Perceptions of teachers on the benefits of teacher development programmes in one province of South Africa

Challenges influencing teachers' involvement in continuous professional development: A South African perspective

“…The finding from the research of Mestry et al (2009) that SMTs responsible for teacher PD in schools must encourage teachers to attend development programmes that will assist them in improving their knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes in order for them to become better equipped in the management of their classrooms, is confirmed by our study.…”

“…The first theme addresses certain aspects of CPD (Gulston, 2010;Lessing & De Witt, 2007;Mestry, Hendricks, & Bisschoff, 2009;Mokhele & Jita, 2010;Somo, 2007;Steyn, 2005Steyn, , 2009Steyn, & 2011, inter alia, the perceptions, experiences, challenges and expectations of teachers and the role of principals regarding CPD at schools. As this paper focusses on the challenges to participate in PD, reference to previous research here will only concentrate on this.…”

“…As this paper focusses on the challenges to participate in PD, reference to previous research here will only concentrate on this. For example, the research of Mokhele and Jita (2010) identified the challenge for policy and management to find ways to understand what the teachers want and what they will find personally meaningful, and to design CPD programmes that respond to teachers' needs, whereas Mestry et al (2009) point to the sensitive challenge to initiate and manage teacher DPs centrally but with the involvement of the schools. The research of Steyn (2011) also reveals challenges for management and states that one of the great challenges principals face is how to encourage teachers to become committed to their own PD, while the research of Gulston (2010) concludes that principals either are not competent enough or simply not willing to develop their teachers, and that improvement of skills and knowledge of teachers through CPD related activities are challenges.…”

Principals’ Role in Managing Teacher Professional Development Through a Training Needs Analysis

“…The IQMS plays a pivotal role in needs assessment in South African schools, and its implementation is mandatory. Therefore, it is important that PD should be one of the top priorities on the school's agenda (Mestry, Hendricks, & Bisschoff, 2009 indicate the areas in which they want to be developed (DBE, 2011). However, the DBE (2011) noted that teachers' performance appraisals executed through the IQMS do not evaluate competences sufficiently, and therefore, it does not help teachers to identify their development needs adequately.…”

Challenges Faced by Educators in the Implementation of Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD): Gauteng Province

“…It is true because professional development needs to be prioritised within the education system because it is important in improving or enhancing ones knowledge and skills. Mestry et al [3] mentioned that raising the quality of teacher performance through teacher development programmes is essential, it is believed, to improve the overall performance of the education system, which makes the debate about school type, school-by-school performance, and class size, among others, look irrelevant. Pitsoe and Maila [4] emphasised this point by mentioning that teacher professional development plays an important role in changing teachers' teaching methods and assisting teachers to move beyond a comprehension of the surface features of a new idea or innovation, to a deeper understanding of a topic.…”