Browsing by Author "Nakambale, Evelina Nailoke"

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    A philosophical analysis of continuing professional development of teachers in Namibian schools
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Nakambale, Evelina Nailoke; Van Wyk, Berte; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Education Policy Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT : This study is fundamentally ontologically, epistemologically, and methodologically a philosophical research. It is grounded in the philosophy of education perspective, because it is aimed at the analysis of the concept of continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers in Namibian schools. The programme of CPD for teachers at schools may not reach its intended goal of achieving quality education in Namibia, if the concept of CPD is not well perceived by the implementers at school level, who for this study in particular, are school principals. Motivated by my lived experience, the study is guided by the critical theory framework, with its unique emphasis markedly on emancipation, different to many paradigms within the social sciences. I employed a conceptual analysis as the main research activity to deal with data while analysing the concept of CPD for teachers. Conceptual analysis is admired for its ability to unfold what is not clear about the concept while simultaneously providing clarity. With a conceptual analysis, concepts become understandable in relation to other concepts. The study employs document analyses and semi-structured interviews to collect data. The national policy (Vision 2030) and the educational policy (Toward Education for All, and Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme) documents were analysed in order to have their pronunciations on how the concept CPD of teachers in Namibian schools considered and included. A constant comparative method was adopted for data analysis. The concept of CPD with all its diverse notions has been noted as articulated in all policy documents analysed as inservice training, human resource development, lifelong learning, and professional development. These concepts correlate with the interchangeable concepts to the concept of professional development discussed in literature that the researcher reviewed. The concept of CPD for teachers was perceived reasonably well by the school principals who participated in this study as respondents during interview sessions. The findings of this study show that the programme of CPD for teachers in Namibian schools is happening at schools. Teachers are engaged in a variety of activities for their professional development. The contextual factors such as time and school culture emerged as hindrances to the effective implementation of the programme of CPD at school level. The workload of teachers, too, imposes burdens on the implementation of the CPD programme. Schools need to adopt supportive, responsive and accommodative school cultures to ensure teachers’ professional learning in a collaborative context. School time needs to be rescheduled to accommodate the teachers’ professional development interventions.