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19 Professional Development of Teachers to Improve the Education of Gifted and Talented Scholars
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether local gifted and talented teachers feel adequately prepared to meet the needs of gifted and talented students. In addition the study identified the differences in the level of teacher interest as it pertains to a variety of independent variables gender, life stage, teacher concerns, primary teaching assignment, year of experience teaching, professional learning in gifted education, and in-service workshop or conference hours in gifted education. The mixed methods research study consisted of the researcher employing both theoretical frameworks, Adult Learning Theory (Knowles, 1980; 1984), and the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1997). The theoretical framework of this review of literature is tied to the concepts of secondary teacher’s desire for professional development in competencies needed to teach G/T learners, inadequate training of gifted educators, and the current state of gifted education in the United States. A multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis was conducted to measure the relationships between the seven predictive variables gender, age, life stage, teaching concerns, teaching area, credits in gifted education, hours of workshops and the dependent variable DPDGES. In order to determine which predictive variables had a statistically significant relationship with desire, the researcher used MLR models for the study. The MLR analysis was conducted to determine the significance of the seven sub-questions of the study. The results of the survey revealed that teaching area emerged as the strongest predictor, with teaching area C (Other: guidance/special education) educators expressing a greater desire for G/T professional development than academic teachers. Core academic teachers in comparison to physical education teachers, younger age of teachers and fewer college credits earned were the other variables that contributed to the model significance. The significance of the data and the implications they have on the future of professional development for gifted educators is critical. These study findings may influence teachers, administrators, professional developers of school districts, and the gifted community in promoting further evaluation of G/T professional development practices.