A Qualitative Study of Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Staff Development in Three Public Northeast Tennessee Elementary School Districts.

This study serves as an insight into teachersÆ perceptions of their staff development experiences. With the constraints under the No Child Behind Act, teachers, schools, and school systems are faced with the challenge of meeting extremely high standards with students. Although standards such as these expectations have never been met, it remains that teachers are faced with attempting this task. Teachers shared their perceptions of the staff development experiences they have received. Student achievement and its relationship to staff development was explored. Teachers discussed perceived factors that influenced staff development training. Also, included in the study was teachers\u27 perceptions of the need for staff development with proven applications. A qualitative research method utilized interviews from 25 veteran and apprentice elementary teachers ranging in experience from two years to thirty plus years of service in the educational profession. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and transferred to the NUDIST program. This allowed all transcripts to be coded and analyzed. This process allowed themes to emerge from the data. This study could be of interest to school systems into the insights and needs of apprentice and veteran teachers. The results of these data could assist school districts with information to evaluate their current staff development programs and determine if changes should be made