This study aimed to investigate middle school social studies teachers' perceptions of professional development and its relation to the teacher's knowledge of the subject, teaching methods, and improving student outcomes. The primary questions addressed in this study focused on middle school social studies teachers perceptions of current professional development offerings, content-knowledge, pedagogy, and student achievement. The participants of this study included nine middle school social studies teachers selected through nonrandom purposeful sampling. A qualitative case study method, utilizing semi-structured interviews, investigated four research questions: (a) What are middle school social studies teachers' perceptions of professional development? (b) What are middle school social studies teachers' perceptions regarding professional development and its relation to the subject? (c) What are middle school social studies teachers' perceptions regarding professional development concerning pedagogy? (d) What are middle school social studies teachers' perceptions regarding professional development in relation to student achievement? Three themes were identified from data provided by middle school social studies teachers that participated in this study: (a) effective professional development should be relevant and applicable to impact pedagogy and classroom practices; (b) teachers seek professional development opportunities that strengthen their content knowledge and align with state-mandated standards; (c) traditional professional development practices place a strong emphasis on the examination and interpretation of student data. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]