ERIC Number: EJ845120
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1365-4802
EISSN: N/A
Is Subject Knowledge the Be All and End All? Investigating Professional Development for Science Teachers
Woolhouse, Clare; Cochrane, Matt
Improving Schools, v12 n2 p160-173 2009
This article reports on the initial findings of research carried out with a cohort of science teachers engaged in a professional development course at a northwest England university. The aim was to investigate how professional development was perceived by participants and explore the experiences of those who undertook the course. Results suggest that initially a utilitarian discourse which framed professional development as needing to fulfil identified needs, and an alignment of the benefits of undertaking professional development with training for quantifiable career advancement, took precedence over personal growth. However, as the course developed, the teachers began to recognize their integration into a professional learning community, and also saw the course as an opportunity for self-development. We suggest that a utilitarian paradigm can sit alongside a purpose which seeks to develop teachers' self-reflection and personal growth as a route to enrichment of pupil experience rather than focused on producing quantifiable progress in examination results. (Contains 1 note.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Science Teachers, Professional Development, Faculty Development, Science Education, Individual Development, Higher Education, Action Research, Models, Teacher Recruitment, Teacher Persistence, Physics, Colleges, Chemistry, Teaching Methods, Questionnaires, Evaluation, Pilot Projects, Surveys, Periodicals
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom; United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A