| dc.description.abstract | Independent schools are private schools not dependent upon any
outside organization for governance or financing. They are truly
independent with regard to operations and finances, and they follow
a mission that drives the school's decision-making and operations.
Because independent schools are not beholden to local, state, or
national education policies and guidelines, they are free to determine
their own criteria of effective teaching and to employ noncertified
teachers and teachers with non-traditional educational
backgrounds. In addition, they control decisions regarding professional
development for their teachers. Without requirements to use certification and state or national
guidelines for teacher quality, and without external requirements
for teacher preparation and professional development, the following
questions arise: What factors related to effective teaching,
teacher quality, and professional development are important to independent
schools? What are independent schools' priorities for
hiring teachers and providing professional development? This exploratory study is designed to provide
The Southern Association of Independent
Schools (SAIS) with data and findings related
to how its member schools define effective
teaching, teacher quality, and professional
development. Because of the lack of research
in independent education, this study will provide
new baseline data to SAIS - data that are
not currently available - that can be used to
inform the services they currently provide to
member schools. SAIS would like to know the
factors related to effective teaching that are
important to SAIS Heads of School when hiring
teachers and the extent to which their current
faculty demonstrate those factors. In addition,
SAIS is interested in the nature of and
priorities for professional development in their
member schools so that they can evaluate and
refine their current professional development
offerings.
A substantial body of research exists, primarily
based on research in the public sector,
on effective teaching, qualities of effective
teachers, and how professional development
contributes to teacher effectiveness. As part
of this research project, this report contains
a comprehensive review of the literature on
effective teaching that can be found in Appendix
A. Based on the literature, a survey was
designed for SAIS Heads of School to address
the following project questions:
1. What factors related to effective teaching
are important to SAIS Heads of School when
hiring teachers?
2. What are SAIS Heads' perceptions of the
extent to which their current teachers demonstrate
effective teaching practices?
3. What is the nature of professional development
related to effective teaching in SAIS
schools? 4. What are SAIS Heads' priorities for teacher
professional development?
5. To what extent are Heads' priorities for
professional development aligned with their
perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses
of their teachers?
Key Findings
After analysis, the data gathered from the 163
SAIS Heads of School who participated in this
study revealed the following key findings:
Factors Contributing to Effective Teaching
- When hiring, respondents prefer candidates
with an undergraduate degree in a content
area with graduate degrees in either content
areas or education. However, Heads reported
they frequently hire candidates who only have
undergraduate degrees.
- Undergraduate degrees in education are preferred
at schools with lower school divisions.
- When asked about the importance of certification,
almost half of respondents indicated a
preference for teachers with either current or
previous certification. Many Heads see certification
as an important consideration in hiring.
- SAIS Heads' survey responses indicate that
teacher certification is more important in rural
schools than suburban schools.
Professional Practices
- Heads rate the following areas as very important
considerations in hiring teachers: mastery
of subject area, creating an environment of
respect and rapport, demonstrating enthusiasm
and a positive attitude, and communicating
clearly and accurately with students. Less
important to Heads, but still important overall,
are demonstrating knowledge of teaching
resources, integrating technology instruction,
and organizing physical space for optimal
learning.
- Respondents indicate that their teachers do well in the following areas: displaying mastery
of subject area, creating an environment of respect
and rapport, and communicating clearly
and accurately with students. What teachers do
less well, according to respondents, is integrating
technology instruction, organizing physical
space for optimal learning, and growing and developing
professionally.
- Integrating technology instruction is one of
the lowest areas of importance according to respondents
and is also rated the lowest area for
teacher performance.
Professional Development to Support Effective
Teaching
- Respondents indicated they are providing professional
development in areas critical for effective
teaching: content knowledge, assessment,
pedagogical knowledge, instructional delivery,
and planning for instruction.
- Heads' priorities for professional development
are closely tied to instructional concerns.
- Development of content knowledge is a priority
for professional development despite the fact
that Heads reported that their teachers demonstrate
strong content knowledge.
- Professional development is most often planned
by administrators and support staff. However,
larger schools are more likely to involve teachers
in the planning of professional development.
Heads with higher levels of education are more
likely to allow teachers to plan professional development
activities.
- Professional development activities are not frequently
evaluated for evidence of improvement
in teacher practice or student achievement.
Recommendations
General
Respondents categorized their location as rural,
suburban, or urban. SAIS does not categorize its
schools using these terms, so we were unable to
match the reported data to the entire population
of SAIS member schools. However, several
significant findings were related to school location location,
leading us to our first recommendation for
SAIS:
- Begin categorizing and tracking schools based
on location - rural, suburban, and urban - in order
to have the ability to evaluate the needs of
schools based on location and provide differentiated
services when needed or appropriate.
- Use existing school size and type categories to
evaluate the needs of schools based on location
and provide differentiated services when needed
or appropriate.
Hiring
Although respondents in this study indicated a
preference for content area degrees over degrees
in education, they also indicated that they
often hire teachers with degrees in education.
With regard to hiring, we recommend that SAIS:
- Provide guidance and support to Heads with regard
to hiring and recruiting teachers that match
their hiring preferences. One way SAIS could
help with this is to assist member schools in developing
marketing materials to continue to attract
effective teachers to independent schools.
Messaging could focus on the benefits of teaching
in independent schools, and schools should
be encouraged to find ways to offer competitive,
comprehensive benefits packages for teachers.
- To address the Heads' stated preference for
teachers with subject area degrees, we recommend
that SAIS explore partnerships with universities
with the goal of creating opportunities
to identify and attract teachers with strong content
knowledge. A partnership with a university
could allow for the creation of specialized subject
area professional development and graduate
degree programs, which could be used by
SAIS member schools to strengthen the subject
area knowledge of its teachers. Professional Practices
With regard to professional practices, we recommend
that SAIS:
- Encourage its member schools to stay current
on educational research and provide the
comprehensive literature review to Heads and
member schools.
- Develop workshops and training materials for
schools to use with teachers that emphasize
research-based effective teaching practices
and the integration of technology to enhance
instruction.
Professional Development
Participants in this study clearly value content
knowledge for their teachers. Therefore, we
recommend that SAIS:
- Communicate the literature on the value of
both content and pedagogical content knowledge
to its member schools.
Because SAIS member schools prefer to hire
teachers who have strong subject matter
knowledge and degrees, we recommend that
SAIS:
- Design and offer professional development
opportunities to support pedagogical content
knowledge and instructional methods for
teachers in its member schools. Professional
development for SAIS Heads could also prove
valuable, particularly regarding the characteristics
of effective professional development.
Heads indicated their influence and involvement
in decision-making for professional development,
but also revealed that they seldom
evaluate professional development activities
for their effect on student learning. We recommend
that SAIS:
- Provide training for Heads regarding the value
of involving teachers in professional development
decision-making and on methods for
linking professional development to student learning and evaluating its effectiveness. | en |
