A critical evaluation of in-service professional development programmes for novice science teachers: Omani stakeholders’ perspectives

This mixed-methods study evaluates the new policy of the Omani Ministry of Education (MoE) on providing professional development (PD) programmes for novice science teachers (NSTs) by eliciting the views of key stakeholders and investigating their enactment of the policy. Data were collected by document analysis, individual interviews and a questionnaire. The interviewees were twelve policymakers from MoE headquarters, plus thirty policy implementers and forty-four NSTs from six of Oman’s eleven educational governorates: Musandam, Al-Dhahirah, Dhofar, Al-Sharqiyah South, Muscat and Al Batinah South. In addition, 399 NSTs completed the questionnaire. The findings indicate that some participants were satisfied with the MoE’s new policy on the PD of NSTs and its aim of achieving a higher level of student performance, but that there was uncertainty among stakeholders regarding the planning and implementation of the policy and the role of actors in the educational governorates (educational supervisors and training centres) and schools (principals, senior teachers and colleagues) in delivering the policy. The study also reveals the existence of basic challenges facing stakeholders in implementing the policy, such as the development of subject knowledge, administrative problems and the provision of support to NSTs during the early years of their teaching careers. Finally, it is found that professional learning communities have not yet been established and become active in Omani schools. This study has made many contributions to knowledge and methodology that can be considered an enrichment of the literature, both by broadening the understanding of the PD of NSTs in relation to policy enactment in the Middle Eastern context and by providing additional evidence that illustrates some of the issues identified in other countries to support a number of conclusions, such as the uncertainty surrounding the policy on the professional development of NSTs, the challenges to the PD of NSTs and their implications, and the use of mentoring and professional learning communities. Finally, it contributes to developing the concepts of novice teachers, policy transfer and teacher agency.