Designing Effective Professional Development for Teaching Students in Poverty: Impact on Teacher Beliefs and Classroom Practice

• Main Author: Wickham, Barbara Martin
• Other Authors: Counselor Education
• Format: Others
• Published: Virginia Tech 2020
• Subjects: poverty; professional development; beliefs; instructional strategies; survey; interview
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/97519

Poverty has a consequential impact on student achievement. The No Child Left Behind Act and more recently the Every Student Succeeds Act put pressure on educators to close the achievement gap that exists for economically disadvantaged students. While this gap remains, high-poverty, high-achieving schools do exist. The purpose of this study was to discern the impact of practitioner-designed professional development (PD) on teacher beliefs about students from poverty. This study focused on the creation and implementation of PD designed to help teachers explore their beliefs, and investigated whether these beliefs changed after teachers received PD addressing teaching students from poverty. This PD was based on research from multiple studies on educators' perspectives and effective teaching strategies for poor students. The study was conducted using action research, with a mixed-methods approach, incorporating the quantitative analysis of surveys and the qualitative analysis of professional learning experiences and interviews. Findings from the study indicate that practitioner-designed PD can impact teachers' beliefs and lead to changes in their instructional practices. This research could provide guidance for school administrators and higher education leaders who seek to develop and implement PD that addresses teaching students in poverty. === Doctor of Education === Poverty has a consequential impact on student achievement. The No Child Left Behind Act and more recently the Every Student Succeeds Act required educators to close the achievement gap that exists for students from poverty. While this gap remains, high-poverty, high-achieving schools do exist. The purpose of this study was to discern the impact of practitioner-designed professional development (PD) on teacher beliefs about students from poverty. The study focused on the creation and implementation of PD designed to help teachers explore their beliefs, and investigated whether these beliefs changed after teachers received PD addressing teaching students from poverty. Findings from the study indicate that practitioner-designed PD can impact teachers' beliefs and lead to changes in their instructional practices. This research could provide guidance for school administrators and higher education leaders who seek to develop and implement PD that addresses teaching students in poverty.