Continuous Professional Development: Performance of Primary School Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the performance of primary school teachers (PSTs) under the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) framework. The study was conducted in the district Faisalabad of the Punjab Province. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in combination as a mixed methods approach to solve the research problem. Secondary data of mentoring visit forms (MVF) filled by the District Teacher Educators (DTEs) were analyzed to assess the performance of the PSTs. To get the deep understanding of the problem qualitative data was also collected from the 17 DTEs and 32 PSTs through semi-structured interviews protocols. Both content analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The findings of the study reveal that there is no significant improvement in teachers' performance as a result of mentoring under CPD Framework. The study also revealed that the performance of the teachers remain at the fair state during the start of the academic session and gradually reaches to the good level during the late months of every academic session.

Institutional Practices Towards the Continuous Professional Development of Primary School Teachers

“…Despite the comprehensive attention given to teachers' training and professional development within educational policies and reforms since 2000, the quality of education in public schools continues to face substantial disapproval. This could stem from inadequacies in executing policy decisions and shortcomings in implementing teachers' professional development initiatives (Munir, 2020). Teacher professional development (TPD) in our country typically involves attending externally organized training events such as workshops, conferences, seminars, or meetings, usually coordinated by the central office or other external bodies (DSD, 2006;2007a;Mohammad, 2004;Zareen, Mahmood, & Mahmood, 2013).…”

“…The United States invests nearly $18,000 per teacher annually and dedicates 19 days of teacher time to yearly training (TNTP, 2015). Munir (2020) found that in Pakistan, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in education remains a relatively new concept, with limited literature available locally on the subject. There needs to be a significant knowledge gap in comprehending the true worth of teacher development through mentoring within the CPD framework.…”