Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1981

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Educational Administration and Supervision

Major Professor

John T. Lovell

Committee Members

Dewey Stollar, Siegfried Dietz, Kyle Reed

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to provide a data base for making decisions and future plans for inservice education programs in the State of Tennessee. The study specifically compared teachers' perceptions of inservice education purposes, planning, methods, implementation and evaluation. Data were categorized according to grade level assignment, school system size, years of experience and highest degree earned.

The Plan for Inservice Training submitted by school systems to the State, and a survey questionnaire developed by the researcher and mailed to a systematic sample of teachers (N = 728), were used to establish existing practices and desirable practices. Data were reported by absolute and relative frequencies and cross tabulations were computed using the chi-square statistic.

The major findings of the study were as follows:

1. The inservice education purpose rated high in frequency of occurrence by the largest number of teachers was the fact that it was meeting State Department requirements. Purposes rated high in desirability were improving classroom performance, broadening professional competencies, personal development, extending certification, and organizational development.

2. Teachers desired to be more involved in planning their own inservice activities.

3. Individualized and small group formats for inservice education were more acceptable to teachers than large group formats.

4. College personnel, teachers or consultants outside the school system were rated high in desirability by a larger number of teachers, as session leaders for inservice education than were building level or central office administrators within the system.

5. Experiential activities were rated high in desirability more frequently than other instructional techniques of inservice education.

6. Teachers indicated release time during the school day was high in desirability as a scheduling pattern of inservice education, but low in frequency of occurrence.

7. Teachers rated a combination approach to evaluation of inservice education high in desirability.

8. The overall support and success of inservice education programs were not given high ratings by teachers in Tennessee.

9. The greatest number of significant differences in perceptions of teachers regarding inservice education existed when data were analyzed by years of experience and size of school system, rather than by grade level assignment or degree level.

The findings of this study reveal evidence to suggest these conclusions:

1. Since teachers do not believe inservice education programs are adequately supported, programs are not as effectively planned and organized as they should be.

2. Teachers do not believe current inservice education programs are successful in general terms, or in meeting their personal needs; therefore, programs should be differentiated to meet the real and immediate needs and interests of the staffs involved.

3. Since teachers desire to be involved as decision makers in all phases of inservice education, there should be an organizational structure that ensures staff involvement.

4. There are incongruencies between what teachers perceive as actual and desirable inservice education practices; therefore, many teachers have negative attitudes toward inservice education programs.

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