Award Date

8-1-2012

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Committee Member

James R. Crawford

Second Committee Member

Brett Campbell

Third Committee Member

Gene Hall

Fourth Committee Member

Sonya Horsford

Fifth Committee Member

Linda Quinn

Number of Pages

164

Abstract

There is extant literature regarding teacher professional development; however, there is limited research in the area of "high-quality" teacher professional development practices which are advocated for at the government and district levels based on Learning Forward's (formerly National Staff Development Council - NSDC) guidelines for school reform.

The intent of this proposed research study is to examine the professional development practices of three elementary schools in a large urban area in the southwest region of the United States, and how well the professional development practices align with Learning Forward's national standards for constructing effective professional development. Administrators and teachers anonymously in person completed the Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI) survey instrument. The survey is based upon the National Staff Development Council's (NSDC) standards currently known as Learning Forward in the three strands of (a) context, (b) process, and (c) content.

A qualitative research paradigm (Phase 2) was used to analyze the semi-structured open-ended interview questions. The researcher conducted face-to-face interviews with the principals and three teachers from each of the identified schools.

The phases occurred sequentially and had equal status. The findings from the research can be used as recommendations to key players (e.g., district professional development facilitators, principals, coaches, etc.) to guide in the improvement of future teacher professional development programs which will impact the academic achievement outcomes of our nation's greatest resource - America's children.

Keywords

Adult learning theory; Career development; Education – Standards; Elementary school teachers; Learning forward; Professional development; Standards Assessment Inventory; Transformational leadership; Transformational learning

Disciplines

Educational Leadership | Elementary Education and Teaching | Teacher Education and Professional Development

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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