An investigation on the impacts of professional dpevelopment on urban and suburban educators in Bangladesh

Abstract

An essential area in the Bangladesh education sector is to explore the various effects of professional development on urban and suburban teachers. Basically, professional development or training of a teacher is very important and essential to ensure effective teaching. This qualitative study explores the differential impact of professional development (PD) programs on educators in urban and suburban contexts across Bangladesh. Therefore, this study explored disparities in educational attainment, participation, and consequent effectiveness using semi-structured interviews with a total of seven purposively selected educators, three from urban schools in Dhaka city and four from suburban schools in Gaibandha district. So, the findings of this study reveal geographical and infrastructural inequalities that affect PD participation and implementation. Moreover, urban educators experience improved access to institutional support as well as technological infrastructure, in addition to centralized training facilities, leading to improved teaching methods, increased adoption of student-centered approaches, and integration of educational technology. Conversely, suburban educators often face obstacles, including logistical constraints, limited institutional and financial support, and inadequate infrastructure, which hinder both their opportunities to obtain educational qualifications and the practical application of acquired skills. However, this study emphasizes the need for appropriate and context-specific PD programs, decentralized training initiatives, equitable distribution of educational resources, as well as strong institutional support to address the urban-suburban professional growth disparity. In fact, eliminating this disparity is crucial to increasing the quality of equitable education across the diverse geographical contexts of Bangladesh.