers. The research lesson plan takes into
account the lesson topic, ascertaining where the topic Ills into the curriculum,
evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of typical approaches, and trying new
ways to address weaknesses in the traditional approaches.

4. After the research lesson plan, a demonstration lesson is delivered, in which

observing teachers take notes as they watch students’ reaction to the lesson.

5. There is then a post-lesson discussion which gives the presenting teacher the
opportunity to reflect on the taught lesson and the observing teachers critically
discuss the lesson and offer alternative approaches.

The trend of teacher development in Japan is believed to be a very influential factor in the
production of increased learning outcomes, high performance in international examinations
such as TIMSSR and the overall economic development of the country. A lot of good
practices of Japan’s teacher development

programmes arc recently attracting the attention of the international community that is still
in the process of improving teacher quality and increasing learning outcomes.

Questions for Reflection

1. Describe how conventional INSITs arc organized.

2. What is the current trend/new model of the provision of INS FT?

3. Why is it necessary to shift from the conventional method of INSIST delivery to the
new model?

4. List four (4) factors that make the new model of INSIST provision successful.

5. List the steps for organizing the school-based lesson study.

6. Mention two (2) main differences you have noted in this unit between the school-
based INSIST and the lesson study.
 UNIT 10

CHALLENGES OF IN-SERVICE EDUCATION AND

TRAINING AND HOW TO ENSURE EFFECTIVENESS
AND SUSTAINABILITY

This unit is in two parts. The first part discusses the challenges that arc associated with the
provision of INSET. 'The second part talks about how to make INSETs effective and
sustainable.

Challenges of INSET

There are many challenges associated with the provision of INSET. In this part, we will
consider some of the general and specific ones relating to planning, implementation and
monitoring of INSET.

|. The problem of low learning achievement by public basic school pupils in Ghana calls
for interventions from both governmental and non-governmental organizations and
development partners. Sometimes, these interventions’ become so many that there seems to
be no coordination among the various providers. When this happens, there is no continuity
in the use of a particular approach since not long after the introduction of one approach,
another provider comes in with a new one. Consequently, teachers immediately abandon
new teaching approaches they are trying to master for new ones which a new provider has
introduced. This negatively affects the continuity and sustainability of an intervention.

2. Not all teachers get the chance to attend in-service courses. Often, those who might need
1
the courses never get the chance to attend any of them. Again, INSETs which use the
cascading approach (a teacher representative attends and comes back to brief colleagues)
oden have a ‘dilution5 effect because the representatives arc unable to recall and re-teach
to their colleagues all that they learnt during the session(s). Other times, head teachers
ask their favorite teachers to attend such meetings, thus, preventing the ones that need
the training from participating.

3. Sometimes after INSETs, some participants get transferred from their station to areas and
schools where the knowledge acquired would not be of immediate practical use.
Moreover, a teacher on transfer from one district may be invited to attend same
INSET he had attended at his previous station due to lack
of accurate records.
4. The teachers who gel the chance to attend courses arc neither given credits nor
 certificates, largely because there are poorly conceived incentives. This does not
motivate teachers well enough to attend subsequent ones or to attach any
seriousness/commitment when they attend.
5. There is no liaison between in-service and pre-service courses. This means that in-service
courses do not take cognizance of what trainees might already know from college and
what might be a deficiency in the initial teacher education in order to fill that gap.

6. Since in-service courses conducted by the GHS is compulsory, some people hold the
view that some participants might attend the programme to please the organizers and might
not put into practice what they learn at the courses.

7. There is also the problem of financing INSHT. If the GHS or the school does
not have a budget for INSET, it will not be able to organize one but rather expect
NGOs and development partners to provide it always.

8. INSETs may be provided once in a long while (one-shot) and sometimes, a

teacher may receive only one INSET throughout his or her entire career life. This
affects teachers’ career growth and progression.

9. When participants only sit and listen during the programme, it becomes
boring and they tend to forget what they learnt.

10. Sometimes, topics selected for INSKT arc based on the providers’ perception
of the teachers’ need and not what the individuals actually need. No proper need
analysis is conducted. INSETs of this nature are mostly supply-driven. It may also
be donor-driven and controlled. In its planning and implementation, teachers are •
not seen as active participants in their own professional growth and as sources of
knowledge.

11. INSETs arc mostly disconnected from teachers’ classroom practice and therefore less
likely to deal with needs and concerns of teachers.

12. There is often lack of follow-up and evaluation support to help teachers to implement
new ideas and practices introduced during INSET.

13. Sometimes, there is over concentration of INSET on particular levels of education (e.g.
lower primary) and on some subjects to the neglect of the other levels, certain categories
of teachers or subject groupings.

2
Measures to address the challenges of INSET

In view of these challenges, there is the need for the bodies involved in the organization of
in-service programmes to come together to form an in-service committee which can
monitor all in-service programmes and advise the educational authorities on in-service
matters. Also, for effective implementation of new techniques learned from in-service,
follow up visits and effective monitoring and evaluation must be conducted.
There is also the need for support mechanism to teachers at the school level to make them
access cardboards, felt pens, newsprint and other materials so that they can organize school-
based INSETs and prepare teaching and learning materials for effective teaching arid
learning in their schools.

With regard to funding, the GF.S should provide sufficient funds for running the school so
that at least, one INSET activity can be catered for in the School Performance Improvement
Plan (SPIP). In this direction, the GNAT too should establish Professional Development
committees that will have its own budget to run INSKT programmes.

Finally, for teachers to show commitment to INSKT activities it has been proposed that the
INS FT course should be translated into credits to be accumulated for additional
qualifications or promotions. When this happens, teachers who attend courses could be asked
to make some financial contribution towards such courses.

Effectiveness and Sustainability of INSET

Many conventional INSKT programmes have been characterized by features such as the
following:

a. transmission of knowledge, values and political priorities of the state by

experts;

b. introducing schools to new ideas and approaches within the rationale of a

district, region or nation; and

conducting programmes stimulated by mandated or sponsored change and the

formulation and introduction of new policies.

Currently, the focus of INSETs has shifted to the way they are organized (including
the content and process of training), support and structure of the program me. -

There is evidence from some developing countries that success and sustainability of

3
a teacher development programme arc strengthened when:

• there is long-term involvement and support by stakeholders,

• sufficient institutional capacity,
• appropriate incentives and rewards,
• political stability and commitment and
• effective phasing out of outside donor resources.

Stakeholders’ support in this ease refers to support from teachers at the school
level, the head teacher and from the level of the larger education system. It also
includes the management of interpersonal skills in the school (the climate of the
school) that encourage support and commitment from teachers. Guskey (1995)
asserts that successful actions arc reinforcing and likely to be repealed while those
that arc unsuccessful tend to be diminished. Interpreted in professional
development terms, practices that arc new and unfamiliar to teachers will be
accepted and retained when they are perceived to be increasing one’s competence
and effectiveness, especially about teachers’ capacity affect students’ academic
growth and development. As such, sustainability oi the school-based INSIST
programme must necessarily refer to the elements of successful or effective
programmes.

Elements of Successful/Sustainable INSET Programmes

1. Content and Delivery Method

Some of the studies that have explored INSET curriculum indicate that the
success of INSET activities is partly due to the content of the programme. In
the recent trend of INSET provision, there is an inclination towards relevant
content and delivery mode that match teacher requirements. It is suggested that
content should strike a balance between pedagogy and subject matter, and not
exclusively on one or other, and that such content should include methods to
teach subject matter in ways that arc relevant to student context.

There is some evidence to indicate that INSET programmes whose content and
materials were developed in isolation of the teachers’ identified needs were seldom
relevant to the level and needs of the teachers.

2. Local Involvement of Stakeholders in Planning INSET

The pattern that emerges from opinions of experts in the field of Teacher Education

4
shows that there is the need for local involvement (teachers, head teachers and other
local participants along with administration officials) in the planning of tNSl”1'

content. It is suggested that INSET programmes should first determine the needs,
interests and strengths of the beneficiaries (teachers) in order to determine the goals,
content and best delivery methods. Experts in the field argue that staff members
need to have a say in the content of activities since priorities arc best decided at the
local level because people at that level have sufficient detailed knowledge of
situations and circumstances. Tatto (1997) points out that programmes that allow
high levels of local participation in both design and implementation prove to be
most effective and relevant.

It seems reasonable to suggest from the above that when teachers arc involved in
the planning of the content of INSET programmes, there is a high possibility of their
participation and commitment.

3. School Climate

Many authorities have demonstrated that the school context has an important role to
play in the success of professional learning. For example, in Fullan’s (1991) view,
sustainability of an innovation may be related more generally to the organizational
culture and its significance for development. In this connection, his model for the
implementation of innovations in schools consists of three groups of factors that
influence the change process in schools, one of which is the local contextual
influences (the other two being the characteristics of the innovation and external
factors). The local factors cluster around three components namely:

• the orientation of the teachers and the school organization

' to learning and change, . .
• the role of the head teacher in taking an active role in assisting change and

the level of support and interaction from the external school system.

The school context factor has received a lot of attention in the literature, and the two elements
of the school context that arc found to be most influential arc the culture of the school (its
values and norms of behaviour) and the nature of school leadership.

4. Relationships in the Local Context

The ongoing support teachers may give to a programme can be enhanced by certain norms
and practices they might share formally. Professional development can be influenced by the

5
 teachers’ values for the school as a cooperative and cohesive community where people
act with trust and collegiality. Such trust and collegiality provide a vital context for teacher
development and for the ways that teachers teach. It is the kind of environment that relates
to patterns of relationships and forms of association between its members: how relations
between teachers and their colleagues arc articulated. This kind of relationship between
teachers and their colleagues has implications on teacher development and educational
change.

Peers or colleagues can influence teacher development at the school level by affecting' the
decision-making of colleagues through informal exchanges, influencing each other in
determining the predominant teaching style and establishing and reinforcing informal norms
about peer interactions and professional development.

Collaboration and collegiality have been advanced as particularly fruitful strategies for
fostering teacher development in the sense that it takes teacher development to a point where
teachers can

learn from each other, going beyond dependence on outside experts, and reflected in teachers
sharing and developing their expertise together. There is a sense of confidence that is
developed through collegial sharing and support, which leads to greater readiness to
experiment and take risks, and with it, a commitment to continuous improvement among
teachers as a recognized part of their professional obligations. From the foregoing, it can be
concluded that collaboration and collegiality, when well-articulated arc seen to have the
potential to promote professional growth and internally generated school improvement.
I

5. School Leadership

It is generally believed that the climate or organizational culture of the school is determined
by the management system and support instituted by the leader. The leader’s support is seen
to manifest in the form of coordinating and managing the learning process and pursuing high
instructional standards. This is done by clearly and frequently stating in concrete terms the
school’s mission, curricular goal and expected teaching behaviour. Some experts in the field
maintain that there is a strong relationship between the strong leadership of the school and
the climate of the school as well as the sustainability of school innovations. Stigler (2002) is
an advocate of the idea that there is the need for a strong head and a strong superintendent
who supports the head to make a school-based professional development flourish over lime.

To sum it up, INSET programmes are known to flourish over time when the issues in locus
arc those directly linked to classroom practices, with the beneficiaries (teachers) maintaining
a central role, in an atmosphere that enhances collegiality and collaboration under the strong
leadership of the school leader.

6
Brice, J. (1975). British Schools Council: The whole Curriculum 13-
16. Working Paper 53: London, England.
Brooks, M. G. & Brooks, J. G. (1987). Becoming a teacher for
Thinking: Constructivism, Change and Consequence. Journal of
Staff Development, 8 (3)16 -20.

Carron, G. & Chau, T. N. (1996). The quality of primary schools in

different development Conlexts. Paris: UNESCO. Pp. 151 -203.

Carron, G. & Dc Grauwe, A. (1997). Current Issues in Supervision: A

Literature Review. Trends in School Supervision Series. IIEP,
Paris: UNESCO.

Chand, A. (2001). Human resource strategic in small states: the case of

garment factories in the Fiji Islands. International Journal of
Educational Development. 21,273 -284.

Cochran-Smith, M. & Lytle, S. (1992). Teacher Research as a way of

knowledge. Harvard Educational Review, 62(4), 447 -474.

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