File photo
Teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) in recent years has been of growing interest to governments and educators. There have been a significant number of reforms in several countries to fine-tune the CPD policies to conform with global standards. Within the global educational reform initiatives, continuous professional development (CPD) is recognized as essential for promoting teacher learning outcomes and improving school effectiveness. CPD addresses teacher development needs, maximises strengths, and enables all teachers to meet the challenges of modern teaching. In Ghana, the CPD policy spearheaded by the National Teaching Council has seen its birth as a result of extensive stakeholder consultations ( Ghana Education Service, the Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association Graduate Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers-Ghana, All Teachers Alliance, Ghana (ATAG), Association of Private Schools, Assessment Consortium, UNICEF, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), etc) before its validation. A framework for the professional development of teachers was developed in 2020 to serve as a guide for teachers and service providers to plan, design, and implement appropriate Professional Development (PD) plans and programmes. Having followed discussions on the CPD policy from the onset, it is best I highlight some of the policy intent and implications. 1. Nationwide INSET program was initiated in 2009 and Teachers have consistently been attending INSET programs and patronizing self-sponsored CPD programs before they are considered for promotions, upgrading, and placement. For every promotion interview, a teacher attends, he or she was required to show evidence of a certificate acquired from a self-sponsored workshop, and all these were documented in the promotion personal records form. The above has been practiced for a long. 2. The National Teaching Council came in to restructure and streamline the CPD architecture by introducing the point-based system to harmonise with global standards and expectations so it enhances uniformity, flexibility, and transparency. 3. Teachers will now gain points on all the required CPD activities they undergo and the Continuous Professional Development allowance was introduced in 2020 to cushion teachers as they subscribe to relevant CPD programs that will translate to efficiency in their service delivery. 4 Service providers (unions inclusive) provide demand-driven workshops throughout the year. Teachers in most cases are required to pay for such training programmes out of their professional development allowance. In such situations, teachers have the right to negotiate for their own payments and also decide on which one they may want to attend 5. Every teacher based on his or her rank has a pre-determined CPD point to accrue each year. CPD points and courses differ across the various ranks and it is necessary for teachers to access the "teacher portal" to have an overview of the minimum CPD points to accumulate, the CPD programs/modules available, the service providers assigned to the modules as well as the fees for such programs. 6 There are supply-driven programs like Learning Communities-PLC (School Based, Departmental Based, or Cluster Based, etc ) that generate CPD points for teachers. NTC with the point-based CPD system is emboldening the CPD architecture to create value and recognition for teachers in their career growth and progression. The point is a way of assigning value to the CPD you undertake. Every CPD program comes with a points value assigned. The significance of this exercise is that... It is a means to enhance the performance of teachers so they contribute to learning outcomes. It provides an evidence-based system for career advancement and promotion. It helps teachers to monitor and access their CPD needs It gives room for teachers to reflect on their practice. It is a means of creating a CPD database system for teachers to be conversant with their learning demands It enables teachers to execute their roles effectively A licensed teacher who is undergoing these reforms is in a better position to negotiate for appropriate conditions of service applicable to his or her career growth, and expectations. The whole CPD ecosystem provides areas for setting regulatory standards to govern teachers' work and living conditions in order to make teaching attractive and rewarding
Teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) in recent years has been of growing interest to governments and educators. There have been a significant number of reforms in several countries to fine-tune the CPD policies to conform with global standards. Within the global educational reform initiatives, continuous professional development (CPD) is recognized as essential for promoting teacher learning outcomes and improving school effectiveness. CPD addresses teacher development needs, maximises strengths, and enables all teachers to meet the challenges of modern teaching. In Ghana, the CPD policy spearheaded by the National Teaching Council has seen its birth as a result of extensive stakeholder consultations ( Ghana Education Service, the Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association Graduate Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers-Ghana, All Teachers Alliance, Ghana (ATAG), Association of Private Schools, Assessment Consortium, UNICEF, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), etc) before its validation. A framework for the professional development of teachers was developed in 2020 to serve as a guide for teachers and service providers to plan, design, and implement appropriate Professional Development (PD) plans and programmes. Having followed discussions on the CPD policy from the onset, it is best I highlight some of the policy intent and implications. 1. Nationwide INSET program was initiated in 2009 and Teachers have consistently been attending INSET programs and patronizing self-sponsored CPD programs before they are considered for promotions, upgrading, and placement. For every promotion interview, a teacher attends, he or she was required to show evidence of a certificate acquired from a self-sponsored workshop, and all these were documented in the promotion personal records form. The above has been practiced for a long. 2. The National Teaching Council came in to restructure and streamline the CPD architecture by introducing the point-based system to harmonise with global standards and expectations so it enhances uniformity, flexibility, and transparency. 3. Teachers will now gain points on all the required CPD activities they undergo and the Continuous Professional Development allowance was introduced in 2020 to cushion teachers as they subscribe to relevant CPD programs that will translate to efficiency in their service delivery. 4 Service providers (unions inclusive) provide demand-driven workshops throughout the year. Teachers in most cases are required to pay for such training programmes out of their professional development allowance. In such situations, teachers have the right to negotiate for their own payments and also decide on which one they may want to attend 5. Every teacher based on his or her rank has a pre-determined CPD point to accrue each year. CPD points and courses differ across the various ranks and it is necessary for teachers to access the "teacher portal" to have an overview of the minimum CPD points to accumulate, the CPD programs/modules available, the service providers assigned to the modules as well as the fees for such programs. 6 There are supply-driven programs like Learning Communities-PLC (School Based, Departmental Based, or Cluster Based, etc ) that generate CPD points for teachers. NTC with the point-based CPD system is emboldening the CPD architecture to create value and recognition for teachers in their career growth and progression. The point is a way of assigning value to the CPD you undertake. Every CPD program comes with a points value assigned. The significance of this exercise is that... It is a means to enhance the performance of teachers so they contribute to learning outcomes. It provides an evidence-based system for career advancement and promotion. It helps teachers to monitor and access their CPD needs It gives room for teachers to reflect on their practice. It is a means of creating a CPD database system for teachers to be conversant with their learning demands It enables teachers to execute their roles effectively A licensed teacher who is undergoing these reforms is in a better position to negotiate for appropriate conditions of service applicable to his or her career growth, and expectations. The whole CPD ecosystem provides areas for setting regulatory standards to govern teachers' work and living conditions in order to make teaching attractive and rewarding
