ABSTRACT
More emphasis was placed by humanities and science/mathematics teachers on ‘teaching strategies’ than on any other category, while teachers of practical subjects placed the greatest weight on elements of their teaching connected with ‘student outcomes’. The differences between teachers was most marked in this last category: student outcomes were mentioned on five occasions by humanities teachers as successful elements in their teaching. Comment classifications were constructed for individual teachers, in which similar comments were grouped together; the students’ own words were then used to label the categories. The individual classifications were amalgamated to form an overall classification which covered all eleven teachers and their students. The deficit model of teacher development has been the basis of too many in-service education courses; there is a place for programs which remedy deficiencies, but an overdose of this orientation in professional development can lead to an undermining of teacher morale and a consequent decline rather than improvement in teaching performance.
