Title:
Educator perceptions regarding the presence of four contextual factors for high-quality professional development in Maryland middle schools
Author:
Maisha A. Gillins
Committee Member:
Sharon Slear
Committee Member:
Robin Hobbs
Committee Member:
Mark Fenster
Degree Granting Institution:
Notre Dame of Maryland University--School of Education
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Notre Dame of Maryland University
Date Created:
2013
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
The goal of educators is to help all students learn and achieve. An important step in ensuring student success is fostering high-quality professional development so educators can learn the best teaching practices to meet students' needs, particularly since changes in public education policy and student demographics have occurred. This study investigated if a statistical relationship exists between the perceptions of middle school principals, middle school department chairpersons, and middle school classroom teachers regarding the presence of four contextual factors for high-quality professional development: 1) vibrant professional learning communities, 2) strong leaders, 3) adequate resources, and 4) consensus around clear expectations of what teachers should know and be able to do. It has been determined that when these four contextual factors are in place, professional development can be highly effective. When they are missing or underdeveloped, professional development will not be effective and will have limited impact on teaching and learning (Maryland Teacher Professional Development Advisory Council, 2004; Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, and Birman, 2001). This study examined differences in perceptions between principals, department chairpersons, and classroom teachers based on years of experience and the respective school's Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Maryland School Assessment. A researcher-developed survey was used and distributed electronically across six school districts in Maryland. Responses from the participants were analyzed using parametric analysis of variance, descriptive statistics, and standard independent t-tests. Key findings of the study suggested that teachers, principals, and department chairpersons perceived the presence of strong leadership as the most important contextual factor, whereas providing clear expectations was perceived to be the lowest factor among all job titles. Additional key findings of the study were that professionals at schools that met AYP valued professional learning communities and perceived strong leadership as being more present in their respective sites than schools that did not meet AYP. There was not a significant difference in perceptions of the four contextual factors across years of experience. A major conclusion of this study is that the perceived presence of the contextual factors of professional learning communities and strong leadership are correlated with meeting AYP. This study will add to the body of research and can inform districts in Maryland where to focus their professional development efforts.
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Level:
Doctoral
Discipline:
Instructional Leadership for Changing Populations
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online.
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Identifier:
GillinsMA-13
