From the data obtained through observations and interviews, it was clear that the participating teachers acknowledged the importance of CPD to the understanding of democratic values and the development of democratic citizens. The teachers’ general perception of CPD programmes was that it is a tool that provides teachers with the opportunities to achieve continued and consistent results. In addition, it is also perceived as programmes that is helpful towards the continuing development of teachers, and through which the Nigerian education system could be improved upon when teachers get things right through constant training. As regards their experiences of CPD programmes, some of the teachers expressed the positive effects the training has had on them towards discharging their professional duties.
Teacher F of School 4 noted that the few seminars and workshops he had attended were very helpful in building good relationship with his learners. The seminars and workshops helped him understand that teaching should not make the teachers take the central stage in the classroom, but communication has to flow between the teacher and the learners, that is, connecting with learners and getting them involved. This view is shared by Padwad and Dixit (2011:7), who maintain that CPD programmes are planned, continuous and lifelong processes whereby teachers develop their personal and professional qualities, and improve their knowledge, skills and practice, leading to their empowerment, the improvement of their agency and the development of their organisations and their learners. Similarly, Garuba (2004:195) asserts that the essence of CPD is to equip teachers to be more effective in teaching and to cope with global reforms.
Thus, it has become important to improve teachers’ knowledge on related subject matters constantly and to prepare them to assume responsibilities for new roles that might be demanded of them within the school system. Guskey (2000:3) maintains that one of the essential aims of conducting a high-quality CPD for teachers is that the knowledge base for education including all subjects and disciplines is growing rapidly; therefore teachers need to stay abreast of the emerging knowledge within their subject area. Another aim is that changes in education, including structural change in the organisation of schools and other policies, demand that teachers change their roles and take on new responsibilities. One of these new responsibilities is to develop democratic citizens who have a sense of belonging in their society, and who are able to engage in meaningful deliberations with other citizens in order to make logical decisions that continually improve and develop society.
Responses from the teachers indicated that Teachers C of School 2 and D of School 3 had a few negative experiences as regards their participation in CPD programmes. Teacher D of School 3 explained that when she went for teacher training organised by the National Teacher Institute (NTI) in 2014, there many participants who wanted to go into the teaching profession because they could not secure employment matching their course of study. As a result, it was difficult for the organisers to reach all participants as the lecture rooms were overcrowded. In addition, she explained that the examinations were not properly conducted, thereby giving room for improper behaviour by participants. Teacher C of School 2 and Teacher D of School 3 also indicated that the CPD programmes followed a top-down approach in which teachers were not involved when determining the content of the CPD programmes, neither were they allowed to have practical sessions through active interaction and collaboration with other teachers. These negative experiences echoed by the teachers contradicted the common perception of an ideal form of CPD that is well organised, and which encourages teachers to be actively involved in their learning through collaboration and deliberation with other participants. It is reasonable to assume that the sampled teachers’ experiences of CPD programmes were not experiences that actually contributed to the development of democratic citizens within the classroom. Because these teachers did not experience what it is like to be included and participate in their own professional development, they did not enjoy opportunities and spaces for open deliberation, consultation and debate and they did not necessarily value these practices when it came to their own teaching and engagement with the learners in the classes. In other words, while they might have had particular ideas of what democratic engagement means, they did not have experience of how this form of engagement
might unfold in practice. Consequently, they neither valued nor cultivated democratic engagement in their teaching.
Hence, it has been established in this research that the sampled teachers did not have an understanding of the CPD policy document. They were not kept informed about their professional development, they were neither expected nor encouraged to attend CPD programmes, and they were not kept informed about trends or shifts in their particular subject area, Accounting. The implication of this is that the teachers did not have a sense of belonging or legitimacy in their profession, as they were not well informed about their rights and their expected responsibilities. It also became apparent that teachers in public schools did not enjoy the same opportunities in relation to CPD programmes as teachers in private schools. While teachers in public schools rely on government to plan and conduct programmes, teachers at private schools have access to in-house training at their respective schools. As a result, it is not uncommon to encounter teachers who have not undergone any CPD programme in all their years of teaching.
As inferred from the responses of the teachers on their understanding of a democratic citizen, Teachers B of School 1 and F of School 4 displayed a good understanding of the concept of democratic citizen, but Teachers A of School 1, C of School 2 and C and D of School 3 only offered an explanation which related to the knowledge of the nation’s political (democracy) system, the importance of obeying the law and voting in elections but not particularly relating to classroom practices. In my opinion, for teachers to understand the concept of democratic citizenship that takes into account democratic values of inclusion, participation and deliberation, they need experience in exercising these democratic values in their professional learning. My research findings through the classroom observations showed that Teachers A of School 1, B of School 1, D of School 3 and F of School 4 strived to develop the democratic values of interaction, participation and deliberation. My opinion about these teachers was drawn from the efforts put toward their teaching during their lessons to involve the learners through questions and allowing the learners to ask questions where they did not understand.