Study of inservice education in Tennessee as perceived by principals, supervisors and superintendents

The purpose of the study was to investigate the nature of inservice education in Tennessee as perceived by principals, supervisors and superintendents. The information obtained was to become part of a data base for making decisions about possible improvements in the inservice programs in the state.

A random sample of 317 schools determined the group of principals, instructional supervisors and superintendents to be surveyed with a questionnaire designed to determine perceptions based on the frequency of occurrence and desirability of various components of inservice education. The Plan for Inservice Training documents from the 112 school districts determined by the sample were also examined.

The major findings of the study included:

1. Major discrepancies existed between what administrators perceived as the nature of inservice education and what they considered desirable practices.

2. Administrators did not generally believe that inservice education was adequately supported financially at the local level; however, they did consider that adequate time was devoted to these programs by central office personnel.

3. Most administrators felt that the inservice programs were generally successful, but many of them indicated that they received insufficient personal benefit from these programs.

4. There was little compatibility between the characteristics of inservice education in Tennessee and those of effective staff development which were identified in the review of related literature.