Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Nichole Karpel

Abstract

There are inconsistent completion rates of professional development among elementary school teachers in a school district in the rural southeast. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore elementary teachers’ perceptions of the value of professional development to improve teaching and what motivates them to complete the professional development that is offered. The study was guided by Knowles’ theory of andragogy of how adults learn and Eccles’ expectancy value theory of motivation. The first research question explored how elementary teachers in a rural school district described the value of professional development offered to improve teaching. The second research question addressed how teachers described their motivation to complete the professional development that was offered. Purposeful sampling was used to select 10 teachers for semistructured interviews. Structural coding was used to discover patterns in participants’ interview responses. Results revealed that professional development held value for the participants when the learning was connected to a classroom need, provided resources, and could be immediately implemented. Teachers were motivated to complete professional development when it was structured to support their teaching and student learning. The results and recommendations were compiled into a position paper to present to district leaders to inform future professional development. Positive social change may result from teachers being provided with improved professional development that results in better completion rates, resulting in improved teaching.

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