School-based professional development initiatives for novice teacher development: experiences of heads of department in public primary schools.
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Date
2021
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Abstract
This thesis presents an understanding of HoDs’ experiences in enacting school-based professional development of novice teachers in primary schools. As a novice teacher who encountered many professional and personal complexities myself, this exploration of various professional development initiatives by HoDs was critical for my learning. By using a case study design, I was able to focus on and deepen my understanding of how HoDs’ professional experiences had shaped and continued to shape their experiences of professionally developing novice teachers in their respective schools. I was able to explore various site-based professional development initiatives by HoDs and I could determine how they impacted the educational experiences of novice teachers at various levels to address their professional and personal needs. Evans’s (2014) theoretical framework of multidimensional professional development was critically important for my research study. It guided my understanding that effective professional development impacts the educational experiences of novice teachers and that it should thus focus on all aspects of their teaching experiences by encompassing both the personal and professional domains of their development. In light of the various influences and factors that shape HoDs’ experiences, this research study offered me the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how and why they, as members of the school management team (SMT), engaged in the professional development of novice teachers. I intended to determine if they engaged with novice teachers at multiple levels of development, with particular reference to the professional, personal, and intellectual needs of new teachers. By utilising a methodological approach that facilitated the elicitation of thick and rich data, I had the opportunity to gain deep and insightful understandings of the contextual and professional constraints that impacted the HoDs’ experiences. I was also able to determine if and why these challenges were negotiated to propel novice teachers’ development. I was also able to learn about the personal and professional needs of HoDs and how they took the initiative to develop themselves in order to address their own personal and professional needs. Therefore, despite various constraints, this study found that these dedicated and committed HoDs’ endeavoured to continuously encourage novice teachers to have strong personal commitment towards their professional and personal development and they thus contributed to novice teachers’ positive educational experiences, albeit predominantly at the professional and not the personal level.
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Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.