The effects of the strengthened Teachers, continuing professional development (CPD) programmes on pupil performance at grade twelve level in selected Secondary Schools of Solwezi District

The Study embarked on finding out the effects of the strengthened continuing professional development programmes for teachers on pupil’s performance at grades twelve levels in selected Secondary Schools of Solwezi District. It was a survey study that used both the quantitative and qualitative research designs. The sample comprised of one hundred respondents as follows: the Principle Education Standard Officer, Education officer for Teacher Education Department, Provincial Resource Centre Co-ordinator for secondary schools, nine Senior Education Standard Officers, four Head Teachers (one from each sampled secondary school), twenty Heads of Departments (five from each 0f the four sampled secondary schools-one from each department), sixteen teachers (four from each sampled secondary school) and forty eight pupils (12 pupils from each school-four from each of the grades from 10 to 12). The research instruments used in the study were questionnaires, interview guides and focus group guides instruments to collect data. The study revealed some of the following effects of the strengthened continuing professional development programmes for teachers on pupils’ performance at grade twelve (12) level in Solwezi District as the major reasons of building capacity in teachers so that they can teach effectively and ultimately improve pupil performance at grade level. The study also established that institutionalisation of SBCPD activities in Secondary Schools was one of the major measures that was taken to strengthen CDP activities in Secondary Schools of Solwezi District. Lesson study demonstrations, long term degree courses and short term resource centre meetings were the cardinal types of CDP activities that were carried out in Secondary Schools of Solwezi District. The study revealed that teachers’ attitudes and commitments towards work greatly improved. However, the results of commitment had not yet trickled down to impact pupils’ final examinations. This is so because pupil’s results from 2006 to 2012 portray a forward and backward mode of performance. One of the major recommendations that the study made was that MOE should ensure that school based CDP programmes for teachers cover both content and methodology as this would help teachers cover both at the same time