Effectiveness of professional development for teachers in French- and English-medium public elementary schools in Quebec, Canada: A first descriptive survey.
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| Title: | Effectiveness of professional development for teachers in French- and English-medium public elementary schools in Quebec, Canada: A first descriptive survey. |
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| Authors: | Boulay, Marie-France1 marie-france.boulay@fse.ulaval.ca, Hamel, Christine1, Hamel, Sandra2 |
| Source: | International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft. Apr2023, Vol. 69 Issue 1/2, p101-124. 24p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Professional education, *Elementary schools, *Teachers, *Workshops (Facilities), *Professional learning communities |
| Abstract (English): | Participating in effective professional development (PD) is beneficial in many ways for teachers themselves, but also for improving school systems. "Effective" PD differs from "traditional" PD in that it employs elements known to support changes in teaching practices and in student learning. Characteristics of effective PD include collective participation, sustained duration, active learning and specific content focus, all within a coherent development process. Based on these effectiveness characteristics, the authors of this article conducted a survey to assess the PD provided to Quebec elementary (primary) school teachers (N = 708) and to identify the content, the learning modes emphasised, the reasons why teachers participated, the perceived benefits, the impacts of participation, as well as the incentives for and potential barriers to participation. Overall, they found that teachers rarely participate in PD unless it has first been specifically offered to them. Although Quebec teachers have access to a relatively wide range of PD activities (e.g., in-school or out-of-school workshops, conferences, teacher networks, professional learning communities, university courses), there is still a need for improvement in terms of the inclusion of effectiveness characteristics in PD activities. The authors conclude their article with avenues for further research and recommendations to increase the effectiveness of teacher PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Abstract (French): | Résumé: Enquête descriptive sur l'efficacité des activités de développement professionnel auxquelles participent les enseignants des écoles primaires publiques francophones et anglophones du Québec (Canada) – La participation des enseignants à des activités de développement professionnel (DP) efficaces comporte plusieurs bénéfices, notamment au regard de l'amélioration des systèmes éducatifs. Ces activités de DP « efficaces » se distinguent des activités « traditionnelles » puisqu'elles réunissent des caractéristiques qui seraient reconnues pour soutenir la transformation des pratiques enseignantes et l'apprentissage des élèves. Ces caractéristiques renvoient aux activités de DP qui sont collaboratives, étendues dans le temps, qui misent sur l'apprentissage actif, qui sont centrées sur un contenu précis et qui font partie d'un processus de développement cohérent. S'appuyant sur lesdites caractéristiques d'efficacité, les autrices du présent article ont réalisé une étude permettant de décrire l'offre d'activités de DP proposée aux enseignants québécois (n = 708) et de cibler les contenus abordés lors de ces activités, les modes d'apprentissage privilégiés, les raisons menant les enseignants à participer aux activités, les bénéfices et les effets perçus de leur participation, ainsi que les incitatifs reçus et les raisons qui peuvent freiner leur participation. Globalement, elles ont constaté que les enseignants québécois participent rarement aux activités qui ne leur ont pas d'abord été offertes. De plus, si les enseignants québécois ont accès à une offre d'activités relativement variée (ateliers tenus à l'école ou à l'extérieur de l'école, conférences, réseaux d'enseignants, communautés d'apprentissage professionnel, cours universitaires, etc.), la prise en compte des caractéristiques d'efficacité pourrait être améliorée. Les autrices concluent leur article en dégageant de nouvelles perspectives de recherche et proposent diverses recommandations visant à accroitre l'efficacité du DP des enseignants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | Participating in effective professional development (PD) is beneficial in many ways for teachers themselves, but also for improving school systems. "Effective" PD differs from "traditional" PD in that it employs elements known to support changes in teaching practices and in student learning. Characteristics of effective PD include collective participation, sustained duration, active learning and specific content focus, all within a coherent development process. Based on these effectiveness characteristics, the authors of this article conducted a survey to assess the PD provided to Quebec elementary (primary) school teachers (N = 708) and to identify the content, the learning modes emphasised, the reasons why teachers participated, the perceived benefits, the impacts of participation, as well as the incentives for and potential barriers to participation. Overall, they found that teachers rarely participate in PD unless it has first been specifically offered to them. Although Quebec teachers have access to a relatively wide range of PD activities (e.g., in-school or out-of-school workshops, conferences, teacher networks, professional learning communities, university courses), there is still a need for improvement in terms of the inclusion of effectiveness characteristics in PD activities. The authors conclude their article with avenues for further research and recommendations to increase the effectiveness of teacher PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00208566 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11159-023-10001-5 |
