Understanding teachers' perception of collaborative professional development in private secondary faith-based schools

Abstract

Effective teacher professional development has required an understanding of the various forms and structures of teacher learning that have supported skill development and collaboration. Previous research suggested that teacher collaboration and learning has improved through the use of reflective inquiry practices, professional learning communities, shared leadership, and peer mentoring. Despite the evidence of enhanced teacher collaboration through these components of professional learning, teacher perception of such development activities has varied. In particular, sparse research has investigated teachers' perception toward collaborative professional development in the private secondary faith-based school context. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to understand how educators within this context perceived collaborative teacher professional development. The researcher used a purposeful sample of three educators who have participated in professional development at the research site. The researcher utilized interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in order to interpret how participants made sense of their involvement in teacher learning activities. Using the theoretical frameworks of Garet et al. (2001) and Wenger (1990), the researcher reported the participants' sentiments of how teacher collaboration affected their professional growth. The research findings demonstrated how individuals at this research site's viewed professional learning. Moreover, the participants revealed the structures of professional development that enhanced or hindered their ability to participate effectively in the school's teacher development program. The researcher concludes that future practice at this school must address the design and dissemination of collaborative professional learning activities in order to support teachers' growth.