IAFOR Journal of Education

Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019

In-Service Teacher Training and Professional Development of Primary School Teachersin Uganda
Jackson Nzarirwehi
Kampala International University, Uganda
Faith Atuhumuze
Makerere University, Uganda

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Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019

Abstract
In 1994, Uganda’s Ministry of Education and Sports introduced Teacher Development
Management Systems, with the sole aim of supporting and enhancing professional
development of teachers through in-service teacher training. Though the training has
increasingly motivated teachers into upgrading their academic qualifications, research has notestablished the effect of the training on professional development of teachers and loopholes,
assumptions and misconceptions still persist two decades after the inception of the Teacher
Management Systems. Using primary data collected in 2016 from the southwestern Uganda
districts of Bushenyi, Rukungiri and Sheema, this study attempts to examine this issue. Key
informant interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data from a sample of 610
primary teachers and education stakeholders selected for the study. Findings show that inservice teacher training has a significant effect on teachers, particularly on their academic
qualifications, performance, and professionalism. However, these benefits can only berealized when the training is properly planned, implemented and continually evaluated, and in
the presence of certain resources and incentives. To this end, the study recommends a reviewof teacher training approaches and a revamp of school environments to facilitate the teachinglearning process.
Keywords: teacher, in-service teacher training, Uganda, professional development, education

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Introduction
In-service teacher training is globally practiced with the belief that it fosters professional
development of teachers. Specifically, the training has been adopted to promote continuous
improvement of teaching staff, eliminate differences within the background preparation ofteachers, keep the teaching profession abreast of new knowledge, enable realization ofcreative innovations, and facilitate teachers to tackle responsibilities associated with thechanging learning environment (Osamwonyi, 2016; Sheth, 2004). According to Bramley(1991), in-service training is the systematic development of attitudes, knowledge, skills, andbehavior patterns required by teachers to perform adequately at their given task or job.
In Uganda, education sector reforms such as in-service teacher training were reignited in
1987 to revive the education system, which had collapsed due to political turmoil. The
Education Policy Review Commission (EPRC) was appointed to assess the education sector
and give recommendations towards policy restoration and improvement. Key indicators ofquality of education in Uganda such as cohort survival rates, pupil/teacher ratios and teacher
attrition had worsened to an extent where the existent education system could not fulfill
anticipated objectives (Eilor, 2003). The acknowledgement of a failed system instigated theinception of Teacher Development Management Systems (TDMS) in 1994 to reinforce theteaching workforce. TDMS was implemented with a single main objective of improving
quality and equity in provision of primary education through improved school management
and quality of instruction (teaching). Through implementation of a number of in-service
strategies and activities, TDMS sought to equip head teachers and teachers with the necessary
skills, with an ultimate goal of fostering effectiveness (Ministry of Education and Sports,2010). This work presents an analysis of the effect of in-service teacher training on
professional development, including attitudes, practices and professional grounding ofprimary teachers in Uganda.
Literature Review
Emphasis is placed on the role of education and teacher training agency towards national,social and economic development. This calls for continuous development and improvementof professional competence of education stakeholders. In-service teacher training is pursued
with the primary goal of ensuring continued improvement in the capacity of academic
institutions and the entire education system (European Union, 2013). In-service teacher
training is thus defined as a central component of professional development of teachers thathas been adopted by policy makers and education departments to orient teachers and equipthem with skills aimed at enhancing the quality of education. On the other hand, professional
development is a recurring process instigated by changes in knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes
among teachers and other education service sector workers towards improving learning
outcomes (Cooper, 2004; Sparks & Richardson, 1998).
Rapid technology advancements in the contemporary world imply that teachers’ stock ofknowledge and pedagogical skills becomes obsolete in a short time. This calls for constantupgrading to keep up with modern trends and knowledge (Wesch, 2009). Yet, newexperiences demand new and specifically tailored approaches with regard to teaching
methods, which justifies the need for teachers to be exposed to in-service training programsfrom time to time. This depicts in-service teacher training as a continuous, never ending
process focused on acquiring and maintaining knowledge. Simply put, the training

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continually equips teachers with new pedagogical skills towards a country’s bid to shift theeducation system towards an outcome-based one (Okiror, Hayward, & Winterbottom, 2017).
Traditional professional development approaches fail to foster changes necessary forinclusive learning (Nishimura, 2014), which calls for in-service techniques that prepareteachers to adopt varied teaching methods, use improved technology and integrate newknowledge, and experiences into classroom practices (Sabri, 1997). Evidence suggests thatthese enable in-service teachers to teach in inclusive classrooms with relative ease (Sokal &Sharma, 2014). Some of these acclaimed techniques include observation by facilitators,
teacher collaboration and co-teaching, and participatory action research (Morales, 2016;
Villa, Thousand, & Nevin, 2013). Online techniques have also been pursued (Cavanagh,2013), but the level of success depends on whether the teachers are familiar with technology,
self-motivated, and disciplined (P. Vu, Cao, L. Vu, & Cepero, 2014). In alternative evidence,
the introduction of technological advancement does not necessarily guarantee application inteaching practice (Sabzian & Gilakjani, 2013). Nevertheless, all arguments for in-service
teacher training and technological and knowledge advancement fall to a few problematic
assumptions. First, by ignoring the final consumer of knowledge, the learner, these studies
assume that learners will automatically adjust to the ever-changing techniques and easily
absorb new knowledge offered by trained teachers. Second, they seem to suggest teachers’
learning processes as linear paths towards an ever-shifting optimum knowledge. Third,
without a definitive measure of knowledge attributable to technology advancements,
evaluation of the training becomes a gamble of assumptions.
In practice, in-service teacher training is recognized as an essential part of the overall processof teacher education, which can be achieved through attending events such as lectures, films,
exhibitions, conferences, seminars, and workshops in which practical solutions to current
difficulties are introduced and materials required for implementing these solutions produced(Alkuş & Olgan, 2014; Osamwonyi, 2016). These events also provide platforms throughwhich teachers are introduced to new developments and teaching materials to help them intheir work, such as new curricular, new methods and innovations, and specific equipment.
But the question remains of how these programs are implemented with regard to method andapproach and if there is a methodology in place to facilitate the transfer of acquired
knowledge from teacher to learner. In a study of in-service teacher training in Nigeria, Amadi(2013) notes that although in-service training has been embraced to counter the inadequacies
of pre-service training, it still fails to adequately prepare teachers for the continued changes
in teaching techniques and materials. The study attributes continued poor performance ofschools to teacher training programs, which are conducted using approaches that are notpractical and as a result coerce teachers into “just listening” but not putting into practice thenovel teaching methods learned. In-service teacher training in most developing countries,
Uganda included, fall victim to such shortcomings whereby teachers are not equipped withtransferable and hands-on pedagogical skills. The developing world “train the teacher, train
the nation” mentality has culminated in negligence and rigid governments who have washedtheir hands of all responsibility, beyond the teacher, to facilitate the teaching-learning
process. Yet, scholarship on in-service teacher training has found that effectiveness of the
training can only be achieved with proper planning and implementation (Zaslow, 2014). This
involves among others: pre-training analysis; trainer introduction; orientation of trainees on
expectations and benefits of the program; laying emphasis on the need to master content
knowledge and garner authentic experiences; and creating and maintaining a stable feedback
process between training and application of experiences through reflection and evaluation(Dunst, Bruder, & Hamby, 2015; Ficarra & Quinn, 2014).

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Generally, in-service teacher training should motivate teacher professionalism in selfevaluation of strengths and weaknesses, and knowledge and pedagogical skills. In-service
teacher training is therefore a capacity building task that stimulates organizational growth anddevelopment (Omar, 2014). The training engenders change in human behavior, attitudes,
knowledge, skills, and capabilities focused on cultivating professional etiquette required byteachers to perform adequately at given tasks (Guskey, 2014; Kabadayi, 2016). Some studies
have, however, found little effect of in-service teacher training on benefits such as content
knowledge and skills, and observed a lack of systematic evaluation processes (B. Boyle,
While, & T. Boyle, 2004; Lehiste, 2015; Newton, 2013). All these studies point to a difficulty
in measuring the impact of in-service teacher training on professional development in definite
terms, which poses a challenge for evaluation. To counter this, qualitative approaches havebeen pursued where, for instance, a change in knowledge may be characterized by having afirm grasp on job requirements and increased ability to make the right decisions in selecting
the most appropriate procedure in accomplishing given tasks while a change in skills
encompasses ability to communicate, and increased capacity to perform simple proceduresand physically grounded actions. However, we note that studies do not agree on definitions of
the different factors of professional development. For instance, while Kabadayi (2016)
defines it to include teacher roles, and professional and practical knowledge, Dunst et al.
(2015) include both teacher and learner experiences. From these studies, we observe
contradictions not just on definition but also categorization of variables. For instance,
knowledge has been categorized along pedagogical, practical, and content knowledge among
others for some studies while others just leave it general. These challenges leave a lot ofroom for ambiguity and assumption and facilitate a broad and unstable spectrum along which
professional development must be measured.
Another challenge for in-service teacher training is that the role of trainers is not clearly
defined which implies that training requirements are not properly addressed (Council of theEuropean Union, 2009; O’Dwyer & Atlı, 2015). For in-service training to be effective,“backward planning” must be emphasized to ensure that in-service training exactly matches
teacher and learner needs and addresses the intended objectives (Bayar, 2014; Guskey, 2014).
To truly appreciate the impact of in-service training on professional development, learners
must be brought to center stage of evaluation processes (Earley & Porritt, 2014). The
intention of in-service teacher training has always been to enhance professional and personal
development of teachers to provide its benefits to the students they teach, their classes andschools where they serve (Mahmood, 1999). The ultimate goal here is to improve theteaching-learning process and establish systems that absorb various changes that concern
education. According to Zaman (2004), teacher development is fundamental to the quality ofthe education system and as such demands urgent, careful and continued attention to improveand maintain the quality. The consequent staff development boosts instruction capacity andteacher competence by increasing their command of their academic subject (Borg, 2018;
Glickman, 1990; Ololube, 2005). Teacher competence encompasses not just teacher
knowledge and skills but also their motivation, attitudes, and social behavior (Zlatić, Bjekić,
Marinković, & Bojović, 2014). This variable thus also falls victim to the same problem of
immeasurability. To appreciate the impact of in-service training, different studies have had todevise different metrics to measure variables. Yet, these variables rarely conform to suchlinear binaries.
In more quantifiable terms, in-service teacher training programs significantly advanceteachers careers and aid unqualified teachers in their upgrading to qualified teacher status(Hersey & Blanchard, 1988; Junaid & Maka, 2015; Morrison, 1993; National Staff

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Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019

Development Council, 2007). Upgrading teachers’ education enables them to rectify thefaults, superficiality, duplication, and irrelevance of life in schools in relation to real society(Mbiti, 1990). According to his findings, training programs must engage in the search for theunderlying factors associated with complex issues in present society to enable developmentof a realistic system. Some of these factors may take the form of curriculum, school
infrastructure, scholastic materials and funding among others. We hypothesize that if thesefactors were unified across academic institutions, it would enable transferability of teacher
skills as well as development of an inclusive in-service teacher training program acrosstraining institutions. Yet, that is not always the case due to resource constraints and varied
accessibility options available to different institutions and schools.
Generally, in-service teacher training gives teachers adequate groundwork on the needs oflearners and provides them with a well-integrated general education, professional training andacademic orientation (Kabadayi, 2016; Ololube, 2005). At its core, it aids teachers in
obtaining a good grasp of the curriculum (Viirpalu & Mikser, 2014). In their study on
performance of science teachers in secondary schools, Shakoor, Ghumman, and Mahmood(2013) found that by raising awareness of curricular changes to teachers, in-service teacher
training led to better planning of content and delivery and improved the effectiveness of
implementation of curricula. By increasing confidence and motivation of teachers, in-service
teacher training improves their career prospects as well as their professional identity (JuYoun, 2011). This concurs with findings by Yadav and Bhardwaj (2013) that confidence
instilled by in-service teacher training program facilitates planning and preparation towards
effective teaching. These skills lead to the building of a human resource pool that is dedicatedand committed to teaching and positively influencing the overall delivery in the education
system.
Data and Methods
In this analysis, we use primary data collected from a sample of 610 primary school teachers
in the districts of Bushenyi, Rukungiri and Sheema. The study met the moral and ethicalstandards of research by observing maximum confidentiality of the respondents’ identities.
Anonymity was maintained by coding the questionnaires instead of putting individuals’
names. Subject participation in the study was voluntary and verbal consent was sought fromparticipants prior to involvement in the study. Participants were informed about what it meant
to be involved in the study, what was expected of them, the objectives of the study and theirright to decline participation.
The study applied a descriptive research design to obtain the required data. Questionnaires
and key informant interviews were used in data collection. The research instruments werepilot tested to ensure their validity. Triangulation of the two methods with secondary sources
also addressed validity concerns by enabling double-checking and countering inconsistencies
in the tools.
Data analysis was done in three parts. First, a descriptive analysis was done to compare thecharacteristics of teachers across selected demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds
including district, sex, qualification, number of years in service and age. Second, predictorsof in-service teacher training were established using the binary logistic regression. Third,
teachers’ perception of the effect of in-service teacher training on professional development
were investigated using a Likert scale of 11 criteria namely:24

IAFOR Journal of Education

Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

It enables teachers to acquire new skills and knowledge
It enables teachers to provide quality education to learners
It enables teachers to upgrade their academic qualification
It enables teachers to acquire promotion
It enables teachers to play a key role in the proper implementation of various
education policies and programs
6. It broadens and deepens teachers’ own knowledge, increases on their competence,
reliability, and responsibility
7. In-service trained teachers become more professional by mastering the content
8. In-service trained teachers become more professional by getting motivated on the job
9. In-service trained teachers have a good command of their academic subjects and ably
meet the needs of learners
10. Teachers who have had in-service teacher training are good performers in school
11. In-service trained head teachers are better administrators than those taught throughother programs‘1’ represents the lowest rank (strongly disagree) and ‘4’ the highest rank (strongly agree).
First, the Cronbach’s alpha test was used to measure reliability and internal consistency of thescale. Results show an alpha of 0.773, which indicated that the scale had a good reliability
and consistently measured the effect of in-service teacher training on professional
development. The test further showed that removal of any variable reduces the Cronbach’s
alpha, which was an indicator that there was no redundancy and the variables were welldefined. The median was then used to infer on each of the criteria. Further, the MannWhitney U test was used to understand whether the status of in-service teacher training of
respondent had any significant effect on ranking of the different criteria at 5% level ofsignificance. The Mann-Whitney U test was selected as the most appropriate test given thatthe data was ordinal and did not assume a normal distribution.
In conducting the study, the researchers encountered certain limitations including: lack of cooperation from some respondents who refused to answer the questions, some respondents
asked to be paid to participate so their perceptions are missing here, and difficulty inrecruiting experienced research assistants which increased the training and supervision costs.
Results and Discussion
Table 1 presents the distribution of respondents by background characteristics. Bushenyi
district had the highest number of respondents with 36.1% while Sheema district had the least
with 30.2%. Males constituted the largest proportion of respondents with 68.4% whilefemales constituted only 31.6%. The results also show that majority of the respondents were
Diploma holders (72.3%) followed by 16.4% Grade III holders and 11% graduates leaving
only 0.3% with postgraduate qualifications. Results further show that majority of the
respondents (84.4%) had ever attended in-service training leaving only 15.6% who had not.
Finally, most of the respondents (27.5%) had 11-15 years of service followed by 21.8% with
16-20 years of service and only 12.5% with 1–5 years.
Table 1: Distribution of background characteristics of respondents
Characteristic

Frequency (n)Percent (%)

220

36.1

District
Bushenyi

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Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019

Characteristic

Frequency (n)Percent (%)

Rukungiri
Sheema

184
206

30.2
33.8

Male
FemaleQualification
Grade III
DiplomaBachelor
PhD
In-service teacher training
Yes
No
Number of years in service
1-5 yrs.
6-10 yrs.
11-15 yrs
16-20 yrs.
20+ yrs.
Total

417
193

68.4
31.6

100
441
67
2

16.4
72.3
11.0
0.3

515
95

84.4
15.6

76
112
168
133
121
610

12.5
18.4
27.5
21.8
19.8
100.0

Sex

Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics for selected indicator variables. The findings showthat there are significant differences in status of in-service training by number of years ofservice. The category of persons with 16-20 years of service had the largest proportion ofteachers with in-service training (93.98%) followed by those with 20+ years of service with85.95%. With regard to the category of qualification, diploma holders had the highest
proportion of teachers with in-service training (87.53%) while postgraduate holders had none.
The relationship between in-service teacher training and district was also examined, but there
was no significant difference at 5% though the relationship was significant at 10%. The effectof sex on in-service teacher training was also found not to be significant.
Table 2: Descriptive statistics for selected indicator variables (N=2,364)
Variable/category
District
Bushenyi
Rukungiri
SheemaSex
Male
FemaleYears of Service
1-5yrs6-10yrs
11-15yrs
16-20yrs
20+yrs
Qualification
Grade III
DiplomaBachelors
Postgraduate

In-service teacher training status of teacher (%)
Yes
No
χ2
p-value
81.82
82.07
89.32

18.18
17.93
10.68

5.671

0.059

85.37
82.38

14.63
17.62

0.896

0.344

73.68
82.14
82.14
93.98
85.95

26.32
17.86
17.86
6.02
14.05

17.236

0.002

74.00
87.53
82.09
0.00

26.00
12.47
17.91
100.0022.616

0.000

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Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019

Table 3 shows the odds of a teacher having in-service training as opposed to not having thetraining. The findings show that the odds of a teacher with a diploma or a bachelors or post
graduate degree having in-service teacher training were significantly higher than those of a
Grade III teacher with respective p-values less than 0.05. Findings also show that teacherswith 6-10 years of service were significantly less likely to have in-service teacher training
than teachers with 1-5 years of service (OR=0.247, p<0.05). The other categories showed nosignificant difference from teachers in the 1-5yrs category. Results further show that a unit
increase in age is associated with a 4.6% reduction in the odds of a teacher having in-service
teacher training (p<0.05) meaning that younger people had a higher likelihood of having inservice training. Finally, results show that teachers in Rukungiri were significantly less likely
to have in-service teacher training than teachers in Bushenyi with (OR=0.528, p<0.05).
Table 3: Binary logistic regression predicting the odds of a teacher’s in-service training
outcomes (base category=no in-service training)
Variable

OR

S.E.

p-value

1.000
1.465

0.260

0.142

1.000
32.72775.55550.039
0.954

1.114
1.126
1.132
0.024

0.002
0.000
0.001
0.046

1.000
0.247
0.504
0.559
2.041

0.538
0.475
0.385
0.462

0.009
0.150
0.131
0.123

1.000
0.528
0.610

0.295
0.312

0.030
0.114

Sex
Male†
FemaleQualification
Grade III†
DiplomaBachelors
Post Graduate
Age
Years of Service
1-5yrs†6-10yrs
11-15yrs
16-20yrs
20+yrsDistrict
Bushenyi†
Rukungiri
SheemaOR= Odds Ratio; S.E. = standard error; †= Reference Category
Perception of the Effect of In-Service Teacher Training on Professional Development
The results in Table 4 show that upgrading teachers’ academic qualifications was the mostconsidered criterion of effect of in-service teacher training with 70.89% of respondents
expressing strong agreement that in-service teacher training enables teachers to upgrade theiracademic qualifications, followed by enabling teachers to acquire promotion (69.64%),
enabling teachers acquire new skills and knowledge (63.17%), and broadening and deepening
teachers’ knowledge which increases their competence, reliability, and responsibility(46.50%). The other criteria, though considered strongly agreeable by less than 50% of
respondents, were still considered agreeable with respective medians of 3. Specifically,
results show that 56.57% of respondents expressed agreement that in-service teacher training
enables teachers to become more professional by motivating them on the job followed by, indescending order: enabling teachers to have a good command of their academic subjects andably meet the needs of learners (56.35%), enabling teachers to provide quality education tolearners (55.37%), enabling teachers to become professional by mastering the content(53.13%), enabling teachers to play a key role in the proper implementation of various

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IAFOR Journal of Education

Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019education policies and programs (51.99%), improving the performance of teachers (49.5%)
and enabling head teachers to become better administrators with 41.78%.
The finding that in-service teacher training had its largest influence on upgrading teachers’
academic qualifications concurs with Mbiti (1990) who underlined the role played by inservice teacher training in upgrading teachers’ education which in turn enables teachers
rectify the faults, superficiality, duplication and irrelevance of classroom settings in relation
to real life society. Further, findings show that in-service teacher training enables teachers to
pursue promotion opportunities in support to Morrison’s (1993) findings that teachers train to
upgrade and qualify for higher positions. The findings that in-service teacher training
motivates teachers on their job, and instigates a change in teachers’ behavior, attitudes, andcapabilities all focused on cultivating professional etiquette required to perform adequately
resonate with conclusions arrived at by Hersey and Blanchard (1988), Ololube (2005) andJunaid and Maka (2015).
Table 4: Perception of effect of in-service teacher training on professional development
Effect of in-service training on
professional development ofteachers
It enables teachers acquire newskills and knowledge
ii. It enables teachers provide quality
education to learners
iii. It enables teachers upgrade theiracademic qualification
iv. It enables teachers to acquire
promotionv. It enables teachers to play a key rolein the proper implementation ofvarious education policies andprograms
vi. It broadens and deepens teachers’
own knowledge, increases on theircompetence, reliability andresponsibilityvii. In-service trained teachers become
more professional by mastering thecontent
viii. In-service trained teachers become
more professional by getting
motivated on the job
ix. In-service trained teachers have agood command of their academic
subjects and ably meet the needs oflearners
x. Teachers who have had in-service
teacher training are good performers
in school
xi. In-service trained head teachers are
better administrators than thosetaught through other programs

Strongly
disagreeDisagree

Agree

Strongly
agreeMedian

0.67

2.00

34.17

63.17

4

2.68

6.54

55.37

35.40

3

0.66

3.29

25.16

70.89

4

0.99

4.95

24.42

69.64

4

1.49

9.93

51.99

36.59

3

1.83

6.67

45.00

46.50

3

5.26

13.32

53.13

28.29

3

7.48

20.44

56.57

15.51

3

1.84

13.04

56.35

28.76

3

6.11

21.12

49.50

23.27

3

7.72

23.83

41.78

26.68

3

i.

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Findings from the interviews show that in-service trained teachers are better teachers as far asprovision of education is concerned. A head teacher was quick to note that they are better andmore sociable (Field Interview No. 2) while another said that in-service trained teachers areserious at their work, especially if they are in positions of responsibility (Field Interview No.
3). “Those who are serious at work provide quality education and are good administrators,”
observed one district education officer (Field Interview No. 9). Another education officer
noted that when in-service trained teachers are promoted in administrative positions, they are
motivated to even improve their teaching abilities and to provide a good example for otherteachers as well as learners (Field Interview No. 7). This in turn increases their level ofprofessionalism (Field Interview No. 5). Professionalism is also measured in terms of
qualification for promotion. One inspector of schools asserted that in-service teacher training
provides opportunity for teachers to further their education, which is key in acquiringpromotion (Field Interview No. 6). Another school leader noted that in fact, the ability of ateacher to use different teaching techniques gives them a competitive edge when applying for
promotion (Field Interview No. 2). An education officer confirmed this saying that “whenlooking for teachers to hold positions of responsibility, those with better qualifications takefirst priority” (Field Interview No. 9).
With regard to teaching technique, one inspector of schools observed that in-service trainedteachers teach better because they teach their subjects of specialization (Field Interview No.
6). Since teachers individually select these subjects during the in-service teacher training, itshows that they take joy in both learning and teaching them, which facilitates a better
teaching-learning environment (Field Interview No. 8). One school head, however, asserted
that in-service trained teachers only become better teachers if they strictly apply the gained
knowledge and skills (Field Interview No. 1). With regard to learners’ experiences, a headteacher observed that in his school, pupils had better relationships with in-service trainedteachers and were more sociable during their classes (Field Interview No. 10). “They (inservice trained teachers) encourage pupils to build teams and you find that their pupils easily
make groups to enable their academic work,” said another head teacher of the pupils inclasses taught by in-service trained teachers (Field Interview No. 12).
A head teacher in Sheema and another in Bushenyi noted that in-service trained teachers who
are talented at co-curricular activities are always eager to assist pupils in various games (Field
Interview No. 11 and Field Interview No. 13). In-service trained teachers also give theirpupils free time to socialize and make groups that help them play different games dependingon the likes of the group (Field Interview No. 18). Some head teachers in Sheema andRukungiri reported that in-service trained teachers not only help with games but also withother skills such as music and scouting (Field Interview No. 16), handiwork like making
carpets, baskets, and table cloths (Field Interview No. 2) and other outside class activities likegardening and compound cleaning (Field Interview No. 17).
Though the effect of in-service teacher training on professional development is colored withapproval, our study also found, through key informant interviews, that not all in-service
trained teachers provide good education and their professional development is suspect as
discussed in the subsequent section.
Most head teachers expressed disappointment in the professional discipline of in-service
trained teachers noting their inability to yield to leadership. One head teacher noted that whenteachers upgrade to the same level of qualification, they become undisciplined (Field
Interview No. 1). This train of thought was further supported by two officials in Rukungiri

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who both observed lack of discipline cases among in-service trained teachers, mostly in cases
where the teachers became more or equally as qualified as their head teachers (Field
Interview No. 5 and Field Interview No. 8). Some such cases, as observed by one headteacher, involve in-service trained teachers refusing to teach infant classes which they
initially taught before the training (Field Interview No. 2). This was attributed to theintroduction of thematic curriculum, which emphasizes teaching infants in vernacular.
“However, in-service trained teachers often show resentment towards this method with apreference to use the English language in teaching,” he added. Another head teacher
contributed to the arguments saying that in some instances, an unhealthy competition and inothers disrespect for authority have been instigated between teachers and their supervisors(Field Interview No. 6).
Another school head teacher observed that most teachers would, after the training, demand
immediate promotion (Field Interview No. 4) and salary increment and when not granted,
they “simply become stubborn and indisciplined” (Field Interview No. 3). An official in one
education department said that after getting better qualifications, teachers feel that theyshould be promoted on the job even when vacant positions are not available at the moment(Field Interview No. 7). One head teacher expressed similar sentiments saying that in-service
trained teachers develop a superiority complex and often overlook other teachers especiallythose without training (Field Interview No. 2). This resentment was often aggravated whentrained and untrained teachers still earn the same salary. A district official expressed that after
in-service teacher training, most teachers start a pursuit of transition from classroom work toschool administration (Field Interview No. 18). Accordingly, this stifles the fulfillment ofprofessional ethics such as preparation of schemes of work and lesson plans, which renders
in-service trained teachers inefficient. Another officer in Bushenyi seemed to agree sayingthat in-service trained teachers, after graduation, tend to abandon actual teaching inpreference for administrative positions (Field Interview No. 16).
Some key informants expressed disappointment in the education system stating that it seems
in-service teacher training is not a priority for the education ministry and teachers have totake individual initiatives to pursue the course. One official pointed out that teachers were notgiven time off to participate in the training and often found themselves in a fix whereby they
had to teach and study all at the same time (Field Interview No. 14). He explained that thetwo programs were done concurrently which left teachers no time to complete the syllabus.
One head teacher added that in-service trained teachers at times used classroom time to attend
to their studies, hold discussions, answer assignments and so on, leaving them little time tostick to actual teaching (Field Interview No. 15). Another head teacher pointed out that when
he was attending the training some years prior to the study, he always found himself stuckwith duties to perform such as preparing schemes of work, eight lesson plans per day andgeneral school administration in addition to the training (Field Interview No. 10). According
to him, the pressure to perform both responsibilities was overpowering, he always foundhimself underperforming at one of them.
Some respondents questioned the ministry of education on the way in-service training isorganized. One official noted that teachers are, during the training, exposed to many
innovations. However, when they go back to their schools, they do not practice what they
have been taught because it does not blend into the stipulated school syllabus. This interface
in the application of acquired knowledge stifles the morale of trained teachers who cannot
realize the impact of their training (Field Interview No. 17). A head teacher in the same
district contributed to the discussion saying that the ministry imposes many changes in the30

IAFOR Journal of Education

Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019syllabus which teachers must implement yet they are not sensitized on proper application
procedures (Field Interview No. 11). Another official in the education department added thatin-service teacher training is designed on a syllabus that is not consistent with the one
available in schools, yet nothing has been done to enhance coherence (Field Interview No.
13). Further, schools are not equipped with sufficient resources in the form of scholastic
materials, incentives and a favorable learning environment to accommodate in-service
graduates’ skills.
These sentiments all point to a weakness within Uganda’s education system in failing toharmonize its policies to benefit both teachers and learners. As such, the majority of teachers
have pursued in-service teacher training not to improve their teaching abilities and learners’
attainment of education but rather for promotion purposes and to qualify for salary increment.
Inferential Analysis
The Mann-Whitney U test was used to discover the impact of respondent’s status of inservice training on their perception of effect of in-service teacher training on professional
development. We tested the null that in-service teacher training status of respondent had no
significant effect on ranking of criteria for effect of in-service teacher training on professional
development.
Table 4: Perception of effect of in-service teacher training on professional development by
respondent’s status of training

Mann-Whitney U
Wilcoxon WZ
p-value

In-service teacher training
enables teachers acquire newskills and knowledge
20501
24687
-2.0740.038

In-service teacher training
enables teachers upgrade
their academic qualification
21231
25791
-2.517
0.012

Findings show that teachers without in-service teacher training ranked “In-service teacher
training enables teachers to acquire new skills and knowledge” and “In-service teacher
training enables teachers to upgrade their academic qualification” less favorably than inservice trained teachers with p-values less than 0.05. Other criteria did not show significant
difference.
Conclusion
The relevance of in-service teacher training on professional development of teachers cannot
be overemphasized. Our study shows that in-service teacher training has its largest influence
on upgrading teachers’ academic qualifications and improving their attitude towards their job.
In-service teacher training also plays a big role in equipping, broadening and deepening
teachers’ knowledge and skills, which in turn fosters an increase in teachers’ competence,
reliability, and responsibility. Further, the training equips head teachers and teachers alikewith the administrative skills necessary to enable proper implementation of various education
policies and programs. Generally, in-service trained teachers are more professionallygrounded than untrained teachers thus in-service teacher training aids the building of a31

IAFOR Journal of Education

Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019qualified teaching workforce, whose effect on the teaching-learning environment instigates areform in the education system.
Whereas in-service teacher training has been hailed for stimulating professional development,
our study finds that not all in-service trained teachers provide good education. This is due toresource constraints such as insufficient instructional materials and teachers’ accommodationand personal behavior challenges such as stubbornness, disobedience to leadership andalcoholism among others. Beyond in-service training, a teacher’s performance is a reflection,
to a larger extent, of the context within which he or she is working. To this end, the study
recommends that learning environments within education institutions be made more
conducive for the teaching-learning process.
Our findings further provide evidence that in-service teacher training has actually not realized
its core objective on the ultimate beneficiary, the learner and has rather been pursued only asa means towards promotion and consequent salary increment. With this in mind, werecommend proper sensitization of teachers on the importance of the training and its effect onlearners’ attainment of education. The training approach must also be reviewed and revised toinclude a pre-training needs analysis, and training and post-training evaluation to assess theimpact of the training in teaching-learning processes.

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Corresponding author: Faith Atuhumuze
Contact email: atuhumuzefaith@gmail.com

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