Poster #74 - Creating A Model For Unique Professional Development Workshops For Teachers Serving International Populations

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Education, Schooling

Integrative Statement

Importance of Study
When one considers the difference in culture, language, and religious backgrounds in schools, connecting with each student may be a daunting task. Moreover, each school is unique. For example, a classroom may consist of 19 students; however, the families in the class may speak different languages, practice many religions, and originate from various countries. Northedge (2003) argues that due to the increased diversity in all classrooms, teachers need to highlight the sociocultural aspects of teaching. This study focuses on creating a specialized Professional Development (PD) to meet teachers needs regarding diversity.

Methods

Participants
To create a unique five-hour PD for 24 in-service teachers at a K-8 school located in a large urban city, we conducted a needs analysis. Teachers ranked the topics they felt were the most important regarding supporting the needs of their diverse, international population of students in their school from countries such Cameroon, China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Korea, Thailand, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

Data 
Participants completed an online questionnaire before and after the PD workshop. To better meet the needs of the in-service teachers, each questionnaire focused on their students’ diverse needs. The pretest stated: Rate your interest in the topics presented below. Please rate them on a 10-point scale, with 0 meaning not at all interested and 10.

Analysis 
For the quantitative portion, Means were analyzed. Following qualitative tradition (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Miles and Huberman, 1994), we used a constant comparative method to code teachers’ responses to the post workshop survey. Our coding involved a three-step process: open, axial, and selective coding. 

Results
Participants rated their top topics of interest as: Considering research findings about various culture's practices, such as eye contact, parent involvement in school matters, and asking questions (M:8.46); Analyzing and understanding the cultures of the school's students (M:8.42), Home-school connection: Improving current practices to better include parents at school activities (M: 8.04). They were least interested in: Religious Diversity: Creating a sense of community for children of different faiths (M: 5.84).

Thus, the topics selected by participants based on the pre-workshop survey centered on four major themes: (1) analyzing and understanding the cultural practices; (2) exploring research to review common cultural misconceptions ; (3) promoting parent engagement in a way that supports diverse cultural beliefs and practices; and (4) short-term action plan for strategies that could be implemented immediately to provide a more inviting environment for international students. In the PD teachers engaged in small group activities, small and large group discussions, and lectures.

For the post-workshop survey three themes emerged. Participants stated that they learned that they needed to be more aware of and sensitive to: children’s cultural backgrounds, ESL, and ethnicity to create a welcoming atmosphere for children and parents.

Conclusion
In conclusion, PD needs to be tailored to a school’s needs, as each school has a different, specific, diverse population. This study shares a model for creating a successful PD that meets a school’s individual needs regarding diversity.

Authors

• Heather Rogers Haverback, Towson University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kathryn Bojczyk, The Catholic University of America
  Presenting Author