Implementing Western-based innovative approaches to teaching in a non-Western environment: Cultural context and the professional development of teachers

This study documents critical experiences of Professional Development Teachers (PDT's) while they implemented western-based innovative approaches to teaching in schools that were based in a non-western context (Pakistan). These experiences reflect the process of personal, classroom and school transformation that continues to be influenced by culture, socio-political and religious structures. It depicts the non-reflective nature of the educational scene in Pakistan that continues to pervade silence.;The study was undertaken at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan and the subjects were from the first cohort of M.Ed. graduates. Data was collected via a survey questionnaire and personal interview(s) from fifteen out of twenty-one graduates. Data was collected at a time when these graduates had at least two years of post-M.Ed. experience. These graduates represented three sets of schools systems: public, private for profit and nonprofit.;Significant findings from the study confirm that (1) implementation success of an innovation was directly proportionate to the level of support from stakeholders; (2) PTD's worked under a constructivist paradigm while enhancing their role as reflective practitioners; (3) PDT's found strong religious compatibility with the innovative approaches to teaching, yet there were powerful cultural influences that inhibited the practice of reflective and critical approaches to teaching; (4) PDT's confirmed that their professional development has directly affected family ties and personal relations; (5) Physical conditions in public schools were less conducive to learning in comparison to private schools. However, the rigidity in the administrative structures was present in all schools with the exception of two non-profit private schools.;Recommendations to further the efforts of PDT's include (1) individual schools and the institute need to develop a shared meaning of change for themselves and assess their built-in capacity to support change; (2) School-wide structural reforms need to be introduced to support classroom initiatives; (3) Affiliation of PDT's to professional associations and continuing education is important for further development; (4) Classroom-based research is of utmost need to assess core competencies and impact of implementation; and (5) The institute needs to further its efforts towards developing long-term partnership with select schools and develop indigenous model of a professional development center.