Abstract
Teachers not only teach the students but also learn in their professional lives by being updated with new trends, perspectives, practices and pedagogy. Different organizations in Nepal have been conducting workshops, trainings, seminars and conferences for the professional growth of the teachers. However, the quality of teachers is often questioned. This seminar paper discusses what professional activities the teacher professional organizations conduct and how they help teachers to develop professionally. Following a qualitative approach, particularly interviewing six purposively sampled school teachers connected with various professional organizations, this paper reports their experiences of being involved with teachers’ professional organizations and the opportunities they gained. Although existing literature revealed a few negative connotations with the professional organizations affiliated with political parties in Nepal, many of them are found instrumental for teachers in various ways like making them resourceful, updated and connected for learning, sharing and networking. This paper might help understand how teachers at the grassroots level perceive and utilize professional organizations and narratives prevalent among them.
Keywords: Teacher professional development, teachers’ organizations, competencies,collaboration
Introduction
I, as a teacher at a private school, often heard about professional development and professional organizations. A few months ago, one of my co-teachers joined NELTA (Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association) as a life member and talked with me about the benefits of joining at least one or two professional organizations. She also advised me to be aware of the non-professional teachers’ organizations which only focused on increasing the membership for the back support of their political parties. Being interested in joining professional organizations to ensure my professional growth, I explored why professional organizations are required and what activities can be done along with them.
After reading some of the publications on teachers’ professional development, I realized that teachers require support from multiple sectors to groom professionally, teach, and perform to the best of their abilities. Puri (2017) highlighted the importance of joining a professional organization and grooming as a professional teacher. He mentioned that every teacher needs to join a professional organization for learning, sharing and networking. Similarly, Gnawali (2010) also emphasized that teachers’ professional organizations are the common platforms for teachers to develop themselves as competent teachers. This literature focused on how teachers’ professional organizations enhance the teachers’ professionalism in one or other ways. On the other hand, many of my friends who are working at the community schools have joined other politically affiliated organizations. They often advocated that teachers’ organizations function for teachers’ rights, resources and facilities. These scenarios triggered my mind about how teachers’ professional organizations can support teachers in their professional careers and why it is necessary to be involved in any professional organizations.
Teachers’ professional organization refers to the organization of teaching professionals who might collectively engage in various activities for their benefits. This can be formal or informal groups of teachers set up for mutual professional benefits (Gnawali, 2013). In Nepal, there are various teachers’ organizations such as STAN (Science Teachers ‘Association of Nepal), NUTA (Nepal University Teachers’ Association), ISTU (Institutional School Teachers’ Union), and many others. Some of them can be directly or indirectly politically affiliated, too. For example, organizations such as Nepal National Teachers’ Association (NNTA), Nepal Teachers’ Association (NTA) and Unified All Nepal Teachers Organizations (UANTO) seem to be working as sister organizations of political parties. They do not seem to be working for the teachers’ professional development but rather working for political interest (Khadka & Bhattarai, 2021). However, other professional organizations work for their professional development making their community at various levels. There are many such teaching organizations across the country at local, national and international levels which are entirely focused on professional development activities. For example, NELTA, the Linguistic Society of Nepal (LSN), and Techno-friendly Teachers’ Society seem to be oriented to enhance their members’ professional efficiency. The studies (Gnawali, 2010; Puri, 2017,) stated that joining one or more professional organizations would help the teachers interact with fellow teachers and stay up-to-date on new topics in their specialized fields. There are many organizations available to join based on their purposes, subjects, disciplines or geographical locations such as Science Teachers’ Organizations, Mathematics Teachers’ Organizations, English Teachers’ Organizations, Social Studies Teachers’ Organizations and Special Education Teachers’ Organizations.
I found such organizations an interesting platform where I could collect the different perceptions from teachers regarding the merits and demerits of National as well as International Organizations which mean the organizations that function for the teachers’ professional development. Recently, I joined NELTA but I have not participated in any programs organized by it. When I watched the program online which was about the TESOL-NELTA regional Conference, particularly the plenary session, I was impressed by the incredible presentations there. The presenters were talking about teacher development, technology, and many other cross-cutting issues in English language teaching. Then, I realized that I should be involved in such organizations.
My general understanding of teachers’ professional organization is that it involves teachers from different countries or states to share their ideas, knowledge, and findings. It also supports or promotes the interest of the teachers. Everything has changed with time and it is a continuous process. Similarly, the education system has also changed compared to the past few years. Teaching strategies, methods, curriculum, classroom management, resources and teaching learning activities, etc. have also been changed tremendously over time. This is possible with the help of organizations like NELTA, TESOL, IATEFL and TEFL which overall work for professional development. Different organizations are supporting English language teachers to make their teaching-learning effective. It also explores new opportunities for educators to generate new ideas that can help teachers improve.
Along with this, teachers work together to support each other, share ideas on their subject matter or their difficulties and reach a consensus collaboratively. In this regard, King and Newman (2000) expressed, “Teacher learning is most likely when teachers collaborate with professional peers, both within and outside of their schools, and when they gain further expertise through access to external researchers and program developers” (p. 576). Similarly, Feiman-Nemser (2001) mentioned that if we want schools to offer more powerful learning opportunities for students, we must offer more powerful learning opportunities for teachers. This reveals that the opportunities need to be grounded in the conception of learning to teach as a lifelong process in the form of continuous teacher development. Adopting this expanded view of teacher learning and professional practice, educational reforms in all disciplines and across all grade levels stress the need for educators to take part in Professional Development (PD) programs that increase their knowledge, improve their practice and ultimately foster student learning and achievement gains. Therefore, this paper attempts to answer two questions particularly how teachers’ professional organizations support teachers in their career and what xperiences and perceptions local teachers have on the benefits and challenges of teachers’ professional organizations.
The Need for Professional Organizations
To make the teaching-learning activities more effective and to bring changes or shift their teaching, the teachers use different methods and techniques gained from various sources. The previous studies prove the need for professional organizations for a teacher. For example, Kumaravadivelu (2012) discussed the changes, threats and pedagogic shifts brought about by teachers’ engagement with professional organizations. He further said that different approaches help identify problems and difficulties in teaching and find their solutions. Professional organizations further support situating teaching to the needs of the learners and their context by exchanging knowledge, skills and techniques lately developed in and around which eventually make the profession prestigious.
Similarly, Upitis (2005) in the context of the USA explored the experiences of art students and teachers being involved in two professional development programs for art education. Both programs aimed to help classroom teachers develop ways of teaching by interacting with partnering artists and/or arts organizations. It reveals that teaching-learning activities can be shared through professional networks. Moreover, Upitis (2005) mentioned that teachers learned how to implement STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics)-based pedagogy in their classrooms by integrating subject matters from multiple disciplines. Likewise, Sancar et al. (2021) through their qualitative research stated that teacher professional development plays a vital role in the qualitative outcomes of the students. It supports, collaborates and brings changes in both teachers’ and students’ learning. Another qualitative research of Bayrakc (2009) in the context of Japan and Turkey indicated the need of effective policies and programs for the teachers’ sustainable training and development. However, their study found some problems in in-services training of Turkey such as lack of professional staff, lack of collaborative partnerships between teachers and teacher educators, lack of efficient feedback system and systematic in-service training modalities. On the other hand, in Japan, teachers share their ideas through feedback after the training session and it is done online using communication technology such as online classes, and videoconferences through the internet and satellite system.
Kulshrestha’s (2013) quantitative study in the context of India reported that teacher training and professional competencies were significant measures for enhancing the professional skills of teachers. He further stated that the development of the professional competency of a teacher is incomplete unless it follows certain professional ethics or codes of conduct. Similarly, Bicaj and Treska (2014) argued that teacher’s professional organization provides teachers with qualitative training to bring quality and newness to their teaching through different forms. They also discussed the role and importance of lifelong learning that comes from engagement with professional organizations which ultimately enhances personal and professional development.
Methods
This qualitative study explores the opportunities and challenges of engaging with teachers’ professional organizations and teachers’ experiences of joining, learning and growing through these organizations. For the purpose, I selected six teachers: two from the same institute where I am involved in and the remaining four teachers were from different schools. I selected four teachers from other schools rather than the same so that I could understand their diverse experiences and perceptions. These teachers were from Itahari sub-metropolitan city, Koshi Province and were the members of teachers’ associations. I used semi-structured interview for data collection because I could freely talk and elicit their experiences. To maintain the anonymity and confidentiality, I have given pseudonyms to the participants during the data presentation in the paper. The collected data are analyzed and presented thematically in the following sections.
Results and Discussion
Analyzing the data collected through the semi-structured interviews with the teachers, two major themes are reported in the following sections. Their expressions revealed that besides the teachers’ associations affiliated with political parties, teachers’ professional organizations were reported to have advantages and support for professionalism.
Professional Development Opportunities of Joining Organizations
The participants of my study expressed that joining teachers’ organizations has many advantages such as continuous professional growth, integration of technology in teaching, modern trends and techniques of teaching updating in the field of teaching. The participants said that teachers’ professional organizations help them grow professionally:
I joined NELTA five years ago and involved in many conferences and trainings. These trainings helped me to develop my confidence and skills. (Gita, Vidyaadarshan School)
I fortunately joined Techno-friendly Teachers’ Society and took many Zoom classes regularly, which helped me to learn new skills and use them in my classroom. (Hariram, Novel Academy)
These expressions revealed that joining teachers’ professional organizations helps the teachers develop themselves professionally and update with new learning skills and knowledge. Another benefit of joining organizations was learning new Information Communication Technology (ICT) and integrating it into their classroom teaching.
I learned how to use projector in the class by joining the Techno-friendly Teachers’ Society’s online class that was conducted during COVID-19. It was fantastic. (Gopilal, Sayapatri school)
Gopilal’s expressions showed that joining teachers’ professional organizations provides him with opportunities to learn digital tools and innovative ideas to run classes online. Moreover, the participants expressed that they developed confidence in speaking, learned to do action research, write papers and also share their experiences through conference presentations when they were involved in the organizations.
I boosted my competence level from the regular activities and tasks in the training. At first, I was so nervous to speak in front of all the participants but gradually participated in the programs and I came to speak freely with my friends. I also learned how to present new ideas among my friends. Before I had a kind of hesitation but that was slowly removed. (Smriti, Makalu Academy School)
I did not know that we could learn and become different teachers before. My college teacher encouraged me to be a member of NELTA. As soon as I became a member, I got a chance to attend a research action research workshop, that opened up my eyes that we can carry out research in our classroom, too. (Rita, teacher at North-East Academy)
I work in a private school. I have no time. One day I managed time to take part in the workshop to write a conference paper as a member. I am very motivated to present our issues and practice at the conference, too. Let’s see. I think I will present next time. (Junu, teacher at North-East Academy)
The evidence revealed that teachers at the local level benefited from the activities of teachers’ organizations. This demonstrates that teachers’ organizations provide opportunities to learn new technologies and apply them to their classroom contexts. In line with the previous studies (Feiman-Nemser, 2001; Upitis, 2005), teachers developed their competencies, skills and techniques through their engagement with professional organizations. This also indicates that if teachers join organizations, it supports teachers through online and offline professional activities. They can learn and bring about changes in their classroom. As stated by Puri (2017) and Gnawali (2010), teachers can have multiple opportunities such as attending and presenting at conferences and developing their confidence in teaching and research when they join professional organizations.
Challenges for Joining Teachers’ Professional Organizations
The participants expressed their limitations and challenges while being involved in the professional development activities. They were willing to join the teachers’ networks and get involved in the professional development activities conducted by them. However, their workload, time limitations and administrators’ reluctances discouraged them. For example:
I love to attend the trainings and conferences with other colleagues but we don’t have sufficient time because we have six/seven classes per day. Also, we need to check their homework and prepare the lesson. How can we manage the time for other activities? (Junu)
I know about the professional network, professional organization and their activities. When I joined the KU, I learned many things about NELTA, IATEFL and other organizations. But our problem is that we are not able to apply the knowledge and skills to our classes. Our schools should encourage us to participate in these professional organizations. (Rita)
I don’t like to join teachers’ organizations that unite and utilize us. Some organizations are good like NELTA, British Council. They train the teachers. But our problem is that we need to spend money and time. Who allows us to do all these since we are bound to our school? (Gopilal)
The evidence indicates that teachers at the local level, particularly those who are involved in the private schools have challenges to freely join and participate in professional development activities. They have become members but could not actively participate in the conferences. They seem overloaded with heavy day-to-day tasks. They need to teach, plan, and assess. Their expression shows that even the institutions they are involved in feel uncomfortable sending them to many programs. This shows that teachers’ engagement and their continued professional development with professional organizations is difficult for many teachers. Their expressions also indicate that teachers’ professional organizations need to tailor their activities to fit the teachers’ classroom context. As the present world is changing so quickly with the development of technology, teachers should take an initiative themselves for their professional development. Teaching professional development is a personal journey in which the teacher involves actively himself or herself to update his/her professional knowledge (Bicaj & Treska, 2014). Although teachers have some challenges for joining organizations, they can engage in other alternative professional development activities such as self-study, research, publication and action research (Puri, 2017).
Conclusion
Teachers’ organizations are contributing to the teachers’ professional growth in various ways such as by conducting trainings, workshops and conferences at local, regional, national and international levels. This paper reports on the teachers’ experiences and perceptions of getting involved with these professional organizations at the grassroot levels. Although teachers disliked joining politically affiliated teachers’ organizations, they joined teachers’ professional organizations such as NELTA and Techno-friendly Teachers’ Society and were involved in the activities they conducted on various occasions. Teachers’ expressions during the semi-structured interviews indicated that they perceived teachers’ professional organizations positively for continuous learning, sharing and networking. Moreover, they are well aware of the opportunities created by the organizations. However, their time management, institutional workload and school administration’s unwillingness to encourage them for professional development have been identified as challenges. This demonstrates that teachers’ motivations to sacrifice their personal time for grooming themselves professionally seem to be lacking. For more teachers’ engagement with professional organizations, it is necessary to align the activities conducted by organizations for the novice teachers’ needs and context. In doing so, the organizations can contribute to the classroom pedagogy and teachers’ personal and professional lives. This paper might be insightful to prospective teachers who are aspiring to enter the teaching career and also join the organizations.
References
Bayrakc, M. (2009). In-service teacher training in Japan and Turkey: A comparative analysis of institutions and practices. Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 34(1), 10-22. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ922744.pdf
Bicaj, A., & Treska, T. (2014). The effect of teacher professional development in raising the quality of teaching (pilot research). Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 3(6), 369. 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n6p369
Gnawali, L. (2013). English language teacher development through professional associations: The NELTA way [An Unpublished PhD Dissertation], Kathmandu University.
Gnawali, L. (2010). Teacher development: What is it and who is responsible? Bodhi: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(1) 10.3126/bodhi.v2i1.2874
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). TESOL methods: Changing tracks, challenging trends. TESOL quarterly, 40(1), 59-81 https://doi.org/10.2307/40264511
Khadka, B. B., & Bhattarai, P. C. (2021). Integrity triad as doubled edged sword for head-teachers’ integrity: a case from Nepal. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 17(1), 1-13. DOI:10.1007/s40979-021-00092-8
Kulshrestha, A. K., & Pandey, K. (2013). Teachers training and professional competencies. Voice of Research, 1(4), 29-33. Mar-2013_6.pdf (voiceofresearch.org)
Puri, G. (2017, October 2). Alternative Activities for Teachers’ Sustainable Professional Development. NELTA ELT Forum, Alternative Activities for Teachers’ Sustainable Professional Development | NELTA ELT Forum (wordpress.com)
Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001). From preparation to practice: Designing a continuum to strengthen and sustain teaching. Teachers College Record, 103(6), 1013-1055. https://doi.org/10.1111/0161-4681.00141
King, M. B., & Newmann, F. M. (2000). Will teacher learning advance school goals? Phi Delta Kappan, 81(8), 576-580.
Sancar, R., Atal, D., & Deryakulu, D. (2021). A new framework for teachers’ professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 101, 103305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103305
Upitis, R. (2005, August 26). Experiences of artists and artist-teachers involved in teacher professional development programs. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 6(8).
About the Author
Ms. Kalpana Dahal is an English language teacher at Vishwa Adarsha Academy, Itahari, Sunsari. She has been teaching English and social studies for the last five years. Furthermore, she is Master’s Degree student at Janta Multiple Campus, Itahari. Her research interest is in language teacher education, leadership development and educational counselling. She is also a life member of NELTA. She can be contacted at kalpanadahal781@gmail.com.
NELTA ELT Forum
NELTA ELT Forum 