Customizing Professional Development Opportunities and Feedback to Teachers' Needs: Results From a Latent Profile Analysis

• In Event: School Improvement Through the Adult Learning Environment

Abstract

A key lever for improving instructional quality centers on providing teachers with professional development (PD) opportunities and feedback customized to their needs, as captured by examining their instructional practice. Yet, few, if any studies, appear to have investigated whether teachers receive PD and feedback based on their instructional needs. Utilizing a two-year dataset from Grade-4 and Grade-5 teachers and employing latent profile analysis, in this study, we developed profiles of teachers, based on the instructional quality in their lessons, as captured by a content-generic and a content-specific instrument. After validating these profiles, we regressed profile membership on PD and feedback received, which suggested that the former predicted neither of the latter. Implications for teacher ongoing PD and support are provided.

Authors

• Sofia Agathangelou, University of Cyprus

• Heather C. Hill, Harvard Graduate School of Education

• Charalambos Y. Charalambous, University of Cyprus