Elementary Teachers’ Views of
their Science Professional
Development Attendance:
An Expectancy-Value Approach

Margareta Maria Thomson; Elisha Kaufmann

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2013.915a

Elementary Teachers’ Views of their Science Professional Development Attendance: An Expectancy-Value Approach

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Margareta Maria Thomson ¹ ^* , Elisha Kaufmann ¹

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¹ North Carolina State University, USA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study explored primarily the elementary teachers’ motivations and expectations for engagement in a science professional development. Participants (N=20) were elementary teachers in two public schools from the United States and were enrolled in a yearlong science professional development; however, due to various factors teachers did not complete the professional development program. We investigated various motivational aspects related to teachers’ professional experiences as well as their views about the program. Study results showed that teachers’’ motivations for this professional development program were strongly influenced by their self-efficacy beliefs about science teaching, their beliefs about what effective teaching means and the types of support provided to teachers by their schools to engage in such program. Additional study results showed that teachers from different grade levels perceived differently the effectiveness of their professional development program involvement because of the relevance (or lack of relevance) of the science content presented in the program relative to their grade level. Implications for classroom practice and future research are discussed in this study along with findings.

Keywords

teacher education
teacher development
motivation
beliefs
values
teaching
practices

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2013, Volume 9, Issue 1, 45-58

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2013.915a

Publication date: 27 Jan 2013

Article Views: 1105

Article Downloads: 861

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How to cite this article

APA

Thomson, M. M., & Kaufmann, E. (2013). Elementary Teachers’ Views of their Science Professional Development Attendance: An Expectancy-Value Approach. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 9(1), 45-58. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2013.915a

Vancouver

Thomson MM, Kaufmann E. Elementary Teachers’ Views of their Science Professional Development Attendance: An Expectancy-Value Approach. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2013;9(1):45-58. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2013.915a

AMA

Thomson MM, Kaufmann E. Elementary Teachers’ Views of their Science Professional Development Attendance: An Expectancy-Value Approach. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2013;9(1), 45-58. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2013.915a

Chicago

Thomson, Margareta Maria, and Elisha Kaufmann. "Elementary Teachers’ Views of their Science Professional Development Attendance: An Expectancy-Value Approach". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2013 9 no. 1 (2013): 45-58. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2013.915a

Harvard

Thomson, M. M., and Kaufmann, E. (2013). Elementary Teachers’ Views of their Science Professional Development Attendance: An Expectancy-Value Approach. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 9(1), pp. 45-58. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2013.915a

MLA

Thomson, Margareta Maria et al. "Elementary Teachers’ Views of their Science Professional Development Attendance: An Expectancy-Value Approach". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 9, no. 1, 2013, pp. 45-58. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2013.915a