The Impact of a Teacher Professional Development Program on Student Engagement

Abstract

Student engagement is associated with many positive outcomes, including academic achievement, school persistence, and social-emotional well-being. The present study examined whether the Freedom Writers Institute, a professional development program designed to improve teachers’ skills in creating personalized learning environments, can increase student engagement. To measure the impact of the training on student engagement, student survey data from 19 secondary teachers randomly assigned to either a training or wait list control group were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Status variables such as race and disability were also considered. Results indicate students of teachers who received the training reported higher levels of student engagement than students of teachers in the control group. The results suggest that teachers who participate in the Freedom Writers Institute professional development program may have a greater positive impact on their students’ school engagement than teachers who do not receive the training.