Prioritizing Professional Development Needs of Nebraska Secondary Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers

摘要

Family and Consumer Sciences teachers must be knowledgeable in a variety of content areas including family and human development, nutrition and foods, interior and fashion design, consumer economics, and related careers. They also hold multiple roles in curriculum development, technology integration, classroom management, student organization adviser, and program manager. Professional development is necessary to keep curriculum and programs up to date in content, teaching, and administrative issues. This study identified and prioritized professional development needs for Nebraska secondary Family and Consumer Sciences teachers, identified motivators and barriers for professional development, and gathered preferred methods of professional development.;A modified Borich needs survey was used to collect data from a population of 49 Nebraska secondary Family and Consumer Sciences teachers. Competencies for Family and Consumer Sciences teachers and programs were rated on a scale of 1-5 for importance and on a scale of 1-5 for competence for the individual teacher. The Mean Weighted Discrepancy Scores were calculated and the competencies were ranked from highest to lowest need. Statements on motivators, barriers, and preferences were rated on a five-point Likert scale and were also analyzed.;Results showed that the highest need for professional development were individual items such as: grant writing and funding, requesting financial support, teaching high ability learners, conducting needs assessments to determine Programs of Study, and teaching special education students. Program Management was the group of items that ranked first for professional development need. There were significant differences for some groups based on teachers' level of education, number of class preparations, and number of teachers in the department. The greatest motivator was the teachers' desire to learn general knowledge or skills to be a better teacher. The greatest barrier was proximity/access and ease of use of professional development resources. The strongest preference for professional development was weekday meetings during the school year.