Your Name and Title: Kay Stokes- Alidu, Associate Professor, International Business Studies
School or Organization Name: Qingdao Binhai University
Co-Presenter Name(s): N/A
Area of the World from Which You Will Present: China
Language in Which You Will Present: English
Target Audience(s): Teachers, CPD Coordinators and Trainers, P-20 School Administrators
Short Session Description (one line): Implementing CPD for school teachers in developing countries and rural areas.
Full Session Description (as long as you would like):
My presentation is to initiate discussion about professional development programs in rural schools, specifically in developing countries. Rural schools are known as educational settings where the geographical location prompts a different perspective of environment from mainland areas. As students of every demographic deserve a quality education that support the development of their communities, professional development should be part of the rural school design.
Families in rural areas have a different perspective on the need for education- it has to benefit their sustainability.
Professional development is the act that fosters effective teaching, which translates to student achievement, and transforms students into active citizens within their communities, with the potential to affect the society. As a stakeholder in education, this is ultimately what school and learning is all about- it is about taking skills learned, applying them to community development.
If teachers are not equip to effectively teach their students, especially in these areas where resources are hard to come by, it would be easy to agree with this mom in saying, “if you are not learning, then you don’t need to go.” The need for professional development in rural schools is to insure that students can benefit from quality teaching and methods appropriate for their environment. By helping teachers improve methods that support the community, and equipping them with methods more appropriate to the instances of a rural setting, families such as the one in my anecdote would value the education process as a formidable part of their sustainability, and help them to realize the societal value of education.
Resources
Bagley C., Hillyard, S. (2011). Village Schools in England: At the heart of their community?
Australian Journal of Education, August 2011; vol. 55, 1: pp. 37-49.
Murakami, C. (2008). "Everybody Is Just Fumbling along": An Investigation of Views Regarding EAL Training and Support Provisions in a Rural Area. Language and Education, 22(4), 265-282.
Thakrar, J., Zinn, D., & Wolfenden, F. (2009). Harnessing Open Educational Resources to the Challenges of Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. International Review Of Research In Open And Distance Learning, 10(4).
Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:
Khush, F. M. (2010). Teachers' professional development through whole school improvement program (wsip). International Journal of Business and Social Science, 1(2), n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/904511813?accountid=14872
Singh, A., Yager, S. O., Yutakom, N., Yager, R. E., & Ali, M. (2012). Constructivist Teaching Practices Used by Five Teacher Leaders for the Iowa Chautauqua Professional Development Program. Int’l Journal Of Environmental And Science Education, 7(2), 197-216. http://www.eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ990516
Mollenkopf, D. L. (2009). Creating highly qualified teachers: Maximizing university resources to provide profession development in rural areas. The Rural Educator, 30(3), 34-39. Retrieved from the Walden University library, ERIC database http://www.eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ869313
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