This research investigates how the school-based continuing professional development (SBCPD) program in Zambia can be adapted to be more inclusive and sustainable. Using quantitative and qualitative methods to understand teachers’ needs, we will design and test interventions designed to work within current systems whilst taking better account to teachers’ needs. The interventions will explore the particular professional development needs of  Community school teachers; adaptations for those coping with implementing multiple initiatives in the same school; and how to incorporate mentoring and coaching into SBCPD. The research will determine how enhanced SBCPD can be adapted to be more inclusive of all teachers, and how it can work alongside other initiatives. 

A key focus will be Community school teachers – often unqualified and working alone – and those the data suggests are currently marginalized because SBCPD is less embedded. The aim is to give teachers a voice and the confidence to implement SBCPD effectively in their own context. The research will build the capacity of District and Provincial Officers to support schools, further developing their own expertise in active teaching approaches, mentoring, and coaching.