Professional development and psychological empowerment among teachers in public secondary schools in Kibale County

Abstract

Professional development is a vital aspect in the empowerment of teachers worldwide. Guided by self-determination theory, this study aimed at investigating the associations between professional development and the psychological empowerment among 134 teachers in five public secondary schools in Kibale County, Kamwenge District. The study was guided by three specific objectives which included: (a) to find out the relationship between professional development and psychological empowerment among teachers (b) to establish differences in psychological empowerment of teachers based on teachers‘ demographic characteristics and (c) to examine the extent to which professional development predicts psychological empowerment. A mixed method with a cross-section survey research design using a close ended questionnaire and open ended questions to collect for quantitative and qualitative data respectively was adopted in the present study. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS v20 where descriptive, correlation and regression statistics were generated. On the other hand, qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Results revealed that professional development has a moderately strong positive significant association with psychological empowerment of teachers (r = 0.59; p < 0.01). The study revealed that there were small differences in psychological empowerment of teachers based on their age (X2 = 0.856, p= 0.836), their education level (X2 = 1.401, p = 0.705) and their years of experience (X2 = 3.019, p = 0.555) although these were not statistically significant. Finally, the regression coefficients revealed that professional development has a moderately strong prediction power on teachers‘ psychological empowerment (β = .59, R2 = 34.4%). Qualitative data revealed that professional development retools teachers with new skills such as job analysis, competence, self-determination, better performance and better decision making. It is recommended that schools should prioritize providing regular and comprehensive professional development opportunities that are tailored to the specific needs of teachers. This can include workshops, seminars, and courses focused on the latest pedagogical strategies, technology integration, and classroom management techniques. Additionally, it is crucial to create a supportive environment that encourages teachers to apply what they have learned from professional development. School administrations can facilitate this by promoting a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.