The effectiveness of continuing professional development for primary school teachers: The case of Burkina Faso

The effectiveness of continuing professional development for primary school teachers: The case of Burkina Faso

• Francis Djibo, Cégep de Rivière-du-Loup, Canada

• Clermont Gauthier, Université Laval, Canada

doi : https://dx.doi.org/10.18162/fp.2017.330

Résumé

To honor its international commitments, Burkina Faso, like many developing countries, has resorted to massive recruitments of teachers. According to various analysts, such recruitments have compromised the quality of education for all. There is a consensus on the need to improve the system of continuing professional development for teachers, in particular when faced with a levelling off of student achievement and with the need for new pedagogical skills in challenging educational contexts. This article is based on a research inspired by Guskey’s (2000) model of effective professional development, with the objective of proposing the profile of professional development activities likely to support quality education for all in Burkina Faso. The comparative analysis of ethnographic descriptions of eight school districts (four with high achievement rates and four with very low rates) allows us to draw the profile of student achievement-focused professional development. We close the article with a discussion aiming to validate the results of this analysis.

Abstract

To honor its international commitments, Burkina Faso, like many developing countries, has resorted to massive recruitments of teachers. According to various analysts, such recruitments have compromised the quality of education for all. There is a consensus on the need to improve the system of continuing professional development for teachers, in particular when faced with a levelling off of student achievement and with the need for new pedagogical skills in challenging educational contexts. This article is based on a research inspired by Guskey’s (2000) model of effective professional development, with the objective of proposing the profile of professional development activities likely to support quality education for all in Burkina Faso. The comparative analysis of ethnographic descriptions of eight school districts (four with high achievement rates and four with very low rates) allows us to draw the profile of student achievement-focused professional development. We close the article with a discussion aiming to validate the results of this analysis.