Improving Mathematics Education through Teacher Professional Development: A Tanzanian Perspective
MUST JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT,
Vol. 5 No. 3 (2024)
Abstract
This study aimed to explore mathematics teachers’ perceptions of
professional development. The study involved two public
secondary schools in Ilala Municipality, Dar es Salaam. This was a
qualitative study based on case study design. The study involved
fourteen (14) participants that were selected purposefully. Two (2)
heads of the schools, two (2) Academic Teachers, two (2) heads of
mathematics departments, and eight (8) mathematics teachers
were equally involved from both schools. Interviews, focus group
discussions, surveys, and document analysis methods were used
in data collection. Both interviews and focus group discussion
were audio-recorded by using a protected smartphone with
password to ensure data security. The documents reviewed
includes; school policies, school calendars, and mathematics
departmental meetings’ minutes. The data collected were
analysed thematically to identify and interpret key themes. The
data analysis was based on the following steps: transcription, data
reduction, presentation, and discussion of findings. Fictitious
names were used for names of people and schools to ensure
confidentiality and anonymity. The study revealed that teachers
perceived professional development as formal programs to
improve teachers’ quality that were time-consuming and costly,
while informal professional development programs were
overlooked by teachers and other educational stakeholders. The
study recommends that, in order to improve teachers’ quality as
intended in professional development, there is a need to raise
awareness for both formal and informal professional development
programs among teachers and a learning community as a whole.
Keywords
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