Teachers' perspectives on professional development

Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education 10:145-160, 1996 © 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston - Manufactured in The Netherlands

Teachers' Perspectives on Professional Development

KUSUM SINGH Virginia Polytechnic & State University, 315 E. Eggleston, College of Education/AES, Blacksburg, VA 24061

LINDA M. SHIFFLETTE Hampton City Schools, Hampton, VA 23314

The key to better education practices and desired educational outcomes is to have a motivated and superior teaching work force. Many educational policies of the past 20 years, including teacher proof curriculum, test-based instructional management, and student competency testing, were based on the assumption that education could be improved without improving the quality of teachers (Wise, et al., 1985). To have an effective teaching cadre not only is it necessary to recruit competent teachers who are required to meet high educational standards and who demonstrate an aptitude for teaching, but it is also necessary to continually engage the teachers in the process of learning to become more effective teachers. Although much research is available on staff-development models, few studies have examined the issue of professional development from the teachers' perspective.

The focus of this study was to understand why some teachers evaluated as marginal or incompetent were able to effect sufficient change in their teaching behaviors to be recognized later as competent or even excellent teachers. The evaluation procedure is traditionally the avenue through which the principal assesses teacher competence. An outcome of the evaluation process should be to encourage the marginal teacher to improve and develop better classroom skills. Instead, some marginal teachers are tolerated or ignored as long as they are not the target of persistent or massive parental complaints. This study presents qualitative research on selected high school teachers who were identified as marginal or incompetent in their professional evaluation but later demonstrated remarkable improvement in their teaching performance. The inquiry took a heuristic and inductive approach to broaden the knowledge of the phenomenon of positive change in teaching behavior. It also examined the role of school-level assistance efforts in professional development from the teachers' perspective.

Research has shown that there are consistent differences in teaching behaviors of effective and less-effective teachers (Airasian, Madaus, & Rakow, 1978; Good, Biddle, & Brophy, 1975; Medley, 1977). Implicit in the study of effective teaching behaviors is

146 K. SINGH & L.M. SHIFFLETTE

the assumption that if one knows the correct behaviors, one can make instructional changes that will result in improved teacher performance. It seems that knowledge of effective practices is necessary but not sufficient for professional growth to occur. Some teachers are able to become more effective teachers both through personal efforts and staff development efforts on their behalf, while others find it much harder to learn new teaching practices. This study pursues the inquiry of professional growth and change by asking the teachers themselves to describe the processes and forces that brought about their professional development after they were initially identified as marginal or incompetent.

Teacher behavioral changes have been studied from many different perspectives. Researchers have investigated personal factors, external factors, and other issues related to teacher behavioral change that occur due to professional growth and development. Research findings suggest that teachers are more likely to experiment with change and accept new changes if they understand the impact of change on students, if open discussions of a new practice have taken place, and if teachers have heard testimonials by those who have used the new practice (Sparks, 1983). Even when change is voluntary, it is threatening and confusing. One is more likely to attempt change when it is clearly conceptualized and it is perceived as beneficial to students. Individual teacher characteristics such as age, experience, and philosophical orientation also influence change (Berman & McLaughlin, 1978; Mohlman et al, 1982; Sparks, 1988). Berman and McLaughlin (1978) found a negative relationship between change and a teacher's age and experience. Teachers tend to reach a peak after five to seven years of teaching. At this peak they are either maintaining a level of efficiency or becoming less effective. Changes in behavior are also guided by philosophical orientation, and risk-taking disposition (Bolster, 1983; Lortie, 1975). Philosophical acceptance of a new practice has been found to affect change behavior. Mohlman et al. (1982) report a positive correlation between philosophical acceptance and the degree of implementation of a new practice. Furthermore, change involves a certain measure of risk taking and the possibility of failure. Some teachers find it more difficult to take risks and thus find it easier of stick to old practices (Lortie, 1975).

Studies further indicate that peers play an important role in professional growth. Peer observation has been found to influence behavior of teachers (Mohlman, 1982; Stallings, 1985). As a learning experience, peer observation was found to be superior to coaching or workshop-only activities (Sparks, 1986). With peer observation, teachers get an opportunity to observe other teachers' instructional and management practices. They are exposed to new ideas and can glean practices to implement in their classrooms. In another study teachers were found to be more certain of the value of instructional practices that they had discussed with other teachers. There was a significant relationship between certainty of practice and interactions among teachers about classroom instruction (Smylie, 1988).

Collegiality is not only found to be an important factor in helping teachers form a knowledge base of effective teaching practices, but it also provides emotional and psychological support for teachers (Anderson, 1982). However, Goodlad (1984) found that teachers are relatively isolated. According to Goodlad,

TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVES 147

There was little in our data to suggest active, ongoing exchanges of ideas and practices across schools, between groups of teachers, or between individuals even in the same schools. Teachers rarely worked together on schoolwide problem (p. 187).

Furthermore, teachers are also influenced by their backgrounds, interests, and experiences and by students' interests and experiences.

Organizational contexts and psychological states of individuals affect interventions designed to facilitate teacher development (Fullen, 1982, 1991; Katz & Kahn, 1978; Rosenholtz, 1989). Individual change was found to be directly related to personal teaching efficacy in the absence of an organizational pressure for change. Teachers must believe in their competence in order to select practices that are appropriate and effective (Bandura, 1977). A teacher uncertain of which practices provide the most effective results usually has a lower personal teaching efficacy (Ashton & Webb, 1986).

Self-efficacious teachers were more willing to try new practices and were more positive in their approaches (Ashton, 1984). Ashton and Webb (1986) found personal teaching efficacy was a primary predictor of teacher behavior. Recent literature further supports the finding that teachers who are reflective more actively investigate teaching and learning processes in the classroom. Stallings (1985) reported that teachers "learn best through an analysis of their own behavior and a thoughtful application of ideas to their own context" (p. 2).

Various factors may affect a teacher's personal teaching efficacy. Teachers who have classrooms composed primarily of low-achieving students tend to believe that it will be more difficult to affect student learning (Cooper, 1979). Guskey (1986) proposed a model of the process of teacher change based on the following sequence: 1) staff development, 2) change in teachers' classroom practices, 3) change in student learning outcomes, and 4) change in teachers' beliefs and attitudes.

Although many studies have investigated the effects of various personal and organizational factors on teacher change, few studies have taken an in-depth look at those teachers who were once deemed marginal but later considered exemplary. Although this study derives its broad conceptual framework from earlier research on teachers' professional growth, this study, taking a qualitative approach, attempts to understand the change process from the perspective of the teachers who were able to grow professionally. Utilizing a qualitative methodology enabled the preparation of descriptive data that reflected the frame of reference of the participants in the study.

The conceptual framework led to the formulation of the following questions:

1. Did intervention/assistance efforts influence improvement? 1.1 In what context were the intervention/assistance efforts made? 1.2 Who were the primary actors in the intervention/assistance efforts? 1.3 What activities were influential in the intervention/assistance efforts?

2. Did external personal factors influence improvement? 3. Are there overarching characteristics, beliefs, or motives in the teachers who made

substantial improvements in teaching performance?


4. Who provided to the teacher (a) an awareness of the need for change and (b) support for change?

5. What were the teachers' perceived gains and losses in this improvement effort?

We designed these questions to provide a frame of references and not to serve as hypotheses to be tested (Wolcott, 1990a).

Methodology

Selection of teachers

Secondary-school teachers from one school system were selected for the study. By selecting only high-school teachers from a single system, the study eliminated concerns about different evaluation procedures in different school systems and focused instead on professional development issues common to all high-school teachers. Since the teachers were from the same school system, organizational and contextual variables that affect professional development were similar for them. Furthermore, only those teachers were selected who had been at the same school with the same principal for at least three years. These selection criteria were used to assure that the same principal had evaluated the teacher for three years consecutively and the report of improvement was not the artifact of two different perspectives held by two different administrators. The only exception was one vocational teacher transferred to the school a year earlier but who the new building principal determined had made substantial progress in his classroom practices compared to his earlier evaluation record. The building principal suggested that he be included in the study. The procedure for selection is outlined below.

Principals were asked to distribute a survey to teachers in their buildings who, in the principal's judgment, had shown substantial improvement in their classroom instruction or management skills during the academic years 1988-1991.

The following guidelines were provided to principals for use in the selection process:

1. The teacher showed substantial improvement in classroom instructional or management skills.

2. The teacher's performance level was previously ranked marginal in instructional or classroom management skills.

3. The teacher was tenured with at least five years of teaching experience.

For purposes of this research, a marginal teacher was defined as someone who was deemed less-than-satisfactory in instructional or classroom management skills according to the evaluation of the building principal. Substantial improvement is defined as a gain in instructional effectiveness to an above-average level of performance in instructional or classroom management skills as rated by the same principal.

TEACHERS'PERSPECTIVES 149

To assure uniformity in judgment, in all cases except one, the same principal was responsible for both judgments.

Data collection

This study utilized a survey instrument and formal interviews with the teacher (N = 14) who agreed to participate in the study. The survey instrument gathered preliminary information in two areas:

1. Demographic data about the teachers selected by the principals. 2. Preliminary data about to whom and what the teachers attributed their improvement

in instructional or classroom organizational skills.

Formal interviews were limited to the teachers who volunteered for the study. Data collected by the formal interview included field notes, interview notes, and transcripts. The collection of data from the teachers in the form or formal interviews began on July 11, 1992, and ended on July 22, 1992. After gathering primary data from teachers secondary data from other sources (such as the principal, director or staff development, instructional specialists, and the direct of personnel) were gathered. The secondary data were treated as confirmatory data.

An interview guide was used in the data-gathering phase. The guide contained general areas to be covered with each subject. The questions on the guide served as reminders of key topics to be discussed. The interview guide was intended to establish a conversation with the subjects with flexibility to frame and structure their responses.

Data analysis

The analysis of the data consisted of three concurrent activities as proposed by Miles & Huberman (1984): data collection, data display, and conclusion drawing or verifica- tion. In the data-reduction activity, data were selected, focused, simplified, transcribed, and transformed. A vitally important component of the qualitative data analysis is the coding system associated with the words. The process of coding helps identify and define those ideas that at first were nebulous so that they can be refined and expanded. The codes become categories into which data can be compiled. This allows for organizing, describing, and clustering ideas (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1983; Miles & Huberman, 1984).

In this study, various sources of data were examined to confirm the primary source of data and to lend credibility to data that emerged (Marcus & Fisher, 1986; McCracken, 1988). Secondary sources of data were used to undergird the authenticity of the study. Data collected were also documented by field notes, which contained observational data. Wherever possible, interviews and conversations


were recorded. Transcriptions of recorded data were completed as soon as possible after the event occurred. All recorded data were dated, coded, and filed by topical categories.

Findings

A composite profile of the interviewed teachers is presented in Table 1. As shown in the table, the number of years of teaching experience ranged from 5 years to 24 years with a mean of 14.1 years. The teachers ranged in age from 31 years to 62 years with a mean of 41.4 years. There were nine females and five males in the group. Of the 14 teachers, 8 held master 's degrees. Experience in the current system ranged from 1 year to 24 years with a mean of 11.7 years. The teachers represented a wide variety of teaching disciplines--three science teachers, one mathematics teacher, four English teachers, two vocational education teachers, three social studies teachers, and one special education teacher. Of the 14 teachers, 10 taught ninth-grade students; one taught tenth through twelfth grade students; two taught tenth grade students; and one taught twelfth grade students.

Areas of Professional Growth

When the teachers were asked to reflect on areas in which they had shown most growth, the dominant theme was instruction. Ten of the 14 teachers indicated that they had improved their instructional skills. One teacher responded, "I have gotten a better grip on the academic aspect of it, and I am better able to read kids and do things for them." Another teacher stated that she tried to keep up with the students' interests. She tried to show the students how the instruction she presented related to them. Teacher #11 felt that she had become more skillful in taking a student's weakness and figuring out ways to help that student grow and learn.

Important areas of improvement were interpersonal relationships, discipline, self- confidence, and personal growth. Six of the 14 teachers cited a growth in interpersonal relationships. For example, Teacher #3 felt that her administrator 's perception of her improvement was based on her growth in dealing with other people--part icularly parents. While nine of the teachers indicated a weakness in classroom discipline or control, only four of them noted a growth in this area. Teacher #1 reflected on her first two years of teaching and stated:

I really did not know what I was doing. It is like I did not have control, and I did not know why . . . . I came out of college unprepared because I really did not know what I was facing.

Teachers #2 and #6 recounted similar stories. Reading Assertive Discipline and working with a peer helped both of them in classroom discipline techniques.

Tab

le 1

. T

each

er P

rofi

le D

ata

(N =

14)

Yea

r o

f Y

ears

in

Yea

rs i

n Y

ears

in

Yea

rs a

t cu

rren

t G

rade

H

ighe

st

Teac

her #

ex

per

ien

ce

curr

ent

syst

em

othe

r sy

stem

cu

rren

t sch

ool

grad

e le

ve

l D

isci

plin

e ta

ught

A

ge

Gen

der

deg

ree &

yea

r '-o

1 12

10

2

7 i0

Sc

ienc

e 9

33

Fem

ale

Mas

ters

198

7

2 6

6 0

6 6

Mat

h 9

-t2

62

M

ale

BA

/BS

1953

3 22

20

2

17

3 E

nglis

h 9

& 1

1 46

Fe

mal

e B

A/B

S 19

67

4 18

18

0

6 7

Eng

lish

9 40

Fe

mal

e M

aste

rs 1

988

5 8

1 7

1 1

Voc

atio

nal

10-1

2 45

M

ale

Mas

ters

198

7

6 5

5 0

5 5

Soci

al s

tudi

es

9 43

Fe

mal

e B

A/B

S 19

81

7 13

6

7 6

6 So

cial

stu

dies

9

35

Mal

e B

A/B

S 19

79

8 16

7

9 7

6 Sc

ienc

e 9

41

Fem

ale

Mas

ters

198

1

9 9

6 3

6 4

Scie

nce

10

31

Fem

ale

Mas

ters

199

2

10

24

24

0 24

24

V

ocat

iona

l 9-

12

47

Mal

e M

aste

rs 1

974

11

14

14

0 13

14

Sp

ecia

l ed

ucat

ion

9-12

37

Fe

mal

e B

A/B

S 19

77

12

9 6

3 6

3 E

nglis

h 12

35

M

ale

M

aste

rs 1

983

13

22

22

0 17

16

So

cial

stu

dies

9

& 1

2 44

Fe

mal

e B

A/B

S 19

70

14

t9

19

0 19

19

E

nglis

h 10

41

Fe

mal

e M

aste

rs 1

986

X=

14.

1 X

= 1

1.7

~'=

2.4

,,~

= 10

.0

,,~=

8.9

~7=

41.1


Three of the teachers reflected on their growth and ascribed it to increased self- confidence or internal growth. Teacher #8 reflected on her professional growth and remarked:

I have taken a lot of workshops since I have been here through Alternatives and some of the other workshops in dealing with self es teem--not only for myself and being able to better analyze my own personality with the personality t ra i ts--but then being able to relate that back to the students also.

Five of the teachers maintained that their most substantial growth was in instructional effectiveness. Teachers #4, #7, and #14 found that the use of technology in their classrooms increased their instructional effectiveness. Attending conferences and workshops helped Teachers #6 and #14 improve instructional effectiveness. Five of the teachers indicated that their most substantial growth had occurred in self-growth. When asked about where he had shown the most growth, Teacher #12 stated:

I think self-confidence, self-esteem. The knowledge that I can teach as well as anyone-- the fact that I probably know as much as anyone in the division . . . . I probably knew as much when I started teaching, but feelings of inadequacy surrounded me when I first started teaching. I think that I had this idea that the education course I missed would have offered me a great deal of assistance. I have heard since then that education courses--well , the four that I have taken, I got A's in them and did very little work.

Two teachers indicated that their most substantial growth occurred in classroom discipline or control. Teacher #11 remarked, "I think a lot of that comes from experi- e n c e - b e i n g able to handle different situations and different types of students that need to be handled in different ways."

Two teachers cited growth in their rapport with students as being the most important process in their career. One teacher stated that when more effective rapport with the students began, all the other parts "clicked in."

Intervention~Assistance Efforts of Others

One of the most perplexing problems in understanding the teachers' professional growth and improvement was pinpointing events or catalysts that triggered the change process. One question was designed to first gather nonprompted responses, and then after the initial question, a series of probing questions were asked to guide the teachers into a further description of the events, interactions, activities, or other situation that played a role in their growth.

In nonprompted responses, teachers mentioned maturation, the influence of peers, natural self-growth, involvement in educational programs and cooperative-learning


workshops, more experience, trial-and-error processes, getting advanced degrees, and a supportive principal as positively affecting professional growth. When asked the question, "Who has encouraged you to change teaching practices?" teachers mentioned many different people.

Principals The majority of the comments relating to principals centered around the support and encouragement they offered. Yet, missing from the comments was a mention of the principal or assistant principal as an instructional leader. Teachers cited the building administrators as people with whom they could discuss problems and receive help with discipline. Although teachers felt that building administrators had an open- door policy, few took advantage of it. Most teachers sought out their peers to discuss problems.

By far, lending encouragement was cited as the building administrators' primary role in the professional lives of these teachers. The teachers also discussed the importance of the trust that their administrators felt towards them. The teachers seemed to feel that principals did as much as they could given their time constraints. Most of the comments about conversations with principals indicated that these conversations were primarily teacher initiated. Only one teacher described a principal who actively sought her out to discuss her goals for the year. This teacher's mother-in-law happened to be on the administrative staff of the school!

While principals and assistant principals were not cited as being instructional leaders, several teachers stated that their building administrators provided an opportunity for them to develop instructional leadership skills and gain knowledge about new instructional topics. All comments about principals and assistant principals were not positive. Teacher #1 discussed a time during which she was having difficul- ties in the classroom and in her personal life. She stated that while the administrators were coming down on her, they offered no support. Several teachers expressed mistrust of administrators. One specifically noted that her professional growth was not attribut- able to any administrator as she remarked, "I tend to stay away from them."

Supervisors~curriculum specialists Teachers were not quite as ambivalent about their curriculum specialists. Remarks were much more pointed when they discussed their curriculum specialists. In general, teachers viewed curriculum specialists negatively. Five teachers gave negative reviews of their curriculum specialist. One teacher even asked that the recorded be turned off so that he could relay a situation that occurred with his curriculum specialists. The general negative view of the curriculum specialist appears to lead to a distrust of central office staff in general. Both of the vocational teachers expressed dismay and frustration over the procedure to obtain classroom equipment. On the other hand, five teachers felt that the support given to them by their curriculum specialists had played a positive role in their professional growth. Four out of the five indicated that this support was in the area of providing opportunities and resources for them to participate in conferences, workshops, in-service activities, and the like.


Peers In spite of the barriers that prevent communication between teachers, it does happen-- and teachers seek one another out before and after school, between classes, at lunch, and in car pools. From the comments of the teachers, an informal network of sharing ideas and giving help to one another does exist. The responses about peers were specific and more positive than for any other source of professional support. Some typical comments follow:

She was like a second mother. If I did something wrong, she would say, "You have done this wrong, and this is how you do it."

I have really been impressed with one teacher in this department . . . . I have asked her questions. The one thing that I don't think that we do enough of is observe our fellow teachers enough.

I have this teaching buddy . . . . She has the structure . . . . The things that she would do would rub off on me- -we had study period the same time. I also get a lot of feedback from another teacher who has the same planning period as I do.

I go to her and ask her how it is taught. How do I teach these concepts?--How do you do it? She will show me how she does it, and then I will go back to the class and do it for the kids.

If I go to her for advice, I can always depend on a calm, thoughtful answer . . . . If I don't have the right approach, she would let me know and give me an alterative way to look at it . . . . She has continued to grow professionally throughout her teaching career.

I probably would have walked out the door if it had not been for my colleagues and the support they gave me.

Another thing is hearing about something that some other teacher has done. That has been more beneficial than any workshop that I have been in.

Only one teacher spoke of a totally negative relationship with peers. She felt she had not developed a working relationship with her peers.

As soon as I started bringing recognition to m y s e l f . . , teachers saw me as a threat because they have to work to keep up with me- -o r they have to badmouth me. So, what ends up is that I have no relationship with the teachers I work with.

Staff development specialists The system under study had a staff-development program that included two staff- development specialists. The staff-development specialists presented workshops and worked with teachers on an as-needed basis.

Of the fourteen teachers, only three cited the staff-development specialists in their discussion of professional growth. One teacher told of the day he went on an instructional skills workshop:

They went over everything--like how we should do the anticipatory sets and all that


stuff and what makes a good teacher- -and what you need to do and all this. And I said, "Man! This is really good stuff! Why can' t I make this happen in my classroom."

Another one remarked:

The things I learned from her just changed things completely . . . . It was the [staff- development program] that totally changed my outlook on teaching.

Self "Perhaps if the growth has come about, it is not because of any one person--but because of myself. I know that I have changed a lot internally," reflected one teacher. Five of the fourteen teachers specifically mentioned their own efforts. Another teacher stated, "I have always been a rather introspective person anyway. So, a lot of the strength I gained from within myself-- ta lking to mysel f - -and building up my strength that way." "Truely, I think most everything that I have done has been self-motivated. It is not putting anybody else down, but I have felt like I have known what I was doing and I wasn't sure everybody else did."

Teachers also mentioned department chairs, mentors, and family members as playing a role in then professional development.

Intervention~Assistance Activities

All teachers were asked specific questions on the role that staff development, professional reading, college courses, conferences, and workshops played in their professional growth and development.

In general, teachers did not find the staff-development program effective. In fact, it was resented by most of the teachers and considered a waste of time. those staff development activities that the teachers cited as being beneficial were those that allowed them to freely discuss and share ideas with one another.

Professional reading in the content area was reported by six teachers. Five teachers indicated that they do not read professional literature (or rarely do so) because of time constraints. Two teachers do most of their professional reading in their area of interest-- technology and computer-related literature. Only one teacher found reading educational journals to be valuable.

While teachers complained about their preservice training from colleges and univer- sities, they generally agreed that post-graduate courses taken for recertification or for upgrading teaching skills were beneficial. Seven teachers cited post-graduate work in computer technology as benefiting them in their professional growth and development. Generally, teachers did not find post-graduate degree work as satisfying as post- graduate work done outside of a degree program.

These teachers saw conferences and workshops as ways to obtain new ideas to try in their classrooms. While teachers cited conferences and workshops as valuable to their


professional growth, financial constraints prevented them from taking advantage of these opportunities.

The two areas that teachers emphasized were peer observations and maturation. Ten of the fourteen teachers reported peer observations as being beneficial. Seven teachers stated that maturation--learning what works and what doesn ' t - -was significant in their professional growth and development.

External Personal Factors

External personal factors that affected professional development and growth were discussed by the teachers. Divorce was identified by five of the teachers as a factor. The loss of a job by a spouse was noted by two teachers. Two teachers stated that retirement of spouses affected their professional lives. Trying to balance a family and a career was mentioned as negatively affecting one's professional life. Family or children were mentioned by six teachers. These teachers found themselves trying to balance the needs of their family and their need to grow professionally. These external factors imposed pressures, which often made it difficult for this group of teachers to focus on professional growth and development.

Thus, the dominant themes that emerged from data analysis are as follows:

. Teachers actively sought their peers' advice. Teachers valved peer observations. Sharing ideas with peers is what often triggered self-examination. Support came from other teachers, from sharing instructional ideas, materials, and resources with other teachers. Peers also provided an awareness of the need for professional growth. Despite consistent evidence that peer observation exposes teachers to new instructional practice (Mohlman, 1982; Sparks, 1986; Stallings, 1985), the opportunities to see peers in classrooms have not been easily available to teachers. Goodlad (1984) observed,

Teacher-to-teacher links for mutual assistance in teaching or collaborative school improvement were weak or nonexistent, especially in the senior high schools . . . . A large majority said that they never observed instruction in other classrooms. . . . But approximately three-quarters of our sample at all levels of schooling indicated that they would like to observe other teachers at work (p. 188).

2. Trust was an important component in the teacher-principal relationship and in teacher improvement. Initial awareness of the need for professional growth was primarily provided by the principal. Principals also provided emotional and monetary support for professional growth and development.

3. Learning what worked and what didn't work through trial and error and experimen- tation provided a framework for professional growth. When teachers felt that their superiors trusted them to learn from their experiences, they were more reflective about their experiences and used them to improve.

4. Teachers viewed the school system's staff-development program as a waste of time


.

and resented staff-development activities that purported to teach the teachers how to teach. Teachers did not have a clear definition of the role of the curriculum specialists/supervisor. Teachers viewed the curriculum specialist/supervisor as an individual who was a gatekeeper of information and resources. Many teachers attributed change to themselves. Self-growth through self- knowledge and a sense of efficacy emerged as an important theme in the study. The role of self-awareness and the need for improvement is corroborated by earlier research (Bandura, 1986, 1993). More research is needed to understand and document the internal mechanisms that spur and sustain change in the professional lives of teachers.

Conclusions and Implications

Professional growth and development among those interviewed was caused by a myriad of intervening factors, activities, and people. But the two major caused were peers and self-awareness. Collaboration with one another was important to these teachers. They reported a need to share with one another yet felt that there were many obstacles to peer interaction. These teachers were made aware of the need to improve and grow professionally by a principal 's evaluation. Effective and accurate feedback can trigger change. These teachers cited the role played by self-awareness and personal efforts to gain an insight into their shortcomings and ways to improve. Although the primary focus of the study was not self-efficacy in personal growth and personal change, there is a vast amount of literature that supports the role of self- efficacy in personal growth and change. For professional growth to occur, an awareness of the need to change and self-efficacy create the necessary background. Against this backdrop of readiness, external factors, such as interaction with peers and efforts of administrators and staff-development specialists, are taken as opportunities by the teacher to learn and try new ideas. In other words, professional development is a dynamic process triggered by the need to improve and self-awareness and efficacy but continued and sustained by the efforts of others.

As for the formal staff-development efforts, these activities did not meet the needs of majority of teachers interviewed. Teachers resent being told how to teach, yet the bulk of the staff-development program is designed to provide a framework for teaching teachers how to teach. Having labels assigned to discrete teaching activities is seen as indoctrination by some teachers and as stifling creativity by others. Teachers enjoy sharing ideas with one another and seeing one another in practice; however, little time is provided for these activities. In general, teachers were receptive to those ideas that they thought would help them become more effective in their classrooms. They valued and sought out the advice of their peers.

Time is a complicating factor in the professional growth and development process. Teachers desire opportunities to talk to one another, to attend conferences and workshops, and to observe their peers in classrooms. Constraints on their time make it difficult to participate in these activities. When time is provided by the school


system for staff development days, these teachers resent being held captive to unwanted activities.

These findings have implications both for practice and further research. A more flexible approach to staff development is needed. Often in staff-development decisions, a search is made for a model of training activities purported to address a particular practice (i.e., instructing teachers how to implement cooperative learning in their classrooms). Such cookbook approaches do not excite teachers. Options for different program offerings should be considered with input from teachers. Just as students have learning styles and varying needs, so do teachers.

School systems should also capitalize upon teachers' desire for peer interaction. Peer interaction and support seem not only an effective way for learning new ideas but also a catalyst for professional growth and sometimes survival. Developing teachers who become experts and teach other teachers may be the most effective tool for staff development. Principals and other administrators should seek avenues to provide teachers with opportunities to share ideas and discuss professional issues. Faculty meetings could be a vehicle for sharing ideas, modeling successful techniques, or discussing a classrooms problem, and not just a time for administrative announcements and directives. These efforts should help reduce the isolation of teachers, which seems to be an obstacle in their professional development.

Although creative means for communicating successful classroom techniques should be in place, staff-development efforts should go beyond the training of skills to teachers. While it is important to present a knowledge base of practices, not all staff- development efforts should be aimed at skill-training activities. According to Little (1992, p.6),

the most promising forms of professional development engage teachers in the pursuit of genuine questions, problems, and curiosities, over time, in ways that leave a mark on perspectives, policy, and practice.

Teachers need time for problem-solving and reflection as well as meeting other teachers and those outside the teaching profession to share ideas (Little, 1992). According to teachers who went from being marginal to being excellent, the most promising ways of professional development were those that engaged teachers in opportunities to learn from each other, instead of a cookbook approach to skill training. It was the opportunity to learn through one's own efforts supported by an atmosphere of trust and empowerment that seemed to motivate personal change. By supporting teachers in their efforts to improve and by giving clear and timely feedback, their sense of control over their professional destiny and efficacy can be enhanced. The self-efficacy mechanism has a central role in personal change (Bandura, 1977 & 1986). Self-perceptions of abilities and capacities to grow and learn affect thought patterns, actions, and shape the motivation and efforts of the individual to change and develop personally and professionally.

The insights and thoughts shared by these teachers point to the need for flexible staff-development approaches and a better fit between learning style of teachers and


specific staff development techniques. Teachers felt that input from peers, collaboration and sharing, and time for problem-solving and reflection should undergird staff- development efforts.

Although this study contributes to a better understanding of teachers' perspectives on professional growth, there is a clear need for more research in the area and the role played by different factors. This research has generated many hypotheses. Our findings should be considered tentative. They need further investigation. Some areas of research suggested by this study are the role of peer support in professional development, professional isolation in the teaching profession, and exploration of ways of providing formal and informal staff development activities. Combining a qualitative approach with quantitative methods of research may provide a different perspective and help confirm these findings. The present study also suggests that new research on teacher development may be carried out within the broader framework of change models, as suggested by Bandura (1983, 1993). Such new research will be better grounded in theory and more conceptually and theoretically based.

Acknowledgments

Portions of the research reported here were presented at the 1993 annual meeting of the Eastern Educational Research Association. We are grateful to Carmen J. Wisdom for her assistance in typing.

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Teachers' perspectives on professional development