Teacher-Led Professional Development and its Influence on English Language Teachers’ Classroom Practices in Bungoma County, Kenya

Abstract

Effective teaching at any level requires the educator to continuously increase their knowledge of how students think and learn, of the subject matter to be taught, instructional practices and assessment procedures. This can be done through teacher professional development opportunities. This study focused on teacher-led professional development which is a departure from the traditional approaches of teacher professional development. The study was guided by the following objectives: to determine the strategies that teachers of English can use to lead their own professional development; to establish the contextual factors that may influence teacher-led professional development; to investigate how teacher-led professional development can enhance the classroom practices of teachers of English; to determine the possible successes that can be achieved by teachers of English who lead their own professional development; to establish the challenges likely to face teachers of English who lead their own professional development and, to design a prototype model of teacher-led professional development for teachers of English. The study adopted a qualitative approach and specifically an action research design to allow for the practical involvement of the teachers in leading their own development. The study was informed by Mezirow‟s theory of Transformative Learning, Kolb‟s theory of Experiential Learning and the Situated Perspective on Cognition all of which focus on how adults learn. The sample for the study consisted of six public secondary schools purposively sampled from Bungoma South sub-county, while convenient sampling was used to arrive at twelve teachers of English from the study sites. Two critical friends were sampled purposively to engage in critical discussions with the researcher about the action research process, the findings and conclusions. Data was collected using questionnaires, observation, interviews, reflective journaling and a WhatsApp forum that was formed to enable informal collaboration. Quantitative data from questionnaires was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 20 and results presented diagrammatically. This information together with qualitative data from transcribed interviews, observation notes, WhatsApp interactions and journal entries were read and organized under themes that were used to write a narrative of the process. The study found that if practicing teachers are equipped with strategies for collaboration, they can make efforts to learn about their practice and from one another. Additionally, that the impact of this process has great benefits for the practicing teacher and consequently their classroom practice and learner experiences. The study therefore recommends that policies for the institutionalization of professional development be put in place and practicing teachers be equipped to chart their own path of improvement in classroom practice. The study findings will be useful to school administrators as they organize and facilitate future professional development experiences for their teachers. Additionally, the conclusions drawn will help in creating theories of practice in relation to teacher-led professional development, especially in developing world contexts.