Professional Development through Self- initiated Practices: The Case of a College of Education in Botswana

Abstract

Professional development of teacher educators is an issue that remains elusive in many teacher education institutions throughout the world. In most cases where it occurs, it is not structured or supported beyond the initial stages when one joins a teachers’ college or faculty of education. There are instances however, where professional development is “self-initiated and “self-directed. This article reports on a research conducted by a team of teacher educators at a college of education in Botswana on the attitudes, practices and challenges of teacher educators towards self- initiated professional development at the institution. Using a modified closed ended questionnaire, the researchers sought to establish the attitude teacher educators have towards self-initiated professional development, the main professional development activities they engage in and the challenges they envision as hindrances to engage in self-initiated professional development. The study was anchored on Ryan and Deci’s Self Determination Theory which assumes that people are active organisms, with evolved tendencies toward growing, mastering ambient challenges, and integrating new experiences into a coherent sense of self. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire administered to a population of 47 teacher educators at the college. The results indicated that the majority of teacher educators had a positive attitude towards self-initiated professional development and many were aware of the practices involved; many cited challenges like lack of time, finance and the low level of institutional support as constraints to their engagement in professional development. The research team recommends that more should be done to motivate teacher educators to engage in self-initiated professional development through training in research skills, encouraging the formation of professional development teams in addition to ensuring that professional development of teacher educators is at the center of the institution’s vision and mission.