From INSET Centres to Multipurpose Education Centres: Experiences from the Limpopo Province

Overview & Synopsis

This article reviews the impact of broader policy change and practices on in-service teacher education (INSET) in the Limpopo province. The author argues that name changes from INSET to staff development to continuous teacher professional development or continuous professional development to capacity building and training tend to generalise teacher support activities, rather than focusing on teacher empowerment and strengthening mechanisms. Offerings of INSET were in the past, made at INSET centres, central school halls, teachers' centres, colleges of education, higher education institutions, and are now at designated multipurpose education centres and Higher Education Institutes. This article reasserts the importance of individual continuous professional development of educators at appropriate venues. After an extensive literature review and field study in the province, emerging issues requiring attention include closing INSET policy gaps, conceptual clarification/consensus, management of CPDE at national, provincial, district and school levels, as well as clarifying the role higher education institutions can play. The article calls for closer collaboration between education departmental units, the South African Council for Educators and teacher unions to deliver planned programmes at teacher development centres to support effective teaching and learning. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)