An investigation of factors associated with the implementation of mandatory staff development training

Abstract

This descriptive study investigated those factors associated with mandatory staff development training that teachers reported as being conducive to the implementation of the content presented. To obtain the necessary data for this study, 24 elementary teachers from Portsmouth, Virginia Public Schools were interviewed. The interview guide sought answers to questions relating to 1) mandatory staff development participation, 2) school based support of staff development training, 3) relevancy of content presented, 4) factors that motivate teachers in wanting to attend staff development training programs, and 5) demographic information.

The major findings were that there is no clear distinction between responses of those teachers who implemented and those that did not implement the mandatory staff development training. The majority of the responses toward mandatory staff development training were positive, even though the impact of the content presented was not as great on some teachers as it was on others. Most of the teachers saw staff development training as being very important and did tend to use some or most of the content presented.

School based support by the principal was revealed as being helpful when teachers sought their assistance. Teachers' colleagues and central administration were reported as being positive and enthusiastic, thus enhancing the implementation of the content presented. Also, motivational status of the teachers was a primary factor in affecting the implementation of staff development training. Lastly, the demographic variable, currently enrolled in graduate work, was found to be the predictor variable in whether or not a teacher would tend to be an implementor of staff development training.