Rural Teachers’ Perspectives on Continuous Professional Development

Abstract

Aims: In recent years continuous professional development (CPD) has attracted keen interest in academic and policy circles across the globe and this attention shows no sign of waning soon. Studies on CPD exit, covering several strands. However, conspicuously missing are studies that shed light on the perspectives of rural teachers regarding continuous professional development. This study aimed to bridge this gap by unveiling the perspectives of rural teachers on continuous professional development. Methodology: Employing an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the study recruited 270 participants for the quantitative phase and 15 purposively selected participants for the qualitative phase. Results: The findings revealed that rural teachers perceived CPD as having significant impact on their professional practice. it increased their motivation to teach by enhancing their competencies, improving ability to teach, equipping them with emerging teaching skills and assisting them to resolve classroom challenges. However, the study also discovered CPD programmes available to rural teachers were inadequate and did not sufficiently develop them into subject matter experts. Additionally, participants concurred that CPD should be designed following a thorough CPD needs assessment. Finally, CPD was seen as providing rural teachers with valuable opportunities such as platform to meet and interact with subject experts and colleagues. Conclusion: This study recommended that CPD programmes for rural teachers should focus on subject specific areas and be informed by a CPD needs assessment to ensure their effectiveness.