A STUDY OF THE OPINIONS OF TEACHERS ABOUT THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN PERAK, MALAYSIA

Ho, Yik Wah (1997) A STUDY OF THE OPINIONS OF TEACHERS ABOUT THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN PERAK, MALAYSIA. Masters thesis, University of Bristol.

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Abstract

The issue of educational change has always been very important in this country. In order to keep up with the progressive and rapid educational changes in our country, there will always be continuing professional development of teachers to enable them to face the new challenges in their jobs as a result of the changes in education. The objective of this study is to seek the opinions of the teachers in a secondary school in the district of Intan, Perak on what they think is effective professional development of 'kills' and 'knowledge', and how more effective professional development could be brought about. The research has been carried out on 42 teachers through a set of Structured-response Questionnaire and two Unstructured interviews. The results of this small and restricted study show that the teachers would like to see an improvement in their professional skills through a more 'school-focussed' INSET. The reasons given can be summarized as follows: Firstly, teachers in the school should be able to undertake professional development in appropriate teams. Secondly,they would like to contribute to determining the content which they think could help in meeting their needs for professional development. Thirdly, they hope to see content of INSET relating more directly to their working environment and context. Lastly, they would prefer to plan their own INSET activities for professional development. This 'school-focussed' INSET recognises the fact that the teachers are the experts and the school is the training ground for professional development. This study will conclude by suggesting a Model where the above needs of teachers for professional development in this school could be met.

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