Effective professional development

Continuing — or in-service — professional development (CPD) for teachers is widely considered a critical condition for improved instructional quality and student learning.

CPD has traditionally taken two approaches: one-off workshops and cascade training. Both have been considered as ineffective by teachers and researchers. According to researchers, effective CPD requires:

• teachers working together and making decisions about their own professional development in their own schools
• balancing subject-matter and pedagogy
• peer observation and feedback on teaching
• action research and sharing results
• opportunities for teachers to apply what they are learning in their own classrooms, with outside assistance as needed.

Many education systems cannot follow this alternative approach because it calls for important changes in how teacher development is organised. Yet it has been implemented widely in Japan, where it is known as jugyokenkyu ('lesson study') and in China as jiaoyanzu ('teacher research groups').

This CPD approach has also been tried in some developing countries. In Guinea for example, an attempt was made (1994 to 2003) to make primary school teachers full partners in their own professional development and school improvement. The Ministry of Education provided support for teams of teachers to design their own projects and to compete for funding and professional support. For accountability, the initiative was built on merit-based competition, explicit expectations and relevant training. Internal and external evaluation, sharing of information and transparency were also critical features.

Namibia implemented a practice-based inquiry approach featuring a commitment to social justice, a willingness to experiment with new ways of learning to teach, and organisational changes.

In East Africa, the Aga Khan Development Network pioneered a school improvement approach notable for emphasising school-based teacher development, providing resources and sustaining technical assistance, monitoring and evaluation over long periods of time.

In summary, the experience of Japan and China and progress made in a few resource-scarce countries are cause for cautious optimism. But further research, experimentation and development are needed.

John Schwille
College of Education, Michigan State University, 517 Erickson Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824-1034 USA
T +1 517 3559627
F +1 517 3536393
jschwill@msu.edu

This article is based on a chapter in Global Perspectives on Teacher Learning: Improving Policy and Practice, IIEP/UNESCO: Paris, by Jack Schwille and Martial Dembélé, 2007
www.unesco.org/iiep

See also

Practicing Critical Reflection in Teacher Education, ADEA: Paris, edited by Mariana Van Graan, 2005

Lesson Study: a Japanese Approach to Improving Mathematics Teaching and Learning, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mohwah, by Clear Fernandez, Makoto Yoshida, 2004

School Improvement through Teacher Development: Case Studies of the Aga Khan Foundation Projects in East Africa, Swets & Zetlinger:Lisse, edited by E. Stephen Anderson, 2002

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