The Evaluation of a Teacher Training Programme in School Management

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 1990s, there have been changes in the rationale and practice of Hong Kong's teacher education. Apart from the expansion of initial teacher education, there has also been an increase in the provision of refresher teacher training programmes. Many of these training programmes are offered by the Hong Kong Institute of Education, and have been credit-bearing since 1998. To ensure that these programmes are effective in meeting the needs of schools, evaluation studies are necessary. This study adapted Kirk-patrick's training evaluation model to examine the effectiveness of a primary refresher training programme entitled `The School as an Organization' (SAO). We used a longitudinal investigation with multiple methods (questionnaires, tests and interviews) and sources of information (teachers and their principals) to examine the reactions, learning and behavioural changes of 129 trainees. Our results indicated that the refresher training programme is very effective, especially for senior teachers who are responsible for managerial duties. The findings and implications of the study are discussed.