Peerthy, Prithiviraj; (2018) Continuing professional development and quality of teaching: a case study in state secondary schools in Mauritius. Doctoral thesis (Ed.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This research has investigated how Continuing Professional Development and Learning (CPDL) could help teachers to become better teachers by acquiring new skills and improving their competencies. The aim was to find out to what extent the present system of CPDL in Mauritius is able to fulfill that important role of providing CPDL which influences positively on the quality of teaching. The skills teachers wanted to develop in order to become better classroom practitioners were also explored. The research comprised a survey made of all the principals of the State Secondary Schools (SSSs) in Mauritius followed by semi-structured interviews with nine teachers, three Heads of Departments (HoDs) and principals of three schools studied and two directors of the Ministry of Education (MOE). Data were also obtained from a World Bank consultant during his visit to Mauritius advising the government on education reforms and three inspectors. Evidence suggests that in the Mauritian secondary schools studied there are shortcomings in the provision of CPDL but there are also possibilities for improvement. The findings of the research make it possible to make recommendations which might be useful for policy makers to bring changes to improve the provision of CPDL at the level of the teachers, the school and the MOE. The main findings of the research were that the main model of CPDL, that is workshops, does not provide educators with the necessary skills to improve their quality of teaching; HoDs and senior educators who were supposed to lead CPDL were not fulfilling that role to its fullest; principals were not in general supporting HoDs to provide CPDL; and the inspectors seemed unable to do much in terms of improving the quality of teaching. Nevertheless, there is a place for CPDL with teachers in the SSSs provided it is dispensed by experts in their fields; teachers learn from them; there is follow up and what is learnt is applied in the classroom. Key words: CPDL, teaching skills, competencies, coaching, collaboration and one-day workshops.

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