Improving Teachers' In-Service Professional Development in Mathematics and Science: The Role of Postsecondary Institutions

Abstract

This study empirically examines the management and implementation strategies that contribute to high-quality in-service teacher professional developent provided by postsecondary institutions. The analysis is part of a national evaluation of the Eisenhower Professional Development Program. Findings are based on a national probability sample of Eisenhower project directors at postsecondary institutions. The authors found empirical support that management/implementation strategies—aligning standards and assessments to professional development, continuous-improvement efforts, and coordination between post-secondary institutions and school districts—were related to higher quality professional development, defined in terms of content focus, active learning opportunities, coherence, duration, collective participation, and type of activity. Thus, in the context of an evaluation of the nation's largest investment in teachers' professional development, this study provides support, from a national probability sample of postsecondary institution Eisenhower project directors, for the link between federal policies and strategies of support, implementation, and the quality of teachers' professional development.