The role of school heads in teachers’ professional development in public secondary school in kibaha district in Tanzania

The study examines the role of school heads on teachers’ professional development in public secondary schools in Kibaha Town Council in Tanzania. The study had three objectives. First, to examine ways used by school heads to identify teacher professional development needs in Kibaha Town Council. Secondly, to explore the challenges faced school heads to implement teachers’ professional development programmes in public secondary schools and thirdly, to find out the strategies to overcome the challenges faced school heads to sustain teachers’ professional development programmes. The study employed a mixed method research design and involves 42 participants. Data were collected using interview guide, questionnaire and documentary review. The study findings revealed the following. First, school heads performed administrative and professional functions in their schools such as promotion of teacher; confirmation of teachers in various areas of work; categorization of teachers based on their qualifications as well as making follow up of teaching and learning processes. Secondly, selection of teachers for professional development was based on the three methods namely; training needs of the school, availability of training funds and school heads’ decision. Thirdly, the study findings showed thatseminars, workshops, face-to-face discussions, refresher courses, orientation courses, mentoring/couching, conferences, panels and symposia were the methods commonly used for training programmes for public secondary school teachers. Fourthly, findings show that teachers’ professional development programmes faced three challenges: problems facing the teachers’ professional development programmes, those faced administrators and those which faced the beneficiaries of the programmes. Fifthly, the findings revealed that provision of enough education on the importance of professional development, encouragement of teachers to attend professional development programmes, provision of enough facilities; provision of permission to the teachers to attend training programmes, improvement of the motivational strategies for teachers, and good government plan for teachers’ professional development programme could solve the challenges facing teachers’ professional development programmes in public secondary schools in Tanzania. The study recommended that the selection of teachers for professional development programmes should consider the training needs and individual attributes such as age and gender