Institutional Barriers to Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Programs

This study delves into the perceptions and needs of Bangladeshi university teachers regarding Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in classroom teaching. Using a quantitative approach, data was collected from 110 teachers through a standardized questionnaire. The goal of the study is to improve CPD programs by aligning them with the teachers’ needs and perceptions. The results reveal that although many teachers actively participate in CPD activities, their perception of its importance and the support they receive from their institutions varies. While a minority of participants believe CPD is crucial for their current employment, many express encouragement from their institutions to engage in CPD. Popular methods of continuous professional development include attending seminars, webinars, workshops, and accessing online resources. However, teachers face several challenges in participating in CPD, such as limited resources, language barriers, technological constraints, and inadequate institutional support. These limitations highlight the need for more accessible and supportive CPD programs. Teachers prefer CPD activities that promote collaboration, flexibility, and align with their professional goals. They also expect CPD to cover aspects such as curriculum development, teaching methods, and technology integration. The findings stress the importance of initiating CPD programs that cater to the individual needs and preferences of university teachers. Institutions should provide more resources, such as flexible scheduling, financial assistance, and internal workshops, to address the identified challenges and meet teachers’ expectations. By doing so, CPD programs can enhance professional development, classroom performance, and overall teaching satisfaction. This study offers a comprehensive understanding of the CPD requirements and perspectives of university teachers, which can guide the development of more effective and targeted professional development activities in Bangladesh. Teachers face various challenges to CPD participation, including limited resources, language problems, technology constraints, and insufficient institutional support. These limitations highlight the importance of more supporting and accessible CPD programs. Teachers prefer CPD activities that promote collaboration, flexibility, and alignment with professional goals. Curriculum development, teaching methods, and technology integration are all expected aspects of CPD. The findings emphasize the need to initiate CPD programs that suit university teachers' individual needs and preferences. Institutions should provide more facilities through flexible scheduling, financial assistance, and internal workshops. By resolving the identified challenges and adapting teachers' expectations, CPD programs can enhance professional development, classroom performance, and overall teaching satisfaction. This study offers in-depth insights into university teachers' CPD requirements and perspectives, influencing the enhancement of more effective and targeted professional development activities in Bangladesh.

Professional development of nurses plays a crucial role in improving the quality of nursing services. The implementation of continuing competency development programs has not been optimal due to the absence of structured guidelines and programs at Hospital This lack of structure results in low consistency and uniformity in program implementation across nursing units. This study aims to develop a structured and sustainable professional development guideline and program for nurses that can serve as a reference for systematic and targeted implementation within the hospital environment. The study was conducted through a nursing management residency program held from May 27 to June 30, 2025. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and questionnaires distributed to nursing staff and nursing leadership. The questionnaire used the Q-PDN to measure various aspects of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) among nurses, with a Cronbach’s alpha reliability value of 0.89. Data analysis involved the Ishikawa diagram approach, SWOT analysis, and problem prioritization using the USG method. The analysis identified the absence of CPD guidelines and programs as the main problem, with the highest priority score. A draft guideline and CPD program were developed, covering staffing standards, facilities, implementation procedures, quality control, reporting, and follow-up mechanisms. Initial evaluation showed that 91% of stakeholders had a strong understanding of the document and provided positive feedback on its usefulness. The development of CPD guidelines and programs is a strategic step to strengthen the implementation of continuous professional development for nurses.

The study in this paper was carried out in the framework of an evidence‐based continuous professional development (CPD) programme in which teachers documented evidence about their practice in a portfolio. The context of the CPD was related to the ‘Learning Skills for Science’ (LSS) programme, which advocates the incorporation of high‐order learning skills and capabilities into science school curricula, in addition to content knowledge. The LSS comprises high‐order scientific communication skills such as information retrieval, scientific reading, scientific writing, listening and observing, information representation, and knowledge presentation. The main goal was to study what can be learned from evidence‐based portfolios about teachers’ LSS practice. More specifically we studied the dimensions and levels of teachers’ practice, the profiles of teachers’ accomplishment, and their ability to present evidence about their practice. We analysed 12 teachers’ portfolios (34 pieces of evidence) using a diagnostic tool that reflected the various dimensions of teachers’ accomplishment in LSS practice: P: Perceptions of LSS instruction; M: Model of instruction; T: Using learning materials; A: Assessment; I: Influence in the school system; E: Evidence preparation. For each of these dimensions we identified a hierarchy of levels on a scale of 1–5. The diagnostic tool revealed diverse LSS multidimensional professional profiles which demonstrated strong and weak aspects in teachers’ performance. We concluded that evidence‐based portfolios about teachers’ practice can serve as tools for assessment of teachers’ accomplishment (for example, for accreditation purposes) and as an authentic resource for customising professional development programmes to the needs of individual teachers.

This study investigates the role of instructional leadership in implementing and succeeding Teachers' Continuous Professional Development (TCPD) programs in primary schools within Tanzania's Mkuranga District. Through a systematic literature review, the research underscores the critical importance of instructional leadership in shaping educational quality and student outcomes. The data was collected systematically from databases such as Scopus, Google Scholar, Research Gate, and PubMed were selected due to their extensive collections of peer-reviewed journals, articles, and conference papers. This review synthesizes findings from 18 selected articles published between 2010 and 2024, focusing on administrators' and teachers' perceptions of instructional leadership, its influence on TCPD program implementation, challenges faced by administrators, and strategies for improving instructional leadership in primary schools. The review reveals that effective instructional leaders articulate a clear vision for educational improvement, align professional development with school goals, and foster a culture of collaboration and continuous learning. Despite the recognized benefits, challenges such as inadequate funding, resistance to change, and administrative turnover hinder TCPD implementation. The study offers strategic recommendations, including targeted training for leaders, professional learning communities, resource allocation, monitoring and evaluation, and community engagement, to enhance instructional leadership and TCPD effectiveness

This study explores the impact of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs on employee performance over a three-year period in the petrochemical sector. By employing a mixed-methods approach, the research analyzes pre- and post-training assessment scores to evaluate the effectiveness of CPD initiatives. The study focuses on year-wise improvements and gender-specific differences, using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to  identify statistically significant changes in performance metrics. Data were collected from employees who participated in CPD programs from 2019 to 2021. The results indicate a substantial year- over-year improvement in employee performance, highlighting the increasing effectiveness  of CPD programs. Additionally, the analysis reveals no significant gender differences in performance improvement, suggesting that CPD programs are equally beneficial for all employees, regardless of gender. These findings underscore the critical role of CPD in fostering a skilled and adaptable workforce in the petrochemical industry. The study provides valuable insights for HR practitioners and policymakers to enhance the design and implementation of CPD programs, ensuring sustained competitive advantage and operational excellence. Future research should focus on identifying specific components of CPD that contribute most significantly to performance improvements and exploring the long-term impacts of these programs on organizational success.  

Professional growth is a vital facet of every profession, including counseling. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effectiveness of continuous professional development (CPD) programs organized for counselors in public Senior High Schools (SHS) in the Greater Accra Region (GAR) of Ghana. The study utilized a quantitative descriptive survey design. The sample was 120 counselors who were selected using lottery simple random sampling technique. Structured questionnaires were used to gather data. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. It was established that to a large extent, counselors in SHS perceived the CPD programs as effective in improving their counseling skills and knowledge in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Moreover, program content, delivery methods, and support systems were the factors contributing to the effectiveness of CPD programs for counselors in SHS in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Finally, it was found that there was a positive relationship between the number of CPD programs attended by counselors in SHS and their job performance in terms of providing counseling services to students. It was concluded that CPD programs organized for SHS counselors were effective in improving the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of counselors. Additionally, this study is an important contribution to the field of counseling and education in Ghana. Recommendations are made based on the findings of the study.

In this study our goal was to better understand the development of chemistry teachers who are involved in a continuous professional development (CPD) programme, focusing on using the inquiry approach in the chemistry classroom‐laboratory, followed by protocols assembled in a portfolio that can be used to demonstrate evidence‐based practice in chemistry teaching in the inquiry laboratory. Fourteen experienced chemistry teachers participated in a workshop, coordinated by three CPD providers from the Department of Science Teaching, at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The meetings, lasting about three hours, were conducted once a month. Of the fourteen teachers, some were videotaped while conducting inquiry‐type experiments in their classes, and were interviewed immediately afterwards. Based on the findings, we conclude that the CPD programme contributed to the professional development of the teachers. The teachers became more reflective and more aware of their practice. In addition, we observed a change in their pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge regarding the inquiry teaching. Moreover, their anxiety concerning the implementation of the programme was reduced significantly throughout the year.

Introduction: In 2010 the Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi (NMCM) launched a mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) programme for all registered nurses and midwives and linked it to annual re-licensure. Despite the sensitisation activities and training conducted prior to its launch, an evaluation of the CPD programme revealed important barriers to uptake among the nursing workforce. Methods: The NMCM and other stakeholders successfully collaborated on a proposal to the African Health Professional Regulatory Collaborative (ARC) for nurses and midwives to strengthen the national CPD programme. Achievements: With the 1-year $10 000 ARC grant, the Malawi team began addressing challenges identified in the CPD evaluation. The team leveraged the success of the ARC grant to solicit support from other donors to further strengthen the CPD programme. Conclusion: Close stakeholder collaboration and seed funding from the ARC helped catalyse important advancements in the Malawi CPD programme.

Little is known about the factors that influence family physician (FP) participation in continuing professional development (CPD) programs in shared decision making (SDM). We sought to identify the factors that motivate FPs to participate in DECISION+, a CPD program in SDM. In 2007-2008, we collected data from 39 FPs who participated in a pilot randomized trial of DECISION+. In 2010, we collected data again from 11 of those participants and from 12 new subjects. Based on the theory of planned behavior, our questionnaire assessed FPs' intentions to participate in a CPD program in SDM and evaluated FPs' attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. We also conducted 4 focus groups to explore FPs' salient beliefs. In 2010, FPs' mean intention to participate in a CPD program in SDM was relatively strong (2.6 ± 0.5 on a scale from -3 = "strongly disagree" to +3 = "strongly agree"). Affective attitude was the only factor significantly associated with intention (r = .51, p = .04). FPs identified the attractions of participating in a CPD program in SDM as (1) its interest, (2) the pleasure of learning, and (3) professional stimulation. Facilitators of their participation were (1) a relevant clinical topic, (2) an interactive program, (3) an accessible program, and (4) decision support tools. To attract FPs to a CPD program in SDM, CPD developers should make the program interesting, enjoyable, and professionally stimulating. They should choose a clinically relevant topic, ensure that the program is interactive and accessible, and include decision support tools.

Many national medical governing bodies encourage physicians to engage in continuing professional development (CPD) activities to cultivate their knowledge and skills to ensure their clinical practice reflects the current standards and evidence base. However, physicians often encounter various barriers that hinder their participation in CPD programs, such as time constraints, a lack of centralized coordination, and limited opportunities for self-assessment. The literature has highlighted the strength of using question-based learning interventions to augment physician learning and further enable change in practice. CPD By the Minute (CPD-Min) is a smartphone-enabled web-based app that was developed to address self-assessment gaps and barriers to engagement in CPD activities. This study aimed to assess the app using four objectives: (1) engagement and use of the app throughout the study, (2) effectiveness of this tool as a CPD activity, (3) relevance of the disseminated information to physicians' practice, and (4) acceptability to physicians of this novel tool as an educational initiative. The CPD-Min app disseminated 2 multiple-choice questions (1-min each) each week with feedback and references. Participants included licensed staff physicians, fellows, and residents across Canada. A concurrent multimethods study was conducted, consisting of preintervention and postintervention surveys, semistructured interviews, and app analytics. Guided by the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance framework, the qualitative data were analyzed deductively and inductively. Of the 105 Canadian anesthesiologists participating in the study, 89 (84.8%) were staff physicians, 12 (11.4%) were fellows, and 4 (3.8%) were residents. Participants completed 110 questions each over the course of 52 weeks, with an average completion rate of 75% (SD 33%). In total, 40.9% (43/105) of participants answered >90% of the questions, including 15.2% (16/105) who completed all questions. Moreover, 69% (52/75) of participants reported the app to be an effective and valuable resource for their practice and to enhance continuous learning. Most participants (63/75, 84%) who completed the postsurveys reported that they would likely continue using the app as a CPD tool. These findings were further supported by the interview data. Three key themes were identified: the practical design of the novel educational app facilitates its adoption by clinicians, the app was perceived as a useful knowledge tool for continuous learning, and the app's low-stakes testing environment cultivated independent learning attitudes. The findings suggest the potential of the app to improve longitudinal assessments that promote lifelong learning among clinicians. The positive feedback and increased acceptance of the app supports it as an innovative tool for knowledge retention and CPD. Future research efforts should prioritize evaluating the app's long-term sustainability and its impact on physicians' practice, as well as exploring alternative approaches (such as artificial intelligence-based tools) for generating questions.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between participation in different types of continuing professional development (CPD), and incidences and types of public complaint against physicians. Cases included physicians against whom complaints were made by members of the public to the medical regulatory body in Ontario, Canada, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), during 2008 and 2009. The control cohort included physicians against whom no complaints were documented during the same period. We focused on complaints related to physician communication, quality of care and professionalism. The CPD data included all Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) CPD programme activities reported by the case and control physicians. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine if the independent variable, reported participation in CPD, was associated with the dependent variable, the complaints-related status of the physician in the year following reported CPD activities. A total of 2792 physicians were included in the study. There was a significant relationship between participation in CPD, type of CPD and type of complaint received. Analysis indicated that physicians who reported overall participation in CPD activities were significantly less likely (odds ratio 0.604; p = 0.028) to receive quality of care-related complaints than those who did not report participating in CPD. Additionally, participation in group-based CPD was less likely (OR 0.681; p = 0.041) to result in quality of care-related complaints. The findings demonstrate a positive relationship between participation in the national CPD programmes of the CFPC and RCPSC, and lower numbers of public complaints received by the CPSO. As certification bodies and regulators alike are increasingly mandating CPD, they are encouraged to continually evaluate the effectiveness of their programmes to maximise programme impact on physician performance at the population level.

As education practices in 21st century has grown rapidly, it grows a wide agreement that English teachers must improve their practical and pedagogical skills through continuous professional development program. This study aimed to investigate EFL teachers’ voices towards PKGBI professional development program. Further, this study employed qualitative study with a narrative inquiry approach. This study employed semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis regarding teachers’ voices on PKGBI professional development. Based on the results of data analysis, the findings suggested that most EFL teachers showed positive voices and perceptions towards PKGBI program. PKGBI professional development program was said to be an effective program in improving EFL teachers’ pedagogical and professional competencies. This study also highlighted the challenges faced by the EFL teachers during the professional development program such as ICT integration, excessive workload as a teacher, and time management. This study underscores the importance professional development program for English teachers dealing with the rapid changes in educational issues in the next fifteen years ahead. To sum up, this study suggested that undertaking PKGBI professional development program has been an alternative-continuous professional development program for English teachers, and it has profoundly increased EFL teachers’ pedagogical and professional competencies in addressing to 21st century learning.

IntroductionKnowledge Translation (KT) is expected to be a critical learning outcome of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program. It continues to serve as an area of interest among educators and healthcare providers due to its importance to evidence-based practice. This study endeavored to develop a valid and reliable KT learning assessment tool in CPD.MethodsThe Inventory of Reflective Vignettes (IRV), an innovative approach of integrating research vignettes, was utilized in crafting the 20-item IRV-KT tool. This instrument includes knowledge creation and action as essential KT constructs. KT competency was assessed in three segments (i.e., before and after CPD event and if in a lecture) using a one-group post-posttest pre-experimental design. Health professionals who successfully completed a CPD program on a knowledge translation topic were asked to complete the IRV-KT during the pilot study (n = 10) and actual implementation (n = 45). Responses were subjected to Cronbach’s reliability and criterion-validity testing.ResultsThe initial test of the IRV-KT tool demonstrated a high internal reliability (α = 0.97) and most items yielded acceptable validity scores. During the actual implementation, a higher reliability score of 0.98 was generated with significant correlations between the before-after segments for both KT constructs of creation (r = 0.33, p < 0.05) and action (r = 0.49, p < 0.05). All items have significant positive validity coefficients (r > 0.35, p < 0.05) in all segments of the tool.DiscussionThe study produced a reflective assessment tool to validly and reliably assess KT learning in a CPD. IRV-KT is seen to guide the curriculum process of CPD programs to bridge learning and healthcare outcomes.

This paper seeks to position the current role of mentoring within the continuing professional development (CPD) programmes of UK professional associations and to examine its potential for developing reflective practice. Following a review of mentoring and CPD in terms of their relationship to the ethos of lifelong learning, it indicthes the extent to which mentoring has been embraced by professional associations. Here, reference is made to a wider research project that set out to map the CPD policies and programmes of UK professional associations by analysing the documentation of over 100 associations. The paper puts forward the idea that mentoring could form an important support for reflective practice, particularly where participation in CPD is compulsory. In conclusion, it argues that the wider introduction of mentoring could help forge new relationships between professionals and their clients, and overcome some of the tensions inherent within CPD itself.

We developed, implemented and evaluated a web-based continuing professional development (CPD) programme on medical genetics. Development of the CPD programme followed the ADDIE model, i.e. Analysis, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluation. An invitation to participate in a needs analysis survey was sent to all doctors on the email list of the Sri Lanka Medical Association. A total of 129 completed surveys was received (57% of the 228 who accessed the online survey). The average age of respondents was 42 years (range 27-81). The male: female ratio was approximately 2 : 1. Almost all respondents (96%) selected web-based CPD programmes, or web-based and conventional lectures, as their preferred method of learning. The programme was piloted on a group of 10 doctors. The average pre-knowledge score was 40.3 and the post-knowledge score was 62.1 marks out of 100 (P = 0.002). We conclude that a web-based CPD programme on medical genetics is feasible in Sri Lanka.