1. Teachers’ Perceptions on the
Quality of Florida’s Professional Development in K-12 Education
Andrew Hecht, University of Florida
Introduction
Results: Survey Questions
Research concludes that when conducted correctly, professional development can improve teacher quality and student achievement. However, nationwide survey research conducted by Darling Hammond and Richardson (2009) found that professional development programs are failing to adequately meet the needs of teachers in the United States. Moreover, previous research indicates that professional development programs do not contain recognized characteristics essential to improving teacher quality (Desimone, 2009). However, little research exists specific to how teachers in Florida view the quality of their professional development.
My schools professional development addressed specific subjects and content matter in the area in which I taught:
strongly disagree: 0%
somewhat disagree: 40%
somewhat agree: 33.3%
agree: %
strongly agree: %
My schools professional development has addressed my specific needs as a teacher:
strongly disagree: 33.3%
somewhat disagree: 20%
agree: %
strongly agree: 6.7%
My schools professional development was sustained and consistent throughout the school year:
somewhat disagree: 26.7%
somewhat agree: 26.7%
I enjoyed my schools
professional development activities:
strongly disagree: 6.7%
somewhat agree: 40%
agree: %
My schools professional development was interactive
and can be described as active learning:
strongly disagree: 13.3%
somewhat disagree: 46.7%
somewhat agree: 6.7%
agree: %
My schools professional development has proven useful in my efforts to improve student achievement
somewhat agree: 53.3%
Research Questions
The goal of this study is to answer the following research questions:
How do teachers in the State of Florida view the quality of their professional development?
From the perspective of teachers, do professional development programs in the State of Florida contain common characteristics of high quality professional development?
Discussion
Survey Instruments and Procedures
Teachers were ed directions on how to complete and access the survey through surveymonkey.com. The first ten questions of the survey were asked to determine the perceived quality of the teacher’s professional development and whether or not they contained the five characteristics of high quality professional development outlined by Desimone (2009). These questions were based on a Likert-like response scale (strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, agree, somewhat agree, strongly agree).
Findings from this study support nationwide research on teacher perceptions of professional development. It was concluded that teachers in Florida believe that their schools professional development is failing to meet their specific needs. Moreover, teachers surveyed perceived that their schools professional development programs do not contain all the commonly held characteristics of high quality professional development as outlined by Desimone (2009).
Methods
Sample
Quantitative survey research of fifteen teachers across six schools and three major counties (Miami-Dade, Broward, and Orange County) in Florida was used to answer the research questions.