Institute for Social Studies – ZagrebCenter for Education Research and Development

CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Teachers’ Perspective

Prof.dr. Vlasta Vizek Vidović, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb

Primošten, April 2007

Objectives of the Project “Development of Continouous

Teacher Training Model” (2003-2005)

• Examining the perception of various participants in the education process of the appropriateness of acquired knowledge and skills for competent performance of teachers’ profession (assessment of pre-service education and professional development)

• Comparison of elements of Croatian teacher education system with the systems of some EU countries and some transition countries

Methodology

Levels of analysis: - conceptual, - comparative, - empirical

Sources of data:• comparative analysis of documents on teacher training in Europe and Croatia

• questionnaires for: Primary and secondary school teachers Students of teacher training faculties/collegesUniversity professors in the area of education

• international best practice examples

Teachers– Research Participants

121 primary schools:• 1334 class teachers• 2134 subject teachers

32 secondary schools:• 436 gymnasium teachers • 608 vocational school teachers

Average Satisfaction with Acquired Knowledge and

Skills during Pre-service

Education

• Assessments represent the average in 20 areas of teacher work on the scale from 1 – not at all to 4 – fully

2.432.26 2.19 2.24

1.00

2.50

4.00

Class teachers Subject

teachers

Gymnasium

teachers

Vocational

school teachers

Areas Rated below Average: Primary School Teachers

KNLOWEDGE AND SKILLS RANKClass t.

RANKSubject

t.

Application of ICT in teaching 1 1

Work with students with emotional and behavioral disorders

2 2

Work with students with learning difficulties

3 3

Work with gifted students 4 7

Knowledge of education legislation 5 6

Communication and cooperation with parents

6 5

Training on human rights and civil society 7 8

Application of practical skills in teaching 8 -

Duties of a homeroom teacher - 4

• Rank 1 denotes the worst assessment of contribution of pre-service education

Areas Rated below Average :Secondary School Teachers

KNLOWEDGE AND SKILLSRANK

Gymnasiums

RANkVocatio

nal Schools

Work with students with learning difficulties

1 2

Work with students with emotional and behavioral disorders

2 3

Application of ICT in teaching 3 1

Duties of a homeroom teacher 4 4

Knowledge of education legislation 5 6

Communication and cooperation with parents

6 8.5

Work with gifted students 7 8.5

Training on human rights and civil society 8 5

Developing environmental awareness 9 7

Application of practical skills in teaching 10 10

• Rank 1 denotes the worst assessment of pre-service education contribution

Permanent Professional Development

• The most frequent forms of professional development (% of teachers who participated) and assessment of the quality of those forms of professional development (ranks):

Form of professional development

PRIMARY SCHOOLS

SECONDARY

SCHOOLS

% rank % rank

Seminars 62% 2 61% 2.5

Lectures 61% 3 52% 2.5

Workshops 55% 1 48% 1

Average Satisfaction with Contribution of Professional Development to Specific

Areas of Work

• Assessments represent the average for 20 areas of teacher work on the scale from 1 – not at all to 4 – fully

2,432,26 2,19 2,24

1,00

2,50

4,00

Class teachers Subject

teachers

Gymnasium

teachers

Vocational school

teachers

Areas of Professional Development Rated under the Average: Primary School Teachers

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS RANK class teachers

RANKsubject teacher

s

Application of ICT in teaching 1 1

Knowledge of education legislation 2 3

Work with gifted students 3 -

Evaluation of education process and self-evaluation

4 -

Work with students with emotional and behavioral disorders

5 5

Application of practical skills in teaching 6 -

Work with students with learning difficulties

7 6

Communication and cooperation with parents

- 4

Duties of a homeroom teacher - 2

Training on human rights and civil society - 7

• Rank 1 denotes the worst assessment of contribution of professional development

Areas of Professional Development Rated under the Average:

Secondary School Teachers

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS RANK

Gymnasiums

RANKVocatio

nal Schools

Work with students with learning difficulties

1 1

Work with students with emotional and behavioral disorders

2 2

Duties of a homeroom teacher 3 3

Communication and cooperation with parents

4 5

Knowledge of education legislation 5 4

Training on human rights and civil society 6 8

Developing environmental awareness 7 6

Work with gifted students 8 7

Application of ICT in teaching 9 9• Rank 1 denotes the worst assessment of contribution of professional development

The Need for Post-graduate Education

Should teachers be enabled to acquire post-graduate education at the university level in the area of educational sciences and methodics?

Primary school teachers Secondary school teachers

NO

32%

DON’T KNOW

14%

YES

54% NO30%

DON’T KNOW14%

YES56%

Linking Professional Development with Promotion

Do you think that professional development should be directly linked with promotion by introduction of credits for participation in professional development?

Primary school teachers Secondary school teachers

YEA

61%

NO

39%NO

37%

YES

63%

Areas that the Teachers Would Like to Learn More about as Part of Professional

Development(ranks on the basis of frequency of reference for a specific

group)

AREAS OF TEACHER WORK

PRIMARY

SCHOOLS

SECONDARY

SCHOOLS

Work with students with various difficulties in learning and behavior

1 3

Work with computer and application of ICT in teaching

2 2

Work with gifted students 3 5

Application of new teaching methods and skills in teaching

4 1

Communication skills (cooperation with students and parents)

5 6

Manners of monitoring and evaluation of educational achievements

6 7

The latest findings and achievements in subject area

7 4

Final Comments

Pre-service Education:• Average assessments of the contribution of pre-service

education to development of specific competencies are comparatively low for both primary and secondary school teachers (averages of most units are below the theoretical average value)

• The need for higher share of educational sciences and methodologies at university studies

Lifelong / Continuous Professional Development:• Planning should be based on monitoring the needs of

primary and secondary school teachers, but also on the opinion of other stakeholders in the education system (parents, teachers, administrative and professional services, university, international expertise)

• The need for elaborated and regulated system of linking professional development with promotion