PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES AND LEARNER CENTRED PEDAGOGY IN THE LEARNING - TEACHING PROCESS IN SELECTED BRITISH CURRICULUM SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KENYA AND TANZANIA

Jennifer Getecha, Jacinta M. Adhiambo (PhD), Peter Koros (PhD)

Abstract


Education is one of the most important aspects of human resource development. It plays a vital role in the development of human capital and is linked with an individuals’ well-being and opportunities for better living. Teachers are central to the capacity of schools to perform and no amount of policy reform will make education more effective unless teachers are part of the change. Recognizing this insufficiency of knowledge of the teachers in both Kenya and Tanzania has led to the need to analyze the effectiveness of professional development programmes in enhancing teacher proficiency in selected British Curriculum Secondary Schools in Kenya and Tanzania. This study was guided by the following research question: To what extent do the professional development programmes enhance learner centred pedagogy in the learning and teaching process? The study was founded on the Human Capital theory (HCT) proposed by Schultz and Becker (1961) who developed it extensively. This study adopted a mixed method design specifically the convergent design. Target population of the study comprised 240 teachers, 40 mentors’, 10 deputy head teachers and 10 head teachers of Braeburn Group of International Schools in Kenya and Tanzania. The study findings indicated that the challenges faced by the school managers faced when facilitating the professional development programmes to enhance teacher proficiency were inadequate finances, inadequate time, lack of clear school policy. It is therefore necessary for provision of adequate resources, finances and a detailed school policy to ensure smooth facilitation in order to improve teachers’ professional development. The study recommends that teachers should be encouraged to adopt appropriate classroom management techniques to motivate pupils to learn for improved academic achievement. The study also recommends that more opportunities for teachers’ professional interactions and training should be created to ensure that the teachers are better prepared and confident when applying different assessment methods, differentiation and setting assignments.  

Keywords: Professional Development Programmes, Learner Centred Pedagogy, Teachers Proficiency, Schools Policy


Full Text:

PDF

References


Aaronson, D., Barrow, L., & Sander, W. (2017). Teachers and student achievement in the Chicago public high schools. Journal of labor Economics, 25(1), 95- 135.

Adam, J. and Kamuzora, F. (2008), Research methods for business and social studies. Mzumbe Book Project, Morogoro.

Adamson, K., Santau, A. O., & Lee, O. (2019). The impact of professional development on elementary teachers’ strategies for teaching science with diverse student groups in urban elementary schools. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 24(3), 553–571. doi:10.1007/s10972-012-9306-z

Alavi, H., &HÄ…bek, P. (2016). Addressing research design problem in mixed methods research. Management Systems in Production Engineering, 21(1), 62-66.

American Educational Research Association (2005).Ethical Standards II. Guiding Standards: Research Populations, Educational Institutions and the Public. (Online). Retrieved September 23, 2016 from http://www.aera.net/aboutaera/?id=174

Anderson, L. & Landy, J (2006). Team Teaching: Benefits and Challenges. Speaking of Teaching. The Center for Teaching and Learning. Stanford University, 16(1), 1-4.

Angelides P & Gibbs P (2006) Supporting the continued professional development of teachers through the use of vignettes. Teacher Education Quarterly 33(4)

Angrist JD, Lavy V (2011). Does Teacher Training Affect Pupil Learning? Evidence from Matched Pairings in Jerusalem Public Schools. Journal of Labor Economics, 19 (2), 343-369.

Ansell, N. (2002). Secondary Education Reform in Lesotho and Zimbabwe and the Needs of Rural Girls: Pronouncements, Policy and Practice. Comparative Education, Vol. 38, No. 1. pp. 91-112.

Atieno, O. E. (2019) Effectiveness of principals’ instructional supervision in enhancing teacher professional development in public secondary schools in Nairobi and Kajiado Counties, Kenya. Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, Kenyatta University.

Ayeni, J. A. (2011). Teachers’ professional development and quality assurance in Nigeria Secondary Schools. World Journal of Education, 1 (2), 143 -149.

Babalola, J.B, 2003. Budget preparation and Expenditure Control in Education: Basic Text in Educational Planning, Babalola, J.B. (Ed). Ibadan Awemark Industrial Printers.

Battle, J. P., &Lewis, M. (2012). The increasing significance of class. The relative effects of race and socioeconomic status on academic.London: Oxford Press.

Becker, G. (1964). Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education. New York, Columbia University Press.

Best, J. & Kahn, J. (2006). Research in Education. New Delhi: Prentice Hall

Blasé, J & Anderson, G. (1995). The Micro-politics of Educational Leadership. London:

Chenge, D. W. (2015). The internal curriculum supervision of life skills education in public secondary schools in Lugari Sub County, Kenya. M.Phil Thesis, Moi University.

Creswell, J. W. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Forte, A. M., & Flores, M. A. (2014). Teacher collaboration and professional development in the workplace: A study of Portuguese teachers. European Journal of Teacher Education, 37(1), 91–105. doi:10.1080/02619768.2013.763791

Fullan, M. (2014). The principal three keys to maximizing impact. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Fullan, M., Rincon-Gallardo, S., & Hargreaves, A. (2015) Professional capital as accountability. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 23(15), 1–22.

Hanushek, E.A. (1997). The Evidence of Class Size. Workingpaper, No 10. Wallenwallis

Institute of Political Economy; University of Rochester.

Lee, D. T., Lee, I. F., Mackenzie, A. E., & Ho, R. N. (2002). Effects of a care protocol on care outcomes in older nursing home patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 50(5), 870-876.

Lewin K & Stuart J (2003).The Multi-Site Teacher Education Research Project (Muster) DFID, London.

Lua, M., Loyalkab, P., Sha, Y., Changa, F., Liud C. &Rozelleb S., (2017)The Impact of Teacher Professional Development Programs on Student Achievement in Rural China. A Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, 710119 Xi’an, Shaanxi, China.

Martin, K., & Acuna, C. (2002). SPSS for institutional researchers. Bucknell University.

Nijia B., (2017) Technology-Based Professional Development for Teaching and Learning in K-12 Classrooms. Scholar Works,Walden University.

Piaget, J. (1965). The Moral Judgement of a Child. London: Free Publishers.

Raphael R. Kelani& Claudia Khourey-Bowers (2012): Professional development in sub-Saharan Africa: what have we learned in Benin? Professional Development in Education, DOI:10.1080/19415257.2012.670128

Republic of Kenya (2010). The Basic Education Act Report (2010). Nairobi. Government Printer.

Republic of Kenya, (2010). The Constitution of Kenya (2010). Nairobi. Government Printer.

Saunders, M. Lewis P. and Thornhill, A. (2009).Research Methods for Business Students Ed). England: Pitman Publishing.

Sung, Chang and Liu, (2016) The effects of integrating mobile devices with teaching and learning on students' learning performance: A meta-analysis and research synthesis. Computers & Education 94: 252-275.

Sullivan, S., &Glanz, J. (2014). Supervision that improves teaching and learning: Strategies and techniques (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Stavreva, S.V. (2013). The Effects of Usage of Sequential Teaching Method on the Academic Achievement and Retention Level of Learners in Area of Biological Sciences or Biochemistry.International Valorisation Conference “Key Methodology to Successful Competence Based Learning.

Tindowen, D. J. (2019) Influence of Empowerment on Teachers’ Organizational Behaviours.

European Journal of Educational Research. Volume 8, Issue 2, 617 - 631. ISSN: 2165-8714

Teygong, L. J., (2018) Influence of teachers’ pedagogical competencies on pupils’ academic performance in public primary schools in Chepkorio Ward, Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya.Unpublished master’s thesis, Kampala International University.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.