Supporting continuing professional development of teachers in the Pacific

Mays, Tony and Chand, Rajni K. (2024) Supporting continuing professional development of teachers in the Pacific. [Conference Proceedings]

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Abstract

As noted by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL, 2023), open, distance and flexible learning (ODFL) is an important channel for increasing educational opportunities and outcomes. It is particularly relevant for the Pacific, given small dispersed remote populations and limited access to secondary and post-secondary opportunities in rural and outer island locations. Despite the potential of ODFL for the region, there has been limited investment. The COVID19 pandemic further reinforced the need for the Pacific to be better prepared for non-contact teaching and provision of learning approaches outside of traditional classroom-based
practices. Consequently, COL initiated the Partnership for ODFL in the Pacific (PODFLP), which is a 5-year project (2020 – 2025), funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign
Affairs & Trade, to support enhancing capacity and efficiency of education sectors in the Pacific through greater use of innovative delivery mechanisms and technology. COL, together with the Pacific Centre for Flexible and Open Learning for Development (PACFOLD),
implements the project in the nine Commonwealth countries in the Pacific (Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu). The COVID-19
pandemic has resulted in the unprecedented disruption of education globally, threatening to reverse gains made in access to education and learning across countries. Education and learning in the Pacific have also been affected given limited access to distance learning during school closures, especially in rural and outer island locations. As an immediate response to COVID-19, the project supported the region in two ways, providing access to Open Educational Resources (OER) to support distance learning; and developing and offering professional development for teachers in distance learning. Effective interventions in this space require an understanding both of teacher identity in general and specific contextual and cultural dynamics as well as of the role of technology in teaching. As noted by Mays (2021), teacher identity is formed over years of experience from being a learner in school, then as a student teacher in college and then as a classroom teacher in a school. For most teachers currently in service, these experiences were all framed by engagement in a physical space. However, adopting ODFL, and in particular supporting effective fully online learning, requires a new set of capabilities on the part of teachers (Gasevic, 2020). This paper therefore explores how continuing professional development offered to help teachers acquire new knowledge and skills related to use of new technology and new teaching approaches not
premised asynchronously.

Item Type:	Conference Proceedings
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education
Divisions:	Centre for Flexible Learning (CFL)
Depositing User:	Ms Shalni Sanjana
Date Deposited:	29 Jul 2025 00:16
Last Modified:	29 Jul 2025 00:16
URI:	https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/15111

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