Adoption and Applicability of Peer Coaching as a Form of Teacher Professional Development: Comparing the Beliefs of American and Turkish Educators

• In Event: Reconceptualizing Teacher Evaluation Policies and Practices

Abstract

Peer coaching has been described as an effective form of teacher professional development. Consequently, different aspects of the peer coaching process have been examined. However, no international comparative studies focusing on the differences between the applicability and adoptability of peer coaching in different educational systems were found. This study examined cross-national differences in educators’ beliefs about peer coaching by comparing survey responses of American and Turkish educators. Data analysis showed that both American and Turkish educators found peer coaching adoptable in their school systems. However, on the applicability level there were statistically significant differences found at all subscales of peer coaching survey showing that American participants believed that peer coaching was much more applicable than did the Turkish participants.

Authors

• Sally J. Zepeda, University of Georgia

• Abdurrahman Ilgan, Düzce University, Turkey

• Oksana Parylo, University of Georgia - Athens