A case study on professional development of teachers in India

Abstract

Continuous Professional Development (CPD) practices in India, as articulated in policy documents exhibit a paradox. These documents oscillate between managerialist and democratic ideologies, consequently giving rise to conflicts and inconsistencies in practice. Furthermore, while teachers are often portrayed as agents of social transformation in policy documents, there is a failure to account for the realities of their professional lives and work environment. Consequently, with the introduction of the National Education Policy 2020, several new structures of CPD are being implemented, re-articulating the vision of a transformative teacher professionalism in India. Hence, in the relatively under-studied context of Goa, it was important to investigate the current CPD practices and whether they are aligned to the transformative policy vision.

A qualitative case study methodology was employed through a socio-constructivist paradigm. Various stakeholders in the field of teacher education in Goa, including teachers, government officials, and resource persons, provided data through semi-structured interviews. This qualitative data underwent abductive thematic analysis, resulting in six key themes: ’Structure and Implementation of CPD’, ’Purpose of CPD’, ’Constraints of teacher autonomy’, ’Relevance of training’, ’Teacher motivation’, and ’Systemic issues’. These themes offered comprehensive answers to the research questions. Finally, the study proposed potential policy implications and areas for future research.