Continuing Professional Development and Teacher Effectiveness in Secondary Schools in Kwara State

This study investigates the relationship between continuing professional development participation and teacher effectiveness in secondary schools in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria. Teacher quality is the most powerful in-school determinant of student learning outcomes, yet many Nigerian secondary school teachers have limited access to structured professional development beyond initial pre-service training. Kwara State has invested in teacher development through the Teachers Professional Development Initiative, but its impact on classroom effectiveness has not been adequately documented. This study uses a descriptive survey design, collecting data from 210 secondary school teachers and 420 of their students in 15 public secondary schools across Ilorin, Offa, and Lafiagi. CPD participation measures include training frequency, subject focus, and recency. Teacher effectiveness is assessed using classroom observation schedules, student academic performance records, and head teacher evaluations. Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis are applied. Findings reveal that CPD participation frequency is significantly and positively associated with teacher effectiveness scores across subject areas, with the strongest effects in mathematics and science. Teachers who participated in subject-specific workshops within the past two years show significantly higher student performance gains than non-CPD participants. However, CPD content relevance and quality are identified as more important than participation frequency alone. The study concludes that targeted, subject-specific CPD improves secondary school teacher effectiveness in Kwara State. It recommends that the Kwara State Teaching Service Commission prioritise subject-aligned CPD and establish minimum annual training hours as a condition of annual teacher appraisal.

Keywords: continuing professional development, teacher effectiveness, secondary schools, Kwara State, in-service training.