scholarly journals From dialogue to a training field. The next challenge of professional learning of novice school principals in Israel

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-170
Author(s):  
Mali Nets
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Instructional Leader ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Novice Principals ◽  
Principal Development ◽  
Northern District ◽  
The Impact

SummaryYear 2008 was a dramatic turning point in Israel concerning the professional development of school principals. This shift is reflected in the conception of the principal as an „instructional leader”22, thus Israel has formally adopted the integrative approach to principal development that emphasizes principal’s work in the post-modern era alongside the development of individual „managerial identity”; and the reflective abilities to strengthen implicit knowledge23. The professional development of novice principals provides a significant touchstone in the examination of the new training program that has been underway for the tenth year. This program assisting novice principal through two central mechanisms: peer support and personal guidance provided by veteran and retired principals. Key data from the evaluation of the training program for the novice principals in the Northern District will be presented. The main challenges of the current training program will be discussed, with questions to consider changes to increase the impact of personal guidance on the managerial capabilities of novice school principals24.

scholarly journals Hastening slowly: insights about teacher development from an evaluation of courses at the WCED’s Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Meyer ◽  
Lydia Abel
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Level ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Leadership Institute ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Education Administrators ◽  
The Impact

In the area of teacher professional development, South African education administrators face the challenge of reconciling two imperatives that have entirely different implications for programme time frames and budgets. On the one hand, there is an urgent need to improve the pedagogic content knowledge of many teachers to improve the overall standard of teaching and learning in the public school system. Considering the scale and urgency of the matter, centralised course-based in-service training seems to be the only affordable alternative. On the other hand, researchers have long warned that once-off course-based training on its own has limited impact on teachers’ practice, and has to be accompanied by further professional support in the school and classroom, or be abandoned in favour of more enduring professional learning communities. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has grappled with this dilemma in the Department’s various professional development initiatives for teachers, a mainstay of which is the training offered by the Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute (CTLI). This paper presents some of the data and findings from an external evaluation that ORT SA CAPE conducted in 2011–2012 of courses offered by the WCED at the CTLI. The hierarchy of INSET outcomes proposed by Harland and Kinder (1997) was applied to record changes in the practice of 18 teachers at eight schools. The progress of five of the teachers is discussed to illustrate the interplay between school-level factors and the experiences of individual teachers which influenced the impact of CTLI training on their teaching.

scholarly journals Opinions of school principals and teachers about teacher evaluation according to performance criteriaPerformans kriterlerine göre öğretmenlerin değerlendirilmesine ilişkin okul müdürü ve öğretmen görüşleri

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 1647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferudun Sezgin ◽  
Ayşe Tınmaz ◽  
Sezgin Tetik
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this study was to examine the opinions of school principals and teachers about the new implication process which teachers are being evaluated by school principals according to performance criteria. Phenomenological study design was chosen in this qualitative research. Participants were selected according to maximum variation sampling which is one of the purposeful sampling methods. Data were collected from 11 school principals and 14 teachers via semi-structured interview forms in Tokat city center. Data were analyzed according to descriptive analyzing technique. According to the results obtained in the study, participants stated that the purpose of current performance evaluation is the evaluation of teachers and to support their professional development. About the new application’s access to the purposes, while many of the teachers reported that the system could not achieve its goals, most of the school principals stated that the system would reach the goals with some shortcomings. Participants criticized the system for fast coming up and implementation. Participants stated that school principals were not qualified for this system. The most important strength of the system was defined as the teacher’s close awareness of the school principals. According to teachers’ views about the weaknesses of the system; the impact of conflicts or prejudices affecting school, school principals’ failure to take into account the criteria list, the existence of biased behaviors, the fact that principals were not educated in supervision, erroneous or incomplete practices in branch-specific evaluations, the deterioration of organizational peace. The majority of school principals reported that the applied system could contribute to the professional development of teachers, while the majority of teachers thought that the system would make a limited contribution. A two-day seminar was held with the school principals while training for teachers was not arranged by the Ministry of Education prior to the performance evaluation process. In the study, some suggestions were also made regarding the development of the current practice and the assessment of teacher performance in Turkey.Extended English abstract is in the end of PDF (TURKISH) file. ÖzetBu çalışmanın amacı öğretmenlerin performans kriterlerine göre okul müdürleri tarafından değerlendirildiği yeni uygulama konusunda okul müdürleri ve öğretmenlerin görüşlerini ortaya koymaktır. Nitel araştırma yöntemine göre tasarlanan bu çalışmada olgu bilim deseni benimsenmiştir. Çalışmada katılımcılar amaçlı örnekleme yöntemlerinden maksimum çeşitlemeye göre oluşturulmuştur. Tokat il merkezinde görev yapmakta olan 11 okul müdürü ve 14 öğretmenle yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu kullanılarak veri toplanmıştır. Veriler betimsel analiz tekniğine göre çözümlenmiştir. Araştırmada elde edilen verilere göre katılımcılar mevcut performans değerlendirme uygulamasının amacının daha çok öğretmenlerin değerlendirilmesi ve mesleki gelişimlerini artırma olduğu yönünde görüş belirtmişlerdir. Yeni uygulamanın amacına ulaşabilmesine ilişkin öğretmenlerin çoğunluğu sistemin amacını gerçekleştiremeyeceğini düşünürken okul müdürlerinin çoğunluğu bazı eksiklikler belirtmekle birlikte sistemin amacına ulaşabileceğini ifade etmektedirler. Uygulanma süreciyle ilgili katılımcılar sistemin bir anda gündeme gelmesi ve uygulanmasını eleştirmektedir. Katılımcılar okul müdürlerinin bu konuda yeterli olmadığını düşünmektedir. Sisteminin en önemli güçlü yanının okul müdürünün öğretmeni yakından tanıması olduğu ifade edilmiştir. Sistemin zayıf yönleri ile ilgili olarak öğretmenler; okulda yaşanacak çatışmaların veya önyargıların değerlendirmeyi etkilemesi, okul müdürlerinin kriter listesini dikkate almaması, taraflı davranışların varlığı, müdürlerin denetim konusunda eğitimli olmamaları, branşa özgü değerlendirmelerde hatalı veya eksik uygulama, örgüt barışının bozulması şeklinde görüş belirtmişlerdir. Okul müdürlerinin çoğunluğu uygulanmakta olan sistemin öğretmenlerin mesleki gelişimine katkı sağlayacağını belirtirken öğretmenlerin çoğunluğu kısıtlı katkı sağlayacağını düşünmektedir. Performans değerlendirme süreci öncesinde Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı tarafından öğretmenlere yönelik bir eğitim düzenlenmezken, okul müdürlerine iki günlük bir seminer düzenlenmiştir. Çalışmada ayrıca mevcut uygulamanın geliştirilmesi ile ilgili ve Türkiye’de genel anlamda öğretmen performansının değerlendirilmesi ile ilgili olarak birtakım önerilerde bulunulmuştur.

Creating Ongoing Online Support Communities through Social Networks to Promote Professional Learning

2013 ◽  
pp. 754-772
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Corbeil ◽  
Joseph Rene Corbeil
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Online Support ◽  
Graduate Courses ◽  
Professional Network ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Professionals who want to remain competitive in their fields are turning to Web 2.0 to learn the knowledge and skills they need in order to do their work more efficiently and effectively. Through a detailed description of how one instructor transformed his online graduate courses into dynamic, interactive, ongoing online learning communities that extended beyond the classroom, this chapter provides academics and practitioners a model for establishing a professional network that learners can participate in, and replicate in their workplaces for their professional development and informal learning. An overview of the role of social networking in creating professional development and informal learning opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship, knowledge brokering, and ongoing online support communities, as well as the results of a survey conducted on students’ perceptions of the impact of the social networking strategies and tools on their professional development and informal learning in and out of class will also be discussed.

scholarly journals Factors That Influence Curricular Adoption in a Sustainability Focused Marine Science Professional Development for In-Service Teachers

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy A. Goodale
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Science ◽  
Marine Science ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Sustainability Initiatives ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Impact

The focus of this article is on the evaluation and outcomes of a professional learning opportunity that focused on 13 current K–12 public school science educators in the United States. This teacher training concentrated on sustainability education that utilized marine sciences as a unifying concept. Findings from this training helped to identify models within teacher professional development in marine science that lead to comprehensive adoption of presented curricula. Four established models/frameworks of professional development were identified and their subsequent classroom implementation was evaluated. Results include adoption rates of the various session materials, the impact and effect size of differing variables (such as deliverables or standards alignment) among the four models and their frameworks and changes in perceptions towards sustainability initiatives. These outcomes underscore several methods and strategies for successful science teacher professional development implementation in regard to marine sciences.

scholarly journals The role of leadership in developing and sustaining teachers' professional learning

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona King
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Prominent Feature ◽  
Disadvantaged Schools ◽  
Key Features ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Education Discourse ◽  
Specific Contribution

A prominent feature of education discourse relating to teachers' practice has been the call for increased emphasis on professional development (PD). This paper is part of a wider project which explored the impact of a collaborative PD initiative on teachers' teaching and learning in five urban disadvantaged schools in Ireland. It focused on the impact of PD and critically on sustainability from which emerged important issues of leadership. This article focuses on the specific contribution that leadership made to the sustainability of the practices in the schools. It aims to identify three key features of how principals contribute to sustaining PD practices.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF AN IN-SERVICE TRAINING PROGRAM ON THE SELF-EFFICACY OF SPECIAL AND GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-107
Author(s):  
Sotiria Tzivinikou
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Special Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Service Training ◽  
The Impact

Teachers’ professional development is the key to education improvement. On that basis, the present study aimed to investigate the impact of a 6-month in-service training program in the context of the continuing professional development for educators on educational practice. The main objective of the training program was to improve the educators’ teaching skills, to enrich their practices with the most effective strategies and with the newest findings from research evidence in order to increase the quality of their educational interventions for students with special educational needs. An innovation of that program was the simultaneous training of both general and special education teachers in pairs, smoothing the dividing lines between general and special education in their daily instructional practice. The participants were 30 educators, divided into 15 pairs. Each pair was working in the same inclusive school sharing the responsibility of the educational support of a student with learning problems. The estimation of the impact of the program was investigated by measuring the educators’ increasing sense of self-efficacy in relation to their instructional skills and overall effectiveness of their educational interventions for their students with learning difficulties. A pre and post evaluation research design was employed and the findings showed that the training program had a positive impact on the educators’ self-efficacy and their effectiveness regarding collaborative educational interventions for their students. Key words: continuing professional development, in-service training, self-efficacy.

scholarly journals Induction Program: An Effort to Improve Professionalism of Novice Principals

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Tutik Susilowati
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Novice Principals ◽  
Induction Program

<p><em>School principals had a very important role to create schools which passed Indonesian students who were expected to be smart and competitive so that they could c</em><em>o</em><em>mpete in industrial revolution era 4.0. Being school principals was not an easy challenge, especially for novice principals. Transition from teachers to principals inflicted several problems. Therefore, induction program was needed by novice principals. The purpose of this article was to develop an understanding on the concept of induction program for novice principals as an effort to develop professionalism. This article was written based on the result of literature review on novice principals, induction program, and some relevant studies. This article concluded that induction program prepared novice principals to succeed as school principals who were capable to do their roles, main tasks, and functions so that their professionalism was developed. Novice principals would through professional learning process in which they learned to adapt themselves from being teachers to being school principals</em><em>.</em><em></em></p>

scholarly journals Classroom Observation: Linking Teacher Evaluation and Professional Development in TESOL

2018 ◽  
Vol III (II) ◽  
pp. 168-195
Author(s):  
Sayyed Rashid Shah ◽  
Roohul Amin ◽  
Hussain Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Classroom Observation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Impact

This study examines the impact of increasingly challenging nature of classroom observation as part of teacher evaluation in English Language Teaching (ELT). This paper highlights the complex nature of evaluative classroom observation systems in various educational contexts. It also considers various issues that embody the challenging nature of classroom observation and teacher evaluation in connection to the professional development of teachers. In a small-scale study of Teaching of English to the Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) professionals in Saudi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, it adopts an interpretive approach and utilizes semi-structured interviews to collect data. The results, presented in four major themes provide a detailed account of teachers’ perceptions of the role of classroom observation in their professional learning and development. However, this development has not occurred due to the observation as a tool to elevate teaching and learning standards, alternatively, the managerial demands and the fear of being fired or transferred to remote campuses have stimulated teachers to develop professionally and offset this challenge. Despite their personal drive to professionalize themselves in a collaborative and professional culture, the challenge of observation still prevails owing to the teachers’ lack of autonomy and some insufficiently trained observers’ subjective approach.

scholarly journals Building Teacher Capacity within the Evolving Assessment Culture in Canadian Education

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don A. Klinger ◽  
Louis Volante ◽  
Christopher Deluca
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Classroom Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Teacher Capacity ◽  
Canadian Education ◽  
Assessment Culture ◽  
The Impact

Lost in the focus on large-scale educational assessments for accountability purposes is the important role of teachers' classroom assessment practices. Teachers must understand the use of both large-scale and classroom assessment practices and theories, and professional development remains the primary method to develop these assessment capacities. However, traditional models of professional development typically have little, if any, effect. In recognition of the importance of building teachers' assessment capacity, and the limitations of traditional professional development, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Canada, developed a Classroom Assessment Workshop Series to begin to build a systemic assessment framework for teachers. Through pre- and post-series surveys with 300 participants, and interviews and focus groups with facilitators, the authors' review and research explored the impact of the series on teachers' beliefs, self-efficacy, and knowledge of assessment practices and theory. The authors also explored the challenges that teachers experienced as they worked to understand and implement current conceptions of assessment. While teachers certainly valued the community created through the series and the opportunities to share their experiences, the findings found that teachers struggled to understand the theoretical foundations and use these foundations to further develop their own assessment practices. The research highlights the need for teachers to embrace a philosophy that integrates formative assessment practices and theories into their teaching and learning while also identifying the challenges associated with creating such an assessment culture. Current models of professional development may be more aligned with principles of effective professional learning, but truly changing teachers' classroom assessment practices may require a much more prolonged effort than those being provided.

scholarly journals Union Contracts and Teacher Professional Development

2001 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Paul V. Bredeson
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Teacher Union ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
The Impact

In this article, I report the results of an investigation that examined the impact of teacher union contracts on the development of professional learning communities in schools. There are three primary sources of data used in the study: 1) 100 written teacher union contract documents; 2) structured interview data from 21 educators (school superintendents, principals, directors of staff development, and teacher union representatives; and 3) focus group interview data from educational leaders in schools. The analysis and discussion focus on five areas related to teacher professional development with implications for policy and practice: explicit language covering opportunities for teaching learning in their work; governance and decision making structures, that is, specific provisions covering wages, hours, and conditions of employment; the description of legitimate and sponsored activities for the professional development of teachers; and the resources supporting the on-going professional growth of teachers. The findings indicate that rethinking, restructuring, and organizational re-culturing in schools are initial expressions of a new unionism that has the potential to lead to the development of more powerful professional learning communities in schools.

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