The Effect of Teacher Professional Development in Raising the Quality of Teaching (Pilot Research)

The role and importance of life-long learning as part of a teacher's qualification is unquestionable, in particular in terms of the teachers’ personal and professional development, as well as in promoting the school image, improving teacher performance, and enhancing the quality of teaching. Kosovo is still going through a process of transition. Every day new reforms are being introduced. Most of these efforts, such as the new competence based Curriculum Framework, focus in developing education in general; others are more specific and aim, for instance, at improving teachers' professional development. The latter is a very sensitive and critically important area that requires attention and commitment. In this regard, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, in collaboration with various non-profit, governmental and international organizations, have organized numerous professional trainings for teachers in Kosovo. The programme of teacher training sessions, offered in partnership with the University of Pristina, is called the In-Service Teacher Qualification programme1. In this paper we have analyzed the training programmes offered to the teachers of Kosova, surveying the effects and benefits of professional advancement on creating new knowledge and improving the quality of teaching. The survey results have verified the main hypothesis regarding the effect of professional development in raising the quality of teaching, but they have not verified completely auxiliary hypothesis which views (considers) the program as a mechanism to meet the professional development needs of teachers.