| Requiring teachers to participate in professional development activities is a popular, yet largely unsuccessful method of transforming schools and supporting reform efforts (Guskey, 2002; Fullan, 2001; Hoban, 2002; Gordon, 2004). Reasons researchers posit for the failure of professional development programs include teachers being resistant to change (Hoban, 2002), teacher change not being supported (Fullan, 2001; Richardson & Anders, 2001) and failure to account for what motivates teachers to participate in professional development (Guskey, 2002). Approaches to solving this problem have included defining and refining characteristics of effective professional development programs (Guskey, 2003; National Staff Development Council, 2001), and examining the process of teacher change (Guskey, 2002). This study approaches the problem by examining the role teachers' perceptions of their professional development needs play in the professional development process. The study was based on the assumption that teachers will be motivated to participate in professional development activities that meet their perceived needs, and this motivation increases the likelihood of success of professional development programs.; This study used the Public School Teacher component of the 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) as well as the Current Teacher Survey component of the 2000-2001 Teacher Follow-Up Survey (TFS) to answer four research questions that addressed the extent to which teachers' professional development needs are met by required professional development and explored the extent to which teacher and school factors predict teachers' priorities for their personal professional development.; Some of the major findings of this study are: (a) teaching assignment is the strongest predictor of teachers' professional development priorities; (b) teaching qualifications are the second strongest predictor of teachers' professional development priorities; (c) teachers who are disengaged with the profession will not benefit from professional development activities as much as teachers who are satisfied and engaged with the profession; (d) a principal's leadership style is directly related to teachers' perceptions of whether their needs were met by required professional development; and (e) teachers' professional development priorities are influenced by the type of students in the schools in which they teach. |
