This study examined teachers' and administrators' attitudes toward professional development at an international school. It found that administrators had significantly more positive views of professional development than teachers. Additionally, teachers' attitudes were not impacted by years of experience or other demographic factors. Teachers reported that individual impactful professional development experiences had a large influence on their teaching. The study concluded that professional development is most effective when it is relevant, practical, and builds on teachers' experiences. It recommends school leaders involve teachers in planning, and structure opportunities for teachers to learn from each other and reflect on their practice.

1. Hepner
2016
Continuing Professional Development in International Schools:
Uncovering what Teachers and Administrators Think
Executive Summary
STEPHANIE LOUISE HEPNER
2016
Professional development (PD) is widely seen as an essential element of teaching
practice. Unfortunately, decades of academic research on professional development has
failed to define what makes professional development effective. Ultimately, what little
agreement there is in the field seems to converge on several characteristics (see Figure
1).
• Effective professional development should be relevant and coherent, part of a
wider large-scale vision.
• Effective professional development should be matched to school and participant
needs and its purpose. Content, delivery methods, and structural features should
be well-planned according to the overarching goals of the PD.
• PD to support changes that are fundamental to the way teachers teach benefits
from being long term, from having some type of on-site coaching, and from
encouraging active professional reflection.
• Effective professional development should be supported by school leadership
and be embedded in the organization.
• Effective professional development should have measurable effects on student
outcomes and it should be planned in order to evaluate these effects in a variety
of robust ways.
Understanding how teachers and leaders feel about professional development can offer
insights to make professional development interventions more powerful in terms of
when in a teacher’s career they are offered, in terms of the types of activities they
include, and in terms of building on teachers’ rich experience to create meaningful PD.
Research Question
The summarized study sought to understand how teachers and leaders at the same
Type A International School feel about professional development. It examined whether
certain factors, as identified in the literature, impacted attitudes towards professional
development and how attitudes towards professional development impact participation
in PD. In addition, it examined features of professional development activities to
determine whether more positive experiences with PD impact related attitudes.

2. Hepner
2016
Figure 1: A Synthesis of the Elements of Effective Professional Development
Major Findings
The major finding from this study was that there is a significant difference in attitudes
towards professional development between teachers and senior leaders. Even in
settings where teachers have generally positive attitudes towards professional
development, senior leaders’ perceptions of the benefit of PD are significantly more
positive. This result is not entirely surprising, since senior leaders are typically the ones
who plan PD for their teaching staff and it follows that they would only plan professional
learning activities they felt were meaningful. It is, however, important for school leaders
to be aware of this gap in attitude so that they can take steps to mitigate the
discrepancy.
In general, the secondary school faculty members surveyed had positive attitudes
towards professional development. Based on the literature reviewed, this was
expected, since the student body includes a majority of students from high social and
Relevant &
Coherent
• aligned with school
vision
• meets parWcipants'
needs
Content, Delivery
& Structural
Features
• matched to purpose
• builds on parWcipant
experience
EffecWve
ConWnuing
Profession
Development
Supported &
Evaluated
• supported by school
leadership
• commitment to embed
CPD
• evaluated for impact on
student learning

3. Hepner
2016
economic backgrounds. In addition, the school leadership prioritizes professional
development; therefore, faculty members have more experience with a wide-range of
school-specific PD opportunities.
A more surprising result was that the data showed no significant difference in teachers’
attitudes based on years of teaching experience, either total teaching experience or
situational experience teaching in international schools. This result was in contrast to
findings published in the reviewed literature. In a marked difference from previously-
published conclusions, there was no significant difference between the most
experienced teachers and those with less experience.
Another significant result was that national background did not impact attitudes
towards professional development. This is an important extension to published work,
which only considered teachers in New York State public schools.
This study also offers important insights on the types of PD which teachers experience
most frequently and identifies important gaps between theory and practice.
In general, the respondents reported high levels of participation in a wide variety of
professional development opportunities. It was therefore surprising that their
responses revealed the outsized impact one professional development experience has
on teaching and learning. Many of the respondents referred to one specific PD – a
specific course, a technology-training workshop, a specific learning activity within a
professional learning experience – as having a significant impact on their teaching. The
importance of well-regarded PD cannot be emphasized enough.
The results also highlight the importance of planning professional development to be
relevant to participants’ professional needs, not just aligned with an institutional goal.
The interviews highlighted a key factor of professional development which is prioritized
in adult learning theory but often omitted from research on professional development:
the importance of participants’ teaching experience. One of the teachers interviewed
reported how much her teaching evolved and improved due to her varied teaching
experiences. Both teachers and the school leader explained that one of the things that
makes some PD great is having a real expert share their knowledge. These results
reinforce the central tenet of adult learning theory that learning experiences should be
learner-centered, building on learners’ experience and allowing participants to share
their expertise.
Another surprising result was the reported overreliance on two active learning
strategies at the PD events respondents participated in. Overwhelmingly, participants
reported sharing instructional strategies with their colleagues and engaging in
relationship building. Other more academic or instruction-focused activities were far
less frequently found. Given the emphasis school leaders place on planning professional
development to meet institutional objectives and to introduce teachers to new

4. Hepner
2016
information in order to improve student learning, it is surprising that so few strategies
related to examining instruction, reflecting on current practice, and engaging with
recent educational scholarship were reported.
Implications for School Leaders
The results of this research suggest several recommendations for school leaders:
• School leaders should be aware of the likelihood that they have more positive
attitudes towards professional development than their teachers and middle level
leaders. Thus, leaders may want to include other members of staff when
planning PD in order to incorporate a variety of perspectives on PD provisions.
• School leaders and professional development facilitators should build on positive
experiences with PD and the personal excitement teachers bring to their
learning. Ensuring there is time for teachers to learn from each other, to share
experiences and offer advice, and to plan for on-going collaboration may
contribute to more positive attitudes towards PD.
• Adult learning theory and the results from this survey highlight the importance
of using teacher experience as the backbone of PD. Therefore, school leaders
should use teacher experience both in planning which types of PD will be offered,
but also in designing the learning activities used.
• This study contributes to other work that suggests professional development is
most effective when it is relevant to teachers’ teaching practice, when it is
practical, and when it can be immediately implemented. These tenets should be
shared with professional development facilitators to ensure maximum impact.
• Results from the questionnaire indicate that school leaders should plan
professional development around teachers’ needs, not only institutional goals. It
may be effective to develop systems to ascertain what teachers need (through
professional goal setting, supervisory conferences, etc.) in order to strategically
plan professional learning opportunities for faculty.
• Responses demonstrate that few professional development experiences
incorporate critical examination of teaching practice and personal reflection,
although they often aim to address ways of improving instructional practice.
Therefore, school leaders should encourage structured opportunities for
observation and analysis of instruction to support implementation of new
teaching practices.
• Results suggest that participants feel more positive about professional
development which is led by a true expert. When selecting professional
development leaders, whether from external organizations or from within the
school community, school leaders should consider a variety of factors (including
amount of situational expertise and recognition by peers, in addition to more
conventionally recognized measures of expertise such as accreditation and
recognition from a supervising body).

5. Hepner
2016
Conclusion
The central question in the present study was to ascertain in what ways teachers’ and
school leaders’ attitudes towards professional development are aligned. In addition, the
results were analyzed to further understand some of the factors impacting attitudes
towards professional development.
Key Findings included:
• School leaders have a significantly more positive attitude towards professional
development than teachers and middle-level leaders at the same Type A
International School.
• Secondary school faculty members do not have significantly different attitudes
towards professional development based on years of teaching experience,
gender, national background, or highest level of education.
• Faculty members perceive a specific highly effective professional development
experience as being transformative to their teaching practice.
• Faculty members value professional development that is relevant and practical.
• The majority of professional development opportunities include professional
collaboration opportunities, but lack emphasis on academic, teaching-practice-
specific, or professional reflection activities.
Professional development has the potential to transform teaching practice and improve
student learning. It is also the key way current teachers learn new tools and techniques,
keep abreast with educational research, and learn about new programs and curricula.
Educational research on professional development is extensive but hasn’t provided a
simple answer to the question of what makes PD effective.
As an exploration of how teachers and leaders at the same school feel about
professional development, the importance of experience cannot be overstated:
experience forms the basis of educators’ attitudes towards professional development
and provides a rich starting point for ongoing learning. By ensuring that professional
learning experiences are relevant, practical and build on teachers’ vast expertise, school
leaders may be able to diminish the significant gap between the moderately positive
attitudes held by the teaching faculty and their own highly positive views towards
professional development.