| This descriptive study focused on the curricular impact of changes which have affected educators and education in American society in the last decade. The decline in birth rates and thus in school enrollment have reduced the need for new teachers. The result has been a more stable staff, the aging of the professional teacher, the lack of teacher mobility, the decline or absence of new young teachers joining staffs and assumably bringing with them new ideas and vitality.; The result of a severe recession and inflation meant cut backs by school boards in school building and staff and available resources. The number of teachers who have completed certification requirements is very high indeed. The aforementioned changes in American society have created a demand that new curricular methods and organizational strategies be found in order to provide school staffs with the kind of experiences needed for professional growth; thus a needs assessment was planned.; The major question investigated in the study was: How Can Teacher Planning For Individual Professional Growth Assist Teachers In Meeting Their Perceived Needs Relative To Curriculum Planning And How Does Teacher Planning For Individual Professional Growth Assist Teachers in Meeting Their Perceived Needs For Individual Professional Growth? The related questions dealt with aspects of curriculum planning and teacher planning for individual professional growth.; The study was limited to one school district located in Western New York. Teachers from all grade levels, including special education, participated in the study. A check-list style of questionnaire and personal interviews facilitated gathering the data.; The following are representative of the generalizations drawn from the data pertaining to the central question and the related questions of the study. Teacher planning for individual professional growth: (1) want release time and an incentive for involvement in professional growth activities, (2) view release time as a serious commitment to professional growth by the administration, (3) support the view that the results of the data sustain the basic premise of the study--that professional growth occurs, and is perceived of as a result of teacher planning and curriculum planning, (4) feel that the data indicate general endorsement of those curriculum planning needs of teachers described in the literature, (5) state that they want to be involved in planning and writing curricula, and in planning for their own individual professional growth, (6) will have a direct effect on the quality of teaching and interaction between teacher and student, (7) feel that Freedom To Teach and Individual Professional Growth are tied together; teachers need Freedom To Teach in order to make decisions about what and how to teach, and in order to be better professionals--to achieve growth, (8) generally speaking, feel that the administration and the board of education must support teacher planning for individual professional growth or the effort will not succeed. |
