Introduction More recent definitions of the professional development of teachers concept, formulated by well-known authors: The professional development

of teachers goes beyond a merely informative stage; it implies adaptation to change with a view to changing teaching and learning activities, altering teacher attitudes and improving the academic results of students. The professional development of teachers is concerned with individual, professional and organizational needs (Heideman, 1990, p. 4); As may be observed, both the most recent as well as the most ancient definitions interpret professional teaching development as a process, which can be either individual or collective, but which should be contextualised in the teachers workplace- the school- and contributes to the development of the afore-mentioned professional competencies by means of a variety of formal and informal experiences. The development of the teaching profession concept has changed over the last decade, as a result of an evolution in the understanding of how the teachings to learn processes are produced. In his review of the professional development of teachers, Villegas-Reimers (2003) shows how this process has recently come to be viewed as being long term and includes different kinds of systematically planned opportunities and experiences, so as to stimulate the professional growth and development of teachers. This has given rise to the emergence of a new perspective that interprets the professional development of teachers as having the following characteristics: Professional development of teachers as having the following characteristics: 1. It is based on constructivism and not on transmissive models, whereby the teacher is regarded as someone who learns actively while being involved in specific teaching tasks, through evaluation, observation and reflection; 2. It is viewed as a long term process, which acknowledges that teachers learn over time. Thus, experience is considered to be more effective if it allows teachers to link new experiences with former knowledge. In order for this to happen, appropriate monitoring is necessary and indispensable to triggering change; 3. It is assumed as a process which takes place in specific contexts. Unlike traditional training practices, which do not associate training situations with classroom practices, the most effective experiences for professional teacher development are those based on the school and which are connected to the daily activities carried out by teachers;

4. Professional teacher development is directly related to school reform processes, where the latter is viewed as a process that tends to reconstruct school culture and in which teachers are involved as professionals; 5. The teacher is viewed as a reflective practice, someone who is in possession of former knowledge when entering a profession and who continues to acquire more knowledge through reflection on his/her own experience. So, professional development activities consist of helping teachers to construct new theories and new pedagogical practices; 6. Professional development is conceived as a collaborative process, even though it is assumed that there may be room for isolated work and reflection; 7. Professional development can adopt different forms in different contexts. Therefore, there is no single professional development model that is effective and applicable to all schools. Schools and teachers should evaluate their own needs, beliefs and cultural practices in order to decide which professional development model seems more beneficial to them. Along the same lines Sparks and Hirsh (1997) identified some of the changes produced in the professional development of teachers: From professional development geared towards the development of the individual to a type geared towards the development of the organization; From fragmented and disconnected professional development towards a coherent type, working within a framework of clear aims: From the organization of administration based training to another focusing on the school; From a perspective focusing on adult needs to one focusing on the needs of student learning; From training developed outside the school to multiple types of professional development carried out within the school premises; From the transmission of knowledge and competencies to teachers by specialists, to the study of teaching and learning processes on the part of teachers; From professional development geared, primarily, towards teachers to another type geared towards everyone involved in the student learning process; From professional development geared towards the teacher, on an individual level, to the creation of learning communities, in which everyone- teachers, students, directors, employees- consider themselves to be both teachers and students.

The Concept of Professional Development for Teachers Professional development in a broad sense refers to the development of a person in his or her professional role. More specifically, teacher development is the professional growth a teacher achieves as a result of gaining increased experience and examining his or her teaching systematically(Glatthom,1995). Professional development includes formal experience (such as attending workshops and professional meetings, mentoring, etc.) and informal experiences (such as reading professional publications, watching television documentaries related to academic discipline, etc.)(Ganser, 2000). A teacher is conceived of as a reflective practitioner, someone who enters the profession with a certain knowledge base, and who will acquire new knowledge and experience based on the prior knowledge (Cochran-Smith &Lytle, 2001). In so doing, the role of professional development is to aid teachers in building new pedagogical theories and practices and to help them develop their expertise in the field (Dodds, 2001). Teachers professional development has two main phases: initial preparation and continuing professional development. Initial teacher training most often takes the form of full-time residential pre-service programmes in teachers colleges or universities. Initial training may also be available to serving unqualified teachers through distance education, out-of-school programmes during vacations or on release from schools for extended periods of time. The professional components of initial teacher training programmes can be either consecutive or concurrent with academic subject. Continuing professional development of teachers comes from various sources and agencies, and in various forms: orientating teachers to curriculum or examination changes, upgrading qualification levels, donor-funded projects, professional teachers associations in developing subject teaching (e.g. Science Teachers Association of Nigeria STAN), or sometimes teachers unions, school based improvement initiatives, or individual teachers working to improve their qualifications, career prospects or teaching skills. Continuing professional development may be regarded as all forms of in service, continuing education, on- the job-training, workshop, post-qualification courses etc. whether formal or informal, structured or unstructured, teacher-initiated or system-initiated, accredited or not (Mohammed,2006). Professional Development for Teachers According to the thesaurus of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database, professional development refers to "activities to enhance professional career growth." Such activities may include individual development, continuing education, and

in service education, as well as curriculum writing, peer collaboration, study groups, and peer coaching or mentoring. Fullan (1991) expands the definition to include "the sum total of formal and informal learning experiences throughout one's career from pre service teacher education to retirement" (p. 326). Considering the meaning of professional development in the technological age, Grant (n.d.) suggests a broader definition of professional development that includes the use of technology to foster teacher growth: "Professional development ... goes beyond the term 'training' with its implications of learning skills, and encompasses a definition that includes formal and informal means of helping teachers not only learn new skills but also develop new insights into pedagogy and their own practice, and explore new or advanced understandings of content and resources. [This] definition of professional development includes support for teachers as they encounter the challenges that come with putting into practice their evolving understandings about the use of technology to support inquiry-based learning.... Current technologies offer resources to meet these challenges and provide teachers with a cluster of supports that help them continue to grow in their professional skills, understandings, and interests." The Context of Professional Development Professional development can succeed only in settings, or contexts, that support it. Probably the most critical part of that support must come from administrators (McLaughlin & Marsh, 1978). The outcome of every professional development initiative will depend ultimately on whether its administrators consider it important. For this reason, buy-in on the part of administrators (whether state directors, superintendents, or principals) is critical to success. Another characteristic of contexts that support professional development is that they are conducive to the changes that the professional development is designed to bring about. Before change can take place there must be a shared sense of need for changethe more strongly and widely felt the better. For example, simply telling teachers that scores on standardized assessments must improve is not enough to generate the sense of urgency that institutional change requires.

They have to sense the urgency themselves. If the professionals in a given setting agree about problems and solutions, institutional change is possible, even likely. When they disagree, the likelihood of change is limited. (In some cases, creating a shared sense of need for change requires the use of diagnostic tools such as the DART Model, which helps schools assess their need for improvement by identifying school wide gaps in student performance.) Whether a given context is conducive to change will depend on the extent to which the belief systems of its teaching professionals agree. Change is far more likely in contexts in which there is consensus on the answers to certain basic questions:

Is learning a conscious act involving memorization of facts, or is it an awakening of consciousness that results from exploration? - Is the teachers job to serve as a facilitator or to present information to passive participants? - Is learning a private experience or does it evolves through social interaction? Teachers beliefs about the answers to these and other fundamental questions play a significant role in teaching efficacy (Barfield & Burlingame, 1974; The Content of Professional Development Professional development cannot succeed with out strong content. The content of the professional development that is associated with high-performing schools is always focused and serves a well-planned long-term strategy. To be effective, professional development should be based on curricular and instructional strategies that have a high probability of affecting student learningand, just as important, students ability to learn (Joyce and Showers, 2002). In addition, professional development should (1) deepen teachers knowledge of the subjects being taught; (2) sharpen teaching skills in the classroom; (3) keep up with developments in the individual fields, and in education generally; (4) generate and contribute new knowledge to the profession; and (5) increase the ability to monitor students work, in order to provide constructive feedback to students and appropriately redirect teaching (The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century, 2000). Professional development should always address identified gaps in student achievement. For example, it would be pointless to offer professional development to raise student performance in mathematics if students are doing well in mathematics but poorly in

reading or writing. The content of professional development should center on subject matter, pedagogical weaknesses within the organization, measurement of student performance, and inquiry regarding professional questions that are relevant to the setting in which the professional development is delivered. By staying within this frame of reference, teacher professional development can focus on real issues and avoid providing information that may not benefit the participants. Most importantly, professional development should focus on instructional strategies that are proven to impact student performance. Moreover, professional development should be Delivered using those strategiesthis takes us to the process of professional development.

An effective professional development program:

Actively engages educators in the improvement process: One facet is Improvement and Accountability is to encourage local needs assessments, problem solving, planning and decision making in which teams of educators, identify needs, clarify goals, plan programs, monitor them, and make adjustments. Once needs are identified to improve student performance, administrators and planners should use teacher expertise, wherever possible, in the preparation, development, and delivery of targeted professional development programs. Continually updates the teacher's knowledge base and awareness: Professional development programs must provide teachers with new knowledge and skills so that they remain current in content and in best practices. Educators also need ongoing training in the use of educational technology, as well as, information in technology in the work place. Professional development program planners must ensure that teachers receive training that will enable them to assess students in the learning process despite differences in their cultural and/or economic backgrounds. Provides professional training for teachers whose curriculum has changed due to changes in technology: Applied technology and work force development for current and emerging industries requires teachers for careers in an industry to stay current in all technical skills, laws, and processes required by the industry. The technical advisory committees for the various applied technology programs perform a critical role in advising teachers, administrators, and students of changes in technology and occupational skill requirements. Business and industry advisory committee members are full partners

in the continuing improvement of quality programs by assuring the teachers are given timely updates of needed changes. Advisory committee input, field-based training, frequent returns to industry, training provided through professional associations, and training provided by industrial equipment suppliers is important to the various career related programs. Establishes a collaborative environment based on professional inquiry Effective professional development emphasizes a team approach. Peter Senge suggests that problems facing education, business, and industry are too intense to be solved by one person. Teachers too must achieve INTERDEPENDENCE with others in the workplace. Professional development strategies are most likely to be successful when teachers are encouraged to reflect on their own practices, identify problems and possible solutions, share ideas about instruction, engage in scholarly reading and research, and try out new strategies in their classrooms to see how they work. Staff networking, clinical education partnerships with universities in peer coaching, business industry partnerships and training, and mentoring are important tools in long-range professional development planning. Peer coaching, where teachers help each other, offers a non-threatening environment in which teachers can implement new techniques and ideas and receive collegial feedback. Mentoring can be especially beneficial to new teachers; this mutually beneficial relationship with an experienced educator might include an exchange of teaching materials and information, observation and assistance with classroom skills, or field-testing of new teaching methods. Is continuously improved by follow-up: Professional development in service is targeted which provides a continuous process for learning, implementation, and follow-up. It is not a selection of isolated presentations given by an expert or consultant. Effective in service includes introductory training as well as a plan for ongoing monitoring, enhancement, and follow-up of learning. Research corroborates the need for follow-up that continues long enough for new behaviors learned during introductory training to be incorporated into teachers ongoing practice (Sparks and Loucks-Horsley, 1989). Planners can build this kind of reinforcement into professional development programs in a number of ways including providing opportunities to practice new methods in coaching situations, arranging for ongoing assistance and support, and systematically collecting feedback from teachers. Is actively and continuously supported by administrators: Numerous studies (McLaughlin & Marsh, 1978; Stallings and Mohlman, 1981; Loucks and Zacchie,

1983; Fielding and Schalock, 1985; Loucks-Horsley et al, 1987) reveal that active support by principals and district administrators is crucial to the success of any targeted improvement effort. The foundation of quality is respect and support. This supportive role begins with leadership that places a high priority on professional development, promotes communication, and fosters a spirit of collegiality. It extends to the thoughtful allocation of resources including time, follow-up on student performance, and evaluation of the implementation of targeted change Attributes of the Professional Educator The goal underlying any professional development in service program is to prepare educators in the competencies needed to improve students success in postsecondary education and the workplace. Shortly after the creation of Floridas System of School Improvement and Accountability, the Education Standards Commission began a project to identify and validate those teachers competencies necessary to accelerate this initiative. The Commissions efforts focused on preparing teachers to be proficient in helping students achieve higher and more rigorous standards (Goal 3). The Commission identified twelve broad principles and key indicators that reflect the high performance standards required of teachers. These Accomplished Practices are summarized below. The professional educator . . . - Uses teaching and learning strategies that reflect each student's culture, learning styles, special needs, and socioeconomic background (Diversity); - Uses assessment strategies (traditional and alternative) to assist the continuous development of the learner (Assessment ); - Plans, implements, and evaluates effective instruction in a variety of learning environments ( Planning); - Uses an understanding of learning and human development to provide a positive learning environment that supports the intellectual, personal, and social development of all students (Human Development and Learning); - Creates and maintains positive learning environments in which students are actively engaged in learning, social interaction, cooperative learning, and selfmotivation(Learning Environments); - Uses effective communication techniques with students and all other stakeholders(Communications);

Uses appropriate techniques and strategies that promote and enhance the critical, creative, and evaluative thinking capabilities of students ( Critical Thinking ); Uses appropriate technology in teaching and learning processes (Technology); Works with various education professionals, parents, and other stakeholders in the continuous improvement of the educational experiences of students ( Role of the Teacher); Engages in continuous professional quality improvement for self and school (Continuous Improvement) Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of the subject matter ( Knowledge and Understanding ); and Adheres to the Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Profession in Florida ( Ethics and Principles)

2. Why Professional Development is Important

Professional development for teachers can seem like a broad label. What does it really mean? Why do we, as a company, think that it is so fundamentally important? What are the benefits to our teachers, the children, and the families we serve? Professional development is the opportunity for our teachers to obtain knowledge, participate in training, and gain and practice skills around many crucial areas that impact their daily professional lives and have positive impacts on the children and families we serve. The more our teachers know, the better trained they are at their jobs; the more skills they possess, then the safer, better cared for, and more educationally prepared are the children. The knowledge needed by our teachers span vastly different topics, which fall into five domains: Relationships, Classroom/Learning Environments, Instruction, Assessment, and Professionalism. We anchor our trainings to these domains and we are strategic in their order of development, process of design, and timing of implementation. During Professional Development Day (PDD), for example, we are offering courses in the Classroom/Learning Environments and Professionalism domains.

The first is called Demonstrating Respect for and the Protection of Children: The Promise. This annual renewal course imparts the commitment we make to children and families to ensure childrens safety, treat all children with respect 100% of the time, and remember our teachers responsibility as mandated reporters, by pledging to report any suspicion of child abuse. This powerful training equips our teachers with the skills to recognize abuse and report it. The second training, Inspire and Lead: Review and Blueprints for Professional Development, supports teachers professional growth at KU and challenges teachers to be leaders of, and in, their lives. Lastly, Developmentally Appropriate Learning Environments is broken into three different sections based on the age group of children that the teacher educates, which makes the training relevant immediately for each teacher. More knowledge and better understanding of childrens safety, a commitment to teacher growth and professionalism, and understanding the learning needs of each age group of children helps us to build knowledge and skills within our KU teachers. Professional development is vitally important to obtaining, keeping, and encouraging our KU teachers. What better way to value them as professionals and remind them that they are each important to our company and to the lives of the children and families we all serve? Make it a goal today to thank a teacher for what he or she does for our children and families. Tell him or her how much we honor and respect them, because we know that teaching is not only difficult and rewarding, but the most noble and selfless profession that exists!

The Importance of Professional Development Professional development is a continuous improvement process lasting from the time an individual decides to enter education until retirement. It encompasses the processes that educators engage in to initially prepare themselves, continuously update themselves, and review and reflect on their own performance. Just as knowledge and skill requirements are changing for students, so, too, are those for Florida educators. The globalization of commerce and industry and the explosive growth of technology and subject area knowledge demand that teachers continually acquire new knowledge and skills. In The

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey suggests, Begin with the end in mind. If educators are to successfully prepare students for the future, they must be prepared for the future themselves. Schools and districts must be committed to offering the highest quality professional development opportunities for their teachers. Learning opportunities must be provided in which preservice teachers as well as more experienced teachers can develop or acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to deal with change and pursue lifelong learning.

3.

The effectiveness of different professional development approaches is an issue of much debate in the literature on professional development. Professional development decisionmakers need to decide between competing models of professional development traditional and reformbased on new philosophies about the purpose of professional development: helping teachers acquire a change orientation rather than just adopt new techniques (Richardson, 1998). Traditional activities, such as workshops, are very common in the adult education field because they are usually shorter in duration, making it easier for part-time adult education teachers to attend. Reform activities, such as study circles, practitioner inquiry, and mentoring, are less common but they may also be appropriate for adult education because they can be based in the program, making it more convenient for teachers with limited time for travel and participation. However, we do not know whether reform activities are more effective than traditional activities (workshops) within our field, and even in K12, there is a clear need for new, systematic research on the effectiveness of alternative strategies for professional development (Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001).

Models for Teacher Professional Development TPD (also known as in-service or teacher education) is the instruction provided to teachers to promote their development in a certain area. It is the tool by which policymakers visions for change are disseminated and conveyed to teachers. Though the recipient of TPD is the teacher, the ultimate beneficiary is the student. Thus, teacher professional development is often the most critical component of any ICT project. According to Gaible and Burns (2005:25) TPD can be divided into three broad categories:

 Standardized TPD The most centralized approach, best used to disseminate information and skills among large teacher populations Site-based TPD Intensive learning by groups of teachers in a school or region, promoting profound and long-term changes in instructional methods Self-directed TPD Independent learning, sometimes initiated at the learners discretion, using available resources that may include computers and the Internet. The three models are described in more detail below. 1. Standardized TPD Standardized TPD typically represents a centralized approach, involving workshops, training sessions and in many cases the cascade model of scaled delivery. Standardized, training-based approaches generally focus on the exploration of new concepts and the demonstration and modeling of skills. When employed in accordance with best practices standardized approaches can effectively: Expose teachers to new ideas, new ways of doing things and new colleagues Disseminate knowledge and instructional methods to teachers throughout a country or region Visibly demonstrate the commitment of a nation or vendor or project to a particular course of action Pros: Standardized TPD can be very effective in building awareness about computers, learner-centred instruction and/or new curricula. In the cascade model (training the trainer), a small group of teachers are selected to receive intensive training before returning to their own institutions to provide ICT training for their peers serving as champion teachers or a vanguard team. The cascade model has tremendous potential particularly with regard to support provision at school level. Cons: The model tends towards a technical rationalist approach (Schn, 1983 cited in Butler and Leahy 2003). The approach hovers on a one fit for all principle for upgrading teachers knowledge base that is independent of context.

 Teachers are constructed as knowledge consumers with the responsibility to bring what they have learned back to their classrooms and put it into practice Workshops taking place at one time and in one location without on-going support rarely result in effective changes for teaching and learning. Weaknesses in the cascade approach are linked with a tendency to develop the vanguard teams user skills as opposed to their provider skills. Cascade training flows down through levels of less experienced trainers until it reaches the target group; in the process, complex information tends to be lost. Without incentives to motivate teachers to participate, collaborate and experiment with new strategies, teachers may be unwilling to take advantage of their more knowledgeable colleagues in the TPD vanguard teams. To bring about change will take more than the exchange of information typical of make and take top-down centralized models for professional development programmes (Dede, 1999 cited in Butler and Leahy, 2003). Research findings indicate that informal contact and communication between teachers is the most prevalent form of transferring ICT knowledge. 2. Site-based TPD Site based TPD often takes place in schools, resource centres or teachers colleges. Teachers work with local (in house) facilitators or master teachers to engage in more gradual processes of learning, building master of pedagogy, content and technology skills. Site based TPD often focuses on the specific, situational problems that individual teachers encounter as they try to implement new techniques in their classroom practices. Site-based models tend to: _ Bring people together to address local issues and needs over a period of time _ Encourage individual initiative and collaborative approaches to problems _ Allow more flexible, sustained and intensive TPD _ Provide ongoing opportunities for professional learning among a single set of teachers (Gaible and Burns, 2006) Pros: Many studies have pointed to the importance of site-based TPD programmes which can be linked to change and innovation at the classroom and school level (e.g. Anderson, 1996; Somekh and Davis, 1997; Potter and Mellar, 200; cited in Pelgrum and Law, 2003). Study findings also suggest that site-based TPD can be most effective when delivered in connection with a school development plan (ibid).

 The tendency in site-based TPD is to support the establishment of teacher communities as communities of practice in order to foster the development of the new learning culture desired (Wenger, 2000 cited in ibid.). The focus is on aiding the project participants to not only implement new approaches but to unlearn the beliefs, values, assumptions and culture underlying their practice(Dede, 1999:1 cited in Butler and Leahy, 2003). Butler and Leahy point to value of incremental learning associated with site-based communities of practice - where every participant has their own perspectives, values and assumptions that become part of the process of constructing new understandings, as in forming and reforming frameworks for understanding practice: how students and teachers construct the curriculum (Cochran-Smith and Lytle, 1999:65 cited in ibid.). Cons: Site-based approaches are time- and labour intensive requiring locally-based TPD providers skilled in facilitation, instruction, content, curriculum, assessment and technology as well as in mentoring teachers to find solutions in low-resource environments appropriate to their needs and contexts. The establishment and maintenance of a network of facilitators to meet the needs of large-scale TPD programmes would be a challenge for any educational system. In the teacher-poor education systems of the LDCs, the challenge is magnified (Gaible and Burns, 2005). 3. Self-directed TPD In self-directed TPD, teachers are involved in initiating and designing their own professional development and would share materials and ideas as well as discuss challenges and solutions. Pros: This approach to professional development helps teachers to become models of lifelong learners. Informal versions of self-directed TPD find teachers seeking out experienced colleagues for advice or searching for lesson plans on the Internet. The emergence of on-line communities of teachers to provide support in professional development across a range of subject areas and themes (Pelgrum and Law, 2003)

Gaible and Burns (2005) consider that while teachers should certainly be encouraged to participate in ongoing, self-motivated learning, self-directed activities should not be used as the primary means of providing TPD. Instead, they should be used to complement and extend standardized and/ or site-based TPD.
High-Quality Professional Development Criteria

High-quality professional development is defined by several interacting factors. It implies rich content that is specifically chosen to deepen and broaden the knowledge and skills of teachers, principals, administrators, paraprofessionals, and other key education staff. High-quality professional development should be based on substantive, well-defined objectives. High-quality professional development requires structure, reflecting wellthought out delivery; efficient use of time; varied and effective styles of pedagogy; discourse and application; and the use of formative and summative assessment to promote understanding. High-quality professional development demands the guidance of experienced educators and other professionals who have a thorough and up-to-date understanding of the content themselves and who can fully engage the participants in the desired learning. Criteria High-quality professional development should: a. improve and increase teachers knowledge of the academic subjects the teachers teach, and enable teachers to become highly qualified if they are teaching in a federal core content area; b. be sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction and teachers performance in the classroom; c. be based on, aligned with, and directly related to Virginias Standards of Learning; d. be structured on scientifically-based research demonstrated to improve student academic achievement or substantially increase the knowledge and teaching skills of teachers; e. be sponsored by school divisions, colleges, universities, organizations, associations, or other entities experienced in providing professional development activities to teachers and instructors; f. be delivered by individuals who have demonstrated qualifications and credentials in the focus area of the professional development; g. support the success of all learners including children with special needs and limited English proficiency;

h. provide training for teachers in the use of technology so that technology and technology applications are effectively used in the classroom to improve teaching and learning in the curricula and federal core academic subjects in which the teachers teach; i. promote the use of data and assessments to improve instruction; and j. be reviewed for high quality and evaluated after completion to determine if the intended results were achieved.
4.

Types of Professional Development in the Ethiopian Context In Ethiopia continuous professional development can be placed into two categories (MoE, 2009b): Updating is a continuous process in which every professional teacher participates during their career as a teacher. It focuses on subject knowledge and pedagogy to improve classroom practice. Upgrading is the process by which teachers can choose to participate in additional study outside their regular work as teachers at appropriate times in their career, e.g., convert a certificate diploma to a diploma of the first degree or first degree to masters degree.
Continuous Professional Development in Ethiopia

The Ministry of Education has given priority for continuous professional development CPD believing that it is the right of teachers as well as of a great value for national development (Barrow, et al., 2006). The school staff must have the necessary subject professional support to bring about changes in the classroom. At school level professional development programmes should include school principals/directors, teachers and technical and administrative personnel. The ETP set standards for teachers and described a new approach to education. The new approach promotes active learning, problem solving, and student-centred teaching methods. With the expansion of education and large class size teachers still rely on the teacher centred methods with limited opportunities for (CPD). In Ethiopia, CPD focuses on improving the teaching-learning process, with the priorities of introducing active learning, practicing continuous assessment, and managing large classes.

As of 2008, there were 24 Government teacher education institutions. Total enrolment in the teacher education institutions in 2007-08 was 70,649 of which 27,832 were females in all programs including: regular, evening, summer and distance (MoE, 2009a). Higher Education in Ethiopia includes institutions with three, four, and six year undergraduate programs as well as those offerings two year Masters and three year PhD programs. As of 2007-08, there were 22 Government institutions (of which Addis Ababa University is the largest), and 72 accredited non-Government institutions. These institutions offer regular, evening, summer, and distance modalities (MoE, 2009a). According to MoE (2005) in Ethiopian: (1) compulsory requirement for those who teach in all educational establishments, (2) CPD is the civic and professional duty of all educators, (3)All schools are required to produce school improvement plans in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning, (4) CPD is an essential part of school improvement which is divided into four domains. These domains are: learning and teaching, student environment, leadership and environment, and community involvement (5) each institution must have a CPD plan which outlines the CPD priorities for the year.

Reference 1. Carlos Marcelo (2009) Professional Development of Teachers: past and future. educational sciences journal University of Seville (Spain) 2. Desalegn Chalchisa(----)Continuous Teacher Professional Development: The Ethiopian context. Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia 3. Mary Hooker(-------)Models and Best Practices in Teacher Professional Development 4. 5. Sandra H. Harwell(2003) Teacher Professional Development: Its Not an Event, Its a Process. CORD