The Condition of Education 1997 / Indicator 40: Teachers' participation in professional development

The Condition of Education 1997, Indicator 40

Teachers' participation in professional development

Professional development for current teachers includes both seminars offered by schools or school districts and courses affiliated with institutions of higher education. The extent to which teachers pursue professional development while continuing to teach may indicate either the commitment of the teaching profession to improve teaching practice or salary structures that reward participation in professional development.

In school year 1993–94, 50 percent or more of full-time public school teachers participated in professional development on topics including uses of educational technology for instruction, methods of teaching in their subject field, student assessment, and cooperative learning in the classroom.
Full-time public school teachers were more likely to participate in activities on all types of professional development topics than were full-time private school teachers. Full-time public elementary school teachers were more likely to participate in activities on four of the five types of professional development topics than were their secondary school counterparts.
In school year 1993–94, 48 percent of full-time public school teachers received released time from teaching, and 41 percent received scheduled time for professional development. Twenty-two percent received none of the types of support listed.
Full-time public school teachers were more likely to receive professional growth credits and released and scheduled time from teaching than were their private school counterparts. However, private school teachers were more likely to receive tuition and/or fees than were public school teachers.
In recent years, teacher induction programs appeared to be more prevalent. For example, public elementary and secondary teachers with less than 4 years of teaching experience were more likely to have participated in a formal teacher induction program in their first year of teaching than were teachers with 4 or more years of experience (see supplemental table 40-1).

Chart 1: Percentage of full-time teachers who participated in professional development during the 1993–94 school year, by control of school; in-service education or professional development topic

Chart 2: Percentage of full-time teachers who participated in professional development during the 1993–94 school year, by control of school; type of support received for in-service education or professional development

Percentage of full-time teachers who participated in professional development during the 1993-94 school year, by topic, type of support received, and control and level of school

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                                                                    Public                    Private
Professional development topic                            -------------------------- ---------------------------
and type of support received                            Total  Elementary Secondary  Total  Elementary Secondary
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In-service education or professional development topic
  Uses of educational technology for instruction         50.1        49.7      50.7   34.3        32.8      38.5
  Methods of teaching in specific subject field          64.4        69.7      55.0   59.8        63.1      50.8
  In-depth study in specific field                       30.1        31.6      27.5   25.9        24.7      29.2
  Student assessment                                     52.0        55.4      45.8   40.4        42.5      34.7
  Cooperative learning in the classroom                  51.5        52.7      49.2   43.6        45.5      38.5

Type of support received during the 1993-94 school year for in-service education or professional development
  Released time from teaching                            48.1        50.7      43.5   41.7        42.6      39.2
  Scheduled time                                         40.7        43.6      35.4   36.3        37.1      34.3
  Travel and/or per diem expenses                        23.3        21.2      26.9   21.1        19.8      24.6
  Tuition and/or fees                                    23.0        24.3      20.7   35.3        36.0      33.3
  Professional growth credits                            32.7        34.8      28.9   26.0        27.7      21.3
  None of the above                                      22.2        19.4      27.1   26.0        25.1      28.4
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NOTE: Excludes a small number of teachers whose schools did not respond to the questionnaire.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 1993-94 (Teacher Questionnaire).

Table 40-1: Percentage of teachers who participated in a formal teacher induction or a master or mentor program, by years of teaching experience and control and level of school: 1994

Table 40-2: Percentage of teachers who participated in professional development activities during the 1993-94 school year, by topic, type of support and activity, outcomes, and level, control and urbanicity of school

Table 40-3: Percentage of public teachers who participated in professional development activities during the 1993-94 school year, by topic, type of support and activity, outcomes, level of school, and percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch

Table 40-4: Percentage of teachers who participated in professional development activities during the 1993-94 school year, by topic, type of support and activity, outcomes, level and control of school, and school size

Table 40-5: Percentage of public school teachers who participated in professional development activities during the 1993-94 school year, by topic, type of support and activity, outcomes, and percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch within urbanicity

Table 40-6: Percentage of all teachers who participated in professional development activities, by professional development topic and state: 1994

Standard errors for the text table in Indicator 40

Standard errors for supplemental table 40-1

Standard errors for supplemental table 40-2

Standard errors for supplemental table 40-3