Teacher training system as an agent of change for human development: The case of Honduras

Abstract

This article analyzes the results of research conducted with teachers working at the primary and secondary levels of the Honduran education system in urban and rural areas during 2015. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the initial and ongoing teacher training system in conjunction with scientific elements that contribute to knowledge and decision-making. The work emphasized: the Initial and Ongoing Teacher Training System, the Teacher as an Agent of Change, and Human Development Theory; all these aspects were used as categories of analysis to support the substantive relationship between the teacher training system and development theory.

Empirical verification was obtained from teachers in the Honduran departments of Choluteca, Francisco Morazán, Lempira, Intibucá, Cortés, La Paz, and Yoro. The purposive sample consisted of one hundred and seven teachers. University students collaborated in the fieldwork with the Doctoral Program in Human Development Management in Social Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Honduras and teachers from the decentralized level.

It was found that the teacher training system (SINAFOD) should be oriented towards shaping the national training plan for change, with a guiding principle to identify the teacher's identity as a facilitator in their pedagogical practices, contributing to human development in their capacities; all of this articulated with the stratification of training for novice, intermediate, and experienced teachers; with the aim of a plan for monitoring and evaluating their performance, based on curricular areas and the perceived needs of the system and the context of the latent educational reality. Furthermore, it is recommended that educational authorities present this topic for discussion and reflection, in order to make the most appropriate decisions in this regard. In this sense, the study used quantitative and quantitative techniques as methodological instruments, such as an online survey questionnaire and interviews with education researchers, which contain a series of academic data. An exhaustive review of theoretical documents and public documents from the Ministry of Education, among others, was also carried out.