Abstract:

Pakistan is a developing country facing multifarious issues in the field of education. It is not only up against the challenges of low literacy but also the quality of education. In this regard efforts are being made by the government to improve the quality of teacher education in order to bring quality in the overall education system. As a step forward the government in 2009 introduced National professional standards for teachers, development of teachers on the basis of these standards is part of a broader national movement for the assurance of quality in various fields of human life. Since teaching is regarded as transfer of knowledge in an organized and systematic way, it is important to know how this teaching is planned and delivered this has been included in the National Professional Standards as “Instructional Planning and Strategies”. One of the dimensions of this standard is “Performance” which has octangular indicators on the basis of which it can be measured independently. This article aimed to investigate the existing performance of secondary school teachers working in the public sector on the basis of octangular performance indicators of instructional planning and strategies as stated in the National Professional Standards. The study further determined the difference in the performance of secondary school teachers according to their experience and qualification across gender and location. The sample of the study were 80 secondary school head teachers and 400 secondary school teachers selected through multistage sampling for data triangulation from the four provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory.

‘T test’ was applied to calculate the difference between the:
i) performance of urban/ rural secondary school teachers according to qualification and experience,
ii) qualification and experience wise performance of secondary school teachers across gender.

The in-depth study revealed qualification and experience wise performance differences among secondary school teachers across gender and location. On the basis of the study recommendations for the capacity development of secondary school teachers were given according to gender and location. To ensure quality teaching, teachers need to perform according to these octangular performance indicators in true spirit.

Keywords:

Instructional Planning & Strategies, National Professional Standards, Performance Analyses.