THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS IN MINNESOTA AND WISCONSIN: A STATUS STUDY

The problem this study addressed was the apparent discrepancy between the stated goals for the professional development of teachers and the outcomes of professional development programs. The purpose of the study was to determine the status of professional development in selected school districts in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The study was conducted in terms of a number of research questions, including the following: (1) What level of importance is attached to goals, activities, evaluation, and negotiation of professional development by superintendents, local teacher organization presidents, and school board presidents? (2) What levels of agreement exist among superintendents, teacher presidents, and board presidents? (3) What level of importance is attached to goals, activities, and evaluation of professional development by school board-teacher contracts? (4) What similarities and differences exist in the status of professional development in Minnesota and Wisconsin? Fifty public school districts in Minnesota and fifty in Wisconsin were randomly selected to participate in the study. A questionnaire was submitted to the superintendent, teacher president, and board president in each district. Teacher presidents were asked to provide a copy of the most recent school board-teacher contract. The data generated by the questionnaire and a content analysis of the contracts was analyzed with the use of mean scores, rank orders, rank order correlations, and percentages. The following conclusions regarding professional development of teachers in Minnesota and Wisconsin were derived from the findings: (1) the perceptions of Minnesota superintendents, teacher presidents, and board presidents are similar to the perceptions of their counterparts in Wisconsin regarding goals, activities, and evaluation of professional development in their school districts, (2) the perceptions of superintendents and board presidents regarding goals, activities, and evaluation of professional development in their school districts, (3) the professional development of teachers receives a low priority in school board-teacher organization collective bargaining, (4) the beliefs of teacher presidents differ from the beliefs of superintendents and board presidents regarding the inclusion of professional development as a negotiable item in school board-teacher organization collective bargaining