Teachers' Preferences for Continuing Education Activities

Abstract

The need for continuing education (CE) programs is widely acknowledged in the professional arena. Business, government, industry, and education recognize the need for programs that keep pace with today's problems. They also are aware of the potential contributions of CE to the growth of an organization. Perceptions of the dynamics of CE activities are not new, but they have taken on new dimensions, such as teachers' demands for greater involvement in decision-making processes and assessments of the relationship of CE activities to the personal and professional growth of teachers. Therefore, implementing a CE program for teachers within an organization often is a critical and complex task. This is especially true since the professional needs of teachers are diverse. Teachers have sought to improve their professional competence by acquiring new knowledge of the subjects they teach and by keeping abreast of newly developed teaching resources and techniques. In like manner, school administrators seek ways to help teachers grow professionally. A question of growing concern, however, is whether CE activities in which teachers are engaged are actually meeting their professional needs. To address this question, it is important to identify teacher preferences for CE activities at all grade levels in a school system. Teacher participation in the initiating, planning, organizing, and developing phases of CE activities can have a dynamic effect on the implementation phase of such a program. Participatory planning and significant, well-defined objectives should yield overall teacher goals that are compatible with a school system's goals. Efforts to involve teachers in activities that were of direct concern