Date

12-2013

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Donna Joy

Keywords

Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), attrition, job satisfaction, Participation Reasons Scale (PRS), professional development, retention

Disciplines

Educational Leadership | Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration | Elementary Education and Teaching | Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching | Secondary Education and Teaching | Teacher Education and Professional Development

Abstract

This study was conducted to advance knowledge by examining the reasons that motivate teachers to participate in professional development and the relationship to teacher job satisfaction and retention in Christian-based K-12 Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) member schools. The study contributes to the literature in the field because of very limited research on Christian-based schools, especially with regards to professional development, job satisfaction and retention. The study was a quantitative, non-experimental, correlational research design using two instruments, i.e., the Participation Reasons Scale (PRS) and the Job Satisfaction/Retention/Demographic Survey. The PRS scores indicated that the motivating factors for teachers to participate in professional development in rank order were: (a) professional commitment and reflection; (b) professional improvement; (c) personal benefits; (d) professional service; and (e) collegial learning. However, the PRS results did not reveal a significant correlation to job satisfaction or retention. In addition, the data related to on-line versus face-to-face delivery format, gender, marital status, age, level of education, years in education, and years in K-12 do not predict teacher participation in professional development opportunities.

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