The change toward competence-based education
has implications for teachers as well as school management.
This study investigates which professional
development activities teachers undertake related to this
change and how these activities differ among schools with
various human resource (HR) policies. Two types of HR
policy were involved: (1) a government-enforced, national
system of Integrated Personnel Management and (2) a
voluntary, integrative approach of Schooling of teachers,
Organizational development of schools and teacher training
institutes, Action- and development-oriented research,
and Professional development of teachers. Semi-structured
interviews with 30 teachers in nine schools with different
HR policies were held and analyzed both qualitatively and
quantitatively. Findings show that teachers undertake professional
development activities in five categories: maintaining
knowledge base, applying and experimenting,
reflection, collaboration, and activities indirectly related to
teaching practice. Teachers' professional development
activities were found to be relatively similar across schools
with different HR policies. It is concluded that neither
government-enforced nor voluntary HR policies seem to
play much of a role in the participation by teachers in
professional development activities. Implications for further
research and school practice are discussed.