Continuous Professional Development
Teacher Professional Development in Higher Education is a new form of thinking the progression of the academic career of the teacher at university level. Nowadays, the quality of teaching is related to the quality of the teacher and his/her professional development, which is a complex dynamics, as recognized by Ruth Naylor and Yusuf Sayed (2014, 301[1]). Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a key element of teacher professional life. CPD is an umbrella term for “professional learning and development activities”, often linked to professional accreditation (Rothwell & Arnold, 2005, 18[2]). Some important principles of the CPD Framework are:
- CPD is essential for maintaining the standard and integrity of Higher Education professionals;
- Professional development is a continuous process that applies throughout working life
- Teachers should identify for themselves their learning needs;
- Teachers are responsible for managing and undertaking CPD activities.
A coherent framework for CPD and professional recognition for staff in relation to learning and teaching is recognized nowadays as an important issue in Higher Education. CPD framework must take into account the cultural and political realities of how universities function.
[1] Naylor, R. & Sayed, Y. (2014). Teacher quality: evidence review. Canberra: Office of Development Effectiveness. (www.ode.dfat.gov.au)
[2] Rothwell, A & Arnold, J (2005). How HR professionals rate ‘continuing professional development’. Human Resource Management Journal. 15(3), 18-32.
Establishment of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Unit in Georgian and Chinese universities is on of the project´s outcome. The aim is to unite the group of people passionate about teacher training and professional development to work towards improving quality of teaching even beyond the oriect life-cycle.
Examples of the CPD Units development in STAR project partner countries.
Design and Development of CPD Unit: need´s assessment
Teacher Professional Development in Higher Education is a new form of thinking the academic career of the University Teacher and their progression in that same career. Based on a classical model of the understanding of what is a teacher in higher education, with implication as regards performance, to a more current understanding where the teacher’s role, the profession, the professionalism and the professional development are concepts and concerns under discussion and that will need to be understood in today’s knowledge society.
The current report details the need’s assessment carried out by the University of Coimbra (UC) Team and includes a proposal for the Design and Development of a CPD Unit, as well as examples of documents that can support the activity of a CPD/LET Unit.