Abstract:
The main purpose of this study was to assess the practices and challenges of school based teachers
Continuous Professional Development program implementation in secondary and Preparatory schools of
Mao and Komo Special Woreda. The study arose out of concerns that, though the Government of
Ethiopia planned CPD program to update the professional development of teachers to improve the
achievements of students, research has shown that teachers have not improved their classroom practice
which indicates that CPD program was not implemented successfully as it was planned. To this end, the
study used a cross-sectional survey design. In this study, both quantitative and qualitative data collection
methods were employed. The survey sample consisted of 3 secondary and preparatory schools, 3
principals, 2 school supervisors, 37 teachers, 15 CPD coordinators and 6 Woreda TDP coordinators with
a total of 63 participants out of 104 study participants. These groups of samples were selected using
purposive sampling and availability sampling techniques. The 3 secondary schools were selected through
availability sampling and the rest were selected by purposive sampling techniques. The researcher
collected the relevant data using instruments like questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and document
analysis. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as- mean and standard
deviation. The qualitative data were analyzed through descriptive narration for the purpose of
triangulation. The findings of the study show that: - majority of the respondents (teachers) had negative
views on the CPD program. As they said: - there were no stakeholders support and follow up activities
on the CPD program; and the CPD program was delayed due to various factors. Based on the finding the
study concluded that CPD program was not implemented successfully as per the views of teacher’s
participants. To alleviate the identified problems, the following recommendations were made: to
implement the CPD program effectively the stakeholders should reduce the work load of teachers;
prepare conducive environment for training; apply licensing, re-licensing, certification and career level
for teachers, identify CPD priorities clearly and make discussion with teachers; design systematic
support, follow up and evaluation strategies continuously; allocate the necessary budget and providing
the necessary CPD implementation materials at school level.
