Evaluating Professional Development Needs of Secondary School Teachers for Improved Learning Outcomes in Sindh: A Mixed Method Study

Abstract

Assessment and evaluation play a pivotal role in the secondary school teachers’ professional development. The Present study aims at to explore Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project (SSEIP), to assess and improve the professional competencies of secondary school teachers in Sindh specifically in five core subjects: English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics. The study used mixed methods of research design to examine teachers’ assessment, subject-specific expertise, pedagogical skills and content-based knowledge. The Likert based questionnaire was constructed, and an interview protocol were carried out from the study sample size 511 secondary school teachers in the 05 subjects: English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology Grades 9- 10 from Rural SBA and Urban Karachi. Moreover, the study tries to integrate the four main domains National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST): Use of ICT, Assessment, Instructional Planning and Strategies, and Human Growth and Development. The study results reveal that there is significant gaps in teachers' professional training, subject-matter expertise, and understanding pedagogical frameworks, especially constructivist teaching, inclusive practices, assessment literacy, and ICT integration. The study also found that the deficiencies in both male and female cohorts, according to gender-disaggregated data. The study recommended that the teachers should emphasizing on subject mastery and pedagogical innovation for recruitment standards, capacity-building modules, and policy reforms that will help to achieve SDG 4 and enhance secondary school learning outcomes. Finally, the study recommended that the same study can be conducted at the college level to develop teachers professional and pedagogical development in assessment and evaluation.