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Mpumalanga secondary school teachers’ experiences of professional development initiatives for improved classroom practice
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Magagula, Nephtal Dumisan; Pillay, Pundy
In spite of the introduction of various teacher development policies and the investment of huge resources into professional and academic development of teachers in South African schools, poor learning outcomes still dominate the public schooling system. The purpose of this descriptive study was to describe the Mpumalanga secondary school teachers’ experiences of professional development initiatives in terms of usable and transferrable knowledge and skills for improved classroom practice. One of the main findings of the research was that the professional teacher development initiatives, as experienced by the sampled teachers, have positive developmental effects on the professional growth of teachers in general. It was also established that the two main challenges that discouraged teachers from attending the initiatives were their non-involvement in planning and facilitation of the initiatives. Therefore, their experiences, whether positive or negative, are dependent, inter alia, on them being involved at the initial conception and implementation of such programmes.