Why Teachers Do Not Participate in Professional Development: An Empirical Study of Deterrents

• In Event: Measuring and Investigating the Impact of Professional Development Programs on Teacher Learning

Abstract

Research on teachers' professional development (PD) has focused on the uptake of activities and the characteristics of participants. However, the factors deterring teachers from participating in PD remains unclear. The aim of this study is to describe how and why teachers do not participate in PD using data from 2012 German National Assessment Study. Five deterring factors were identified: Disengagement, lack of quality, family constraints, costs, and work constraints. Descriptive analysis reveals that these factors vary between teachers, but work and quality are the most significant deterrents. Furthermore, non-participants achieve significantly higher results in disengagement and quality. The findings indicate that subjective attitudes and the perception that PD courses lack quality may deter teachers from participating in PD activities.

Authors

• Eric Richter, Universität Potsdam

• Dirk Richter, University of Potsdam

• Alexandra Marx, Universität Potsdam