ERIC Number: EJ855303
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Aug
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1558-2973
EISSN: N/A
Teachers' Attitudes about Professional Development in High-SES and Low-SES Communities
Torff, Bruce; Sessions, David
Learning Inquiry, v3 n2 p67-77 Aug 2009
Practicing teachers in high-SES and low-SES communities completed a survey that assesses the strength of teachers' support for professional development (PD), with the goal of determining the extent to which PD initiatives in low-SES communities face obstacles not evident in more affluent areas (N = 150). A multiple regression analysis was conducted on the factor scores produced by the survey, "Teachers' Attitudes about Professional Development" (TAP). Support for PD was higher in high-SES communities than low-SES ones, and higher among elementary teachers than secondary teachers in both communities. To the extent that teachers' attitudes about PD influence the effectiveness of PD initiatives, these attitudes present difficulties in low-SES communities beyond those evident in high-SES areas. Needed are professional-development models, and research that tests them, to determine how best to overcome obstacles that teachers' attitudes likely cause in PD initiatives in low-SES communities.
Descriptors: Multiple Regression Analysis, Factor Analysis, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Improvement, Faculty Development, Socioeconomic Status, Low Income Groups, Socioeconomic Influences, Elementary School Teachers, Secondary School Teachers, Attitude Measures, Teacher Surveys
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2189
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A