An investigation of professional development among educational policy-makers,institutional leaders and teachers

Introduction

Professional development has emerged as a key part of human resources development in education and educational leadership and management. Professional development benefits individuals, institutions and organizations, and educational networks and systems (Mulvey, 2013). Teachers/lecturers, educational leaders and policy-makers all play vital roles in education activities and should be central to professional development processes in the field of education. Associated literature illustrates that, whereas research into professional development among teachers and lecturers has been abundant, studies on professional development for educational managers and administrators have been limited (Thorpe and Garside, 2017).

This study investigates professional development within higher education at three levels: the micro-level, the meso-level and the macro-level. After highlighting professional development concepts, the article presents professional development for teachers and lecturers (the micro-level), followed by a review of professional development for institutional leaders (the meso-level) and educational policy-makers (the macro-level). The final section of this article discusses these findings and provides recommendations that emphasize the importance of professional development policies and practices, particularly those for educational leaders and policy-makers. This research contributes to the lack of literature in professional development at the meso- and macro-levels.

Concepts of professional development

This section reviews a range of definitions for professional development and other related concepts. There are many definitions of ‘professional development’, and similar terms include ‘staff development’, ‘educational development’ and ‘academic development’. In this article, the term ‘professional development’ is used as a general term that encompasses all of the above. In equating staff development and professional development, Webb (1996) defines professional development as the institutional policies, procedures and programmes that facilitate and support staff members so that they may fully serve their own and their institution’s needs. Drawing from associated literature, specifically through the analysis of profession and professionalism, Mitchell (2013: 390) defines personal professional development as ‘the process whereby an individual acquires or enhances the skills, knowledge and/or attitudes for improved practice’. Young and Castetter (2004) give a broad concept of professional development, saying the term involves all activities designed to enhance an employee’s ability to work productively in an assigned or expected role. Overall, professional development refers to processes and activities that change the professional knowledge, skills, attitudes and actions of individuals.

Several researchers have also identified models of professional development. Pill (2005), for example, describes and evaluates four professional development models used in training higher education teachers. These models include the Reflective practitioner, Action research, Novice to expert and Metacognitive approaches. Kennedy (2014) presents nine models of professional development categorized into three groups – transmission, transitional and transformative – according to their capacity to support professional autonomy and transformative practices. The transmission group consists of the training, award-bearing, the deficit and cascade models. The transitional category includes the standards-based, coaching/mentoring and the community of practice models. The transformative category combines the action research and transformative models. Kennedy (2014) argues that a model’s capacity for autonomy increases as one moves from the transmission, to the transitional and then transformative categories. However, these are only general concepts. Professional development at different levels (micro-, meso- and macro) possesses different typical ones, which will be discussed in the following sections.

Professional development for teachers

Interest in professional development among teachers and lecturers has grown in many countries across the world. Most studies exploring professional development within education pertain to teachers or lecturers. Professional development programmes are frequently designed to promote change in teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and perceptions (Guskey, 2002). In addition to the general definitions of professional development discussed above, a number of teacher professional development definitions have been proposed. According to Day and Sachs (2004: 13), professional development for teachers is ‘the process by which…teachers review, renew and extend their commitment as change agents to the moral purposes of teaching’. Avalos (2011) defines teacher professional development as how teachers learn to learn and how they transform their knowledge into practice for the benefit of their students’ improvement. Similarly, Guskey (2002: 381) argues that teacher professional development programmes are ‘systematic efforts to bring about change in the classroom practices of teachers, in their attitudes and beliefs, and the learning outcomes of students’.

Existing literature (for example, Day and Sachs, 2004; Guskey, 2002; Mizell, 2010) has also adequately defined the purposes of professional development programmes among teachers and lecturers. This type of professional development aims to initiate changes in teachers’ attitudes and beliefs and assumes that such changes lead to specific changes in classroom behaviours and practices, which in turn result in improvements to student learning. Some researchers have also reported that teachers participate in professional development activities because they want to become better teachers. Teachers view these programmes and activities as one of the most promising and readily available pathways to increase their own professional competencies. Most teachers recognize that good teachers should strive to improve student learning outcomes. In addition, teachers are also involved in professional development programmes because they believe these programmes will help ‘expand their knowledge and skills, contribute to their growth, and enhance their effectiveness with students’ (Guskey, 2002: 382).

To achieve the above objectives, teachers’ professional development programmes should be concrete, specific and practical. They should also directly relate to the day-to-day classroom operation (Dowling, 2016; Guskey, 2002). To this end, many professional development strategies have been introduced to teachers, including participation in conferences, workshops, seminars and short courses, study groups, action research, reflection logs, peer coaching and mentoring, the establishment of professional development schools, video courses and videotaping master teachers (Gratton, 2003; Walsh and Gamage, 2003). In many cases, consultants/experts and staff developers who possess specialized knowledge and expertise are hired and play a crucial role in the professional development process (Guskey, 1991; Webb, 1996). Moreover, in this age of technology, online courses, virtual networks and other web technologies have been employed in teacher professional development (Leask and Younie, 2013).

Professional development for institutional leaders

In this study, the terms ‘institutional leaders’ and ‘educational leaders’ refer to presidents or rectors of higher education institutions and school principals. Those in these positions are responsible for encouraging teachers and students to achieve new levels of performance and learning. Educational leadership plays a key role in day-to-day institutional operations, instructional practices and student achievement (Goldring et al., 2012). Professional development for educational leaders is crucial. New educational leaders recently appointed from academic positions in research or teaching must be quickly provided with training that helps them develop the new and different knowledge and skills required to manage their institution (McDade, 1987). Educational leaders who are already in their position should also receive considerable further development and support (Russell and Cranston, 2012). However, a lack of research on professional development for educational leaders persists. In fact, the literature offers little evidence of the nature of professional development for school leadership or its typical features (Goldring et al., 2012).

Few specific definitions of educational leader professional development were discovered in prior literature. In the US context, professional development for school leaders can be defined as a range of sessions, from formal training courses to informal interactions between educational leaders and teachers or other school leaders (Goldring et al., 2012). In the higher education setting, the goal of professional development for educational leaders is to provide and increase institutional leaders’ leadership capacities, enable their effectiveness in their work, and enhance the quality and capacity of a tertiary education institution (McDade, 1987). Professional development programmes have an important impact on educational leaders, as they ‘increase knowledge, add to and enhance management skills and leadership techniques, broaden perspectives, and stimulate creative’ (McDade, 1987: iii).

The main purposes of professional development for educational leaders are as follows: (i) to provide management and leadership knowledge and skills; (ii) to identify effective instruction methods that support teachers in instruction improvement; (iii) to effectively implement institutional practices; (iv) to influence student achievements by supporting and developing successful teachers; (v) to build shared leadership and high-quality institutional cultures; (vi) to consolidate the institution’s positive norms and assumptions; and (vii) to strengthen leadership skills and improve student learning outcomes and organizational performance (Goldring et al., 2012).

Like teacher professional development, professional development for educational leaders takes many forms. The most popular are workshops, conferences and seminars, mentoring, shadowing and coaching (Goldring et al., 2012). In addition, according to McDade (1987), educational leaders’ professional development strategies are categorized into four groups: national institutes and internships, administrative conferences, conventions of national associations, and short seminars, workshops and meetings. Programmes of professional leadership development are typically conducted by education systems, universities, government organizations, professional associations, non-profit organizations or for-profit organizations (Goldring et al., 2012).

Professional development for educational policy-makers

A policy-maker is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary (2017) as ‘a member of a government department, legislatures, or other organization who is responsible for making new rules, laws, etc.’ Educational policy-makers are responsible for developing legal documents that guide or instruct students, teachers, educational managers/administrators, educational institutions and other stakeholders to follow or implement certain regulations in an education area. Policy-making is an important aspect of education, because effective policies promote development, whereas poor policies can encourage waste in human resources, time, labour, materials and budget. Obviously, policy-making is demanding work, and policy-makers must possess expertise and deep knowledge in their area to form effective policies (Knuth, 1995). Nevertheless, many policy-makers, particularly those in developing countries, arguably lack knowledge and experience to develop appropriate policies. The main reason for this shortage of knowledge and experience, for example, in quality assurance, is claimed because the majority of policy-making officials have been assigned to work in a new field where they lack professional and academic training. To overcome this problem and gain new knowledge and skills, policy-makers rely on the professional development and capacity-building activities offered by their organizations. But such professional development programmes were not designed systematically, and organizational professional development policies are often unclear and have not been well documented (Nguyen et al., 2017).

Past literature shows limited evidence of policy-makers’ professional development in general and in the area of education specifically. The main reason in this regard (and maybe the mistake), particularly in Asian countries, is that policy-makers are frequently considered the top experts in their field. As a result, professional development programmes appear unnecessary for them (Nguyen, 2017). In the education field, most policy-makers begin their careers as teachers or faculty members and later act as department chairs, deans and institutional leaders. As a result, some people argue that those policy-makers who have followed these career paths have engaged in many professional development activities that helped them develop their knowledge, skills and expertise (McDade, 1987), and therefore they do not need to participate in further professional development programmes. Undoubtedly, these arguments contradict the philosophy of continuing professional development and the lifelong learning it supports.

Strategies within educational policy-makers’ professional development include those offered to teachers and educational leaders and several unique ones. Popular mediums for development include those employed in the professional development of teachers and educational leaders: short courses, conferences, workshops and seminars, coaching and mentoring, self-study and informal conversations. Typical professional development strategies for policy-makers include staff exchange and study visit, postgraduate programmes and internships. These strategies enhance the knowledge and skills of policy-makers, particularly those who have been transferred to work in new areas (Nguyen, 2017).

Discussion and recommendations

Teachers’ professional development programmes and associated research far outpaces those of educational leaders and policy-makers. However, professional development among teachers and lecturers still faces many challenges that can prove programmes ineffective. Far more studies have identified the failures of professional development programmes than have espoused their success (Guskey, 1991). A variety of factors contribute to the ineffectiveness of such programmes. The reasons behind such programme failures are the ill-consideration of two important factors: (i) what motivates teachers to engage in professional development activities, and (ii) the process by which change in teachers typically happens (Guskey, 2002). Teachers’ motivations and change process should be well defined during the formation of a professional development programme.

Professional development among educational leaders shares a number of elements with teacher professional development. Those involved in professional development for educational leaders should be familiar with these similarities. The first element is job-embedded focus, which allows educational leaders to implement the expertise and practices gained from development in their institutional contexts. Second, the content of professional development programmes should address leaders’ unique and different needs at different stages of their careers. Third, development must emphasize long-term change and with a variety of learning opportunities and formats. Fourth, professional development for educational leaders must be coherent: content must relate to day-to-day institutional issues or activities. Finally, professional development for institutional leaders must include a collegial network of support that promotes the exchange and discussion of ideas and strategies between leaders (Goldring et al., 2012).

For educational policy-makers, government departments should maintain documented professional development policies that establish the significance, procedure, content and strategies of policy-makers’ professional development. In addition, policy-makers’ need for professional development must be recognized by organization leaders. Policy-makers should also clarify what knowledge and/or skills they would like to improve through professional development programmes. Furthermore, of the various professional development strategies, internships appear to be most appropriate for policy-makers, particularly those working in a new field, because they provide real-world experience and exposure and build professional networks. We recommend policy-makers be awarded or seek internship opportunities.

Professional development is undoubtedly important for teachers, educational leaders and policy-makers. When preparing a professional development programme, developers need to pay attention to three essential goals: (i) recognizing that change is a gradual and difficult process for individuals; (ii) ensuring that participants receive regular feedback on their performance progress; and (iii) providing continued follow-up, support and pressure (Guskey, 2002). Additionally, to make professional development programmes most effective, participants should also engage active contributors, not simply as passive recipients of distributed knowledge.

Conclusion

Professional development aims to enhance individuals’ career competencies and enable them to perform successfully in professional roles. In the field of education, key players, including teachers, educational leaders and policy-makers, must regularly participate in relevant professional development programmes to gain or improve their knowledge, skills and abilities. Professional development has led to changes in beliefs, attitudes and actions of individuals. At the macro-level, it may be changed in policies made by policy-makers that alter supporting methods and institutional leader management (at the meso-level). Changes in policy may result in changes to teachers’ instruction and assessment methods (at the micro-level), which in turn improves student learning outcomes.

Whereas professional development for teachers has been the target of great concern, little information or research has been published regarding professional development for educational leaders and policy-makers. Educational leaders rely upon professional development programmes to provide them with leadership and management knowledge and expertise, and educational policy-makers need professional development programmes to develop new knowledge and skills necessary to create effective policies. Their changes, as the result of being involved in professional development programmes, have direct or indirect impacts on educational institutions, the educational system and student learning.