Teacher CPD needs : perspectives from teachers in Malta and the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

Much research has been done on how best teachers’ professional development can be supported. However, for it to be effective, CPD provision needs to target the right content areas or topics and also be directed at the right levels. Planning for such provision is normally undertaken by providers with a role in supporting professional development in schools, or by centralized education authorities. A range of evidence exists which highlights how teachers’ learning can be best supported. For example, it is over twenty years since research has shown that CPD provision should be experiential, grounded in enquiry, collaborative, sustained and derived from teachers’ work with their students (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995; Stoll et al., 2006). However, while much research on CPD and teachers’ learning has focused on how this can be best supported (Avalos, 2011), there has been less attention on what the focus of such learning should be (see for example EL-Deghaidy, Mansour, & Alshamrani, 2015; Mansour et al., 2014). Yet, if it is to be effective, CPD provision also needs to target the right content areas or topics, in accordance with the needs and priorities among teachers (Geldenhuys & Oosthuizen, 2015). This study presents an overview of a Training Needs Analysis which was carried out among teachers in two different geographical contexts, Ireland and Malta. An investigation of the priorities of the learning needs of these teachers is provided, together with an outline of how these priorities differ, but also converge, across contexts and levels. The identification of differences can serve to inform future CPD provision and enhance the understanding of teachers’ learning needs for particular contexts.