Managing the professional development of primary school teachers by means of action research

Abstract

In the climate of poor student achievement and a lack of skilled teachers in natural science and mathematics, the main research question of this study was: How can the professional development of primary school teachers be managed by means of action research? The aim of the study was to develop, implement and evaluate a site-based collaboration programme to promote the professional development of the teachers in these subjects within a home-based or semi home-based teaching context. The theory of situated learning within a community of practice (CoP) was used as conceptual framework. Purposeful and convenient sampling was implemented to select participants. Five grade 4 teachers, five grade 5 teachers, four grade 6 teachers and eight members of the school management team participated in the three year study. During the planning phase a needs analysis was done. During the action phase, lead teachers were responsible for the planning in one or two subjects. The teachers met once every six school days (about 30 meetings per year), for up to two hours to discuss content and methodological issues, plan assessment strategies, analyse and reflect on results and decide on intervention strategies. The grade 4, 5 and 6 groups completed six, four and two action research cycles respectively, and the school management team six action research cycles of about six months each. To evaluate the professional development that resulted, data collection was by means of observation, field notes, typed minutes, four focus groups, 12 individual interviews, teachers’ files, a questionnaire and students’ books and achievements. The results indicate that the professional development of primary school teachers could be managed and constantly improved by means of action research. When school managers organise teachers into communities of practice and implement action research cycles, the teachers learn in a context-sensitive way. This learning is characterised by two social stages involving participation in the subject and grade CoP, and an independent stage of personal involvement when teachers internalise knowledge and practices of other teachers. The professional development of the teachers was in the areas of content knowledge, pedagogic content knowledge, assessment literacy and professional attitudes. Student achievement improved.