Needs Assessment for INSET for Unqualified Primary Teachers in Namibia: An effective model

The literature endorses the critical role of needs assessment for effective INSET (In-service Education and Training). This view is not however, adequately supported by empirical research. There is also a dearth of literature on the process of needs assessment. The few studies that explore the process focus on the use of questionnaire and interview methods. The latter method was found to be inappropriate for the unqualified primary teachers participating in an INSET programme in Namibia (1995-97). This paper explores the process of needs assessment within this programme and presents an effective model of needs assessment which guided it. The model suggests the use of a multi-pronged qualitative approach to assessing needs.     

Educators‘ perceptions of an in-service training programme

Abstract

In-service training programmes for educators (INSET) in South Africa have a common objective, namely to support unqualified or underqualified educators to teach their subjects well. The Science, Technology, Environmental and Mathematics Education (STEME) outreach programme is an initiative of the University of South Africa to support these educators with skills and knowledge to teach these subjects efficiently. This article reports on an INSET programme for science teachers who took part in STEME and serves as a case study to investigate educators’ perceptions of the programme. The study, which involved a total of 13 educators, had two phases which were conducted during and after the INSET programme respectively. A focus group interview was conducted in the first phase while individual interviews were conducted in the second phase at the participants’ schools. Participants valued facilitators’ knowledge, continuous support and demonstration of new skills in practical real-life situations. Their main concern was applying the skills at their schools within present circumstances. This case study can serve to inform other service providers on what educators expect from INSET programmes.     

The reconceptualisation of learner-centred approaches: a Namibian case study

The case study, which explored the implementation of learner-centred approaches, emerged from an action research study of a three-year INSET (In-service Education and Training) programme for 145 unqualified primary teachers in Namibia. A learner-centred curriculum was introduced in Namibia soon after her Independence from South Africa in 1990. It was considered an effective antidote to the stifling teacher-centred practices used within the previous apartheid system. The case study raises questions about the implementation of learner-centred approaches. Data emerged which indicated their non-implementation, and reasons are presented to explain this: teacher professional capacity at the time of the study, limited resources, cultural factors and learner background. Efforts within the INSET programme to support teachers’ implementation of learner-centred approaches led to their reconceptualisation. The study indicated the effectiveness of developing teachers’ skills in the use of whichever approaches, methods and skills best bring about learning. The study highlights the usefulness of an adaptive approach—examining the realities within which teachers work and experimenting with strategies that seek to achieve student learning within the limitations of these realities. The focus is on learning-centred rather than learner-centred approaches.     

Enhancing part-time in-service teacher training programmes to facilitate rural teacher development in China

Despite the frequent criticisms directed toward them, in-service teacher training (INSET) programmes remain one of the most commonly used approaches for enhancing teachers’ professional development. This article reports on a study that examined the effects of a part-time masters of education INSET programme based in Central China. The main source of data was reflective papers written by 38 teacher participants; classroom observations and informal interviews also helped reveal the teachers’ perspectives on the programme. Whilst the programme was very popular, and had a variety of positive impacts on the teachers’ professional development, the programme paradigm involved several drawbacks. The results suggest that part-time INSET programmes for rural teachers should be supplemented by various other forms of teacher development activities to meet the dual goals of developing such programmes and providing professional development for teachers.     

The convergence of teachers' and providers' views on inset needs: The case of the non-specialist physics teacher in Swaziland

This study aims to compare the INSET needs of non-specialist teachers as perceived by these teachers, with the views of their INSET providers. The case of the non-specialist physics teacher in Swaziland is used as an example. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to collect perceptions of the problems of teaching various physics topics and skills, and of handling different pieces of physics equipment. The results show that the ranking of INSET needs are broadly similar for both providers and teachers. Important ranking differences relate to INSET support with teaching dynamics and circuit electricity. In addition, providers and teachers express diverging views on the type of INSET needs with using some demonstration equipment and with teaching a number of manipulative skills. The differences are attributed to varying specialist training, professional development, or personal goals for science education. Strategies are recommended to converge the perceptions of the INSET needs.     

An analysis of the effects of in‐service teacher training on Turkish preschool teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion

Any implementation of an inclusive policy is largely dependent on educators’ attitudes. In Turkey, many teachers who educate preschool children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), and who have not received in‐service teacher training (INSET) are observed to have negative attitudes towards their SEN students. The aim of this article is to examine differences between the attitudes of preschool teachers before and after an INSET course. Sixty‐six preschool teachers were selected for this study which had a single group pre–post‐test design. The teachers’ opinions and attitudes relating to mainstreaming SEN students in regular educational environments were assessed using the ‘Opinions Relative to Mainstreaming’ scale. The data indicate that these teachers were affected by the INSET programme in such a way that their attitudes towards the inclusion of SEN students became more positive.     

Teachers’ views on the effectiveness of in‐service courses on the new curriculum in Turkey

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of in‐service courses conducted by the Ministry of National Education in order to inform teachers about the changes introduced by the new primary and secondary school curricula. The study also aims to reveal whether these changes have entered the classrooms based on the teachers’ views of the INSET courses they attended. For this purpose, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with both primary and secondary school teachers during the 2007–2008 academic year. Data were analysed based on the effective INSET criteria identified from the literature. According to the findings, the INSET courses were found to be ineffective, mainly in terms of the quality of the instructors, teaching methods employed, duration of the courses and support after training. Suggestions to conduct effective INSET courses, especially when change is afoot, are included at the end of this paper.     

Characteristics of Effective In‐service Programmes and Activities: results of a Dutch survey

The goal of this study is to determine which features effective in‐service activities must have, and to what extent designers of in‐service activities take these features into account. The study is also directed at the relationship between these features of in‐service activities and their implementation and impact characteristics. On the basis of a Delphi‐study, a survey was carried out among teachers, principals, in‐service education and training (INSET) trainers and school counsellors. This article presents the data gathered on programme participants’ and trainers’ opinions and beliefs about effective in‐service and about implementation and impact characteristics. The study also examines the extent of the oft reported critical comments on in‐service activities. In spite of extensive criticism about the value of in‐service education, most participants are positive about the design and execution of the activities. However, INSET has to be closely watched for effectiveness, especially where it concerns applicability and functionality. This is generally judged to be insufficient.     

A Survey of Opinion on Methods of Professional Development for Secondary Heads

This paper describes a school management development programme aimed at developing managerial skills and responsibilities across the whole school staff. The paper describes why there is possibly some antipathy to this topic for in‐service education and training (INSET). The approach chosen was to use teachers’ current managerial tasks as the focus for the development so that in conjunction with extant self‐study materials, teachers could design their own INSET appropriate to their current perceived needs.     

The new inset: a transformation scene

The work of Lawrence Stenhouse strongly promoted the view that curriculum development was dependent upon teacher development and as such, has had a great impact on the in‐service education of teachers. Such a teacher‐centred model is now called in question by recent DES moves in relation to the funding and control of INSET. By exploiting the mechanisms of categorical funding, as refined by the MSC, it seems likely that the Department will be able to impose a conception of ‘curriculum led staff development’, which originated in Further Education. Such a conception assumes that curriculum is a given and that the development needs of teachers may be deduced from it, thus increasingly restricting them to the business of execution and not of conception.     

Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Their Pupils’ Mathematical Errors

This article is mainly concerned with the didactical and the epistemological approach towards pupils’ errors in mathematics. The findings of an investigation into a representative sample of Cypriot teachers’ attitudes of errors in mathematics are presented. Although teachers draw on behaviourism as a way of understanding pupils’ errors, a considerable number of teachers seem to be influenced by both cognitive science error theory and the obstacle theory. Inferential statistical analysis revealed that teachers’ attitudes of errors are mainly associated with the attendance of a specialised INSET course in mathematics. Teachers who attended the INSET course in mathematics are generally more influenced by the cognitive science theory and the obstacle theory. Implications for the development of policy on teacher training are discussed. It is argued that with appropriate training teachers will be able to adopt a model of interpreting errors in mathematics based on the didactical and the epistemological approaches.     

Teacher intention to transfer ICT training when integrating digital technologies in education: The teacher transfer of ICT training model (TeTra-ICT)

The aim of this study is to propose a new structural model for how teachers transfer their ICT training (TeTra-ICT), shedding light on the factors that tend to affect their intention to integrate digital technologies in educational practices as well as train their colleagues. The proposed model exploits training programme design characteristics and ICT-related individual factors. A total of 117 new ICT instructors for primary and secondary education teachers in Greece were evaluated. The instructors participated in a national Teacher Training Programme on applying ICT in education. Results indicate significant effects of individual (ICT-related self-efficacy in teaching) and programme design characteristics (platform's ease of use, support, content, and resources) on the teachers' final motivation and intention to transfer their ICT knowledge and skills. The model also reveals significant correlations between individual and training characteristics, the teachers' post-training self-efficacy for transferring skills and their perception of the usefulness of the training programme. The examined constructs explain 86% of the variance in teacher intentions to transfer their ICT knowledge and skills, and 72% of their perception of the usefulness of the training programme. Interestingly, while there were no gender differences in individual ICT-related characteristics, women expressed significantly higher values than men in their perception of the usefulness of training, self-efficacy, motivation, and intention to transfer.     

The impact of inservice training on teacher behaviour

Nowadays, a considerable amount of time, money, and energy is invested in inservice education or training (INSET). Yet, our knowledge of design features and implementation conditions in schools that make INSET effective, is still limited. To examine the outcomes of inservice activities the impact ratings of a sample of teachers and principals who participated in individual-based and school-focused INSET were regressed on school characteristics, features of inservice programs, implementation characteristics, and types of inservice activity. Findings from this study suggest that some school characteristics, features of inservice programs, and implementation characteristics contribute to the impact of inservice training. Variables like external support, hours spent on INSET activities, degree of participation,. teacher educators' competence, implementation conditions, and the use of principal's steering functions are subject to alteration to increase inservice training effectiveness.     

Growing Early Childhood Education Teachers in Rural Areas

Currently in South Africa, there are over 20 000 underqualified Grade R teachers who are enlisted into service to ensure that Grade R teaching can continue. The aim of the study reported on was to investigate the challenges and needs faced by underqualified teachers in order to promote the professional development of teachers teaching in rural areas. Phenomenology was used as the research design. By means of a qualitative research approach, purposeful sampling selected only underqualified early childhood education (ECE) teachers teaching in rural schools for more than five years or more in three provinces, as well as their school principals. The findings revealed the following needs and challenges: the need for resources; poor infrastructure; lack of parental involvement; overcrowded classrooms; the need for in-service training; needs of the rural communities; and support from an open distance learning (ODL) institution.     

English language teaching curriculum in Iran: planning and practice

The present study investigates English language teaching (ELT) curriculum planning in Iran's Ministry of Education and its implementation by teachers. We studied programme evaluation; needs analysis; the ELT-specific documents; communication channels between planning and practice levels; teacher evaluation and student assessment; interpretation and re-examination of national policies within the Ministry; and the criteria set for ELT material development. Instrumentation included: curriculum documents; interviews with Ministry officials, material developers and headteachers; and teacher questionnaires. Results attested to the lack of any ELT-specific document for material development and absence of research-based needs assessment as the foundation of the programmes. Also, there are no pre-defined linguistic and professional criteria for evaluating teachers, and planning for students' assessment is limited to a set of general guidelines. Moreover, there is neither a programme evaluation nor an ELT evaluation model and national-level policies are not re-examined at planning level. Results also indicate that politico-ideological beliefs of material developers are as important as their expertise and communication channels between planning and practice levels are of a top-down nature. It is argued that the gap between planning and practice results from a highly centralised policymaking process in which local policymakers (i.e. teachers) are not involved.     

Managing the Curriculum

It is currently recommended that curriculum development in schools should follow a rational model and include INSET which harmonises with the plan for this development, meeting the needs of staff and school. This article identifies the difficulties that primary schools find with this model. It gives some exemplars of effective procedures, and provides some action points to assist headteachers.     

The Use of Coffee Spoons in the Assessment of Teaching

This article reports on In‐Service Education and Training (INSET) workshops offered in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces in the field of environmental education. The purpose of these workshops is to assist practising teachers to enhance their teaching skills, to infuse environmental education in their teaching and to participate in solving environmental problems in their communities. Aspects of the workshops were assessed using a questionnaire which was completed by teachers on conclusion of the workshops. These data are provided as well as recommendations provided by the attendees. Although this is a case study report where findings are usually not perceived to be generalisable, it is believed that the participants' perceptions of and recommendations for improving INSET opportunities could substantially inform similar INSET initiatives.     

Diaries for Self‐assessment and INSET Programme Evaluation

Diaries are now a well‐established tool in educational research. They have been used in studies looking at language learning, programme evaluation and, more recently, teachers in training. However, the procedures adopted in these studies are often loosely defined and thus limited in scope. Research conducted recently at the University of York has made use of questionnaires and controlled diary writing to focus participants on the possible content of their diaries and guide them through the writing process. This paper will describe one such study which looked at the value of continuous self‐assessment for both evaluating and extending the outcomes on short‐term INSET programmes.     

The Evaluation of an INSET Model for Gwent Primary Schools

The paper describes a cyclical model for the identification of training and staff development needs within a local education authority. The features of the model include local representation of school staff, prioritisation of needs and the evaluation of training effectiveness in schools. Evaluation of the model suggests that it is more effective than previous strategies at determining school based needs and responding to those needs. The INSET courses designed using this model appear to result in more frequent school based developments than did previous models of INSET provision.