Professional Development and the role of Administration

in High School Education

Certificate

We hereby certify that this dissertation, submitted by John David Meyer conforms to acceptable standards and is fully adequate in scope and quality to fulfill the dissertation requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

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Chairperson of Dissertation Committee

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Dissertation Committee Member

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Dissertation Committee Member

Approved:

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Dean

2009

Abstract

When administrators make decisions about the infrastructure support needs of a current or planned High School teaching program, these decisions are often based on external expert advice rather than on the advice of experienced ground level faculty who are living with the dynamic nature of the technology and support needed to develop and maintain an effective High School teaching program. High School teaching faculty are the best source of advice and information on what works and what does not. Faculty at the selected high school were surveyed to find out what elements are important to the development of an effective High School teaching program. Faculty were also asked to validate the High School Teaching Infrastructure Matrix designed to help campus administration evaluate the current administrative support they provide to High School teaching programs. Many of the faculty members have 20 or more years teaching experience, but less than that teaching High School. Data were collected through the use of a survey titled “High School Faculty Support Survey,” which was developed by the researcher. The survey served to identify: a) faculty perceptions of what elements are important to the development of a successful High School teaching program; b) which of those elements were in use at their specific institution; c) factors serving to enhance faculty participation in an High School teaching program, and which factors impede their involvement; and d) faculty perceptions of the clarity and expected effectiveness of the Matrix. The survey has been evaluated by a panel of experts consisting of a statistician, an instructional designer, a program support specialist, a multimedia support specialist, an academic services professional, an information technology network support professional, and two faculty High School program directors. Careful analysis of the data received from the responses to the survey reveals specific areas that faculty deem important to an High School teaching program, and whether their specific institution actively provides those important elements. The data were coded and further analyzed to identify areas where there may be significant differences between what faculty deem to be important elements of infrastructure support and what is actively provided by their institution.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Problem Definition8

Problem Statement12

Goal13

Relevance and Significance13

Research Questions15

Limitations of the Study16

Delimitations16

Assumptions17

Definition of Terms17

Summary19

Chapter 2: Review of the Literature20

Overview20

Faculty Training Needs21

Administrative Support Needs27

Faculty Perceptions of How Needs are Being Met29

Administration's Perspective33

Summary and Contributions39

Chapter 3 Methodology41

Research Methods Employed42

Survey45

Description47

Faculty Incentives49

Faculty Development and Mentoring Program50

Procedures52

Reliability and Validity52

Summary54

Chapter 4 Results55

Data Analysis56

Demographics and Background of Participants58

High school education Teaching Experiences60

Faculty high school education teaching incentives and impediments68

Summary70

Chapter 5: Conclusions, Implications and Recommendations, and Summary72

Conclusions72

Implications and Recommendations77

Recommendation for Additional Studies79

Summary79

References83

List of Tables

1. High School Teaching Infrastructure Matrix

2. High School Teaching Infrastructure Matrix Description

3. Age Groups ...