A dissertation submitted to the faculty of education University of the witvatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education December 1983 / Teachers ' perceptions,— educational policy and the p l a n n i n g of_iNSET: a study in the Catholic Primary schools of Sowetn interviews with principals, assistant teache.s and certain personnel suggest tnat these teachers (almost exclusively black women) believe that changes in school policy and resources would do more to improve their teaching than would their further professional development. However, they express interest in formal courses leading to ert lfication that carries monetary reward. A strategy is proposed for a programme of in-service education for these teachers that takes into account the above and other tendings, the evolving theoretical and policy perspectives of the Catholic church (both international and South African), relevant facets of the national context, and current thi; Lng on INSET. This programme is embedded in a general process of school improvement and is seen as a normal part of the professional development of the teacher, he learning-process model of innovation used is nonr 1V e ' Participative and school focussed, and involves collaborative evaluation.

Although school-based teacher developmental activities have been launched for years in general education system, such comparatively systematic and effective work have yet been thoroughly adopted by most of the out-of-school educational institutions. Studies on Children’s Palaces education and school-based teacher development are extremely limited, not only because the overall management of out-of-school education system is not as complete as that of general education system, but also the features of Children’s Palace education made the study hard but more and more necessary. Guided by the theoretical framework of Lifelong Education and Professionalism Theory, the purpose of this dissertation aims at finding out the problems of the children's palace school-based staff development, and exploring reasons behind through analyzing quantitative and qualitative research data from the case study of No.2 Children’s Palace of Jinshan District, give recommendations so that teachers may gain more concrete benefit through the system of school-based teacher development. The questionnaire for quantitative research contains two parts. Part I contains questions about the need of teacher development in No.2 CP, and Part II contains question about perspectives and current situation concerning school-based teacher development in No.2 CP. After the quantitative approach and research data analysis, qualitative approach of follow-up interviews will be carried out. Synthesized data analysis aims at answering research questions such as current status of school-based teacher development in No.2 CP and mode and examples that might be drawn to inspire the school-based teacher development in Children’s Palaces in Shanghai. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Not available / text

No description available.

This thesis is an interpretation of the meaning of a professional development project for six high school English teachers in a small, rural jurisdiction. The project design attempts to incorporate guidelines for effective professional development, especially in regard to the way in which authority influences the experience. This study is a case study from a naturalistic inquiry perspective using thnographic techniques. Further, the methodology is educative in the sense that the study was intended to change the situation studied. The analysis attempts to articulate the voices of various authorties in this professional development activity: the voice of leadership, the voice of the collective, the voice of external influences, and the voice of the individual participant. As a professional development activity, this studyindicates that, for the participating teachers, self-directed professional development created conditions conducive to change. Although the voices of professional development authority are incomplete and contradictory, this study provides a view of the landscape of teacher change and growth that is shaped by professional development guidelines concerning function, governance, cultural milieu, leadership, and reflection. These conclusions suggest ways for researchers, administrators, teacher leaders and teachers.to enhance professional development. / 174 leaves ; 29 cm.

The purpose of this study was to research the role the development appraisal teams, namely the staff development team and development support group play in developing educators in schools. The objectives of this study were to understand the problems or challenges faced by schools in developing educators. Provide training for the School Management Team, Development Support Group and Staff Development Team to enable them to perform their roles of educator development. Evaluate and monitor the development appraisal system and educator development. The literature reviewed for this study examines key concepts of appraisal across the globe that would help me understand the South African educator appraisal system and critically evaluate it. This was done by firstly, looking at the following concepts in both business and education: performance management, performance related pay and staff development. Secondly, educator appraisal systems of a few countries are examined, to establish the background and purpose of educator development appraisal in those countries. Why such appraisal systems were introduced? What effect they had on educator development and school improvement? The study also looks at the challenges those countries faced in the implementation of educator developmental appraisal and how they dealt with those challenges. Thirdly, the guiding principles of the South African developmental appraisal system and the processes of the development appraisal were researched to compare with existing practises at the research sites. Furthermore the study explored the role and responsibilities of developmental appraisal teams, namely the Development Support Groups (DSG), the Staff Development Team (SDT) and the School’s Management Team (SMT), to establish how these teams’ contribute to educator development. The methodology used in this study is qualitative in nature. The study takes the form of a case study of 2 schools in the Pinetown district. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 participants from each school. The findings and recommendations of this study reveal 3 strategies that are needed to give schools the support to overcome their difficulties. Firstly, develop strategies to support the development appraisal system at schools. This can be done by developing training mechanisms at schools to train school management teams, staff development teams and development support groups to enable these teams to perform their developmental roles. Secondly, develop strategies to evaluate and monitor the development appraisal system. This can be done by empowering all school’s management teams and staff development teams to be able to monitor and moderate all evaluations taking place during a cycle and asking for documents that support or justify each assessment. Finally, develop strategies to compensate for the challenges faced by each school, based on each school’s context. This can be done by assessing each school’s context prior to assessment being conducted and factoring these contextual issues into each of that school’s educator’s scores. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

In any education system “no other single factor determines to such an extent the quality of education in a country as the quality of the corps of teachers, lecturers and instructors” (HSRC 198 : 180). This factor is of greater significance in the context of the new South Africa that politiicans and educationists are planning. In planning for a uniary system of education and provincial education departments, the study investigates the organizational aspects of management of In-Service Education and Training (INSET) mainly for teachers in the Natal-KwaZulu region. The primary objectives of the study are: 1. To investigate on a macro-level the management of INSET in each of the former five education departments in Natal-KwaZulu region; 2. To establish whether: (a) there is common ground in respect of INSET amongst the various former education departments in Natal-KwaZulu; and, (b) the different control mechanisms acts as a hampering factor in sharing of resources relating to INSET. 3. To make recommendations to the Natal-KwaZulu education authority so that primarily INSET for teachers may be improved. As a background to the study, key terms were discussed and INSET models and methods reviewed. Brief reference was made to change strategies relating to INSET. This was followed by a discussion of national and regional strategies for INSET, agencies and locations for courses. To obtain a better perspective of INSET a scan of INSET provision study involving England and Wales, Scotland and several Sub-Saharan countries was undertaken. A situational analysis of INSET in each of the former five education departments in Natal-KwaZulu was followed by an empirical study. Conclusions and recommendations were then suggested. The major findings were as follows: 1. There was no structured, documented national or regional policy for INSET. 2. The funding formula for education discriminated against the Black, Indian and Coloured teachers. Funding for INSET was inadequate. 3. There was no co-ordination amongst the former five education departments as far as INSET was concerned. 4. Structures and staffing for INSET at Head Office were limited. Resulting in and ad hoc provision of courses in most Departments. Valuable human resources at schools in the private sector INSET projects and at tertiary institutions were not used effectively. This was a management flaw. 5. The expertise of the inspectorate with respect to INSET was the only common ground that existed amongst the former five education departments. However, such expertise was not shared. 6. In view of the foregoing the management of INSET in most departments in Natal-KwaZulu was not very effective. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, 1995.

The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of Indiana secondary teachers regarding components deemed important to effective staff development programs. Perceptions were analyzed according to the years of teaching experience, gender, content area and demographic classification of the school. The population consisted of two hundred fifty secondary public school teachers from fifty public secondary schools distributed throughout the ten regions of the Indiana School Boards Association.The data collection Instrument used in the study consisted of a demographic section, a forty-item Likert style questionnaire and a short answer/narrative section. Four null hypotheses were tested for statistical significance using a multivariate analysis of variance. The .05 level of significance was established as the critical probability level for the non-acceptance of hypotheses. Insufficient responses in one cell necessitated the deletion of the hypothesis stating no significant difference exists in the perceptions of teachers from schools which are classified as urban, suburban or rural.FindingsStatistically significant differences were found to exist in the perceptions of Indiana public secondary teachers regarding components deemed Important to effective staff development programs from different subject content areas and gender. However, no statistically significant difference was found to exist from teachers with varying years of teaching experience.3. Forty-six percent of the responding teachers reported they participated in a staff development program.4. Teachers reported nearly two to one they would participate in a staff development program during the summer months.5. Thirteen percent of the teachers reporting had five or less years of teaching experience, whereas forty-one percent reported sixteen or more years of teaching experience. / Department of Educational Administration and Supervision

The purpose-of this study was to organize a set of criteria which were appropriate for use in the evaluation of inservice teacher education programs. After a review of research and literature was conducted, the advocated criteria were organized according to an adaptation of a basic model of evaluation designed by Stufflebeam, CIPP (Context - Input - Process - product).Organized in three categories of 1) Conceptual Rationale cf Evaluation, 2) Administration of Evaluation, and 3) Procedural Methodology of Evaluation, the components were criticized by experts, revised, and listed in questionnaires as fifty-one individual items, proposed for use as criteria in evaluating in-service teacher education.During the summer of 1971, a random sampling of sixty Indiana public school administrators and 275 public school teachers judged the criteria on two measures: 1) contribution to the improvement of instruction, and 2) feasibility in actual practice. A five-point response scale was used ranging from strongest to weakest. Items which were judged to be both a contribution to the improvement of instruction and feasible in practice by more than fifty percent of administrators and teachers were acceptable. Total responses of the two strongest categories on the five-point scale had to total fifty percent in order to meet this standard.Thirty-five of the original fifty-one criteria were judged to be both a contribution to the improvement of instruction and to be feasible in practice. Items which were accepted in the first section, Conceptual Rationale, concerned: the need for evaluating in-service; a focus on constructive behavior; establishing the relationship between evaluation and improved instruction; the use of cost/benefit analysis; a systematic collection of information; assessment of specific practices; the use of evaluative information in decision-making; developing self-evaluation competency; and, evaluation prior to, during, and following in-service activities.Acceptable items involving Administration of an evaluation, the second section, included: participant involvement during the evaluation process; developing a commitment to organizational purposes; relationships between evaluation activities, the organization, and purposes of in-service activities; quarterly progress reporting; implementing the evaluation findings; establishing a flow chart of evaluation activities; and, annual revision of the evaluation plan.The acceptable items for the third section concerning Procedural Methodology of evaluation were: reflection of local needs in the design; projection of anticipated decisions; specification of information needed; the use of written, behavioral program objectives; the use of needs assessment as the basis for the development of objectives; data collection prior to the evaluation; communication of the purposes and methods of data collection; training for data collectors; analysis of the data; identification of strengths and weaknesses with specific personnel; limitation of the conclusions; stating implications from the evaluation; identification of information users; effective reporting; overall evaluation effectiveness; and, producing the final report.Twelve of the original fifty-one criteria were judged by administrators and/or teachers to be a contribution, but as having uncertain feasibility in actual practice. The twelve items related to: the use of programmed scheduling of evaluation activities; the use of data retrieval systems; generation of alternatives for decision situations; the use of both experimental and descriptive research designs; behavior modification of personnel involved; intergroup relations training; the use of outside consultants; and, setting aside specific facilities and materials for the evaluation. Both administrators and teachers were uncertain about the feasibility of: the use of systems analysis; staff involvement in policy-making; the need for weekly face-to-face contact of all participants; and, required professionally-conducted encounter sessions.Six items were judged uncertain on both contribution and feasibility. Administrators felt uncertain on both counts about the use of outside consultants, the use of reference research and literature, and disseminating evaluation results outside the local system. Teachers were uncertain on both counts about inhibiting destructive behavior through an evaluation and the use of programmed scheduling. Both administrators and teachers felt uncertain about whether assigning ten percent of the in-service budget for evaluation would be contributory or feasible. No items were judged to be totally unacceptable by having fifty percent of responses in the weakest two categories of the scale for both counts. Administrators and teachers agreed on judgments in twenty-two (seventy-nine percent) of the twenty-eight items which they both judged.The study concluded that appropriate criteria were available and recommended for use in the evaluation of in-service teacher education programs.

The in-service evaluation instrument, The Criteria for Evaluating Teacher In-service Programs, was based on a review of research in in-service education and drew heavily on work done by Donn V. Kaupke. The four major items of this evaluation instrument include: (1) Knowledge of the field of group dynamics is necessary to create changes in a school via a teacher in-service education program; (2) Planning is an essential ingredient of a successful teacher in-service education program; (3) Seven operational techniques facilitate group decision-making; and, (4) Adhering to four administrative policies governing the operation of a teacher in-service education program is prerequisite to a successful program.During the in-service program, the author behaved in an observer-consultant role. He met with the principal to suggest agenda for each meeting and to present data from previous meetings. The observer-consultant was present to observe and record the activities of the Instructional Improvement Committee as it worked with the recommendations. The observer-consultant also helped with the operational processes of the meetings.The principal, after consulting with the observer-consultant, decided that the Instructional Improvement Committee would become the first group to deal with the recommendations. Working with the recommendations became the major part of the weekly Instructional Improvement Committee meetings. The principal chaired the Instructional Improvement Committee and directed its attention towards the objectives he judged it needed to attain.The data used to describe the execution of the Instructional Improvement Committee in-service program were collected by tape recording the ten in-service sessions and analyzing the recordings later, and by interviews and questionnaires completed by the Instructional Improvement Committee members following the completion of the ten meetings. The data were organized under the four major items of the Criteria for Evaluating Teacher In-service Education Programs. They led to the following conclusions:1. The Instructional Improvement Committee, with the leadership of the principal, can work toward curricular improvements of its school.2. The group digressed when the leadership function was not performed by a memberof the Instructional Improvement Committee.3. A curricular evaluator acting as an observer-consultant can facilitate the efforts of the Instructional Improvement Committee of an Individually Guided Education school.4. In-service training provided for personnel of Individually Guided Education schools does not prepare adequately the Instructional Improvement Committee in group processes.5. A curriculum evaluation can provide adequate data on which to base an in-service education program for the Instructional Improvement Committee of an Individually Guided Education school.