The Impact of Postgraduate Diploma in Education Programme on Teachers’ Performance
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are;
- To assess teachers’ level of understanding of the PGDE programme.
- To investigate the methodological competencies of PGDE holders as teachers.
- To examine the ability of those who have undergone the PGDE programme to utilize teaching aids.
- To ascertain the extent to which the PGDE programme assists students’ understanding of lessons.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
INTRODUCION
Studies on teaching development initiatives suggest that there is no agreement as to which models of Professional Development for Higher Education teaching are the most effective. Butcher and Stoncel (2011) argue that Teacher Professional Development models are varied and contested. For example, Parsons, Hill, Holland, and Willis (2013) distinguish between non-qualification approaches and the formalised qualification approaches. The diverse range of programmes include part-time and certificated programmes, block and intensive workshops, seminars and colloquia, mentoring arrangements and agreements, observation-based videos and micro-teaching. Ball and Cohen (1999) argue that staff development workshops lack substance as they are “intellectually superficial and disconnected from deep issues of curriculum and learning”. The cultural diversity of lecturers and students, and the wide range of disciplinary orientations (Butcher and Stoncel, 2011), determine whether these teaching development initiatives either take the generic development approaches or disciplinary-based approaches in terms of interaction levels, context and culture (Gibbs, 2012; Van Keulen, 2009)). The extent to which interventions and the actual teaching behaviours are aligned is dependent on the professional development approach taken. There are also some arguments about some form of individualisation in the offering of teaching development programmes which should influence changes at departmental level (Knight and Trowler, 2001). Clement and Vandenberghe (2000) argue for the “orienting theory” that provides a good basis for professional development. Blackmore and Blackwell (2006) argue that both individuals and the institution should and could learn from these formal programmes. They further suggest that Academic Development leaders and practitioners must surely base part of their claim to be professional upon expert knowledge disseminated through a formalised professional development intervention. With respect to the PGDHET in particular, the benefits of professional development are reported as relating to change in the conceptions of teaching and learning; enhancing dialogue among colleagues; increased alignment towards innovative teaching strategies (Butcher and Stoncel, 2011). Other studies like Sadler (2013) suggest that the PGCHE help new staff gain confidence in teaching approaches, and also assist them in the formation of professional identities. The acquisition of key concepts related to teaching and learning which had profound implications for teaching practices is viewed by Kandlbinder and Peseta (2009) as an important step in the conceptualisation and grounding of one’s teaching practices. The following concepts, namely reflective practice, constructive alignment, student centred approaches to learning, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and assessment driven learning were identified as key concepts that shaped teaching practice of participants who went through the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning. The same authors reveal that the actualisation of these concepts is impacted on negatively by the language and rules of disciplines, difficulty in seeing complexity in the concepts, relevance of these concepts to teaching practice, and the problem of time. Parsons, et al (2013) argue that there is no substantive evidence to suggest impacts on the teaching practices as a direct translation of the changed attitudes, conceptions, and acquired knowledge and skills.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to impact of postgraduate diploma in education programme on the performance of teachers
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information on impact of postgraduate diploma in education programme on the performance of teachers. 200 staff of selected secondary schools in uyo, Akwa ibom state was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain impact of postgraduate diploma in education programme on the performance of teachers. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges postgraduate diploma in education programme on the performance of teachers
Summary
This study was on impact of postgraduate diploma in education programme on the performance of teachers. Four objectives were raised which included: To assess teachers’ level of understanding of the PGDE programme, to investigate the methodological competencies of PGDE holders as teachers, to examine the ability of those who have undergone the PGDE programme to utilize teaching aids, to ascertain the extent to which the PGDE programme assists students’ understanding of lessons. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected secondary schools in uyo, Akwa Ibom state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made principals, vice principals adm, teachers and junior staff was used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
The findings showed that no significant difference existed in level of awareness about the PGDE programme between the holders and non-holders of the PGDE. In terms of their methodological competence, the null hypothesis was rejected as the findings revealed that significant difference existed in the methodological competence between the PGDE holders and non PGDE holders. On grounds that the PGDE holders exhibited proficiency in the utilization of teaching aids more than the non PGDE holders, the third null hypothesis was rejected.
Recommendation
There is a need to gather more evidence on the enhancement of students’ learning, and the achievement of positive learning outcomes on the part of the students as a result of their lecturers having gone through the PGDHET. We further recommend the cascading of the PGDHET to all lecturers and academic developers so that they too can benefit from the knowledge and insight gained from the PGDHET. For further research we would recommend looking at how other PGDHET programmes in other Higher Education Institutions impact on teaching and learning practices, and how the findings of this research could be integrated into the PGDHET programmes so as to improve and further develop them
REFERENCES
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