Authors : Lansana Turay; Lamin Sesay; Alusine Koroma

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 9 - September

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/5n7d8f5z

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26sep433

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : Teacher professional development (TPD) is central to improving classroom practice, yet school-level evidence from rural and semi-rural Sierra Leone remains limited. This study examined the forms, frequency, perceived instructional influence and implementation constraints of TPD among Mathematics teachers in four secondary schools in Lower Koya Chiefdom, Port Loko District. A cross-sectional descriptive survey with mixed methods involved 104 participants: 20 Mathematics teachers, 80 pupils and four administrators. All teachers and administrators were included through total enumeration, while pupils were stratified by school and randomly selected from class registers. Questionnaires, administrator interviews and classroom-observation checklists generated the data.

Keywords : Teacher Professional Development; Mathematics Instruction; Secondary Education; Teacher Learning; Sierra Leone; Lower Koya Chiefdom.

References :

1. Avalos, B. (2011). Teacher professional development in Teaching and Teacher Education over ten years. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(1), 10–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.08.007.
2. Ball, D. L., & Cohen, D. K. (1999). Developing practice, developing practitioners: Toward a practice-based theory of professional education. In L. Darling-Hammond & G. Sykes (Eds.), Teaching as the learning profession: Handbook of policy and practice (pp. 3–32). Jossey-Bass.
3. Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute.
4. Desimone, L. M. (2009). Improving impact studies of teachers’ professional development: Toward better conceptualizations and measures. Educational Researcher, 38(3), 181–199. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X08331140.
5. Desimone, L. M., Porter, A. C., Garet, M. S., Yoon, K. S., & Birman, B. F. (2002). Effects of professional development on teachers’ instruction: Results from a three-year longitudinal study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24(2), 81–112. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737024002081.
6. Garet, M. S., Porter, A. C., Desimone, L., Birman, B. F., & Yoon, K. S. (2001). What makes professional development effective? Results from a national sample of teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 38(4), 915–945. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312038004915.
7. Government of Sierra Leone. (2022). Sierra Leone education sector plan 2022–2026: Transforming learning for all. Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and Ministry of Technical and Higher Education.
8. Guskey, T. R. (2002). Professional development and teacher change. Teachers and Teaching, 8(3), 381–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/135406002100000512.
9. Hill, H. C., Ball, D. L., & Schilling, S. G. (2008). Unpacking pedagogical content knowledge: Conceptualizing and measuring teachers’ topic-specific knowledge of students. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 39(4), 372–400.
10. Kennedy, M. M. (2016). How does professional development improve teaching? Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 945–980. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315626800.
11. Kraft, M. A., Blazar, D., & Hogan, D. (2018). The effect of teacher coaching on instruction and achievement: A meta-analysis of the causal evidence. Review of Educational Research, 88(4), 547–588. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318759268.
12. Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4–14. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X015002004.