Date of Award

Fall 12-1-2003

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Media Technology

First Advisor

Susan Powers

Second Advisor

Noble Corey

Third Advisor

Renee Ramsey

Abstract

A dearth of literature exists on the topic of professional development for public school teachers, according to Guskey ( 1997). This study attempted to contribute to the data base through both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The following two research questions were explored: 1) What are teacher perceptions regarding changes in professional development in the last five years? 2) Is there a relationship between personal satisfaction and the quality/availability, funding, and presence of outside consultants within professional development activities for teachers? Teachers at six Indiana public schools were surveyed, and voluntary interview participants were solicited. Thematic analysis occurred of twelve one-on-one interview transcriptions, and a multiple regression was performed on the survey data. This study found that the quality and availability of professional development opportunities does have a significant impact on the personal job satisfaction of teachers. The issue of personal job satisfaction is one in which further research is clearly needed.

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