Date of Award

Spring 5-6-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in School Leadership

Department

Center for Leadership & Learning

College

College of Education

Committee Chair

Dr. Steve Bounds

Second Committee Member

Dr. John Freeman

Third Committee Member

Dr. Jonathon Guthrie

Program Director

Dr. John Freeman

Dean of Graduate College

Dr. Sarah Gordon

Abstract

Teacher Preference in Professional Development

Teacher professional development (PD) is seen as best ways to ensure teacher quality and guarantee positive student achievement outcomes; however, there is a lack of appropriate and effective PD. This quantitative study examined teachers’ preferences in PD content and delivery. Teachers from a K-12 public school district in Northwest Arkansas were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey, and 292 teachers responded. The measured variables were the professional development preferences of the teachers, the teachers' years of experience, the grade level at which teachers teach, gender, the content of preferred PD, and the delivery or format of preferred PD. The researcher adapted questions from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) after receiving permission to do so, and, utilizing the information in the literature review created additional questions for the survey. Survey data were disaggregated using IBM’s SPSS software to conduct t-tests and One-way ANOVAs. The data indicates that there are differences in teacher preferences based upon their years of experience and the level at which they teach. Understanding teacher preferences based on their career stages and their professional needs as adult learners can facilitate more appropriate and effective teacher PD.

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