A comparative analysis of teachers' and principals' attitudes toward staff development

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of teachers and principals toward staff development, and to determine if their attitudes were congruent. The study further examined whether or not selected demographic characteristics had an impact on their attitudes toward staff development.;The data were collected through a 32 item survey called the Attitude Toward Staff Development Scale which included a demographics section. The survey was modified by permission for the two publics--teachers and principals from the original scale developed by Flanagan, Trueblood, and Trueblood (1984). The Statistical Package for Social Science, Version X (SPSS-X) was used to analyze the data. Significance was established at the.05 level of probability.;The sample consisted of two hundred principals (100 elementary and 100 secondary) and six hundred teachers (300 elementary and 300 secondary). The returns consisted of three hundred thirty-five teachers and one hundred twenty-eight principals for a 58% return rate (64% for principals and 56% for teachers).;Hypothesis 1 which predicted no significant difference between teachers' and principals' attitudes toward staff development was accepted (p =.093). Hypothesis 2 which predicted no significant difference between elementary and secondary school teachers' attitudes toward staff development was rejected (p =.001). Hypothesis 3 which predicted no significant difference between elementary and secondary principals' attitudes toward staff development for teachers was rejected (p =.007). Hypothesis 4 which predicted no significant main effect of interaction of gender, race, school type, and location on attitudes toward staff development was accepted. Higher order interactions were not statistically significant at the.05 level. However, a statistically significant main effect (F = 14.969, ;The findings of the study have practical implications for staff who are responsible for planning, developing, and implementing inservice education. The inservice needs of elementary and secondary teachers are different. Therefore, programs designed for all teachers need re-evaluation. Staff development specialists must collaborate with participants in the assessing and planning of staff development programs. The major finding of the study is that the inservice needs of teachers vary according to school type.