Strategies for Improving Teachers’ Professional Development in Higher Education Institutions in the Southwest Region of Cameroon

Oct 15, 2026

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The expansion of higher education institutions in Cameroon, alongside ongoing curriculum change to meet national and global needs, increases the demand for continuous professional development of teachers. The study investigates peer coaching and reflective teaching as strategies to strengthen teachers’ professional development in HEIs in the Southwest region of Cameroon. Data were collected from 409 teachers and 37 heads of departments. Spearman’s rho tested hypotheses, while ordinary least squares regression assessed impact.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

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Abstract

Introduction

Educational Considerations Volume 49 Number 2 Cultivating International Connections Article 6 Through Education August 2023 Strategies for Improving Teachers’Professional Development in Higher Education Institutions in the Southwest Region of Cameroon Sophie Ekume Etomes University of Buea, Cameroon, [sophie.ekume@ubuea.cm](sophie.ekume@ubuea.cm) Mou Charlotte Nsem University of Buea, Cameroon Follow this and additional works at: [https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations](https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations) Part of the Education Economics Commons, Higher Education Commons, and the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Etomes, Sophie Ekume and Nsem, Mou Charlotte (2023) "Strategies for Improving Teachers’ Professional Development in Higher Education Institutions in the Southwest Region of Cameroon," Educational Considerations: Vol. 49: No. 2. [https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2366](https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2366) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Considerations by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, please [contact](contact cads@k-state.edu)[ cads@k-state.edu](contact cads@k-state.edu). Strategies for Improving Teachers’Professional Development in Higher Education Institutions in the Southwest Region of Cameroon Sophie EkumeEtomes and Mou Charlotte Nsem Abstract The expansion of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Cameroon, and the continuous change in the curriculum to meet national and global needs, calls for a need for continuous professional development of teachers to handle these challenges. This study examined peer coaching and reflective teaching as strategies for improving teachers’ professional development in HEIs in the Southwest region of Cameroon. Questionnaires and an interview guide were used to collect data from 409 teachers and 37 heads of departments respectively. The Spearman’s rho test was used to test the hypotheses while the ordinary least square regression model was used to test the impact of reflective teaching and peer coaching on teachers’ professional development. Findings revealed that peer coaching and reflective teaching have a positive and significant impact on teachers’ professional development. However, the regression model shows that reflective teaching has more impact on teachers’ professional development. In addition, the practice is more in the private sector than the state HEIs. Therefore, it is recommended that peer coaching should be well planned and teachers should be provided with relevant resources to carry out the activity. It is also recommended that teachers should be trained on how to carry out reflective teaching for effective practice. Keywords: higher education, peer coaching, professional development, reflective teaching. Introduction Teachers are at the core of efforts to attain educational goals and objectives at all levels. Their productivity determines the productivity of the institution (Utami & Vioreza, 2021) which depends on their professional development activities (Ali & Shafeeq, 2021; Anisah et al., 2020) . This has become more relevant in higher education institutions in Cameroon that are experiencing a continuous increase in student enrolment due to high rates of attendance and completion in secondary/high schools and the open-door academic policy adopted by the government of Cameroon (Mve, 2021) . More so, policies on higher education institutions (HEIs) in Cameroon emphasize the professionalization of programmes (Cameroon, 1993, 2001) with the main objective to adapt curricula and related technologies to the needs of the society (Bilola & Doh, 2016) . For higher education to attain these

FAQs

What professional development strategies does the study examine in Cameroon’s higher education institutions?

The study examines peer coaching and reflective teaching as strategies for improving teachers’ professional development in HEIs in the Southwest region of Cameroon.

How was the study’s data collected?

Questionnaires and an interview guide were used to collect data from 409 teachers and 37 heads of departments.

What is the main finding about peer coaching and reflective teaching?

The findings indicate that peer coaching and reflective teaching have a positive and significant impact on teachers’ professional development, with reflective teaching showing a greater impact in the regression results.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca