ANALYSIS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OF IOWA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY

Abstract

Professional development of community college faculty has been regarded as important, especially during periods of low staff turnover and limited financial resources. While most studies of faculty development have examined the perceptions of administrators or faculty toward effectiveness of college sponsored programs, this investigation analyzed the self‐reported behavior of faculty with regard to their participation in faculty development activities. The influence of selected variables on the hours of faculty participation in development activities was assessed using a stratified random sample of 187 full‐time Arts and Sciences and Vocational‐Technical faculty in 15 Iowa community colleges. Faculty with doctoral degrees reported the greatest number of hours of participation in professional development; those with high school diplomas had the least. The teaching field of the faculty member, the individual's total years of teaching experience, and whether the chosen faculty development activities were financed by personal or other sources, were variables found not to be associated with the level of participation in faculty development. On average, individual faculty members spent 161 hours in development activities over a year's period. Faculty tended not to choose activities which lead to salary increases or advancement. With the exception of enrollment in coursework and special projects, faculty participation in single development activities average less than 7 hours. Thus, much of the faculty development activities were of insufficient duration to constitute an adult learning project. The design of the study proved to be a valid and reliable means to examine faculty participation behavior in professional development activities.