Session Information
01 SES 03 C, National Perspectives from Latin America and Europe
Paper Session
Contribution
From the data of the TALIS 2018 survey, we can state that the participation of Czech teachers in professional development (PD) is one of the highest in comparison with other countries, and they have a more positive attitude towards PD activities. The most common forms of PD are reading literature and attending seminars, but below-average is team teaching or mutual observation of teachers in the classroom. (Boudová et al., 2020) According to Czech School Inspectorate (CSI), in about one-fourth of the monitored schools, the CSI assesses care for the professional development of teachers as "requiring improvement" or "unsatisfactory". (Pražáková, 2021)
The importance of PD is perceived worldwide as a subject that can affect the quality of teaching or the professional motivation of the teacher (Starý et al., 2012). Current research relates to examining the process of PD in terms of its quality and effectiveness (Gore et al., 2017; Garet et al., 2001; Darling-Hammond et al., 2017), but also as a tool that has an impact on pupils' school success (Starý et al., 2012; Yoon et al., 2007). Continuous professional development is related to teacher self-efficacy and classroom climate. Teachers' self-efficacy, which affects relationships with colleagues and parents, is also an important factor that allows them to appreciate their colleagues and school management. (Caprara et al., 2006) Feedback and evaluation of teachers' work together with the overall school climate are factors that affect a teacher's confidence and job satisfaction. (Badri et al. 2017).
Our study aims to describe some characteristics of the professional development of Czech teachers on the ISCED 2 level (upper grades of primary school). For the secondary analysis, we will use data sets from the TALIS survey in 2013 and 2018 and data from the 2015 research conducted by S. Michek (2016) in cooperation with NIDV (National Institute for Further Education). We will describe how teachers in the selected datasets perceive professional development activities, how they engage in these activities, what factors are associated with them, and how they are related to the age and length of teaching practice. Due to changes in TALIS questionnaires and the fact that the 2015 sample does not meet all criteria for the representative sample is a description based on time development limited. However, we can focus our perspective on how the statements of teachers differ in individual datasets based on their age and length of teaching experience.
Our research question is: How does the teacher's length of teaching experience affect his or her active participation in professional development? What is the relationship between the length of teaching experience, the assessment of professional development activities, the influence of feedback, and school climate? What types of professional development activities do teachers choose based on the length of their teaching experience?
Method
The Czech Republic participated in the TALIS survey in 2013 and 2018. The representative sample includes approximately 200 schools in each country and 20 teachers in each school. In the Czech Republic, 220 schools and 3 219 teachers were involved in the TALIS survey in 2013, and 219 schools and 3 447 teachers in TALIS 2018. For the TALIS data set we selected only teachers from primary schools since within the ISCED 2 category in the Czech Republic there are also teachers of lower grades of secondary schools. For TALIS 2013 our sample has n = 2346, 73 % of the total set, and for TALIS 2018, n = 2517, 73 % of the total set. The third source was from the research of Michek's survey from 2015, which has n = 429, 17% of the total set. The survey was organized by the NIDV institute (Michek, 2015), and they used a questionnaire inspired by the TALIS survey, which was distributed among teachers’ contacts in their database (those contacts were teachers who already attended some of the PD activities offered by the institute). As a main tool for the secondary analysis, we used a free version of the JAMOVI software. We created seven categories of teachers from open questions on age and length of teaching experience in all three data sets. Secondly, we created indexes from several TALIS questionnaire items. These were formulated slightly differently in both waves of the TALIS survey. The number of items and Cronbach's alpha in the order 2013, and 2018 are given in parentheses. Professional Development Index (7, 0.81; 7; 0.70), Feedback Index (5, 0.92; 6, 0.78), and School Climate Index (5, 0.88; 8, 0.89). Finally, to fulfill the descriptive research question, we measured the percentage of respondents participating in individual types of professional development activities across our categories. Furthermore, all three datasets contain identical batteries with scale items related to barriers to participation in professional development activities.
Expected Outcomes
In general, 2015 data have lower informative potential than the TALIS 2013 and 2018 datasets, which have a representative sample selection. However, the data can illustrate the situation in the interim period of the TALIS survey. For categories 1 and 7 in all three datasets, there is a smaller representation within the sample, therefore also a lower reliability and informative value for these two categories. RQ1: Overall we see in the data an increasing trend in teacher participation across different types of professional development activities. All three datasets show a clear downward trend, meaning with increasing age and length of teaching experience, teachers perceive fewer obstacles to their participation in professional development activities. It is also important to mention that, overall, teachers do not perceive the mentioned obstacles as significant for overall participation in professional development. RQ2: It was shown in TALIS data sets that older and more experienced teachers evaluate the contribution of professional development activities more positively than their younger colleagues. The benefit of feedback is generally rated as rather small across age categories. Correlation analysis between the indices showed weaker mutual but logical connections. Teachers who value the benefit of professional development activities also tend to value the benefit of provided feedback (r "2013" = 0.21; "2018" = 0.23), and these teachers also evaluate the climate of their school more positively (r with the professional development index "2013" = 0.13; "2018" = 0.17; r with feedback index "2013" = 0.27; "2018" = 0.16). RQ3: The highest participation across all categories is declared for the activity Courses and seminars, which are one-time activities that, from the point of view of research findings, are bringing the least benefit to teachers.
References
Badri, M., Alnuaimi, A., Yang, G., Al Rashidi, A., & Al Sumaiti, R. (2017). A Structural Equation Model of Determinants of the Perceived Impact of Teachers’ Professional Development—The Abu Dhabi Application. SAGE Open, 7, 1-18. DOI:10.1177/2158244017702198. Boudová, S., Šťastný, V., Basl, J., Zatloukal, T., Andrys, O., & Pražáková, D. (2020). Mezinárodní šetření TALIS 2018: zkušenosti, názory a postoje učitelů a ředitelů škol : národní zpráva. Česká školní inspekce. Caprara, G., Barbaranelli, C., Steca, P., & Malone, P. (2006). Teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs as determinants of job satisfaction and students’ academic achievement: A study at the school level. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 473-490. Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective Teacher Professional Development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/Effective_Teacher_Professional_Development_REPORT.pdf Garet, M. S., Porter, A. C., Desimone, L., Birman, B. F., & Yoon, K. S. (2001). What Makes Professional Development Effective? Results From a National Sample of Teachers. American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 38, 915-945. https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/downloads/report/aera_designing_0.pdf Gore, J., Lloyd, A., Smith, M., Bowe, J. J., Ellis, H., & Lubans, D. (2017). Effects of professional development on the quality of teaching: Results from a randomised controlled trial of Quality Teaching Rounds. Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol. 68, 99-113. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X17304225 Michek, S. (2015). Zpráva z dotazníkového šetření ke zjištění názorů cílové skupiny učitelů pro plánování projektu IMKA (Implementace kariérního systému) – souhrn odpovědí. NIDV: Praha. Michek, S. (2016). Využití aktivit podporujících profesní rozvoj a vnímání jejich překážek učiteli základních a středních škol. Pedagogika, 66(4). https://doi.org/10.14712/23362189.2016.316 OECD (2019). TALIS 2018 Technical Report. Paris: OECD. Pražáková, D. (2021, 10. května). Profesní rozvoj učitelů v datech ČŠI. Řízení školy. Starý, K., Dvořák, D., Greger, D., & Duschinská, K. (2012). Profesní rozvoj učitelů. Podpora učitelů pro zlepšování výsledků žáků. Karolinum. Yoon, K. S., Duncan, T., Lee, S. W.-Y., Scarloss, B., & Shapley, K. (2007). Reviewing the evidence on how teacher professional development affects student achievement (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2007–No. 033). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs
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