Taraz State Pedagogical Institute

Taraz, Kazakhstan

Olga Cherkassova

 

Understanding of staff development process for Kazakhstani educational institutions

 

     The trend to the globalization causes great changes in every sphere of human life. The future of the civilization depends not only on the technical progress and economical level. It is determined by the people who are willing to solve the major social and economical problems for the good of human beings. Hence the reform of educational system has become an urgent problem in different countries of the world. The leading factor in solving this problem is the education system where the teacher is the main role player who has to be competent in his or her field.  The teachers are the providers of the knowledge and learning itself. Teachers themselves should understand the philosophy of lifelong learning in their own professional activities. Education and district staff members are becoming more and more involved in seeking and taking advantage of opportunities to improve their professional skills and increase their effectiveness. The government that wants educated citizens has to provide teachers with the good training and development that will lead to a success of the whole nation. Staff development is the process by which individuals, groups and organizations learn to be more effective and efficient. Good staff development programme takes advantage of the real context and circumstances in which the participants find themselves as professionals. Staff development focuses on the content that teachers teach and methods they use to teach that content. It also has to be sufficiently sustained and linked to the daily classroom practice to affect student learning. Kazakhstan faces human resource development challenges in its effort to diversify its economy, fight poverty and build democracy. The government has responded with a national education development programme planned for 2015-2020. Central to this article is to study the theories of staff development and its necessity in Kazakhstan’s schools.

     What is Staff Development?

     Many teachers and school administrators regard professional development as special events that are restricted to short period of time during the school year. The others see professional development as graduate courses  after finishing which they can attain an advanced degree and go ahead on the district salary scale. Considering professional development in the time-based requirements is made to emphasize the importance of continuous learning but educators do not accomplish that purpose. The problem is that many teachers do not understand the ideal and true sense of their development. In order to understand the aim of continuous learning the staff development should be studied.

     Different definitions have been presented by the scholars but the definition offered by Matheson has the essentially managerial perspective. It has been quoted in O’Sullivan et al (1997, p.180) as: ‘the activity of staff training, that is conscious institutional approach intended to improve the capability for staff to fill specified roles, particularly in relation to teaching’.

     O’Sullivan (1997) notices that this definition arises several aspects. One of the aspects is concerned with the range of different staff training activities whether they are voluntary or not, in-school or off-school service, personal or school interest, etc. The second aspect deals with the emphasis of the need for a conscious school approach to staff development. The individuals should be given a credible, creative, positive environment for in-service training and staff development. The third implies the need for: constant reviews of curriculum development plans; the availability of funds for staff development; setting up programmes for staff development and the appropriate support from senior management. The last aspect of Matheson’s definition supposes that staff development leads to staff improvement. It means that it provides the basis for school improvement. Thus, staff development does not exist by itself, it must always be focused on the aims of the institution and be a part of an operational plan.

     O’Sullivan (1997) presents the staff development process which is shown in the six stage cycle:

Figure 1. Six stage cycle of staff development.

 

  1. Identification of staff needs;
  2. Analysis of staff needs;
  3. Creation and design of the staff development programme in response to the data gathered and analysed;
  4. Carrying out of the staff development programme;
  5. Monitoring of the programme;
  6. Evaluation of the programme.

The identification of staff needs.

     The first step in staff development is the assessment of needs. Williams (1981) says about two separate levels of needs: at the level of the organization and at the level of the individual.

     Needs at the organizational level

     Organizational needs occur where the organization/school/college is willing to achieve its goals. There are some indicators which show that there is an organizational need: falling standards of pupils’ achievement; high or increasing staff turnover; high or increasing lateness amongst staff or pupils; increasing instances of staff being unable to cope; low or falling staff moral or motivation. All these indicators show that something is going wrong in the organization. Developing or training staff may contribute to putting things right .thus an organizational needs mat show a need for staff development. The indicators do not act in isolation but are linked together in a complex web where each factor affecting some of the other factors which then affect further factors. Staff development needs at the organizational level can be identified by looking the indicators.

Needs at the individual level

      Some of the needs at the individual level are closely related to the organizational needs which are mentioned above. The individual level needs may follow directly from organizational level needs. This level cover individual needs in order to do the job better. This may be in terms of new subject knowledge to keep up to date, new skills for different teaching methods, new administrative procedures, new responsibilities, changes in pupils, changes in attitude to institutional culture. According to the organizational level needs may be current or future oriented. The identification of individual needs can be the problem of assessment as often staff sees any form of appraisal as threatening and this can be one of the key problems of a staff development programme. Staff appraisal is central to professional development in schools.

     Bradley (1991) points out that ‘the process of appraisal should be related to the whole of a teacher’s job and not simply to classroom performance and all teachers should be trained for their part in appraisal, whether appraising or being appraised’. The appraisal process should focus on the identification of targets to develop practice. The relationship between appraisal, professional development and school development is fundamental to school improvement. Blandford (2004) presents the figure which indicates the relationship between appraisal, teachers, pupils and schools. 

        The aims of teacher appraisal are: to improve skills and performance; improve careers; help teachers to identify areas of improvement; provide references; improve the management of schools.

          

 

 The analysis of staff needs

       Needs identification must be followed by needs analysis from where decisions emerge about priorities for action should be established. Oldroyd et al (1991) presents criteria for analyzing and prioritizing needs can be derived:

·        school staff-development policy;

·        school curriculum development plan;

·        school organization development plan;

·        school equal-opportunities policy;

·        funding-agency requirements;

·        availability of resources.

     Priorities can vary according to the education policy and organizational goals. But these priorities provide the basis for the next round – creation and design of the staff development programme.

     Creation and design of the staff development programme

     O’Sullivan et al (1988) points out that while considering the design of the programme it is important to remember that staff development has two important functions. They are:

  1. Improvement of performance in the person’s present job.
  2. Preparing people for future opportunities, responsibilities and tasks.

     The aims of the staff development programme should bear the relationship to the overall aims of the school. Aims may be expressed in the terms of meeting the identified needs for staff development such as those covered above. According to Williams (1981) an alternative way of looking at aims is to categorise them into groups relating to: teaching staff, pupils and organization. Aims relating to teaching staff should: give staff appreciation; help staff to understand the direction in which the school is moving; improve performance in current jobs; help staff to identify and use new methods and techniques; prepare staff for changes and new responsibilities. Aims relating to students are: to improve the overall quality of the student’ education and quality of teaching received by students. These two types of aims should lead to the aims concerned with the organization where they should develop the institution as an ideal place of education. Here they are to identify current and potential staff resources and to make the most effective and efficient use of them under the present circumstances. Current experiences can help in the development for future situations. The aims should ensure that staff is developed appropriately to meet the changing demands of the situation.

     Dean (1991) suggests that staff development programme consists of six elements: 1) setting the objectives; 2) setting the responsibilities of each member of the staff; 3) timing of all the events of the programme; 4) deciding of the venue for each event; 5) deciding the probable membership; 6) setting the budget for each course. These elements should be taken as essentials for staff development programme and cannot be considered apart of each other. Once the plan of the programme has been decided it must be implemented straight away.    

     Carrying out of the staff development programme

     The implementation is not a simple process. The progress can be interfered by the range of other social processes and make implementation a messy process. It’s up to managers to make sure that the implementation process goes its right way. The duties and responsibilities are distributed among the staff according to their expertise and capabilities. The job of the leader is to explain the role in clear and unambiguous language. He should also welcome queries and questions from the incumbent. The leader is also responsible to be able to hold the whole project together and smooth any bottle necks along the way. The various relationships and their delicate balance need to be maintained as well. The various threads of the staff development programme needs to be held together and interwoven into a smooth pattern.

     Monitoring and evaluating of the programme

     Monitoring and evaluation should be viewed together as monitoring is an element of evaluation. Monitoring is the essential stage in the planning process. After implementing the plan managers have to monitor its progress in order to determine whether the objectives have been achieved or not. The process of monitoring enables staff co-ordinators to work towards agreed objectives. According to Blandford (2004) monitoring is the ongoing activity which requires regular progress reports. It should not be left to the end of the year. Monitoring information is needed to enable schools to follow the implementation of the professional development policy which includes the operational information, the financial information and the information on performance. For giving the operational and financial information staff development co-ordinators need to monitor the actual expenditure and operations regularly and take corrective actions. They also need to assess the relationship between individual needs which are appraisal targets and school aims - school development plan. As monitoring is considered as on-going process it should involve assessing need, gathering information, communicating and recording progress.

    Guskey (2000) defines the evaluation as ‘a multifaceted process that typically includes a wide array of activities and procedures’. The evaluation is an overall check whether objectives are achieved within the planned schedule and should focus on success in order to identify areas in the school which require improvement. Oldroyd  et al (1991) suggests that the evaluation brief should specify: the purpose and consequences of evaluation; the audience for summative report; the key questions; the methods of collective evidence; the sources of the information; the time available and the deadlines for reporting. 

     The evaluation of the programme is the most difficult part of the programme. It can involve a big period of time. A good evaluation helps to understand the progress of the staff and to find weak spots in the organization which will help to improve the teachers’ practice, their attitude to the teaching process and the vision of the organization. Through evaluation process managers will be able to determine the need to change objectives of the organization, priorities of the staff development and the practice itself.

     Staff development programme cannot be seen as a separate part of the educational institution. It should be focused around the aims of the institution and be an integral part of an operational plan. Planning is central to all activities in school and it is of critical importance to the effective management and implementation of professional development programmes. Blandford (2000) considers individual and organizational development in the context of whole-school plans where  effective management may be seen as a three stages: planning, actions, resources, review, preparation and audit. Planning involves: a) defining the objectives – the goals which are to be achieved, and b) generating and evaluating these objectives – the terms in which the objectives can be achieved. Action includes: identifying the activities that are required to meet the objectives. Resources should be identified as: physical which are required to achieve the objectives, personnel – for undertaking the activities and the time scale for completion. In review the objectives, resources and actions should be check and seen whether they are appropriate for implementing the plan. After that all schedules should be prepared and responsibilities should be given. The last stage – audit - involves monitoring and evaluation where re-plan, if necessary, can be done.

      Williams (1981) considers staff development as ‘the process by which individuals, groups and organizations learn to be more effective and efficient’. He also points out that it can happen unsystematically or a school can have a policy for staff development and procedures to ensure that staff are helped to develop in the best way.  He looks at staff development in curriculum terms as formal, informal and opportunistic staff development.

 


                                        Informal Staff              Opportunistic Staff

                                        Development                   Development

 

                                                            Formal Staff

                                                            Development

Figure 4. Williams’s staff development categories.

     Williams considers all three categories important. There should be the formal staff development programme with laid down activities and procedures aimed at developing staff and preferably based on a formal staff development policy. Informal staff development includes the climate or atmosphere which surrounds the staff development process. It is closely related to the climate of  the school and the management  style of the principal. Opportunistic staff development refers to the process of seizing opportunities that arise and using them to develop staff.  

     Blandford (2004) gives the definition of staff development as ‘the development of teachers and support staff to enhance their knowledge and understanding, and their skills and abilities to improve the quality of teaching and learning’. Staff development is an integral process and includes personal development, team development and school development. Blandford (2004) presents types of professional development which encompasses:

     Practitioner development – school-based development; self-development, induction, mentoring, observation, job shadowing and team teaching.

     Professional education – award-bearing courses managed and taught at higher education institutions, focusing on the relationship between educational theory and practice, and leading to higher education accreditation and professional qualifications.

     Professional training – Conferences, courses and workshops that emphasise practical information and skills, managed and delivered by local educational authorities, school  external consultants or trainer from higher education institutions; such courses may lead to accreditation towards national standards or academic awards.

     Professional support – The responsibility of colleagues in school, through the process of fulfilling contractual conditions of service, e.g. recruitment and selection procedures encompassing job descriptions, promotion, career development , appraisal, mentoring team building, redeployment equal opportunities.

     Blandford (2004) sees the professional development dependent on individual enthusiasm, not compulsion. Teachers should view the place in which they work as a place of self-learning. Senior and middle managers have part of the responsibility foe staff development. Managers will know their staff’s work, experience and aspirations. As a player manager, a teacher is uniquely placed to assist a colleague’s development. A manager can assist staff in their development in several ways:

       As a role model – staff will adopt the leader’s practices and attitudes

     Managers should identify the development needs of their staff and teams, aiming to respond to each, individually and collectively.

Roles and responsibilities

     In order to design appropriate developmental opportunities, one must understand the nature of the role to be performed.  Middlehurst (1995) writes that Kotter offered four-phase model of the roles and responsibilities that institutional managers will be expected to undertake.

     The first responsibility of strategic managers is to create (or maintain) an agenda for the organization – establishing a direction, a vision of the future and strategies for producing any changes needed to achieve the vision.

     A second leadership responsibility involves aligning people, that is communicating the intended direction by words and deeds to all those, whose co-operation may be needed. Through this process, coalitions and teams are created that understand the vision and strategies and accept their validity. Complementary management tasks in this phase are organizing and staffing.

     The third level includes the management activity of controlling and problem-solving (monitoring results against plans, identifying deviations, and re-planning and organizing to solve problems). Leadership at this point involves motivating and inspiring, energizing people to overcome major political, bureaucratic and resource barriers to change by satisfying very basic, but often unfulfilled, human needs.

     The fourth phase depicts the outcomes that can be expected from successfully combining leadership and management action. Management will produce a degree of predictability and order and has the potential of consistently producing key results expected by various stakeholders. Leadership, on the other hand, will produce change and has the potential to produce useful change, for example, new activities that are wanted in the marketplace and new approaches to staff which can make the organization more competitive.

     The professional development institution needs to:

          The organization is lead by the manager and 3 supervisors who are responsible for providing the courses with the tutors from different educational organizations; programme the courses and the plan for its implementation; monitors the programmes; develop and implement the textbooks and new methodologies;  impart information and communications technology.

            The system of education and training in Kazakhstan is still largely centralized, supply-driven, without the appropriate involvement of social partner. Co-operation between education and training institutes is good; but is still leads to a lack of qualified teachers and requires further development.

    

Conclusion

     The staff development is inevitably about collective capacity building. Thus, education professionals who attend staff development sessions should feel that they have learned important things about each other and about how to do their jobs better. And they should return to their daily responsibilities uplifted, renewed, and ready to assume new challenges. They should feel more empowered and enabled to act on behalf of the children and youth they serve.  The education and training reform policy and sustainable implementation strategy require coordinated national and donor investment in the coming years. The article helped to understand the concept of staff development and it process that should be implemented for staff development system in Kazakhstan. Programme may be at risk of not being fully supported by an overall commitment to reform and capacity to implement changes. New ideas in the programme appear sometimes to be only declared, without proper contextualizing and defining indicators of achievement of change. The lack of infrastructure is evident in the fact that no detailed information regarding the programme of staff development was produced and made available to public use or for the research studies. The lack of Research in the educational sphere is a major deterrent in the progress of the educational system. A good research could be conducted in various field in the teacher training institutes especially staff development where the trainers of the development programmes need new and technological support.

References

Blandford, S., (2004). Professional Development Manual: a  Practical Guide to Planning and Evaluating Successful Staff Development. London: Pearson Education.

Blandford, S. (2000) Managing Professional Development in Schools. London ; New York : Routledge.

Bradley, H. (1991) Staff Development. London: Falmer

Dean, J. (1991) Professional Development in School. Milton Keynes : Open University.

European Training Foundation. Retrieved May 3, 2006 from http://www.etf.eu.int.

Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan Retrieved November 25, 2005, from http://www.government.kz/ru/spisok_program.asp

Guskey, T. R. (2000) Evaluating Professional Development. Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Corwin Press.