ERIC Number: EJ998466
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Mar
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1082-3301
EISSN: N/A
Moving toward Teamwork through Professional Development Activities
Fitzgerald, Meghan M.; Theilheimer, Rachel
Early Childhood Education Journal, v41 n2 p103-113 Mar 2013
This qualitative study of three Head Start Centers analyzed surveys, interviews, and focus group data to determine how education coordinators, teachers, and teacher assistants believed professional development activities could support teamwork at their centers. The researchers sorted data related to teamwork into four categories: knowledge and understanding of teachers' trajectories, how teachers referred to one another, frequency and quality of communication, and evidence of shared philosophy. A climate of trust, respect, open communication and clear organization emerged as important for the risk taking necessary for teachers to learn together. This climate depended on leadership that was willing to take on challenges, innovate, and make room for teacher autonomy. Teamwork thrived in a program that purposely built relationships among staff through opportunities for communication, the development of a shared philosophy, and the possibility of being known and feeling known by colleagues and supervisors. When administrators solicited and used teachers' feedback about professional development, the teachers felt themselves a valued part of the teaching community.
Descriptors: Professional Autonomy, Feedback (Response), Faculty Development, Disadvantaged Youth, Focus Groups, Surveys, Interviews, Teamwork, Preschool Teachers, Researchers, Interprofessional Relationship, Leadership, Risk, Educational Innovation, Trust (Psychology), Social Attitudes, Federal Programs, Early Childhood Education, Preschool Children, Qualitative Research
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A