BUILDING EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTIVE CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS FOR SUSTAINABLE LEARNING BUILDING EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTIVE CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS FOR SUSTAINABLE LEARNING Poonam Bhambri Cambridge Education Ranjana Arora National Council of Educational Research and Training Parul Pandya Cambridge Education

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) – Indian Government programme to enhance secondary education access, equity and quality of learning Assess effectiveness of teacher training - planning, implementation and early impact. In the absence of both a baseline study and a set of standards of outcome, a formative evaluation was conducted. planning processes including needs assessment; funding; content methodology; quality of implementation; provincial/state variation; the extent to which the trainings are meeting their objectives; aspects of in-service teacher training that are most effective Mixed-methods evaluation based on case studies from nine states across India and their cross-case analysis Teacher questionnaire (n= 9194), interview schedules (n=130) and FGDs (n=25) RMSA In-service Teacher Training Evaluation

Key Findings and Recommendations Needs assessment 1.Considerable variability within states in the needs assessment processes (level, methodology and system) 2.In general, needs assessment procedures were informal. 3.Design and planning of training not based on assessment of training needs of teachers.  No needs assessment was conducted before the organization of the training programme (Teacher - Assam)  Assessment of hard spots was done on the 4 day of the training (Teacher - Bihar)  The RMSA training addressed the needs expressed by teachers at some earlier trainings (Teacher - Kerala) 1.State specific formal training needs assessment system needs to be established 2.Trainings to be designed and planned based on training needs.

Planning and content focus 1.System to ensure timely and adequate flow of funds needs to be established 2.Develop guidelines for in-service teacher training of secondary school teachers which are aligned with state specific education polices and expectations. 1.Fund flow: inadequate and delayed. 2.Less emphasis on inclusion of secondary education priorities - ICT, life skills, adolescent education, inclusive education and leadership in the training content and more focus on subject content and classroom transactional methodologies in trainings. Training delivery 1.Most states followed cascade model of training (usually 3 tier) with state level planning of trainings 2.Strong emphasis on lecture method and whole group discussions during training. 3.Training logistics, availability and quality of resource materials varied within and across the states. 4.Use of ICT in trainings was limited. 1.Expand the use of different modes of training delivery such as online training, discussion forums, video conferencing 2.Establish selection, formal recognition and certification processes for resource personnel. Key Findings and Recommendations (Contd.)

Monitoring and follow up 1.Monitoring of trainings was generally informal and lacked academic focus. 2.Most teachers found the feedback process unimportant and meaningless as it had no impact on subsequent trainings. 3.No system of follow up after the trainings. 1.Establish a robust training implementation monitoring system 2.Establish a formal feedback and follow-up mechanism. Early impact 1.Overall the teachers were satisfied with RMSA trainings and believed that they were able to integrate new knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired during the training into classroom practices. 2.However, deeper interrogation revealed limitations for transfer – lack of follow up and management support, lack of teaching learning materials used in trainings etc. 1.An impact evaluation of teacher training on classroom processes is recommended. Key Findings and Recommendations (Contd.)

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