Proposal on

“Teachers' and Administrators' Perceptions of Effective Professional Development Programs”

By

[Name of Instructor]

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION3

1.1Background of the Study3

1.2Problem Statement4

1.3Theoretical Framework4

1.4Purpose of the Study5

1.5Research Questions5

1.6Significance of the Study6

1.7Definition of Terms7

1.8Organization of the Study7

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW8

2.1Defining Professional Development9

2.2Successful Assessment10

2.21The Role of Administrators11

2.3Professional Development and Change11

2.4Teacher-Student Relationship in Professional Development12

2.5Teacher Professional Development13

REFERENCES14

APPENDIX17

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The educators and government policy makers are continuously making efforts to enhance the quality of education. The states and districts have adopted high standards at work, and demand the same from the coming generation. In order to reach the levels adopted by states and districts, the children will require help from their teachers. According to Cuban (1990), Teachers are to be considered as the focal point for restructuring in education, as they must help their students in achieving the high standards. Thus, it can be argued that the success of restructuring educational levels depends highly upon the effectiveness and qualifications of the administrators and teachers. Consequently, enhancing the quality of education depends upon the teachers' and administrators' perceptions of effective professional development. Thus administrator and teacher professional development is considered as the focal point for complete education reform (Corcoran, 1995; Corcoran, et.al., 1998). The teachers must have a full grasp on the subjects they teach along with having the capability of transferring the elementary knowledge, as well as, of enhancing problem-solving skills and cognitive thinking among their students (Loucks-Horsley, et. al. 1998; NCTAF, 1996). The essential components of education reforms, revised methods for assessment and revised curriculums, for meeting high standards, help in developing relatively higher expectations for students' performance, as well as, classroom behavior of teachers (Bybee, 1993; National Research Council, 1996; Webb & Romberg, 1994). Even though many administrators and teachers are willing to accept high quality education standards for professional development, but, they do not have sufficient preparations to implement teaching practices for encouraging professional development (Cohen, 1990; Elmore & Burney, 1996; Grant, et. al. 1996). Therefore, teaching approaches need to be transformed towards developing cognitive thinking and problem-solving skills in students. According to Shulman and Sparks (1992), the essential part of any profession is the constant expanding of skills and knowledge, and teaching has no exemption. Therefore teachers' and administrators' perceptions of effective professional development programs are critical to creating, developing, implementing and understanding various forms of education assessment. This study examines the perceptions of teachers and administrators concerning the effectiveness of professional development programs.

Problem Statement

Prior research suggests that student achievement and methods for classroom instruction can only be enhanced with the help of implementing professional development programs for teachers (Ball & Cohen, 1999; Cohen & Hill, 2000; Little, 1993; NCTAF, 1996). Therefore, this study explores the perceptions of teachers and administrators in relation to the effectiveness of professional development programs. The proposal needs to be presented in order to conduct interviews with teachers and administrators on the effectiveness of professional development programs.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework for this study follows Guskey's five critical levels of professional development evaluation for designing a successful ...