ERIC Number: EJ1460279
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0256-0100
EISSN: EISSN-2076-3433
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Development Support Groups' Contribution towards Professional Development of Teachers through a Training Needs Analysis
South African Journal of Education, v44 suppl 1 Article 2316 2024
Training needs analysis assists in identifying the kind of training that an individual employee needs and ensures that the training addresses any existing problems. The South African Department of Basic Education has made different provision for professional development of Foundation Phase teachers. One of them is the support that should be provided by the development support group (DSG) as part of the integrated quality management system (IQMS). The aim of the study reported on here was to explore the role of the DSGs in identifying professional development needs of teachers and the provision of relevant support. An observation-based qualitative study was undertaken to investigate how the DSGs identified professional development needs of teachers with the purpose of offering appropriate support. Five DSGs from 5 schools were purposefully selected to provide rich information about the issue under study. A case study approach was used to gain an in-depth understanding of the process. The findings reveal that needs analysis was not effectively executed since most DSGs combined different IQMS processes on the same day rather than allowing time between the evaluation and the review. I recommend that the role of the DSGs be reviewed and strengthened, and their activities be properly monitored to produce the envisaged teacher development.
Descriptors: Faculty Development, Training, Social Support Groups, Communities of Practice, Educational Needs, Needs Assessment, Foreign Countries, Educational Quality, Quality Assurance, Management Systems, Performance, Standards
Education Association of South Africa. University of Pretoria, Centre for the Study of Resilience, Level 3, Groenkloof Student Centre, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, George Storrar Road and Lleyds Street, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Web site: http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A