An evaluative survey of the role of inset in managing educational innovations in Libyan schools

Abstract

The exponential rate, and structural nature of, change in Libya - demographic, social, cultural, economic, political, infrastructural - have placed a massive strain on its education service to cope with these changes. Currently teachers in Libya are experiencing serious problems in meeting the human capital requirements of Libyan society. Curriculum initiatives are being introduced into Libya with an inadequate support base. As a result there are serious problems currently facing teachers in Libya. They are ill-equipped to cope with the current and prospective demands on education and its ability to service the changes in Libya. In particular the study suggests the need for hugely increased, carefully targeted and efficient in-service (INSET) provision. Through a comprehensive survey, the first to be undertaken in Libya, this thesis identifies the problems that teachers face in Libya, and outlines ways in which INSET can be provided and organised to meet these needs. This thesis 'maps the field' of problems, change and INSET in Libya. Recommendations are made to improve INSET in Libya and a model of person-centred change is provided that is based on a large-scale yet person-centred survey. Conclusions are drawn for change theory and practice that include considerable attention to needs analysis. Common problems and features of INSET are identified, that pattern themselves regardless of characteristics of the sample. The need for increased, differentiated, targeted and person-centred INSET is established, and implications are drawn for teachers, providers of INSET, nspectors and quality assurance. The study indicates how 'top-down' models of change can dovetail with 'bottom-up' models of change, and where INSET is located within these.