The State of Awareness of the Teaching Profession Act and License Renewal among Teachers in Selected Districts in Lusaka Province, Zambia

The purpose of the study was to explore the state of awareness of the Teaching Profession Act and license renewal among teachers in selected districts in Lusaka Province, Zambia. The study employed a quantitative research approach and descriptive research design. The study population consisted of 18,759 individual teachers. The Krejcie and Morgan sample determination table was used to draw a sampling size (S) of 375 from the total population (N) of 18,759. Permission to conduct the study was sought from the relevant authorities. The study employed a self-developed questionnaire to gather data.  The study adhered to fundamental research ethics, including participants’ anonymity and confidentiality. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the collected data. The findings were that a greater number of the teachers (65%) are aware of the Teaching Profession Act, a very high proportion of the teachers (84.3%) are aware of the license renewal due dates with the Teaching Council of Zambia (TCZ), a significant number of the teachers (77.6%) preferred the payroll mode of payment in renewing their teaching licenses, some of the teachers (45%) believed there is an online license renewal system, which is also accessible to all teachers, an insignificant number of the teachers (35%) agreed that school administration does support the renewal of teachers’ professional practice licenses and an overwhelming majority of the teachers (91 %) believe holding a professional license is essential for all teachers. The study recommends that the Teaching Council of Zambia, the teacher unions and the Ministry of Education should work-hand-in hand to ensure there are continuous professional orientation implementations, and policy dissemination to ensure all teachers understand the legal and ethical framework governing their profession and the Teaching Profession Act. The Teaching Council of Zambia should intensify awareness campaigns, provide accessible materials in all schools, and incorporate policy orientation sessions into regular teacher professional development programs.