The College of Education
Announces the Final Examination of
Trainer B. Kern
For the degree of
Doctor of Education
April 5, 2016 at 9:30am
405 Ball Hall, University of Memphis
Memphis, TN
Bachelor of Business Administration, Business, Tennessee State University
Master of Arts in Teaching, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership, The University of Memphis
Advisory Committee
Beverly Cross, PhD, Professor, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership, Committee Chair
J. Helen Perkins, EdD, Associate Professor, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership
William Hunter, EdD, Assistant Professor, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership
Louis Franceschini III, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Leadership
Major Field of Study
Instruction and Curriculum Leadership
Period of Preparation: 2004-2016
Comprehensive Examination Passed: December, 2013
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY AND NEED FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, THE LEVEL OF TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY EVIDENCED BY FACULTY AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT OUTCOMES MEASURED SCHOOL-WIDE
Despite the vast existing body of research on professional development and student achievement, little is known about how teachers’ perceptions of professional development relate to other aspects of their classroom effectiveness. This research attempted to link elementary teachers’ assessment of the quality of professional development, need for professional development, and collective teacher efficacy with student achievement at their school. This research also examined the possible influence that teachers’ number of years of experience, and their staying or leaving the teaching profession, have on their perceptions in relationship to student achievement. This quantitative study used secondary data analysis from the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) Working Condition Survey and state achievements tests (2009-2010). The correlation with individual and school-level outcomes showed quality of professional development and collective teacher efficacy as the strongest relationship, though teachers’ perceptions at the school level were linked with student achievement. When teachers were placed in subgroups based on years of teaching and professional development impact on student learning, correlations between quality of professional development scale means, sum of professional development needs, and collective faculty’s efficacy means were statically significant in each subgroup. However, using the Fisher r to z transformation, tests of the difference between two independent variables showed no strength in their relationships. Finally, in terms of their students’ achievement, elementary teachers who remained at their schools outperformed teachers who chose to leave the profession. Future research should focus on which specific types of professional development are essential to classroom teachers’ needs.