Abstract: This study examined teachers' professional development experiences through the lenses of personal teaching efficacy and professional learning. Initiall y, 45 academic teachers from three public urban high schools were selected to participate based on their reputations as excellent teachers and their core academic content areas. These teachers were then asked to identify five peers believed to be excellent teachers. They completed the personal teaching efficacy (PTE) scales, and 10 teachers with the highest PTE and 10 teachers with the lowest PTE were selected for analysis. Teachers completed in-depth, semi-structured, and open-ended interviews to offer perspective on their professional development experiences. Observations of professional development activities also occurred. Data analysis indicated that level of personal teaching efficacy influenced how and in what ways individual teachers experienced professional development. Teachers were eager to engage or not engage in professional development for different reasons. Teac hers with high and low PTE described the relationship between their work contexts and their professional development experiences very differently. Th e two groups described uses of knowledge in different ways. The types of knowledge teachers acquired and used contributed to the manner in which they approached their work. (Contains 43 references.) (SM)

Title: Teacher Efficacy and Teacher Professional Learning: What School Leaders Should Know.
Author: Scribner, Jay Paredes
Note: 39p.; Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the University Council for Educational Administration (St. Louis, MO, October 30-November 1, 1998).
Publication Year: 1998
Document Type: Research Report (143); Conference Paper (150)
Target Audience: Parents and Practitioners and Teachers
ERIC Identifier: ED426969
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Descriptors: * Faculty Development; High Schools; Secondary School Teachers; * Self Efficacy; Teacher Attitudes; * Teacher Improvement; * Teacher Motivation