Perceptions of secondary school mathematics teachers on the importance and presence of elements associated with effective staff development

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the importance and the actual practice of elements associated with effective staff development as perceived by Secondary School Mathematics Teachers. A questionnaire consisting of 24 statements was developed by the researcher after a review of the research on effective staff development practices. An analysis, using the Pearson r correlation coefficient, found r values between -0.17 and 0.4 suggesting a moderate to low correlation between the perceived importance and actual practice of those elements of staff development. In testing rho, to find the population correlation between perceived importance and perceived presence of these elements, the findings are as follows: 1) six of the 24 statements showed a positive linear relationship, 2) there was no correlation found when calculated within the four main divisions of the instrument, planning, implementation, evaluation and professional concerns, 3) there was no correlation found in overall results. The conclusion from this study indicated that; 1) a small portion of what the Secondary School Mathematics Teachers perceive to be important with respect to staff development is in actual practice at their schools, 2) overall there is no statistical correlation between perceived importance and actual practice of these elements associated with effective staff development