Unpacking the efficacy of a continuous professional development programme to support teachers to use assessment in no-fee schools

Abstract

Since the first democratic elections in 1994, South Africa’s education system has undergone four curriculum revisions. In each of these iterations, the teachers who were among the first in line to implement change were the Foundation Phase (FP) teachers. However, since then, the low numeracy and literacy levels of primary school learners have been of increasing concern. In this context, in 2017, a series of continuous professional development (CPD) workshops were run with 18 Grade 3 FP teachers from five no-fee primary schools in the Cape Winelands to enhance their use of assessment to improve teaching and learning. This professional development model comprised six monthly workshops, in which the teachers were introduced to various assessment for learning (AfL) techniques and strategies. Each workshop was subsequently supplemented with a classroom support visit by one of the workshop presenters. A few months after the conclusion of the workshops and support visits, the participating teachers, subject advisers, management, and district officials were interviewed about programme efficacy. What emerged was that although all stakeholders saw value in this CPD initiative, the subject advisers and teachers felt that they had particularly benefitted from the programme in terms of the training received, the training model, materials, and follow-up support visits. However, despite the teachers’ enthusiasm, there was a varied level of implementation of AfL practices in classrooms—shaped by the context in which the schools were located and their internal dynamics. Affecting the efficacy of the programme—and thus having implications for sustainability—were extraneous factors such as programme timing, competing priorities, and school dynamics. This suggests that for any such CPD programme to succeed, the various factors that could inhibit programme success need to be noted and circumvented.