Teacher Professional Development Strategies and Performance of Teachers in Public Secondary Schools in Jinja Southern Division, Uganda

The study examined the relationship between teacher professional development strategies and their performance in public secondary schools in Jinja Southern Division, Uganda. The study was steered by three specific objectives; i) To examine the relationship between training and teachers’ performance, ii) To examine the relationship between mentorship and teachers’ performance, and iii) To examine the relationship between self-directed learning and teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Jinja Southern Division, Uganda. The study embraced a correlational research design combined with a quantitative approach. A sample of 52 participants was used consisting of head teachers and teachers from two selected public secondary schools in Jinja Southern division. The Descriptive and correlation analysis were utilized to give answers to the study phenomenon. The results indicated a statistically strong positive and significant relationship between training and performance of teachers. Results also indicated that, there is a statistically strong positive and significant relationship between mentorship and performance of teachers. Results further indicated a statistically strong positive and significant relationship between self-directed learning and performance of teachers in public secondary schools in Jinja Southern Division, Uganda. Therefore, the study concludes that teacher professional development strategies such as training, mentorship, and self-directed learning have a positive and substantial relationship with performance of teachers in that an enhancement in the different teacher professional development strategies resultantly leads to an enhancement in performance of teachers in public secondary schools in Jinja Southern Division, Uganda. The study recommends that schools should offer specialized training to teachers in new teaching methods, classroom management, and subject-specific expertise and also encourage teachers to participate in regular training workshops, seminars, and certification programs which would influence an improvement in the performance of teachers in public secondary schools in Jinja Southern Division, Uganda.