ABSTRACT
Teacher Advisory Centres (TACs) were established in Kenya in the early 1970s
to provide primary school teachers professional support in their classroom
instruction for improved learning outcomes. However, there were reports of
teachers’ inability to access teacher professional development activities. There
were also reports of poor learning outcomes and teachers’ use of teacher centred
teaching learning approaches. This study aimed at establishing the effectiveness
of TACs in teacher professional development in Kenya. The objectives of the
study were to determine the effectiveness of TACs in conducting in service
courses and holding professional meetings for teachers with invited guest
speakers to address identified teacher professional needs; establish the
effectiveness of TAC tutors in conducting classroom observation and
demonstration lessons; determine the extent to which TACs facilitate teachers to
use teaching learning resources to enhance instruction and to find out the extent
to which teachers’ use learner centred teaching learning approaches. The
theories advanced by Desimone and Shulman that demonstrates that teacher
professional development influences teachers’ instruction and ultimately
improves students’ learning guided this study. Descriptive survey research
design was adopted and this study was conducted in Kisii, Nakuru, Bomet, Nyeri
and Kirinyaga counties. The sample size was five counties, 35 TAC tutors, 70
schools, 490 teachers and 12 DEOs. Cluster sampling was employed. Purposive
sampling was used to select counties and simple random sampling was used to
select districts then all the zones in the sampled districts were used in the study.
Public primary schools and teachers were purposively sampled. Descriptive
statistics, frequencies and percentages, were used to analyze data which were
presented in figures, charts and words. Effectiveness of TACs in teacher
professional development was found to be inadequate. A large percentage of
TAC tutors did not identify teacher professional needs before conducting TPD
activities. The majority of TAC tutors also rarely invited guest speakers. It was
recommended that sustainable in service courses for teachers and professional
meetings with invited guest speakers should be conducted regularly based on
identified teacher professional needs. Classroom observation should focus on
enhancement of classroom instruction. TAC tutors’ capacity should be
enhanced to develop and apply classroom observation skills and to develop and
use teaching learning resources to enhance instruction. Teachers should be
facilitated to develop and use teaching learning resources and to apply learner
centred teaching learning strategies. Further studies could be conducted on TAC
revitalization. The strategies used by Kirinyaga county to achieve sterling KCPE
performance between 2007 and 2012 could be investigated and
recommendations made whether other counties could emulate it.
FLORENCE, K (2021). Effectivenes Of Teacher Advisory Centres In Teacher Professional Development In Kenya. Afribary. Retrieved from https://afribary.com/works/effectivenes-of-teacher-advisory-centres-in-teacher-professional-development-in-kenya
FLORENCE, KISIRKOI "Effectivenes Of Teacher Advisory Centres In Teacher Professional Development In Kenya" Afribary. Afribary, 27 May. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/effectivenes-of-teacher-advisory-centres-in-teacher-professional-development-in-kenya. Accessed 07 Nov. 2024.
FLORENCE, KISIRKOI . "Effectivenes Of Teacher Advisory Centres In Teacher Professional Development In Kenya". Afribary, Afribary, 27 May. 2021. Web. 07 Nov. 2024. < https://afribary.com/works/effectivenes-of-teacher-advisory-centres-in-teacher-professional-development-in-kenya >.
FLORENCE, KISIRKOI . "Effectivenes Of Teacher Advisory Centres In Teacher Professional Development In Kenya" Afribary (2021). Accessed November 07, 2024. https://afribary.com/works/effectivenes-of-teacher-advisory-centres-in-teacher-professional-development-in-kenya