The Meaning of Staff Development

Piper and Glatter, as cited by Main (1985: 3), define staff development as: a systematic attempt to harmonise individuals interests and wishes and their carefully assessed requirements for furthering their careers with the forthcoming requirements of the organisation within which they are expected to work. This definition suggests that staff development identifies an individuals functions within the school and his or her strengths and weaknesses. Ways of meeting the identified needs are then sought.

Why Is Staff Development Essential?

Staff development focuses on developing the individuals who are already working in the organisation. The initial training received by teachers can become outdated in a very short time. Therefore, to keep them abreast with current trends in education, they must undergo some staff development from time to time. Staff development is conducted to: improve the professional and academic standards of teachers, improve the teachers career opportunities, prepare teachers to handle changes in the curriculum, involve teachers in the process of curriculum development, improve the morale of teachers by providing them with opportunities for sharing experiences and ideas, and enlarge the teachers perception of their role in the community. Staff development enables you to be more effective in your school and classroom so that your students benefit from your teaching.

How Is Staff Development Conducted?

Three ways for conducting staff development are outlined below. The Top-Down Approach In the top-down approach, the person in charge of staff development, usually a school head, plans, designs, implements and evaluates staff development programmes without any input from the teachers who will participate in the staff development activity. This approach can be based on the assumption that teachers are passive and resistant to change. If this is the case, then this approach will ignore the human dimension of teachers. It is a prescriptive approach that may generate conflict among the staff. Goals of the school are given as directives from the top. The Bottom-Up Approach According to Hansford (1974), staff development programmes should emerge from the bottom upwards. In this approach, teachers identify problems they are facing and initiate and run their own programmes. Consequently, teachers feel accepted when they are consulted and recognised. They are motivated to work hard. They have ownership of a programme that directly addresses their needs. Page 1 of 5

The Partnership or Cooperative Model In this approach, the administrator and the teachers plan, design, implement and evaluate the programmes together. The person in charge of staff development provides an appropriate environment for teachers to pursue the desired goals and participate in the decision-making process. This model provides lasting and profitable solutions.

newsletter, is useful. Staff development can also be linked to retention, pay raises,advancement to other positions. The novice to expert theory can be used to guide staff development. Staff Development Process I. Needs Assessment

The first step in staff development is a needs assessment for an educational program. Too often, staff development programs are initiated simply because they have been advertised and marketed, because they have been done in the past, or because other organizations have offered them. Because only educational institutions can legitimately view education as an end in itself, health care organizations must justify how an educational activity can achieve an organizational goal, such as better patient care, reduced operating costs, or more efficient or satisfied personnel. Systematic determination of educational needs based on organizational goals can be used as a basis for developing specific content. In this way, staff development programs are used in the most cost-effective and efficient manner. The decision to offer educational programs should be based on teaching behaviors that 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. II. Can be made more effective and efficient by educational efforts. Need maintenance. New employees need to learn. Employees who are transferred or promoted need to learn. Are needed as a result of new evidence for practice or new technology. Planning

After needs have been determined the next step is to plan staff programs. Planning is a four stage processes that includes establishing objectives, evaluating the present situation and predicting future trends and events, formulating a planning statement, and converting the plan into an action statement. It entails identifying learner objectives and matching them with educational methods. Learner objectives, like client outcomes, should be specific, measurable statements abut desired behaviors, skills, or knowledge to be acquired within a specific time frame. The strategy used to affect the desired

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outcome should be based on learning needs, the employee, and available resources. Three main questions should be considered in assessing and planning: Can the learner do what is required? How should the staff development program be arranged to facilitate learning? What can be done to ensure that what is learned will be transferred to the job? Implementation

III.

Implementation involves bringing together educators, learners, and the materials and methods needed for education. Although most staff development is carried out by the staff development or education department, staff development is also a unit responsibility. Staff Development Methods Staff development can be divided into internal (on the unit) and external (off the unit) sources. Internal sources include on the job instruction, workshops for staff, and in-service programs. External sources are formal workshops presented by an education department within the hospital and educational activities outside the hospital, including college courses, conferences, web-based learning, and continuing education workshops. For effective adult education, the student needs, at a minimum: 1. material to be presented 2. practice using new knowledge and/ or skill 3. feedback about performance On the Job Instructions The most widely used educational method is on-the-job instruction. This often involves assigning new employees to experienced nurse peers, preceptors, or the nurse manager. The learner is expected to learn the job by observing the experienced employee and by performing the actual tasks under supervision. Advantages: a) Cost effective. b) It reduces the need for outside instructional facilities and reliance on professional educators. Disadvantages: a) It often fails because there is no assuarance that accurate and complete information is presented, and the on the job instructor may not know learning principles. As a result, presentation, practice, or feedback may be adequate or omitted. Other Educational Techniques

Many organizations are using self learning modules, such as online classes, closed circuit television, computerized clinical instructions, interactive video instruction, satellite broadcasts (some of which are Page 3 of 5

interactive), CDs, DVDs, and long distance learning via cable television. These methods allow an instructor to convey information in a uniform manner on several occasions or at several locations at one time; many lessons can be repeated. These methods can enhance the instructors presentation as well as reduce the need for an instructor to present every detail in person.

Implications of Staff Development and School Change

You should view staff development as part of an ongoing programme to help professionals learn. Teachers should be consulted and be part of the process of identifying problems and solutions that are appropriate for their setting. Both administrators and teachers must be involved in identifying and addressing the needs of the school and the teachers needs in particular. Locally identified needs should be addressed at the local level, where there is a high probability that any solutions generated to solve the problem will be accepted easily. In order to improve yourself, you should: find out what help is needed to implement the innovation as well as the new ideas and skills that you will require; discuss your needs with others and, if possible, mutually establish a specific and relevant staff development activity; and learn how to apply your new skills or ideas in the classroom. You should view staff development as a process of building programmes in the schools. All activities should be related to your ongoing classroom activities. If staff development is properly done, teachers should feel motivated and be better prepared for their pupils.

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Module 16, Unit 7: Staff Development 52

Extrinsic motivation is used frequently to get teachers to attend staff development workshops. However, if the teachers are involved in identifying needs and planning the workshop, then extrinsic motivation is not necessary. Teachers will come because they will want to learn new skills that they can use in the classroom. The school climate, structures and teachers should be viewed as part of an ongoing problem-solving and improvement process within the school as an organisation. Staff development never ends. It is a permanent part of the schools operation. Once the staff development activity or activities are complete, teachers will need extensive and intensive support in order to bring about change. The implementation of the innovation introduced should be monitored and the necessary support given. What are the specific implications of staff development and school change for you? You should accept long-term responsibilities for planning and implementing changes or innovations in schools. You should be involved in all decisions made about change or innovations, so that you are fully committed to the change and have ownership of it. Teachers associations can also play an important role in staff development. In SADC countries, they tend to use a top-down approach to staff development. This is so because these organisations are usually led by high-ranking officers in the Ministry. Teachers only participate in these programmes as recipients and not as equal partners with the organisers. Effective change is not guaranteed. Heads of schools and Education Officers could play a more prominent role as instructional leaders. They could strengthen and motivate the school improvement process through problem-solving approaches. Although this unit has focused on staff development programmes for the whole school, do remember that it is your professional duty to keep informed of world events that may have an impact on your country and your learners. It is also your professional duty to update your skills and knowledge pertaining to the subjects you teach. Do establish your own self-improvement programme.

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