Pakistani Educational Leadership Project at Plymouth State University

Afshan Huma and Yasir Pirzada are members of the PELI 2007 delegation

53rd World Assembly
July 14-17, 2008

University of Minho
Braga, Portugal

Theme
Learning, Leading and Linking:
The Impact of Policy and Research upon Practice

TITLE: DOES TRAINING HELP ENOUGH? … TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVE AND PRACTICES

AUTHORS: AFSHAN HUMA & YASIR PIRZADA

The paper was based upon a research study conducted in the city of Rawalpindi (Punjab-Pakistan). The study included detailed exploration of in-service teacher training structures in Pakistan for primary school teachers and analysis of the results of a survey study conducted to know the impact of in-service teachers training upon the attitude and practices of teachers within the classroom in private and public schools. It was a comparative study conducted three months after the summer vacation of 2007. During the summer vacation both the private and public schools arranged in-service trainings for the teachers. The teachers of both public and private schools were asked through interviews what new skills and knowledge they got from the training and how far they could implement whatever they have learnt through the training they were also requested to tell stories of success and failures. Heads of the schools were also interviewed to find out the impact of trainings upon the performance of teachers. The paper explored the similarities and differences of the impacts of in-service training in public and private schools. It also highlighted the possible reasons of differences in the two sectors as inferred from the interview questions. At the end some recommendations were given for future planning for the professional development of primary school teachers in the country and to ensure the positive impact of these efforts so that the development and changes brought through teacher education may be sustainable and more fruitful.

It was a nice experience to present a paper on an international forum where in the last 53 years we were the first to present from Pakistan. Thanks to PSU and ITA for making us linked together in a network of PSU alumni.

Regards
Afshan

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