Practices and Challenges of Teachers’ Continuous Professional Development Program in Secondary Schools of Mao and Komo Special Woreda.

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.