The Looming Danger of a Two-Tiered Professional Development System

Sparks, Dennis

doi:10.1177/003172170408600412

Cited by 23 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Conversely, top‐down, mandated professional development is often demoralizing and unrelated to what teachers are actually doing in their classrooms. If students are expected to think critically, craft innovative solutions, and solve problems, then teachers must be afforded the opportunity to approach their work in the same way (Sparks ). Peckover et al.…”

Section: Professional Unionism: the Noneconomic Aspects Of Collectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Bargaining for Success: Examining the Relationship Between Teacher Unions and Student Achievement

Vachon

Kuo-Hsun

2015

Sociological Forum

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While many previous studies have identified a positive relationship between teachers unions and student achievement on standardized tests, little research to date has explored the channels through which unions might actually affect achievement. Utilizing multilevel random intercept models, we examine the effects of two categories of items commonly negotiated in teacher contracts-"industrial union" items and "professional union" items-on individual student math scores. Further, we assess the ability of these two clusters of variables to explain the positive union effect found in previous research. The results confirm that teachers unions are positively associated with student achievement and suggest that the industrial model explains moderately more of the union effect than the professional model; however, only the combination of both models is capable of reducing the union effect to nonsignificance. These findings are also confirmed in a supplemental analysis utilizing instrumental variables to account for the possibility of endogeneity. Finally, a decomposition of the union effect suggests that teachers unions are most beneficial to middleand high-achieving students. We conclude that through industrial and professional bargaining, teachers are able to secure higher salaries, credentialing, and greater autonomy which lead to improved student achievement.

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Section: Professional Unionism: the Noneconomic Aspects Of Collectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Bargaining for Success: Examining the Relationship Between Teacher Unions and Student Achievement

Vachon

Kuo-Hsun

2015

Sociological Forum

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“…Investment in professional development stands at 2.2% vis‐à‐vis the recommended 4% of payroll (DES, 2007). By contrast, for example, in the USA, it is up to 10% of a school's budget (Sparks, 2004). A continued focus on supporting teacher professional development is in line with both DES and national strategy (DES, 2008; Government of Ireland, 1995), and is considered a key area in contributing to social and economic goals in its potential to contribute to economic development and promote social inclusion.…”

Section: The Role Of Teacher Professional Development In Promoting Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing the professional development needs of teachers working in the area of special education/inclusion in mainstream schools in Ireland

O'Gorman

Drudy

2010

Research in Spec Educ Needs

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This paper gives an account of one aspect of a recent research project that explored dimensions of inclusion in mainstream schools in Ireland. In particular, the working lives of teachers who have specific responsibility for students with disabilities and/or special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools were explored. In Ireland, such teachers are known as learning support or resource or SEN (LS/R/SEN) teachers. The nearest UK equivalent role is that of SEN co‐ordinator, but the responsibilities of the Irish LS/R/SEN teacher role are not as formalised and tend to vary in different school contexts. A key aspect of the research project was to explore the professional development requirements of these teachers. The contention emerges that the professional development requested by teachers was supportive of traditional practices and that these practices more properly belonged to a medical model‐influenced, deficit approach to special education rather than to an inclusive approach to education. As a consequence, it is argued that, instead of responding to gradually evolving change, an alternative, more revolutionary approach to professional development could be adopted to challenge ‘conventional wisdom’ and promote a truly inclusive education system in Ireland.

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“…PD currently exists in a two-tiered system (Sparks, 2004). The first tier focuses on creating a professional community, while the second depends on scripts and mandates for teachers.…”

Section: Teacher Ownership Of Learning Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Providing teachers with the autonomy to exercise professional judgment about their professional needs may be a more efficient means to an end, as autonomy can provide teachers with the ability to choose topics fitting in with their concerns and to identify the best solution to the problem in their context (Bonner, 2006). When teachers are empowered to create their own professional growth plan, their passion for teaching and for improving the lives of their students is greatly enhanced (Colbert, Brown, Choi, & Thomas, 2008;Sparks, 2004). Timperley et al (2007) reported a study in which dissonance was created by exposing the tensions between the current research literature on science teaching and learning, and the teachers' existing beliefs.…”

Section: Teacher Ownership Of Learning Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When teachers work on things they are puzzled about they are internally motivated. A number of studies underlined the importance of this approach to PD in which teachers themselves determine ‗what' and ‗how' they want to learn (Black, 2005;Bonner, 2006;Colbert, Brown, Choi, & Thomas, 2008;Frietman, Kennis, & Hövels, 2010;GTCE, 2007;Sparks, 2004). …”

Section: Teacher Ownership Of Learning Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Looming Danger of a Two-Tiered Professional Development System

Cited by 23 publications

References 2 publications

Bargaining for Success: Examining the Relationship Between Teacher Unions and Student Achievement

Bargaining for Success: Examining the Relationship Between Teacher Unions and Student Achievement

Addressing the professional development needs of teachers working in the area of special education/inclusion in mainstream schools in Ireland

Learning to notice

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