In-service Training Programs for Schools Teachers in Afghanistan : Teachers’ Views about effectiveness of the In-service training

Abstract: Like other fields of life also the education system has affected in Afghanistan by long lasting war and the whole system face with lack of professional cadre. For addressing the deficit in teaching cadre Ministry of Education beside other long term programs has designed short term courses for training of in-service teachers; these courses are called INSETs and it has been delivered through a unified modality of District Teacher Training Team (DT3) and covers all teachers nationwide. In this research I tried to study views of teachers about effectiveness of In-Service Trainings (INSET), since the INSET training program has important role in professional development and capacity building of teachers, but its effectiveness depends on the effectiveness of its composing elements such as teachers’ interest, time and duration, trainers’ ability, subjects covered in each training and follow-on support; to this end I collected the data through questionnaire. The findings show that generally teachers feel the need to their professional development, so they are interested to participate in INSET programs. The respondents believed that scheduling and planning for the INSET shall be made in close coordination to school management. The study findings also illustrate that both male and female respondents have same perception about trainers’ qualification, but female and BA holders have more critics about the trainers’ qualification. Majority of the respondents are satisfied about follow-up activities and they said they received follow-up support to practice the knowledge and skills in their daily class room activities. Majority of the respondents believed that the subjects or topics which are covered in the INSET courses are useful, but during developing of any study materials for INSET courses, more attention shall be paid for avoiding of ambiguity in the course materials, also those materials which are translated from foreign languages shall be adopted in Afghan context; and shall be translated professionally. Based on the teachers’ views the INSET program is effective, but still there are some problems to be solved to make the programs more functional and effective for teachers. Prior to designing of any training, need assessment of teachers through scientific methods is highly recommended. Lack of professional trainers is another issue toward effective implementation of the program.