Author's Name:	Regis Fanuel Gutuza
Subject Area:	Social Science and Humanities
Subject	Education
Section	Research Paper

Continuous, professional development, inservicing, teachers, educators and critique

Teachers are undoubtedly the greatest assets of any school. They transmit knowledge, skills and values to pupils. In order for teachers to fulfill these functions fully there is need to prepare them thoroughly for their work and to help them maintain and improve their contributions through continuous professional development. In addition, teachers operate in environments that are unstable due to the rapid changes in information and technology. The times when teachers relied solely on their initial teacher training are over and done with. The technological advances demand that teachers upgrade their skills and knowledge in order to remain effective. The explosion of information and knowledge has resulted in situations where teachers are n longer the main sources of information and knowledge. Children learn from many sources as television, internet and computers. Teachers are duty bound to advance their own knowledge and skills in order to cope with situations where pupils may be more up to date than they are. What are the implications of all these changes on teachers and other educators? This presentation will discuss continuous professional development, in-service education and teacher education. It will also discuss the role of distance education in general and, in particular, the role of the Zimbabwe Open University in the whole field of teachers’ continuous development and in-service education.