Date of Award

1-1-2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

Morgridge College of Education, Teaching and Learning Sciences, Curriculum and Instruction

First Advisor

Nichole M. Joseph, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Bruce Uhrmacher

Third Advisor

Susan Korach

Fourth Advisor

Bin Ramke

Keywords

Andragogy, Engagement, Professional development, Site-based, Veteran teachers

Abstract

This research study examined how teachers self-report their levels of engagement, which factors they believe contribute most to their engagement, and which assumptions of andragogy most heavily influence teacher engagement in site-based professional development. This study employed a convergent parallel mixed methods design to study veteran teachers' perceptions of engagement in site-based professional development using the assumptions of andragogy as the theoretical lens. The study began with both a quantitative and qualitative phase that was conducted simultaneously. The quantitative data was collected to assess teachers' reported engagement and factors influencing engagement in an ideal state. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the levels of agreement in alignment to the different assumptions of andragogy. As well, there were open-ended items to collect qualitative information from seven participants about their self-reported engagement, factors influencing their engagement, and assumptions of andragogy that aligned to their described factors of influence. The qualitative data was collected in one-on-one interviews and was coded and analyzed for alignment to the assumptions of andragogy. The results of both the quantitative and qualitative phases of the study were merged to identify recurring themes and patterns. The findings of this study revealed that the most highly reported assumption impacting engagement in an ideal state were Orientation to Learning and Readiness to Learn; however, there were also strong indications of indirect correlation of responses to the assumption Role of Learner's Experiences. Teachers clearly indicated a need for professional development to reflect relevance, applicability, and alignment to their current needs as learners. As well, teachers expressed a need for facilitators that are credible, and, that employ methods that garner engaging learning experiences through interactive learning structures and collaboration. Moreover, the results of this study indicate the value of using andragogy as a framework for planning effective professional development; particularly the assumptions of Orientation to Learning and Readiness to Learn. The study also indicates that the elements of site-based professional development need to be further explored but are a good starting place to support professional developers at the site-level when considering ways to create engaging experiences for veteran teachers.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Biaze L. Houston

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

177 p.

Discipline

Education, Adult Education, Educational Administration

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