NON-SPECIALIST TEACHING AND TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT: INFORMAL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND PERSONNEL PLANNING AT THE FACULTY OF ARTS, LETTERS AND HUMAN SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF BERTOUA, CAMEROON

Amombi Delphine Amana, Mbo Clarisse

Abstract


The expansion and massification of higher education in Cameroon have intensified the demand for qualified academic staff across disciplines. In emerging universities, this situation often leads to the assignment of lecturers to teaching units outside their initial fields of specialisation. Although non-specialist or out-of-field teaching may create pedagogical, cognitive, logistical, and emotional challenges, it may also serve as an opportunity for informal professional learning and transversal competency development. This study examined how non-specialist teaching contributes to transversal competency development among lecturers at the Faculty of Arts, Letters and Human Sciences of the University of Bertoua, with particular emphasis on informal professional learning and institutional personnel planning. The study adopted an exploratory mixed-methods survey design. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire titled ‘‘Out-of-Field Teaching and Transversal Competence Planning Questionnaire’’ administered to 30 permanent and part-time lecturers selected purposively from different departments of the faculty. Quantitative data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages and means while qualitative responses were analysed thematically. Findings revealed that lecturers rely on self-directed research, mentoring, digital tools, peer collaboration, pedagogical translation, and competency-based assessment strategies to manage non-specialist teaching. The study also found that non-specialist teaching contributes to transversal competencies such as adaptability, digital literacy, collaboration, and self-regulation. However, institutional planning remains insufficient, particularly in relation to pedagogical guides, workload reduction, early course allocation, and formal interdisciplinary mentoring. The study concludes that non-specialist teaching can become a productive professional development pathway only when supported by deliberate personnel planning, structured mentoring, institutional resources, and recognition of informal learning.

Keywords


non-specialist teaching; out-of-field teaching; transversal competencies; informal professional learning; personnel planning; higher education; University of Bertoua; Cameroon

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v13i6.6745

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