Theoretical Framework Model (TFM) for Examining the Professional Development of Teachers

Abstract

There is no generally accepted model for the continuous professional development of teachers (CPD). Different education policies in different countries reflect the implementation of different practices, although the goal is the same: to improve the quality of education. The reasonable goal of this study is to contribute with an editable and content-wise validation of the Theoretical Framework Model (TFM) for further research, a model created on the base of central regulatory documents. To this end, researchers reconciled the dimensions and indicators of the TFM to the TALIS 2018 research tools, then filtered out the relevant Hungarian respondents from the OECD online database. Finally, the data of Hungarian teachers and those of the other 47 TALIS countries were subjected to secondary statistical analysis in order to show correlations with the TFM dimensions and indicators. Results show disproportion between the TFM dimensions and shortcomings of the indicator system, particularly in career management. Besides the weakness of the support system for CPD, data point to the dominance of monitoring. Statistics also show contradiction between the central expectations towards teachers in Hungary and their belief in their professional development.