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This inquiry explored the motivational factors and barriers to participation in Professional Development Programmes (PDPs) in Tanzania’s higher education institutions. Using a qualitative approach and a purposively selected sample of 26 respondents, the study employed semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation and document review to generate requisite data. The resultant qualitative data was subjected to thematic analysis. The study found that faculty members had both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to participate in PDPs. Intrinsically, they participated in PDPs to develop competencies related to their job performance, especially teaching and research as well coping with technological changes. Extrinsically, faculties participated in PDPs for financial gain from the allowances offered during PDPs. The study also found that enforced PDPs and lack of recognition of PDPs for promotion demotivated faculties and, subsequently affected their future participation in PDPs. Despite scientific and technological changes taking, senior faculties were unmotivated and, hence, reluctant to participate in PDP activities. On the other hand, the study found lack of needs assessment, deficit of funds, disorganised and scarce PDPs were the main barriers to enhanced participation in PDPs. As such, universities in Tanzania should improve the provision of PDPs to motivate more faculties to partake in PDPs to meet university goals. In addition, senior faculty members should participate in PDPs to adapt to changes and learn to work with newer technologies brought by the rapid changes in world due to globalisation instead of just relying on their acquired experiences and tradition.

The automobile technicians are catalytic to the industrial revolution, employment generation, human capital development, and economic growth in the automotive industry in Nigeria. There is, however, a lack of competencies among them that has generated concerns in the community of practice. The study explored challenges of skills development among automobile technicians and examined the prospects of continuing education to enhance their skills development in the automotive industry. The study adopted a qualitative research method and reviewed journals, books, news reports, and official publications to discuss the key concepts of continuing education, skills development, and mainstreaming of automobile technicians in the informal sector to the national policy framework to transform the automotive industry for human capital development and economic growth in Nigeria. The absence of continuing education in the occupational practices of automobile technicians has created skills development crises in the automotive industry and is evidenced by a shortage of skilled labour, aging demographics, the prevalence of quackery, lack of requisite work knowledge, non-availability of sustainable continuing education programmes, lack of opportunities for continuing professional development, sectoral policy disconnect with human capital development practice in the industry, and funding. The implementation of continuing education programmes for the skills development of automobile technicians can create opportunities to enhance improved competencies, transform human capital development, and engender value creation and exceptional service delivery in the automotive industry through the transformative work environment and delivery of collaborative skills development programmes. The government should mainstream and implement grassroots policies for inclusive collaboratives to certify automobile technicians through continuing educational development programmes in the automotive industry.

Higher education institutions worldwide show an interest in enhancing their internationalisation initiatives by integrating innovative teaching approaches into formal curricula. A main concern is to ensure that pre-service teachers enter future classrooms with a high level of civic competence. The aim of this study was to investigate the challenges and opportunities confronted within a professional development programme designed to promote pre-service teachers’ competencies for democratic culture. The professional development programme was a three-year Erasmus+ KA2 programme involving the development of teacher training modules inspired by and aimed at developing competencies from the Reference Framework of Competencies for Democratic Culture. Its objective was to integrate digital resources within practicum-based learning modules based on democratic citizenship values. Following the implementation of the programme, a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) was conducted to gather data on the programme’s potential to support pre-service teachers’ civic competencies. The SWOT analysis was completed by ten teacher educators from five different university departments located in two metropolitan cities in central and northern Greece. Thematic analyses were used at a case and group level. The results showed that the online affordances of the programme, combined with each department’s practicum-based learning modules, could effectively support the development of pre-service teachers’ civic competencies, provided that resources were adapted with a human-centred sensitivity to the specificities of each context. In alignment with worldwide teacher education trends, we advocate for the implementation of similar programmes in the future as a participatory internationalisation at home strategy for supporting teacher online collaboration and peer learning. Visokošolske ustanove po vsem svetu kažejo zanimanje za krepitev svojih pobud za internacionalizacijo z vključevanjem inovativnih učnih pristopov v formalne učne načrte. Glavna skrb je zagotoviti, da bodo bodoči učitelji vstopili v svoje bodoče razrede z visoko stopnjo državljanskih kompetenc. Namen te študije je bil raziskati izzive in priložnosti, ki se pojavljajo v sklopu programa profesionalnega razvoja, namenjenega spodbujanju kompetenc bodočih učiteljev za demokratično kulturo. Program profesionalnega razvoja je bil triletni program Erasmus+ KA2, ki je vključeval razvoj modulov za usposabljanje učiteljev po zgledu Referenčnega okvira kompetenc za demokratično kulturo in je bil namenjen razvoju kompetenc iz omenjenega okvira. Njegov cilj je bil v na praksi temelječe učne module vključiti digitalne vire, ki temeljijo na demokratičnih državljanskih vrednotah. Po izvedbi programa je bila izvedena analiza SWOT (prednosti, slabosti, priložnosti in grožnje), da bi zbrali podatke o potencialu programa za podporo državljanskih kompetenc bodočih učiteljev. K analizi SWOT je prispevalo deset izobraževalcev učiteljev s petih različnih univerzitetnih oddelkov iz dveh velemest v osrednji in severni Grčiji. Tematske analize so bile uporabljene na ravni posameznih primerov in skupin. Rezultati so pokazali, da lahko spletne možnosti programa v kombinaciji z na praksi temelječimi učnimi moduli vsakega oddelka učinkovito podprejo razvoj državljanskih kompetenc bodočih učiteljev, če so viri prilagojeni z občutljivostjo za posebnosti posameznega konteksta, usmerjeno na človeka. Skladno s svetovnimi trendi izobraževanja učiteljev se zavzemamo za izvajanje podobnih programov v prihodnosti kot strategije »participativne internacionalizacije doma« za podporo spletnemu sodelovanju in vrstniškemu učenju učiteljev.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, teachers were exposed to technology-enhanced learning as an emergency measure, yet despite decades of advancement in educational technology, the online learning experiences lacked deliberate design. Recent research highlights a gap concerning the design elements of online professional development and teachers’ needs for professional development in online education. Through this Design-Based Research, we therefore sought to offer an intervention in the form of a professional development programme built on the specific needs of teachers. In the present study, we report on the findings from this two-cycle, five-phase online professional development, taken by 90 practising high school teachers across Kosova. The study sheds light on teachers’ experiences and attitudes, as well as their readiness to take hands-on approaches to integrate, when available, complex technologies while leveraging the power of instructional design concepts in the post-Covid-19 era. The evidence indicates that, in order to develop effective teaching capacity in this environment, online professional development programmes must go beyond simple off-the-shelf technology (i.e., videoconferencing) applications. Similarly, our data shows that the inclusion of prior needs assessment in online and blended teacher development instruction positively impacts the development of teachers’ attitudes towards online education. The present paper provides specific recommendations for any innovative education system leader, teacher or scholar hoping to leverage new online learning knowledge to strengthen teacher practice. Med pandemijo covida-19 so bili učitelji izpostavljeni s tehnologijo podkrepljenemu učenju, kar je bila posledica ukrepov v izrednih razmerah, vendar kljub desetletjem napredka na področju izobraževalne tehnologije spletne učne izkušnje niso bile premišljeno načrtovane. Najnovejše raziskave opozarjajo na vrzel med elementi načrtovanja spletnega strokovnega izpopolnjevanja in potrebami učiteljev po strokovnem izpopolnjevanju v spletnem izobraževanju. S to raziskavo, ki temelji na načrtovanju, smo zato skušali ponuditi intervencijo v obliki programa strokovnega izpopolnjevanja, ki bi temeljil na specifičnih potrebah učiteljev. V tej študiji poročamo o ugotovitvah tega dvostopenjskega petfaznega spletnega strokovnega izpopolnjevanja, ki se ga je udeležilo 90 aktivnih srednješolskih učiteljev na Kosovu. Študija osvetljuje izkušnje in stališča učiteljev ter njihovo pripravljenost na praktične pristope za vključevanje kompleksnih tehnologij, kadar so na voljo, ob hkratnem izkoriščanju moči konceptov načrtovanja pouka v obdobju po epidemiji covida-19. Dokazi kažejo, da morajo programi spletnega strokovnega izpopolnjevanja za razvijanje učinkovitih učnih zmožnosti v tem okolju presegati preproste, že pripravljene tehnološke (npr. videokonferenčne) aplikacije. Podobno naši podatki kažejo, da vključitev predhodne ocene potreb v spletno in kombinirano izobraževanje učiteljev pozitivno vpliva na razvoj odnosa učiteljev do spletnega izobraževanja. Ta članek vsebuje konkretna priporočila za vse inovativne vodje izobraževalnih sistemov, učitelje ali znanstvenike, ki upajo, da bodo lahko uporabili novo znanje o spletnem izobraževanju za krepitev učiteljske prakse.

Designing an effective English-teacher-preparation program and the provision of providing ongoing support and professional development opportunities are key compounding factors in preparing knowledgeable and competent English teachers linguistically and pedagogically as well as in facilitating their professional growth throughout their mammoth teaching journeys. This paper presents an in-depth discussion of the current training available to Saudi English teachers and reviews the changes that English-teacher-preparation programs have undergone over the years. Then, a pre-service and in-service teacher-preparation program will be proposed in addition to a continuing professional development program for Saudi EFL teachers. Finally, a number of key issues will be highlighted to ensure the effectiveness of the proposed training program.

In this literature review, I analyze the features and impacts of 14 programs which promoted teachers’ language assessment literacy. I used content analysis to build a coding scheme with data-driven and concept-driven categories to synthesize and then analyze trends in the 14 research studies. Regarding core features, findings suggest that the programs were geared towards practical tasks in which teachers used theory critically. Also, the studies show that teachers expanded their conception of language assessment, became aware of how to design professional instruments, and considered wider constructs for assessment. Based on these findings, I include implications for the construct of language assessment literacy and recommendations for those who educate language teachers.

This response reviews the article entitled “Improving teacher professional development for online and blended learning: a systematic meta-aggregative review” (Philipsen in Educ Technol Res Dev 67:1145–1174, 2019) from a practice perspective. Philipsen (Educ Technol Res Dev 67:1145–1174, 2019) conducted a systematic meta-aggregative review that targets teacher professional development for online and blended learning. This paper summarizes the key findings of their study and discusses the value of the findings and how they could be applied to prepare K-12 teachers for online and blended learning. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

BackgroundFormative assessment has been reported to improve learners’ learning in affluent contexts. However, very few studies have reported the impact of formative assessment on teachers’ knowledge and understanding in no-fee public schools located in a low socio-economic context.AimThis article investigates the impact of the Assessment for Learning Capacity Development Programme (AfL CDP) on teachers’ formative assessment knowledge and understanding pertaining to the five formative assessment strategies: learning intentions and success criteria, questioning, feedback, peer and self-assessment.SettingThis study was conducted as part of the Assessment for Learning (AfL) in Africa project in one Gauteng district involving 20 Grade 3 teachers from six no-fee public schools.MethodsTeachers in this study participated in the AfL CDP, implemented using the reflect, mediate, acquire and adapt, plan, prepare, present, support (ReMAPS) intervention framework. Baseline and endline data were collected using the formative assessment reflection exercises (FARE) before and after the AfL CDP, while t-tests were used to determine differences in performance.ResultsThe results revealed significant improvements in teacher formative assessment knowledge and understanding across all five strategies.ConclusionThe ReMAPS intervention framework, applied in the AfL CDP, proved successful in supporting teachers to improve their formative assessment knowledge and understanding, even when implemented in challenging contexts, and provides a viable, practical model for implementing AfL pedagogical strategy by the Department of Education.ContributionThis study adds to the body of knowledge by providing research-based findings about how an AfL capacity development programme implemented in a challenging context in South Africa, benefited teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and understanding.

The paper examined the state of the academic staffing situation in Nigerian Public Universities with various factors constraining their professional development. Funding was identified as a major factor with attendant consequences such as brain drain, academic staff deficit, structural imbalance in the distribution of academic staff and inadequate capacity-building programmes for their staff. The paper observed that most Nigerian universities lack the framework for internal staff development programmes for their academic staff. Various internal capacity building programmes that could be organized using senior academic staff within these universities were proposed. The paper identified professional development programmes in four world-class universities as models that could be adapted by Nigerian universities. The paper concluded that available potentials for academic staff development within Nigerian Public Universities remain largely untapped.

PurposeThe study aims to explore the experiences of new school-based mentors in Norway of an online teacher professional development (OTPD) programme in mentoring. The focus was on how the OTPD programme worked out as a boundary artefact to strengthen the coherence between a university and partner schools.Design/methodology/approachConstant comparative analysis was used to examine 21 school-based mentors' experiences and how the programme worked out as an artefact to strengthen the coherence between the teacher and education arenas. The findings were interpreted considering the literature and OTPD and boundary-crossing theories.FindingsThe findings revealed that the OTPD programme served as a boundary artefact. By participating, the new school-based mentors felt part of a community, identifying as teacher educators. Thus, the programme mediated their understanding of their new role as a teacher educator. Two main tensions were found: first, resistance towards online collaboration with school-based mentors across schools and participants that preferred to work locally with their own colleagues and, second, different technologies at the schools and the university disrupting the participants' experiences. Overall, this study emphasised the value of a facilitator from the university supporting the participants' development in the OTPD programme.Originality/valueThis study provides an understanding of teachers' OTPD when at the boundary of becoming school-based mentors and may contribute to enhancing universities' quality of teacher education. This study also highlights the importance of stronger connections between school-based mentors and their university campuses.