Exploring Teachers’ Perspectives of Professional Development Opportunities During the Implementation of History 2166 Syllabus Reforms in Zimbabwe

Teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) has been a perpetual priority for education systems throughout the world. It is considered an effective way for teachers to improve their instructional practices, especially during syllabus changes. It appears that many CPD programmes have yet to be implemented and understood from the teachers’ perspectives. This study seeks to turn research back to the beneficiaries of professional development –the teachers. It explores teachers’ perspectives of CPD in the context of preparing them to deal with a syllabus reform in the teaching and learning of history at a secondary school in Zimbabwe. The thrust is on the professional development opportunities that were extended to them during the implementation of the History 2166 Syllabus reforms. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with five purposively sampled history teachers from five different schools in the Glen View/Mufakose district in Harare province. This study appreciates that teachers are the chalkface implementers of syllabus reforms in any given context of change and that their views matter. The key finding was that the absence of CPD initiatives during this syllabus reform proved disastrous, and ultimately produced a teacher-proof syllabus that deskilled and disempowered history teachers, which led to tissue rejection and its ultimate failure to address key expectations. This study recommends recognising teachers’ perspectives of their professional development since they are at the chalkface and are directly influenced by the initiatives. Staff development initiatives should be prioritised before and/or during any syllabus changes to acquaint teachers with the requirements of the new syllabus.