The aim of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of the impact of Continuing Professional Development on promoting quality teaching and learning. This study adopted a mixed method approach using both quantitative and qualitative research designs. Closed-ended self-administered questionnaires and interview schedule were used to collect data. Two hundred teachers were sampled through simple random sampling procedure to complete the questionnaires, while ten teachers participated in face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The results show that teachers recognise the impact of professional development in broadening their pedagogical and content knowledge, teaching skills and strategies to improve student's learning. Results also show that teachers are undergoing professional development initiatives in order to gain financial rewards. The study concludes that teachers have positive perceptions of their professional development even though they are not being supported adequately by Department of Basic Education and their schools.The study recommends that adequate financial rewards be put in place to encourage and motivate teachers when furthering their studies as part of Continuing Professional Development. Further research into the factors influencing teachers furthering their studies as part of professional development in South Africa should be undertaken.
Female teachers have historically been associated with teaching profession at the Foundation Phase (FP). It is a societal belief that female teachers provide motherly love and care and are naturally soft towards infants compared to their male counterparts. This article explores a new trend that is developing at a rural university where male student teachers are increasingly enrolling for a Bachelor of Education programme where they specialise in the foundation phase (FP) teaching. The article gathered male student teachers' views for choosing teaching in the foundation phase as a career at a rural university in Limpopo Province. This qualitative case study adopted a purposive sampling procedure to sample sixteen (16) male first year B.Ed. Foundation Phase student teachers to complete open-ended questions. Content analysed data reveal that even though male student teachers were intrinsically and altruistically motivated and positive about their FP career choice and hope to demystify FP teaching, a few of them admitted that FP was a default career choice. A longitudinal cohort study is recommended in order to decipher the motivations, experiences and career paths of male FP teachers.
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