CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES FOR TEACHER

INTRODUCTION
With globalization, professional teacher development has become an increasingly
challenging task for Malaysias younger generation which has a higher set of values and greater
expectations from life. With the growing needs and expectations of the society, teachers are not
only expected and seen as imparters of knowledge but also to shoulder the responsibility of
moulding and shaping a better citizenry. Based on this scenario, the Malaysian Ministry of
Education should encourages her teachers to pursue courses in critical and relevant areas by
offering continuous professional development courses.
Professional development, in a broad sense refers to the development of a person in his or
her professional role, be it a teacher, lawyer, engineer or doctor. To be more specific Glatthorn
(1995) states that, Teacher development is the professional growth a teacher achieves as a result
of gaining increased experience and examining his or her teaching systematically
(Glatthorn,1995, p. 41). These professional developments could be either formal experiences (as
attending workshops or professional meetings, mentoring, etc.) or informal experiences; such as
reading professional publications, watching television documentaries related to any academic
disciplines, etc. (Ganser, 2000). Further Glatthorn (1995) defines it as the growth that occurs as
the teacher moves through the professional career cycle, and it is definitely broader than staff-
development which is the provision of organized in-service programs designed to foster the
growth of groups of teachers; it is only one of the systematic interventions that can be used for
teacher development (p. 41).
This proposal is written to outline the necessary and rationale of continuous professional
development courses for teachers. The continuous professional development courses for teachers
is really important to determine the development and growth of the education in Malaysia. Two
concepts about teacher professional development as seen by Hoyle(1982) we are firstly, as a
process in which a teacher continues to develop the knowledge and skills required for effective
professional practice as circumstances change and as new responsibilities are accepted.
Secondly as knowledge acquisition and skills development which should to a greater degree
than in the past be more directly related to substantive problems faced by teachers (p. 164).
BODY
Education in Malaysia is an ongoing effort towards further developing the
potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner so as to produce individuals
who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious,
based on a firm belief in and devotion of God. Such an effort is designed to produce
Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral
standards and who are responsible and capable in achieving a high level of personal well-
being and being able to contribute to the betterment of the family, society and nation at
large.
Based on National Education Philosophy formulated in 1988, the philosophy is truly
support the continuous professional development courses for teachers as it were ongoing effect
towards further developing education. The Malaysian Ministry of Education should prepare the
teachers enough knowledge to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually,
emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious, based on a firm belief in and devotion of
God. The continuous professional development courses make sure that the teachers are
knowledgeable and prepare to educate the future generation. Professional development
specifically helps in improving the teachers in Malaysia.
Professional development refers to those processes and activities designed to
enhance the professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes of educators so that they might, in
turn, improve the learning of students (Guskey, 2000, p. 16). High quality professional
development is considered extremely crucial to educational improvement (Guskey &
Huberman, 1995). Professional development entails three main characteristics. Firstly, it is
an intentional process based on a clear vision of purposes and planned goals. It has to begin with
a clear statement of worthwhile purposes and goals, which can be calibrated and tracked.
Secondly, it is an ongoing process, simply because of the dynamic nature of education
and the continuous expansion of knowledge. Consequently, educators need to engage in
continuous learning throughout the entire span of their professional careers. Thirdly, it is a
systemic process which incorporates change over an extended period of time and at all levels of
the organization. This is reiterated by Sparks and Hirsh (1997), who affirmed that any
improvement made in one area may be diminished by concurrent problems in another,
unless these are simultaneously addressed.

Sparks and Loucks-Horsley (1989) describes seven major modalitiestraining,
observation or assessment, involvement in a development or improvement process, study
groups, inquiry or action research, individually guided activities, and mentoring. Training
consists of a presenter or team of presenters sharing ideas and expertise through various
group-based activities, which can take many forms, such as large-group presentations and
discussions, workshops, seminars, colloquia, demonstrations, role-playing, simulations, and
micro-teaching. Joyce and Showers (1995) states that in order to ensure the
effectiveness of training, exploration of theory, demonstrations of skills, simulated practice,
performance feedback, and workplace coaching should be included. The second modality of
professional development, observation / assessment is aimed at providing educators with
feedback on their performance. This approach usually uses collegial observation, and
examples include peer coaching and clinical supervision. The third mode of professional
development is involvement in a development / improvement process.
This is the strategies and challenges to improve the status of teachers through Professional
Development :
Extending the career pathway for teachers - in a way of encouraging CPD a one-year
Special Diploma in Teaching Program is given for non-graduate teachers in order to upgrade
their academic qualification in their respective area of specialization; upon completion there is a
raise in salary.

Improving the qualification of the teacher educators the aim of TED is that the teacher
educators themselves undergo further training to improve. Short in-service courses, master
degree courses and doctorate courses are offered through the Ministrys Staff Development
Scheme. Many on-going programs and projects also help develop a cohort of key trainers, who
then in turn conduct staff-development programs in their respective colleges and zones (ibid).
Upgrading the teacher educators entry qualification: the existing staffs that have basic
degrees and qualify in the age category are encouraged to apply for scholarships for a masters
degree or PhD either locally or ab road. The TED also works collaboratively with local and
foreign universities towards upgrading the teacher trainers.
Research and development: as part of the college culture, educational research has been
instituted. Conversely, there has been a mixed response because of the heavy workloads of the
educators and lack of research knowledge. The TED encourages the teacher educators and
colleges to take an active part in the field of pedagogy, management and evaluation.
Curriculum support programs: this program is essential for effective implementation of the
curriculum. Mastery of varied strategies in curriculum delivery and access to teaching-learning
resources for teacher educators is made available. A few programs implemented include those
for critical subjects like Science, Maths, English and ICT; both teaching-learning strategies and
curriculum delivery are mainly based on a reflective and process-based approach. With the
introduction to teach science and mathematics in English in 2003, a curriculum support project
was set up to produce teaching-learning materials for the teacher-training syllabi. A group of key
teacher educators wrote material focused on constructivism to improve the teaching and learning
of science and mathematics.
Management courses for administrators and school heads: this endeavor is taken up by the
Ministry of Education, to conduct management courses to upgrade administrators and school
heads in order to enhance their management and leadership skills. The excellent schools and
heads are provided with incentives to stimulate their excellence and creativity.
Inspection of educational institutions: this is the responsibility of the Federal Inspectorate of
Schools, which covers all the government schools, colleges and universities. The role of the
inspectorate is to ensure quality curriculum is planned and implemented.
Publicizing the achievement of teachers: the national newspapers in the country have a
separate weekly column which focuses on schools or educational institutions achievements or
initiatives. This in turn promotes their excellence in education and helps as a catalyst to upgrade
their professional esteem and self-worth

In this approach, educators work collaboratively in the process of developing or
reviewing a curriculum, designing a new program, planning strategies to improve
instruction, or solving a particular problem. The fourth mode of professional development,
the study group model, involves the entire school in the process of finding solutions to
common problems. In other words, each group will find its own unique solution to a
common problem. The next mode of professional development is inquiry or action research.
Educators are required to: a) select a problem or question of common interest; b) collect,
organize, and interpret information related to the problem; c) study the relevant professional
literature and research; d) determine possible actions that are likely to achieve commonly valued
goals; and e) take action and document results (Calhaun, 1994).
According to Sparks and Simmons (1989), this modality is very effective in
producing more reflective practitioners, more systematic problem solvers, and more
thoughtful decision makers among educators. In individually guided activities, the task of
determining professional development goals and selecting activities that can help to achieve
such goals are assigned to the educators themselves. It is based on the belief that
individuals can best judge their own learning needs and are capable of self-direction and
self-initiated learning.
The mentoring model of professional development entails pairing an experienced
and highly successful educator with a less experienced colleague. Regular interaction
between both allows the discussion of professional goals, new ideas, as well as effective
strategies that may lead to the improvement of student learning. Since there are differences
among all modes of professional development, it is imprudent to assume that any single model
will prove effective for all contingencies. Therefore, Guskey (1996) suggests that a
professional development program should combine all modalities in a thoughtful and
appropriate manner in order to increase its effectiveness and preserve its core characteristics.
Various studies have been conducted which focus on issues related to the effectiveness of
professional development, but most of them usually document the shortcomings and
inadequacies, which do not provide educators with specific answers and workable
solutions (Guskey 1994). These studies include the survey of the professional
development literature to separate prominent factors (Masarella, 1980; Sparks, 1983),
reports of the elements related to successful program implementation (McLaughlin &
Marsh, 1978), and summaries of guidelines for more effective practice (Showers, Joyce, &
Bennett, 1987; Wood & Thompson, 1993). Guskey (2000) addresses three prominent reasons
for the failure of past studies in identifying the elements of effective professional development.
The first is the confusion regarding the criteria of effectiveness, which leads to the
difficulty in comparing the results across studies. Secondly, there is the tendency for researchers
to concentrate only on the main effects of the program, which ignores much of the other salient
information that such studies might contain. The third reason is the neglect of quality issues,
such as the purpose of the program, when evaluating professional development (Guskey 2000).
Based on the above explanations, it can be said that there are three basic principles of
effective professional development. Firstly, it has to have a clear focus on learning and
learners. In other words, regardless of how varied the forms of professional development
are, they should focus on the same goal, which is the accomplishment of high learning standards
by all students (DuFour, 1997). Secondly, it must emphasize the importance of individual and
organizational change. As stated in Wise (1991), school improvement is contingent upon
the improvement of the administrators and teachers within them. Thirdly, there should be
consistent small incremental changes guided by a grand visionfocusing on learning and
learners.

Professional development is very important due to several reasons. The first reason is the need
for new types of educational expertise at all levels. This is due to the exponential
growth of knowledge in every subject area and academic discipline. The second reason is
the continuous growth and transformation of new roles and responsibilities assumed by
academic staff and school administrators, which require constant learning and upgrading in the
way educators go about their jobs, and the changing structure of their working ecology.
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for teaching and learning is essential for
ensuring continuous quality improvement and professional competence of educators.
However, more specifically, the purpose of all CPD is to promote effective performance
at work. Welsh and Woodward (1989), for example, describe
CPD as the activity which helps to maintain and improve professional competence.

Guskey (2000) posits that among the causes that contribute to the failure of professional
development are the lack of focused planning as well as the misconnection between the
course and the instructional practice. Therefore, a well-designed, thoughtfully planned and
adequately supported professional development is a necessary ingredient in all educational
improvement efforts. Professional development programs should take into account the
motivational factors that drive teachers to adapt and change consistently. Professional
development programs that focus on changing teachers attitudes and beliefs presuppose that
they will result in a change of pedagogical strategy leading to the improvement of student
learning.
















CONCLUSION
Education has always been of the highest priority in Malaysia as it strives to attain the
status of a developed nation. The Malaysian government invests a large proportion of its annual
expenditure on education in terms of both its infrastructure and provision and the investment in
human resource development. With globalization and high paced technological developments
worldwide, Malaysia too heightens its endeavor to remain in the forefront with the current
developments.
The Ministry of Education and its agencies caters towards the training and retraining of
its teachers to accomplish its vision and mission. Teachers in Malaysia have become the driving
force to raise the capacity of knowledge and innovation and nurture the first class mentality
among their students. Measures have been taken by the government to enhance quality education
and training to be in par with international best practices.
While keeping in pace with the frequent changing trends the teacher professional
development has undergone a tremendous change and advancement for the betterment of the
society and nation at large. The teacher training curriculum has been strengthened to develop
teachers as competent managers of teaching and learning. Teachers have become efficient to a
greater extent in the use of ICT to create and implement innovative teaching techniques though, a
handful of hardcore teachers have refused to be part of the change.
The government has facilitated this effort with computers, laptops, and LCDs enabling
the teachers in their progression towards development. Teachers are offered incentives,
remunerations, and certificates when they excel in their performance which instills in them the
desire to do even better in their services and uphold their status as excellent teachers. The heads
of school and principals are recognized when their school outshines better than other schools
enabling them to be certified as high performing schools. Teachers are encouraged to better their
qualification in their various fields of specialization and the government is still not far from
achieving its goal of making its 25% of its primary and 100% of its secondary school teachers
graduates.
Investment in the younger generation ensures a definite enhancement in human capital
and a knowledge-based economy. The steps taken by the government to increase the quality of
the pre-school education is an engraved bonus to our future success. If as a society the parents,
teachers, educational institutions, government and educators all give a hand towards growth and
progress, nothing can stop our accomplishment and achievement. If every teacher as an imparter
of knowledge would work towards intrinsic gains rather than for extrinsic, the society would be a
better place. Teachers of Malaysia today are the best potters who can mould the future generation
of leaders and they are the key in developing a knowledge-based society moving towards
excellence, glory and distinction.

















REFERENCES

1) Asariah Binti Mior Shaharudin (2009). The next generation of teachers: The Malaysian
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2) Ganser, T. (2000). An ambitious vision of professional development for teachers.
NASSP BULLETIN . 84(618) , 6-12.
3) Glatthorn, A. (1995). Teacher Development. In L. Anderson (Ed.), International
encyclopaedia of teaching and teacher education (p. 41). London, Pergamon Press.
4) Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia.(2007). Pelan strategik Pendidikan Negara,
http://www.mohe.gov.my/webkpt_v2/transformasi.php?m=&lang=ENG
5) Day, C. (1999) Developing Teachers: The Challenges of Lifelong Learning, London:
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6) Guskey, T. R. (2000). Evaluating Professional Development :Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin Press, Inc.