Date of Conferral
2015
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
Tabitha Otieno
Abstract
Quality professional development is essential to enhance and sustain teacher efficacy. In a Southeastern school district, content-based, job-embedded professional development was not practiced or available for secondary school choral teachers. The purpose of this research was to discover the perceptions that choral teachers possess about what constitutes quality professional development. Guided by Bruner's constructivist approach, Knowles' concept of andragogy, and DuFour's professional development practices, this study examined the connection between these 3 ideas and supplied the foundation for the development of a professional development program. Using a case study design, data were collected through interviews and lesson plan documents from 9 secondary school choral teachers. The data were coded by hand and analyzed using an inductive approach. The key results were that the secondary school choral teachers desire quality professional development, characterized by content-based subject matter and collaborative delivery methods. A project of customized content-based choral music was constructed using teacher collaboration and mentoring as critical components of the delivery system. This study has implications for positive social change by providing professional development that addresses the needs and desires of the educators and increases their knowledge and skills. The project can perform as a prototype for professional development in other academic disciplines.
Recommended Citation
West, Raymond Owen, "Secondary School Choral Teachers' Perceptions of Quality Professional Development" (2015). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 1764.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1764
