Scrutiny of Documentary Evidence of the Effectiveness of Staff Development Programmes in Zimbabwean Primary Schools: Implications for Quality Education

This qualitative case study was a scrutiny of documentary evidence of the effectiveness of staff development programmes in selected primary schools in Hwange District, Zimbabwe. Its population comprised of primary school heads and a sample of 5(n=5); obtained through Purposive sampling was utilised. Interviews complemented by document analysis were employed as data generation techniques. The major findings were that staff development is being implemented at the studied schools considering the presence of staff development records particularly plans and minutes. However, these records were available at some schools while others did not have them. Based on the findings, the researchers concluded that staff development at the schools is reasonably effective though their effectiveness could be enhanced through improved recording of the programmes. The researchers recommended that concerned authorities should ensure that school staff development is properly documented in a way that fostersits effectiveness and quality education.

driven continuing professional development activities in a manner that integrated staff development activities with teachers' everyday work practices. The integration and teacher ownership were important elements that aimed to increase impact and chances of sustainability of the teacher professional development system. Mtetwa and Thompson (2000) further revealed that this system incorporated the concepts of cascading levels, school-based, teacher-cluster groups as well as district and provincial professional learning centres; all facilitated by more experienced resource persons including the teachers themselves. A review of this approach suggested that moving from the current centre-based and weak partnership model of teacher professional development towards a more fieldbased and strong partnership school-focused model was a viable possibility for the country (Ndlovu, 2014).
Such a shift, however, entailed as it did, change of focus from supervision to coaching, from evaluation to learning and development, which largely brought more positive teacher professional development outcomes including effective and more relevant teachers, both for the primary and secondary school sector. Efforts by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) were later followed by the implementation of primary school staff development programmes such as the 'Better Schools Programme Zimbabwe', 'Better Environmental Science Teaching' and 'In-Service Training programme' (Ndlovu, 2014).Notably, the need for staff development in both primary and secondary schools in Zimbabwe became more indispensable considering new demands brought by the introduction of the 'Updated School Curriculum: 2015-2022(Zimbabwe MoPSE, 2016Dokora, 2016). In that regard, Mukomana, Mangozhe and Gasva's (2017) study recommended that schools invest much on school staff development in order to bolster teachers' competence in line with new Teacher-Professional Standards (TPS) as articulated in the Zimbabwe MoPSE's Curriculum Framework for Primary and Secondary Education: 2015-2022.
In a detailed critique of continuous professional development and in-servicing of teachers, Gutuza (2016) reiterated the need for effective school staff development in Zimbabwe by indicating that: Teachers are undoubtedly the greatest assets of any school as they transmit knowledge, skills and values to learners. In order for teachers to fulfill these functions fully, there is need to prepare them thoroughly for their work and to help them maintain and improve their contributions through continuous professional development. In addition, teachers operate in environments that are unstable due to the rapid changes in information and technology. The times when teachers relied solely on their initial teacher training are over and done with. The technological advances demand that teachers upgrade their skills and knowledge in order to remain effective and relevant (Gutuza, 2016, p.474).
In an assessment of teachers' attributions regarding the implementation of staff development in Matabeleland North province of Zimbabwe', Khosa et al. (2015, p.54) concluded that teachers generally appreciated the significant role that can be played by well planned and executed staff development programmes for their own growth and the benefit of learners. However, the study revealed that the majority of schools were not holding regular staff development sessions due to a host of reasons as largely noticed from lack of recent staff development records. In the same vein, a study by Maposa et al. (2016, p.47) concluded that the benefits of staff development were generally known and understood by teachers but there were, however, barriers against making staff development more acceptable to the educators. This included the fact that its planning and implementation were generally poor and did not consider teachers' needs as a priority as reflected by the reviewed staff development records. Consequently, such schools face their greatest challenge which has to do with remaining effective and able to provide the much sought for quality education (Darling-Hammond & Richardson, 2009). It is against this backdrop of understanding what staff development entails as well as the significance of its records in telling a story about school staff development effectiveness that the current study was undertaken.

Statement of the problem
Even though most primary schools, if not all, in Zimbabwe and elsewhere hold some form of staff development programmes for teachers, the related records in place often leave a lot to be desired in as far as evidence of the effectiveness of staff development programmes is concerned. The question that, therefore, stands to be answered is 'what evidence there is from the school staff development records regarding the way programmes are implemented and how effective the programmes are for the reasonable benefit of the teachers and learners as well as for fostering quality education'?

Purpose of the study
This study was essentially a quality assurance monitoring research whose purpose was to scrutinize staff development documents in order to determine the effectiveness of staff development programmes in selected primary schools in Zimbabwe. In addition, the study sought to draw implications for quality education from the findings. This was predominantly underpinned by the researchers' conviction that well planned, implemented and evaluated school staff development programmes are the basis for the effectiveness of the programmes as well as the attainment of quality education.

Research questions
Based on the proffered background and purpose of the study, this research was guided by the following specific research questions: i. What evidence is shown by documents at schools that staff development programmes are being conducted? ii. What evidence of staff development effectiveness is shown by documents at the schools? iii. How are shortcomings of staff development effectiveness portrayed by documents at the schools and how may these be improved in order to foster quality education?

Significance of the study
It is envisaged that the current study would essentially be of significance for the Ministry of Primary and Education in Zimbabwe and in particular, the educators and learners within the primary school sector. In that regard, District School Inspectors (DSIs) are expected to benefit through being empowered to enforce head teachers to ensure that they properly plan and implement staff development programmes within their schools which will foster the effectiveness of the programmes. School heads are expected to benefit through appreciating the need to effectively plan, implementand evaluate staff development programmes while teachers will, no doubt, benefit from well-planned and implemented programmes. Learners, as the ultimate beneficiaries, would also obviously benefit through the delivery of effective lessons by their more competent teachers.

Conceptualising 'staff development'
The concept of 'staff development' is quite fluid and wide-ranging in meaning as it often depends on the nature and context of the organisation it is referred to. Staff development has variously been described, including referring to it as 'in-service education and training', 'on the job training', 'continuing professional development', 'professional education and training', career advancement, 'human resource development' and so on. However, the researchers are of the view that a thin line in meaning may be drawn between these concepts, hence, for the purpose of this study, 'staff development' is mostly used. Staff development is viewed by Villegas-Reimers (2009) as a long-term process that includes regular opportunities and experiences planned systematically to promote growth and development in one's profession. It refers to different types of continual educational and training experiences related to an individual's work and career path (Crowther, 2012).
According to cite https://www.thefreedictionary.com/staff+development, Retrieved on 25 April 2017, "staff development is a process that assists individuals or employees in an organisation in the improvement and attainment of new skills, knowledge, attitudes and values, while gaining increased levels of competence and growing professionally". The process may include such programmes as orientation, induction, in-service education and training as well as other forms of continuing professional development. In the same vein, Shindler and Case (2006) say that staff development is a systematic attempt to harmonise individuals' occupational interests and their carefully assessed requirements for furthering their careers with forthcoming requirements at the organisation within which they are expected to work and perform highly. For Ganser (2010), staff development, is therefore, a broad concept which covers the overall development of a person in his or her professional role; and often includes both formal and informal experiences resulting in improved job performance and the accomplishment of organisational goals and objectives. In the same vein, Savardi (2012, p.93) says that: Staff development is a strategic organisational process of improving and increasing knowledge and capabilities of employees through access to education and training opportunities in the workplace, or through outside the organisation or through simply watching others perform the job.
Thus, a clearer understanding of staff development is best understood within the broader context of an organisation or institution within which employees are deployed.

Contextualising staff development as a school programme
Sparks and Loucks-Horsley (2009)  Thus, school staff development is broadly considered as an all-inclusive concept in that it encompasses the professional development of all school staff including teaching and non-teaching members (Halliday, 2013). However, the current study precisely focuses on the professional development of educators in the primary school sector, who are largely the classroom practitioners. For Mukeredzi (2013), teachers' professional development, in particular, is understood, in simple terms; as representing the growth of teachers in their teaching role and profession in general. Guskey and Huberman (2014) clarify that the professional development of teachers has been described as an organised effort to change the educators' expertise with the expected result of improving their teaching practice and student learning. It essentially involves planned activities within and outside schools that are meant to assist the teachers in attaining knowledge, new skills, attitudes, values and dispositions; thereby gaining increased levels of professional competence essentially for the benefit of learners and the general effectiveness of the school. In most schools, workshops, short courses, subject meetings, seminars and informal learning opportunities as well as other related programmes have been considered as part of the professional development experience for teachers (Ganser, 2010). In other words, it has also been viewed as growth that occurs through the professional cycle of a teacher. Halliday's (2013, p.193) studies noted that the essentials of contemporary teacher professional development include: i. Planned and structured learning experiences designed to make the fullest use of the abilities and potential of school staff for present and future needs of the education service; ii. Staff improvement programmes and incentives meant to increase school staff's satisfaction and commitment; and iii. The use of processes to monitor and evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the teaching-learning experiences for the benefit of learners.
The above statements indicate that today's school staff development stresses strategic and structured learning experiences for teachers, staff improvement as well as monitoring and evaluation processes to determine the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process.
For Khosa, etal. (2015, p.49) "Staff development within education is essentially about improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the curriculum delivery system". For them, it is primarily designed to foster improvement in teachers' professional expertise in handling the school curriculum. Thus, school staff development is an inclusive developmental process that strives to combine and cater for the needs of the individual teachers with those of the school in order to enhance both teachers' competences as well as school effectiveness while at the same time ensuring that there is no possible conflict of interests (Khosa, et al., 2015).
Lieberman (2008) reverberated by Fielding and Schalock (2011) assert that when planning and implementing staff development for teachers, one must essentially examine several factors, including; i. the key goals, objectives and values of the school; ii. the content and diversity of experiences of individual teachers; iii. the emerging needs of the teachers as individuals and groups; iv. the processes by which the professional development of teachers will occur; v. the contexts in which the staff development will take place; and vi. the need to evaluate the staff development programme in inline with its intended objectives in order to determine its success or otherwise.
From the foregoing, staff development for teachers, therefore, includes quite a number of aspects with the broad thrust of improving their knowledge and pedagogic skills for the furtherance of the school's vision, mission and values.

2.3Documents and their analysis as a way of determining the effectiveness of programmes
Documents are generally considered as pieces of written, printed, or electronic matter that provides information or evidence or that serve as an official record for a specific purpose ( Document analysis refers to various procedures involved in analysing and interpreting data generated from the examination of different documents and records that are relevant to the study (Robson, 2011;Meloy, 2012). As noted by Bowen (2008), the review of documents is a form of generating data in qualitative research in which documents are analysed and interpreted by the researcher to give voice and meaning around a problem under investigation. It, therefore, entails going through documents or reports that are related to the problem at stake and then analysing their content for a specific purpose; and in the context of research, such an exercise is necessary in order to answer the research problem. Denzin and Lincoln (2012) note that documents are important sources of information that may be used for different purposes, depending on the objective of their review. In some cases, data are reviewed as an audit of records while in some instances, simply to confirm that the required information is well documented for future reference.
Bowen (2008) asserts that there are many reasons why qualitative researchers may choose to review documents in research, and these include the fact that documents are; i. commonplace and come in a variety of forms, making them a very accessible and reliable source of data; ii. an efficient and effective way of gathering data because they are manageable and practical resources; iii. often far more cost and time efficient in their review than generating data using other data gathering research techniques; and iv. quite stable, non-reactive data sources; meaning that they can be read and reviewed multiple times and remain unchanged by the researcher's influence or the research process.
As noted by Sparks & Simmons (2009), there are a number of records that pertain to staff development within educational institutions including schools, and these include policy documents, annual and termly strategic plans, staff development plans, minutes of staff development sessions, reports on accomplished staff development programmes and so on. Thus, document analysis largely gave the researchers the opportunity to analyse and interpret school-based documents on staff development at every research site which gave them the basis for determining the extent of the effectiveness of staff development at the schools studied.
In his international review of the documentary evidence on teacher professional development, Reimers (2013, p.109) asserted a number of indicators to suggest the effective organisation and implementation of school staff development programmes. For Reimers (2013), this essentially involved determining whether: i. Teachers' staff development needs in particular, identified in the context of the school, were considered in the planning of the programmes; ii. A staff development plan was developed on the basis of the harmonised needs of the school and those of the teachers; iii. The staff development programmes were implemented collaboratively; with both school administrators and classroom practitioners actively involved; iv. The staff development programmes were evaluated with feedback on its effectiveness being provided to all participants; v.

The whole business concerning the professional development of teachers is sustainable for teachers' continual professional development; and vi. The ultimate goal of all staff development programmes is to benefit learners as well as promoting quality in education.
Thus, for Reimers (2013), appropriate staff development planning, implementation and evaluation are the basis for staff development effectiveness, sustainability and the attainment of quality education.

Research Methodology
This study adopted the qualitative research paradigm under which the case study design was used; thereby enabling the researchers to engage in personal contact with the participants while at the same time generating data within its natural context (Denzin & Lincoln, 2012;Creswell & Maietta, 2013); in this case documentary data on staff development within the selected schools. The population for the study were primary school head teachers in Hwange District in Matabeleland North Zimbabwe; and a sample of 5 (n=5) head teachers at 5 primary schools was considered in order to accomplish the study. The sample was obtained through the Purposive sampling technique, which is considered to be a useful form of sample in that it is made up of cases (either individuals or cases) that are capable of providing the sought data in a specific study field (Wegner, 2011). Thus, head teachers were considered for this study as they were the custodians of staff development records while also being at the forefront of the organisation of school staff development programmes. In addition, they were considered appropriate as they were ideally involved in determining the effectiveness of the staff development sessions and the ultimate realisation of quality education within the schools.
Interviews were utilised as the main data collection method and were conducted with head teachers on their views regarding staff development records versus the effectiveness of staff development programmes at their schools. To complement interviews, document analysis involving staff development records was also used as the second data generation technique. Van Dalen (1979) cited in Michael (2004) defines interviews as "… a two-way method of communication which permits an exchange of ideas and information between the researcher and participants which allows the researcher to solicit for sought-for research data". For Borg and Gall (2009), interviews are a standard part of qualitative research and involve oral questions being asked by the researcher while the respondents speak in their own words and their responses are recorded. Interviews were, therefore, considered as an appropriate data generation procedure whose purpose was to gather head teachers' descriptions of staff development records with respect to their interpretations of how the records fostered the effectiveness of staff development programmes (Kvale, 2015). In harmony with Nunkoosing (2015), the major advantage of using interviews in the current study was that they allowed the researchers to probe for more information while also generating first-hand data from the interviewees.
On the other hand, document analysis involved locating staff development records at the schools, obtaining permission to use them as well as analysing them in order to answer the problem under investigation (Denzin & Lincoln, 2012). Notably, the review of documents is an important qualitative research tool in its own right and is an invaluable part of most schemes of data triangulation, the combination of methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon (Denzin & Lincoln, 2012). In the same vein, Chisaka and Vakalisa (2003) avow that in qualitative research, documents or informational review is usually used to fill the gaps that may have been left open by other research instruments and techniques such as interviews and focus group discussions. In the current study, document analysis enabled the researchers to pick some aspects that they needed to clarify or verify with the participants. Accordingly, the data that the researcher obtained from the analysis of staff development documents were used for complementation with data that were provided by head teachers during interviews (Clandinin & Connelly, 2012).
Thus, the researchers mainly capitalised on the advantage of both conducting interviews with head teachers and analysing staff development documents which enabled them to generate rich and thick data that was appropriate in answering the research problem. Consistent with qualitative studies, the process of data generation was concurrently done with the data analysis exercise; thereby aiding the researchers to make sense of what they observed and heard (Meloy, 2012). Ethics, particularly participants' (head teachers) anonymity as well as observing confidentiality of the generated data (Creswell & Maietta, 2013), were also considered as important in the process of data generation and reporting.

Evidence shown by records at schools that staff development programmes were being conducted
The researchers observed the presence of some staff development records which were available at all the schools. In that regard, a Staff Development Record Book (SDRB) was available at the five schools studied. In the SDRB, there were minutes for the sessions that were recently conducted which also showed important details, including; date on which the staff development session was conducted; venue where the session was conducted, topic or title and content covered during the session, name of facilitator or facilitators and names of participants and staff members who did not attend the session (apologies). The content of most of the sessions held was fairly detailed; as it showed the steps of the presentation for each staff development session conducted.
At 4(80%) of the schools (that is, A, C, D and E), the staff development minutes also indicated the name of the person who chaired the specific session; in which case it was often the head teacher or his deputy or Teacher in Charge (TIC); which the researcher found to be similar to earlier findings by Mekonnen (2014) in Ethiopia where it was noted that school administrators were usually the ones who chaired staff development sessions. The researchers took this to be important in that it showed the nature of responsibility sharing between school management and classroom practitioners with regards the overseeing of the different sessions held.

Evidence of staff development effectiveness shown by records at the schools
The researchers observed that records at all the schools studied showed that staff development programmes were often conducted in the area under study. The frequency of the conduct of staff development sessions was generally between periods of two to three weeks. Head teachers at 4(80%) of the schools (B, C, D and E) concurred that though it was not part of the Ministry policy, it was desirable for the schools to conduct staff development as frequently as possible, preferably once every two weeks. The researchers took this preferred timeframe to imply a generally acceptable frequency for conducting staff development in the primary school, which may also indicate effectiveness of the professional development of teachers at such a school.
As recommended by Hirsh (2015), the frequency of conducting staff development in schools should not be rigid as it should depend on need and other circumstances; and schools may decide that during their annual and termly plans, which should also depend on challenges the teachers face in their work as well as other considerations. The head teacher for school C indicated that even though conducting frequent staff development sessions was desirable in the face of changes brought about by the new curriculum, in reality, the high demands of the curriculum on teachers meant that there is usually shortage of time to allow for the conduct of regular staff development programmes. Consequently, the researchers noted this to have implications for the delivery of quality education by the teachers.
There were staff development termly plans at 3(60%) of the schools studied, namely, C, D and E; which were, however, sketchy as they only indicated a few details including proposed week, date and topic for the staff development session as well as tentative name(s) of facilitator(s) for the proposed session. This showed that the planning of the programmes at the schools lacked in both finer details and depth as a good staff development plan should be a clear roadmap of how the programme is to be conducted and what it seeks to precisely achieve (Villegas-Reimers, 2009).
The researchers also noted that:  Teachers' lesson plans at all the schoolswhich had staff development plans showed some improvement through indicating more details as a result of the teachers' participation in some sessions;  Learners' progress records after teachers' participation in staff development showed improvement in learner performance as evidenced through the daily and weekly marks;  Head teachers' school reports indicated improved pass rates including the grade seven pass rate pertaining which the researchers alluded to teachers' professional development.

Shortcomings of staff development effectiveness as portrayed by records at the schools and how this could be improved in order to foster quality education
The researchers observed that 3(60%) of the schools did not show any consideration of the fundamental rudiments of a staff development plan. Generally, an ideal staff development programme should be designed as a consequence of systematic problem identification by those directly related to the problem; who in the current case were the teachers (Sparks & Loucks-Horsley, 2009). In the case of the current study, the records did not show any evidence of the identification of teachers' staff development needs by the teachers themselves; hence, the researcher interpreted this as a shortcoming that compromised the effectiveness of the programmes at the schools studied.
Of the three schools which had staff development plans in place, only school C, however, had indicated the objectives of the sessions; which made the school's plans satisfactorily detailed. In that regard, the researcher noted that the stated objectives at the school (C) were reasonably clear and straight forward which was consistent with learning theorist Edwards (2012); who recommended that learning objectives should be 'specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-framed' (SMART). Objectives for the professional development of teachers should, therefore, state what the educators should be able to do upon completion of their professional development in terms of behavioural change (Bents & Howey, 2011;Lipowsky & Rzejak, 2015); which is what school Cendeavoured to do.
In the same vein, Don and Judith (2009) cited in Friedman and Phillips (2011) are of the view that in planning staff development, the designers should consider the audience or participants for the programme, the competencies to be developed, the intentions of the anticipated session and a timeline for implementation procedures in order to determine the effectiveness of the programme. Thus, in the current study, the staff development plans analysed didn't clearly show which group of teachers were the audience of the staff development programmes, the specific competencies to be developed were also not stated; which, therefore, contradicts standard practice for ensuring that school staff development programmes are reasonably successful and effective (Edwards, 2012).
The researchers also noted that only 2(40%) of the schools did evaluate their staff development sessions in order to determine whether they were successful or not. The 3 (60%) schools that did not evaluate their staff development programmes, therefore, negated the assertion by a number of staff development authorities (e.g. Catalanello & Kirk, 2008, Yorke, 2007Sparks & Simmons, 2009) who suggested that for school staff development to be effective, it has to be evaluated in order to determine whether the expected learning outcomes were achieved or not and if not, what remedial action may be taken by the school.

Conclusions and Recommendations
A summary of the major findings showed that staff development was being implemented as noted through the presence of staff development plans at most schools. However, the plans were generally not detailed enough to foster the programmes' effectiveness. All the same, reasonable effectiveness of the staff development programmes in the area under study was observed through the improved presentation of teachers' lesson plans as well as learners' performance as noted in the progress records following teachers' participation in staff development sessions. In addition, reports by school heads also indicated improved pass rate including the grade seven pass rate which was largely alluded to teachers' engagement in staff development sessions. Thus, based on the findings, the researchers concluded that records showed that staff development in the area under study was reasonably effective though its effectiveness could be enhanced through improved planning, implementation and evaluation of the programmes.
Accordingly, the researchers recommended the following:  The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) through the District School Inspectors (DSIs) should ensure that staff development enterprises within schools are properly documented in such a way that they show evidence of their effectiveness which guarantees the realisation of quality education  The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) should come up with a standard template that prescribes which staff development records should be used by primary schools and ensure that the records are appropriately used by school management;  Primary school head teachers, particularly those recently promoted to headship, should be trained on how to effectively plan, implement and evaluate staff development programmes; Sprin Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 2022:1(1):38-50