Performance Of Professionally Developed And Undeveloped Teachers Education Essay

The professional development is an emerging area to increase the performance in different fields. The professional development of a teacher is the professional growth that he/she ac­quires as a result of his/her experience and systematic analysis of his/her own practice and through participation in training activities. The purpose of this research was to compare the performance of professionally developed and undeveloped teacher and identification of significant professional development variables that can help the teachers to increase their performance. A convenient sample of 260 respondents (school teachers) from 49 secondary schools in 13 districts of Balochistan was taken to determine the major factors showing their effect on the overall performance of teachers. An instrument consisting of two parts, Part (A) (Professional Development of Teacher) and (B) (Performance Evaluation of Teacher), was used. All variables measured on likert scale. General Linear Model was used to find out the effect of training variables on the overall performance of teachers. The demographic characteristics of teachers with the interaction of professional development program variables were found significant in increasing the performance of teachers. This research study concludes that professionally developed secondary school teachers with new teaching methodologies, techniques, styles and new knowledge perform more as compare to those teachers who are professionally undeveloped or lack opportunities, interest or deliberately avoid participation in training activities.

I am submitting my thesis on “Comparison between performance of professionally developed and undeveloped teachers: A study of public sector secondary school of Balochistan”, as a thesis. As per the requirements, the thesis includes problem statement, the primary data along with literature review, development and testing of hypotheses.

By professional development we mean the professional growth that is result of experiences and practices teacher gains and performs during his/her job career in teaching profession. According to (Carlos Marcelo 2009) “The professional development of teacher is the professional growth the teacher ac­quires as a result of his/her experience and systematic analysis of his/her own practice”. In developing country like Pakistan, teachers are the key source of knowledge and wisdom for students as according to (Willy L. Komba & Emmanuel Nkumbi 2008) in most developing countries, education means teachers. Due to lack of teacher’s guides and essential texts, invariably, teachers are the key source of knowledge, skills, wisdom, appropriate orientations, inspiration and models for the students. As a consequence, the teacher is central in facilitating the processes that lead to meaningful education and pupils’ learning outcomes are affected by teacher quality. No one can deny the importance of training due to resources and quality as (Abdul Ghani Bin Abdullah, Austin Machana Samupwa, and Naser Jamil Alzaidiyeen 2009) stated teacher training is important for two main reasons. Firstly, considering the vast resources which are being spent on education, and particularly training itself, it is essential to ensure that these financial resources are well utilized. Secondly, the quality and quantity of the output in the form of well educated students with good attitudes will determine the type of leadership, management and workforce Namibia will have in future.

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It has also been observed frequently that Personality and attitudes of teacher affects the individual performance as according to (Robbins, Millett, Cacioppe and Waters-Marsh 1998, p. 28) individual performance is moderated by the personality, values, attitudes and ability of the individual which, in combination, affect their perceptions and motivation, and ultimately influence individual performance.

So, we can say that the Professional development is a body of systematic activities to prepare teachers for their job, including initial training, induction courses, in-service training, and continuous professional development within school settings.

This research study has tried to put light on the education system of Pakistan. We have an inherited administrative setup from British India as (Dr. Saleha Parveen 2006) describes “The history of a formal system of education in India starts when in 1813 according to the charter of East India Company; the responsibility of the education of the masses was taken over by the government. It was decided that out of the profit of the East India Company, not less than, amount of Rs. one lac annually will be spent on the literacy and educational activities of the Indian people. It was just a modest beginning on the part of the government to introduce a national system of education. However, from 1813 to 1854 nothing significant was done in the field of education till 1947”.

Pakistan came into being under the great leadership of Quaid-e- Azam Mohammad Ali Jinah on 14th August 1947 who viewed education as an instrument of socio economic change and it was later on endeavored that the education system must meet the brilliance of people and culture of nation according to his vision as (Meher Rizvi 2003) further described that since independence, it has been tried to relate the education system to the needs and inspirations of the country and for this purpose an Education Conference was arranged in 1947 according to the directives of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinah, who had provided the basic guidelines for the future development of education that the education system should/can suit the genius or brilliance of our people, our history, culture and encourage the highest sense of honor, integrity, responsibility, and selfless service to the nation. It should/can also provide scientific and technical knowledge to build up our economic life.

The constitution of Pakistan 1973 also gives rights to Pakistani citizens to have education and bounds state to endeavor to remove illiteracy. The Constitution of Pakistan 1973 article 37 (b) (2004 p13) states that the state of Pakistan shall endeavor for removing illiteracy and providing free secondary education and article 38 (d) (2004 P 14) speaks of instilling moral values and of providing education to all citizens irrespective of gender, caste, creed, or race (Mahmood Salim Mahmood 2004).

(Dawood Shah 2003 P-156) stated that various commissions followed it and submitted their reports periodically as report of the commission on national education of 1959 enjoyed a peculiar position in the history of educational reforms, many other commissions worked and submitted policy statements up to 1973 and many national education policies have been announced by the various successive governments after 1973 to 2009 but could not achieve the objectives. Every one of us is well aware that Pakistan had a weak educational setup at the time of independence in 1947. Illiteracy in the people was high due to insufficient numbers of educational institutions in Pakistan. We have an inherited administrative setup from British in 1947 and since then the system has tried to bring change with the help of administrative reforms but change of administrative structures did not take place completely. In Pakistan, mostly there is a centralized educational administration which is controlled by federal ministry of education and provincial education departments are regulating the educational laws and policies at federal and provincial levels.

Balochistan is one of four provinces of Pakistan and a backward but largest area with 43 percent of the country’s area. There are 26 districts and 86 union councils and it has 65 legislature seats. It (Balochistan) is a rich province with mineral resources and hot water in the shape of Gawadar Bay and deep sea port in Pakistan which needs developed workforce that can play an important role in having and using these resources accurately to make the province economically prosperous. The education sector is only one and most important sector, which can play its key role in the development of workforce through increasing the literacy rate of province. This research study tried to compare the performance of professionally developed and undeveloped teachers of public sector secondary school of Balochistan province of Pakistan where the high performing teachers satisfy the school administrator and student as well, but on other side poor performing teachers present the toughest challenge to school administrator. The poor performing teachers do not provide expected results even they distract others from doing their job properly. The unskilled behavior of these teachers de-motivates pupils and damages the school reputation. The aim of the study is to know about what makes a teacher to be a professional teacher and what makes a professional teacher to be an effective teacher who can show a sustainable professionalism in public sector secondary schools of Balochistan. The objective of this research is explained on page 6.

It was significant to undertake a research to address the question of how professional development makes a teacher to be a productive and effective through his performance in real sense. The reasons for this research are highlighted in the contextual analysis, information about Pakistan, and government secondary education system in Balochistan. The mixed method of research was employed to achieve the research objectives. The data were analyzed through regression technique to explore the different dimensions of teachers’ professional development as well as performance in government secondary schools of Balochistan. It is anticipated that on the basis of the results of this analysis, policy makers and educational managers can be suggested to enhance professional development opportunities to teachers to improve their performance and quality of education in the province It was my personal interest to conduct the research on the situation of secondary school teachers’ professional development because I personally belong to Balochistan province and being a teacher, I wanted to know the reality about school teachers level of professional development and their performance.

The researcher conducted research in thirteen districts of Balochistan and the number of teachers who are respondents in this research study are 260. The majority of the respondents or teachers belong to rural area in this research study and they are as 53 respondents were from urban area and 207 respondents belonged to rural area. The majority of the respondents in this study are male teachers but the female teachers were tried to include at maximum. The male teachers are one hundred and ninety (190) where as the number of female teachers is seventy (70).

1.1 Statement of problem

It has been observed that secondary education overall in Pakistan specifically in Balochistan has not achieved its standards whereby it could be compared to international secondary level education. A major factor in this low performance is schoolteachers’ professional development.

1.2 Objective

The objective of this research is to compare the performance of professionally developed and undeveloped school teachers of public sector secondary schools of Balochistan and to find out the causes of high or low performance if any proved through this research study.

1.3 Research Scope and Limitations

The scope of this research is to have proper and accurate information from the 13 districts which will represent the province consisting of 26 districts.

1. The respondents were randomly selected from the schools of 13 districts in Balchistan according to the convenience of the researcher.

2. The questionnaire was personally filled out by the researcher only from school teachers available in schools with the help of their principals and head masters as supervisor or administrator.

3. We felt difficulty in traveling to different districts situated in far flung areas of Balochistan during the severe cold season of winter included in the sample due to lack of time and resources. We faced a problem that some respondents did not respond properly due to unknown reasons.

4. We faced a problem of improper response from some respondents due to unknown reasons.

5. We felt it difficult to cover all districts of Balochistan for data collection due to shortage of time. It will be good for other research study to cover all districts of province if any takes place in future.

1.4 Thesis Structure

This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the problem about which the research was carried out and in general about the education system of Pakistan. Chapter 2 is about the literature review and the theoretical background is developed. In Chapter 3, we describe the methodology adopted including sources of information and data collection methods are discussed. In chapter 4, the empirical data collected through questionnaire is analyzed and results are concluded on the basis of a survey. Conclusions are drawn and necessary recommendations are suggested in chapter 5.

1.5 Research Hypothesis

H1: The participation in workshop is major factor which affects the overall

performance of teacher.

H2: The participation in seminar is major factor which affects the overall

performance of teacher.

H3: The participation in qualification or degree program is major factor which

affects the overall performance of teacher.

H4: The participation in observation visit of other schools is major factor which

affects the overall performance of teacher.

H5: The participation in network of trainers is major factor which affects the

overall performance of teacher.

H6: The participation in research is major factor which affects the overall

performance of teacher.

H7: The participation in mentoring or peer observation and coaching is major

factor which affects the overall performance of teacher.

H8: The higher professional qualification is major factor which affects the

overall performance of teacher.

H9: The higher academic qualification is major factor which affects the overall

performance of teacher.

H10: Gender as a respondent is major factor who is compared on the basis of

overall performance.

H11: District is factor which is compared on the basis of overall performance.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Different researchers have defined and clarified Training according to their understanding to achieve the research objectives. Pakistan like other countries of the world is trying to change its education system to survive. With the start of new millennium, many countries in the world are engaged in educational reforms. One of the key elements in these reforms is professional development of teachers; countries in the world have acknowledged that teachers need to be changed in order to improve education systems because they are the most significant change agents in these educational reforms. This role of teachers as change agent in educational reforms makes the field of teacher’s professional development an important area, and has received specific attention during the past few years as (Carlos Marcelo 2009) said “The professional development of teach­ers includes all the experiences of natural learning as well as the more planned and conscious ones which try, both directly and indirectly, to benefit individuals, groups or schools and which contribute improving the quality of education in the class room. It is the process by which teachers, whether alone or accompanied, review, renew and further their commitment as agents of change, with moral teaching aims. Moreover, they acquire and develop knowledge, competencies and emotional intelligence that are essential to professional thinking, planning and practice with children, adolescents and colleagues throughout each stage of their teaching lives”. It has also been tried first of all to define and understand the term professional development that comes through teachers’ training for the comparison of school teachers’ performance as According to (Thomas N Garavan, Carole Hogan, Amanda.Chir and O’Donel-Chir 2006 p20), “Training is a systematic process through which an employee is helped or facilitated to master defined tasks or competencies for a definite purpose”. In teaching seven steps and the required skills may be suggested for effective teaching as follows: Preparation for instruction (Organizational skills); Motivation (Communication skills); Presentation of the learning task (Focus skill); Inducement of the trial response (Feedback skill); Correction of the trial response (Questioning skill); Fixation of response (Closure skill); and Test response (Evaluation skill) Even though the enumerated skills are interdependent; one is as effective alone as it is when combined with others (A.A ADEDIDURA and BADA TAYO 2007 P-166). (Cheryl Kariuki 2009 p1-9) defined that “Professional development for teachers is the range of formal and informal processes and activities that teachers engage in both inside and outside of the school in order to improve their teaching knowledge and skills.

As (DEECD Victoria 2005) said that the vision must be recognized about professional teacher who has required updating his or her knowledge and skills consciously and continuously due to new knowledge as a response to new research and emerging needs not only changing world about learning and teaching taking place. Development is considered as a learning process for teacher which continues from his entry in the teaching profession to retirement as (GUSKEY and HUBERMAN 1995) stated, “Professional development can also be viewed as a dynamic process that spans one’s entire career in the profession, from preparation and induction to completion and retirement”. Effective professional development program plays key role in teachers learning and satisfaction and it needs proper evaluation of program. The effective evaluation of any professional development activity needs to incorporate five levels of investigation. The first level of evaluation examines participants’ general satisfaction levels with the logistics and organization of the professional development activity. In evaluating the second level, participants’ learning, evaluators assess whether or not participants have achieved an understanding of the knowledge and skills (general content) of the professional development session. The third level, organization support and change, examines whether organizational policies or practices may undermine or support the implementation of the professional learning. Because of this, the deconstruction of the local and/or national environment (context) is essential to determining whether or not the content or processes involved with the professional development activity can actually be achieved or implemented. The fourth level of evaluation, participants’ use of new knowledge and skills, is focused on whether or not the professional learning actually made a difference in participants’ professional practice. The goal of the final level of evaluation, student learning outcomes, is intended to evaluate whether or not the professional learning activity benefited students in any way (Dawn C. Wallin, Phyllis Hildebrandt and Sakil Malik 2008).

The professional development is right of teachers and there must be equal opportunity concept for distribution of rights such as teachers in urban areas get few professional development opportunities as compare to teachers from the rural areas which show little bit sense of discrimination and a denial to equal opportunity concept as (Suleyman Sadi 2001 p117) in his research study said, “The results show that rural schoolteachers have been less fortunate in having access to in-service training activities than urban schoolteachers”.(Dr.Nabi Bux Jumani 2007) said “the quality and the level of excellence in education depend upon the quality and competence of teachers. The competent teacher is possible through a careful program of teacher training. A teacher is trained in both theory and practice and it becomes essential that training should equip them to do a challenging job”.

Good teaching also includes teacher’s style because he is performing a role of manager when he sets learning activities and he manages the classroom as (Shaukat Hussain 2004 P-20) described that teaching style is a complex amalgam of belief, attitude, strategy, technique, motivation, personality and control. Teaching style lies at the heart of the interpersonal relationships between teaching and learners. However a basic set of factors lies behind teaching style. These relate to;

Attitudes towards knowledge and learning.

Preferred means of maintaining control over learners.

Preferred ways of organizing class activities.

Positive and negative feelings about the teaching itself.

Beliefs about the purpose of education in general.

Influences from within the teacher’s role set.

Beliefs about the best ways of learning.

Attitudes towards the learners.

We always demand teacher to give good teaching in school but for a good teaching, teacher needs some autonomy that will surely help him to give quality in classroom ultimately leads to students achievement as (Bill Mulford P-17 2003) described “Conferring professional autonomy to teachers will enhance the attractiveness of the profession as a career choice and will improve the quality of the classroom teaching practice.” The sophisticated pedagogies and technology makes him effective in the teaching career of a teacher. (Thomas R. Guskey 1986) said that teaching profession needs a complete, specific and significant change in attitude of teacher through Professional development as is claimed to bring change in teachers’ attitudes is linked