ADDRESSING TRAINEES’ CONCERNS IN A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR INNOVATIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING

Year 2019, Volume: 11 Issue: 1, 1 - 18, 01.01.2019

Anthony Isabirye Kholeka Moloi

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore concerns of 10 academics at a university in
South Africa who participated in an in-house professional development
programme and recommend how such concerns could be addressed. Guided by
the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM), a qualitative, interpretive research
design was adopted. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and
analysed qualitatively. The results indicated that organisers of successful staff
development programmes need to inform the participants (informational
concerns) about the nature of the programme and to explain the impact of the
programme on individual participants (personal concerns). Participants were also
concerned about how the change due to training would be managed in practice
(management concerns) and the consequences of the programme on the students
(consequence concerns). The study confirmed that being aware of trainees’
concerns enables programme organisers to give relevant assistance to individual
trainees and reinforce attraction to the programme. It is recommend that concerns
of trainees be addressed pre and during the process of training.

Keywords

Staff development, Trainees, Concerns, Innovative teaching, Learning, Training

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