Teacher self-efficacy, professional development and student reading performance in persistently low-performing schools

The overall aim of this quantitative non-experimental study was to investigate the degree to which content-focused professional development, active based-learning professional development and teacher self-efficacy predict student performance in reading, within persistently low-performing schools. The need to investigate professional development in persistently low-performing schools comes as a result of academic scholars establishing an argument that teacher quality is the driving force for improved student achievement. Year after year, school districts utilize funds to offer intensive, sustained professional development for both school leaders and teachers. Although many hours of professional development have been provided in persistently low-performing schools, student achievement continuously fluctuates over time, showing no overall pattern of improvement. The theoretical framework for the study was based on Bandura's (1997) Social Cognitive Theory. This theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction among cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences. The research was conducted in the fourth largest school district in the United States (Miami-Dade County Public Schools) with 129 reading teachers in grades three through 10, over four weeks, from 66 persistently low-performing schools. Teacher self-efficacy was measured by the Teacher's Sense of Efficacy Scale. Professional development and student achievement data were archival, collected from the 2013/14 school year. The data were analyzed using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The findings did not support the research hypothesis. More research is needed to investigate any relationship that might exist between teachers' self-efficacy of instructional strategies, types of professional development and student achievement.