What Types Of Professional Development Contribute To The Critical Skill Sets Of Education Professionals?

Professional development (PD) provides content knowledge, teaching tips, and resources to education administrators and direct-service staff. However, these experiences may seem irrelevant to the participants’ ultimate job responsibilities. Our research sought to answer this question: What types of professional development contribute to the critical skill sets of education professionals? This mixed-methods study included a comprehensive literature review, an online survey, and two online focus groups. We offer the following recommendations. For PD participants supervisors, PD designers, and PD facilitators: Broaden one’s definition of PD, employ self and external assessments, solicit and integrate participants’ feedback, recognize that different PD experiences cultivate different skill sets, and enhance staff relationship-building skills through multiple PD opportunities. For PD researchers: Increase the depth and breadth of the study, expand the geographic reach of the study, and dig deeper into our data, analysis, and recommendations. We hope that our research results in professional development opportunities that better prepare educators for their current and future job responsibilities.