The challenges of continuing professional development among academic staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine

Abstract

The research is focused on studying continuing professional development (CPD) of academic staff in Ukraine. The starting point is to analyze various definitions to describe the concept and defining skills crucial for CPD activities. To study various aspects of CPD, the questionnaire was created and made available from September to November, 2020. It was used to gather both quantitative and qualitative data to address the research questions, particularly the attitude, advantages, obstacles, etc. The findings of the study suggest that for most respondents CPD is a necessary component of professional activities indicating that the most motivating factors are self-development, self-improvement and professional interest. The respondents consider courses, internships, online seminars and webinars to be the most effective listing courses and conferences as the most often chosen ways of CPD. The majority of the surveyed noted that they had up to 10 hours of CPD during the quarantine in spring 2020 with focus on technical characteristics, forms and methods of online teaching.