Improving performance in higher education: An investigation of perspective transformation in teacher professional development programs

This is an exploratory case study of a theoretical framework---perspective transformation---a particular way of viewing how learning occurs in the professional development of teachers. The primary focus of this study was to find out whether we can understand and explain teachers' professional development experiences through perspective transformation. Therefore, the study assessed the theory of perspective transformation and examined the ways in which teachers' professional development experiences contributed to their personal perspective transformations. Despite research about how educators can promote perspective transformation, there have been few empirical studies about this theory on teacher professional development programs.;Specifically, the study used a perspective transformation assessment tool to determine possible occurrences of perspective transformation within the teachers' professional development context, and delineated the professional development learning activities that contributed to their transformational experience. The study further explored the demographic relationships of the teachers who experienced a high perspective transformation to those with medium and low perspective transformation. The data collection also included follow-up interviews and document analysis. In order to test this theoretical framework, a professional development program which carried similar characteristics to the theory was identified.;This exploratory study involved English teachers who participated in professional development activities offered through Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA). The program was chosen because of the theoretical similarities underlying the SUPA professional development program and the theory of perspective transformation. Furthermore, SUPA professional development is individualized by course or discipline. Unlike other SUPA professional development initiatives, which focus on knowledge and skills, professional development for SUPA English teachers centers on interactive and collaborative initiatives, making it a more likely site for perspective transformation.;The findings of the study revealed that significant changes occurred in teachers' pedagogical beliefs or assumptions due to their involvement with SUPA professional development programs. The findings also showed that perspective transformation cannot be predicted based on the demographic variables studied; although there was a pattern observed. It was also found that professional development activities were more influential than people in facilitating perspective transformation. Lastly, the study concluded that perspective transformation offers a viable theory for explaining the process that led to teachers' change of beliefs and assumptions related to their teaching practice.