The participants of this research highly valued the importance of school based
provision of professional development which included mutual development, care and support for each-other. They also mentioned the importance of school resources and facilities to
the current school based professional development in Nepal to be limited. Mainly, the
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community hardly value school-based professional development of teachers. They pointed to the limited support from the school leadership and community claiming that continuous
development. They also emphasised that supportive school leadership and community enhances flexible, equitable, realistic and easily accessible professional development.
12.2.1 Impacts of Under-resourced Schools
The participants reported that the education system in Nepal has always lacked proper
development. Most educational institutions are not well equipped with language learning labs, proper libraries, computers or the Internet which are essentials for effective ELT practice. Similarly, educational resources like audio-visual equipment are also limited. Students from remote areas of the country may not even receive text-books during the whole academic year. Commenting on under re
professional development, two participants described:
I know using information and communication technologies (ICT) will enhance my ELT quality. School curriculum and trainings also recommends us to use ICT in our English classes but the question is, do Nepalese schools have proper facilities to use ICT? And the obvious answer is no. IP10
Nepalese schools is that most of the schools in Nepal do not have proper library and supplementary materials which are essential for teachers. IP1
Most of the participants agreed that teachers should be skilled to use ICT in their ELT classes. They also perceived that use of technology has a positive impact on their teaching.
environment of Nepalese schools has been detailed in section 8.4. Sandholtz (2002) elaborated on the importance of schoo
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worthless and see little value in learning about strategies if they believe it is impossible for them to implement their skills due to limited physical facilities and support. In the same way, a study conducted in California, Loeb, Darling-Hammond and Luczak (2005) found that quality of professional development among teachers has a strong correlation with the school conditions including working conditions, physical facilities, and availability of textbooks and technology. This provides an evidence based support that teachers will be enthusiastic to learn if they see potential benefits from learning and their sustained professional development is only possible if the school has better infrastructure and facilities.
12.2.2 School-based Provision of Professional Development
The interviewed participants also asked for school-based professional development for teachers. It was felt by the participants that school-based professional development will benefit teachers for their ongoing professional development. It also allows teachers to work in a professional learning community, encourage them to work in partnership and support each other. Despite this, the participants revealed that Nepalese schools have failed to initiate school-based professional development. Explaining the importance of school-based provision of professional development, some participants reported:Teacher trainings are not that regular and we have to wait for years to receive a single training. Hence, it is of utmost importance that the schools have well-designed school- based professional development strategies for teachers where school leaderships and teachers conduct professional development activities in the school premises and learning takes place from sharing of experience, knowledge and mutual support. IP11 Sharing experience, reflecting on own performance, observing fellow teachers will be immensely b
relying on external trainings, teachers can emphasise the culture of peer coaching and collaborative learning. IP7
The participants of this research described that school-based provision of professional
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teachers will be easily accessible and reliable. Similarly, learning from reflection,
collaboration and experiences will be long-lasting and easy to implement in their teaching.
the notion of professional development has taken a shift from one-shot trainings to learning that takes place over time and from individual to collaborative learning (Borko, 2004; Putnam & Borko, 2000; Watson & Manning, 2008). The school-based professional development is also important to empower novice teachers and generate new professional knowledge
(Chaudary & Imran, 2012). Similarly, Truscott and Truscott (2004) believe that school-based
application than professional development outside the school.
12.2.3 Need of Resource Centre in Schools
The participating teachers also raised their voice on the need and importance of resource centres in the schools. These teachers believed school-based resource centre will benefit them to resolve their queries and issues of teaching which will be beneficial to the enhancement of their ELT quality; however rued the fact that teachers hardly receive any supplementary materials to support their ELT. Two participants revealed:
Theoretically, we teachers are supposed to develop communicative aspect of English language learner. Practically, we are teaching just about the language not the language itself and one of the major influences for this is limited resources. We talk about using ICT in our English classes but the reality is that physical structures of Nepalese schools limit us to use traditional teaching. IP15
and difficulties I am facing in my teaching. It creates a great confusion that where to find the solutions of my problems or whom to ask. IP2
The participants expressed that only a well-equipped teacher with resources and materials can deliver a better ELT environment. This view of the participants is consistent with Johnson (1992, cited in Govender, 2005) who stated that teaching should not be
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confined to a single teacher or a single textbook attempting to dispense knowledge, skills and expertise that students need to know, develop and learn for the rest of their lives. Rather, teachers should be facilitated with current technologies, infrastructure and materials for quality teaching. Hence, it is important that schools should have a proper resource centre to facilitate teaching. McCall (1992, cited in Giri, 2010) defined a resource centre as a place which primarily provides reference to the users for their self-identified or negotiated needs. In the same way, a resource centre is a place where a number of various sources of information (e.g. books, magazines, journals, video cassettes, audio cassettes, transparencies, newspapers, etc.) are stored to assist and facilitate teachers in planning, designing and producing a wide range of sources of information to apply in their teaching (Govender, 2005). With the belief that equipping teachers is one of the most neglected aspects in ELT, Giri (2010) mentioned that resource centres are vital in teaching English as a second or foreign language to assist teachers in developing and using resource materials in their teaching, to offer a reference for the queries and concerns regarding their teaching and to act as a forum which offers
professional development initiatives for ELT practitioners. Resource centres are vital in development as they offer teachers a variety of resources to develop skills, knowledge and information for enhanced teaching.
12.2.4 Need of Supportive School Leadership and Community
The participants of this research revealed that the support and encouragement from school leadership and community members is negligible and noted the unsupportive and traditional nature of school leadership and community members. The interview participants expressed that the school leadership and the community members have a vital role to play in216
leadership and community members which will lead towards sustainable professional
development and reciprocal growth for better educational quality. Highlighting the indifferent role of the school leadership and community member, some participants reported:
No teachers have absolute knowledge and skills; they need constant mentoring, guidance and supervision for their work. For this, school leadership and community members have significant role to play to shape a teacher into a better professional. However, what I have found that neither school leadership nor the community members care about mutual support and collaboration. IP6
I have not received proper support and coordination from the school leadership to implement my innovative ideas in my teaching. Neither school leaders appreciate or encourage teachers. Similarly, involvement of community members to improve educational quality is not mentionable. IP16
This indicated that teachers in Nepal lack professional development opportunities from school leadership and the community members. The participants desired for a well- established provision of school-led professional development in which teachers work along with school leadership in professional learning. Vescio, Ross and Adams (2008) claimed that properly designed and developed professional learning communities have positive impact on both teaching practice and student achievement. Similarly, supportive leadership and school management is necessary to enhance professional development among the teachers
(Robinson, Lloyd & Rowe, 2008).
The participants recognised that school leaders can directly influence the strategies
better practice of care, collaboration and mutual development. Identifying the role of the
suggested four significant roles of a school principal. In this, they highlighted the importance of the school Principal as an instructional leader and learner, creator of a learning
environment, assessor of professional development outcomes and the designer of the content
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develop their skills, knowledge and competency by formal and informal approaches over time. Thus, parents, school board members, policymakers and community members can share
2010). This view of participants is equally supported by Piggot-Irvine (2004) who asserted that mutual development is enhanced if the leadership has a desire to reflect, learn and develop and create development opportunities for other too.
The participating teachers also advocated proper supervision from the school
leadership and the community members; however, they admitted that teachers in Nepal lack proper supervision. This thesis has already discussed ineffective supervision from the
community in the section 9.1.3.These teachers admitted that little or no feedback or academic support from the school leadership has compounded the issues of professional development.
They preferred regular supervision and constructive feedback from the community and the school leadership and felt that this will improve ongoing professional development among teachers. Tyagi (2010) recognised the importance of school-based supervision maintaining that continuous assessment, guidance and support given to teachers for their professional development will bring positive improvement in the teaching and learning process. Similarly,
Sudarjat, Abdullah and Sunaryo (2015) determined that well-planned efforts of supervision will direct the teachers to achieve educational goals effectively through better learning process. Therefore, regular supervision and constructive feedback from the educational
authorities have a significant role to play in tea