A Study Of Practices And Perceptions Concerning Selected Aspects Of Public School Staff Development Programs For Teachers In Southeastern States

Author : Elizabeth Lynettia Fish
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (37 download)

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Download or read book Teachers' Perception of Effective Staff Development written by Elizabeth Lynettia Fish and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Purpose of the study. The purposes of this study were to determine opinions about and perceptions of the characteristics, conditions, and actions which have been suggested in current research as being essential to developing and delivering effective staff development programs to determine how these characteristics compare to staff development programs in practice, to determine how Missouri Excellence in Education Act funds have been used, and to determine the effects of such use. Methods. The survey sample consisted of 197 districts. Survey instruments collected four types of data: (1) demographic information, (2) respondent perceptions about characteristics of effective staff development programs and about those characteristics in practice, (3) respondent perceptions of the impact of staff development within their districts, and (4) about how SB 380 funds have been spent. Teachers rated research based characteristics of effective staff development programs and their perceptions of the extent to which those characteristics were being provided, as well as, their perceptions of the importance of using various strategies during staff development activities. Open ended questions were used to collect information about teachers' perceptions of the benefits of the new funds provided by SB 380 to their districts. Telephone interviews were conducted with selected teachers to ascertain outside characteristics that may have influenced their perceptions of the benefits of the district's staff development program. Findings. There were conflicting opinions as to the success of staff development. Most of SB 380 funds were spent for attendance of workshops and conferences. While most teachers felt they were not being provided the type of staff development they perceived as being effective, they felt positive about certain aspects of staff development: they were allowed input in the planning of staff development; stronger programs and new concepts were provided; they were allowed to attend conferences outside the district as well as within the district; and workshops were being scheduled on various levels, instead of trying to cover all levels in a single workshop.