Continued professional development

All professions need continued professional development: teaching is no exception. Teaching is a profession that requires sustained learning. It is important that teachers are given ample opportunities to enrich their knowledge and skills in order to provide quality teaching to learners. On-going professional development assists teachers in acquiring the most up-to-date and relevant knowledge of the subject they teach. Professional development can serve a number of purposes, such as: correcting weaknesses in skills and knowledge of teachers, keeping teachers up-to-date with developments in the discipline or meeting the needs of specific groups of teachers (Hightower, Delgado, Lloyd, Wittenstein, Sellers & Swanson, 2011:12). Professional development for teachers is acknowledged to be a crucial vehicle for enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in schools (Ingvarson, Meiers & Beavis, 2005:2).

The problem of attrition needs to be dealt with. Continued professional development could be one of the ways of doing this. In America, induction programmes are used to meet some of the challenges faced by beginner teachers (Algozinne, Gretes, Queen and Cowan-Hathcock, 2007:137). Various factors increase demand for teachers at schools: the increasing number of learners previously not in school but now included, an unusually high mortality rate and large-scale migration from rural to urban areas and between provinces.

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As discussed earlier, the education system in South Africa has undergone a range of changes since 1994: from the philosophy and principles underpinning the curriculum to the curriculum itself. As the curriculum adapts and evolves to meet the ideals and demands of a new democracy, significant changes take place continually. Teachers need to learn and develop new knowledge, skills and attitudes. All teachers need to enhance their skills for the effective teaching of the ever-evolving curriculum. Successful professional development activities provide teachers with improved knowledge that gives the professional confidence needed for constant adaptation.

In South Africa, teachers are judged by learner performance. Mestry, Hendricks & Bisschoff (2009:475) suggest that the belief that teacher development programmes are essential for improving the performance of the education system makes the discourse regarding other contextual factors such as school type and class size seem immaterial. Professional development should be a means of improving learner performance. The teacher is the most important resource in the education process, someone who spends time with learners, has direct contact with them and controls how the curriculum is interpreted and conveyed even though what is taught is set out as a detailed curriculum, namely the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (Steyn & van Niekerk, 2005:125). If learners improve performance, we need to improve the knowledge and skills of teachers. Professional development affects learner-performance through three steps (Yoon, Duncan, Lee & Shapley, 2008). First, professional development enhances teacher knowledge, skills and motivation. Second, better knowledge, skills and motivation lead to improved classroom teaching. Third, improved teaching improves learner performance. They argue that if one of the links is weak or absent, improved learner performance cannot be achieved. Should a teacher not transfer new ideas from professional development to the classroom, learners will not benefit from the professional development in which the teacher participated.

Quality teaching and learning are the most important goals of any professional development activity. Hawley and Valli (2000:1) argue that, after many years of discussion, there is consensus amongst role-players that the most powerful influence on students’ learning is the quality of teaching they receive. This realisation has led

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governments to invest generously in continuing professional development of teachers.

Clifford (2008) proposes a hierarchy of teacher ability consisting of three levels. Apprentice teachers know what to teach. Journeyman teachers know what to teach and how to teach it. Finally, master teachers know what to teach, how to teach, why to teach what to whom at what times, how to assess learning and how to improve their own teaching skills continually. Berg (2010:194) argues that accomplished teachers know how to work with a variety of learners and families, different colleagues and within the administrative structures of the school in order to advance the learning of every student they teach. For this reason, professional development takes into account different levels of teachers. The needs of an apprentice teacher are quite different to those of a master teacher. Berg (2010:194) further argues that many teachers who find their way to becoming accomplished or master teachers do so through their own efforts and not because of an efficient system that supports all teachers on their road to becoming proficient. This is far from adequate when it is critical that every learner should be taught by someone who is proficient in his or her subject.

(a) Whose responsibility is professional development?

Professional development is the responsibility of all stakeholders including the teachers themselves, the school, the Education Department and higher education institutions. When everyone accepts this responsibility, changes start to appear in teacher practice and, ultimately, in learner performance.

Although it is the responsibility of all employers of teachers to ensure their staff is properly encouraged and equipped to perform their expected duties in constantly changing conditions, it is the responsibility of teachers themselves to take responsibility for their development by identifying the areas in which they need to grow professionally (DoE, 2007:3).

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(b) Design principles

When considering the design of professional development activities, it is important to acknowledge that improved learner performance is the first priority. Traditional forms of professional development such as workshops, conferences and presentations, hardly related to the daily challenges teachers face, no longer work. Hill, Hawk and Taylor (2001:6) argue that, while a course may improve professional knowledge, it does not necessarily alter professional practice. Hawley & Valli (2000:1) suggest nine guiding principles for professional development engagement. First, the content of such activities should focus on what students are to learn and the methodology best suited to teaching that content. Second, professional development should be driven by analyses of the differences of what students should be and what they are achieving. Third, professional development should include teachers in identifying what they need to learn as well as when and how it needs to happen. Other principles suggested are that professional development should be school-based, on- going, include follow-up support and be integrated within a holistic process of change and adaptation.

(c) Effective professional development

Darling-Hammond and McLaughlin (1995) argue that, in the current climate of change, teachers need to re-think their own practice. Professional development is not only about supporting teaching and knowledge. It is about supporting teachers to reflect on their current practice and adapt new knowledge to their own teaching environment. Effective professional development should confront the following issues.

 Teachers need to be involved in practical activities which provide opportunities for teachers to observe, assess and reflect on the new ideas;

 Reflection and experimentation should be participant-driven and grounded in enquiry;

 Development needs to be collaborative and allow teachers to share knowledge;  There must be a direct connection to the work of teachers and their learners;

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 Development needs to be sustained, on-going and rigourous;

 Development needs to be supported by modeling, coaching and the collective solving of specific problems related to practice; and

 Development needs to be connected to other aspects of school change (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995:598).

(d) Factors that affect the implementation of professional development

For professional development to be considered high quality, it must be conducted in a way that generates a direct impact on teacher practice (Archibald, Coggshall, Croft and Goe, 2011:3). Bertram (2011:5) argues that many professional development initiatives do not lead to teacher-learning or improved teacher practice. They do not have the clear purpose of developing professional practice and they are often not informed by how teachers learn. Effective, successful professional development activities result in greater professional conviction among teachers, enhanced understanding, improved teaching and classroom management. There are a number of factors, however, that bring about the effective implementation of professional development (Steyn, 2010:323). These factors include:

 The role of principals and teachers

Principals, as leaders of their schools, should set an example by engaging with professional development and participating actively in professional development of staff. Teachers need to be committed to their development and take responsibility for their development. The policy on teacher development affirms the need for teachers to be committed, willing to draw on their own experiences and learn from others (DoE, 2007:16).

 Recognition of teachers’ needs

Teachers should be engaged actively in determining and recognising their needs. They should be partners in the process of their development from identifying

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courses to attend, implementing, and providing feedback and evaluating programmes.

 Choice of facilitators or presenters

The person facilitating a professional development activity should be a specialist in his or her field with expertise based on experience.

 Professional development focus and content

Teachers need to value the content of programmes and acknowledge that the content is something that can be applied to their classroom practice. If a professional development activity is to have any impact on the quality of teaching and ultimately learner performance, the key focus should be on subject and pedagogical knowledge and skills. In order for learners to have a sound conceptual understanding of a subject, it is important for teachers to have a deep, flexible and thorough knowledge of their subject (Borko, 2004:4; DoE, 2007:16). This can be attained through professional development activities that have a strong focus on developing teachers’ content knowledge and skills.

 Timing and duration

Timing of activities is important. Organisers of such events should bear in mind, and be sensitive to, the demands on teachers at different times of the academic year. The duration or length of programmes needs to be considered carefully and will be determined by the nature of the programme. In a study by Lessing and De Witt (2007:54), teachers felt that they sacrificed more in time and effort than they benefited from workshops over weekends. Duration of activities is important. Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman and Yoon (2001:921) argue for longer activities for two reasons. First, they allow for in-depth discussion of content, conceptions and misconceptions of learners and pedagogical approaches. Second, activities that stretch over time are more likely to allow teachers to try out new methodologies in their teaching and receive feedback on their teaching.

72  Feedback and monitoring

The success of an activity depends on whether organisers or facilitators are open to candid feedback and whether they monitor implementation. Feedback and monitoring of implementation should inform future programmes. Research conducted by Ingvarson, Meiers and Beavis (2005:9) found that few participants in professional development activities received assistance or feedback in their classrooms during the important and challenging phase of implementing and experimentation of new practices.

2.4 Conclusion

Teachers play a key role in ensuring quality teaching and improving the performance of learners in the subjects that they teach. Changes in curriculum and the rapid progress of technology demand that teachers are fully conversant with new knowledge and skills in their subject area. The critical role of professional development in ensuring that teachers are up-to-date with current developments and capable of delivering quality teaching is identified in this research.

This study contributes towards literature relating to quality teaching in Accounting and to effective professional development which is defined as increased teacher knowledge, improved teaching methodologies and improved learner performance.

This review of related literature focused on discussions regarding quality in teaching and, more particularly, teaching of Accounting and professional development of teachers. Pertinent issues include the important role of the teacher in ensuring quality teaching, learning and ultimately improved learner achievement, and the importance of teachers continually engaging in professional development activities.

Chapter three discusses research methodology employed in this study, issues of validity, ethical considerations and limitations of the study.

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