An Assessment of the Perceived Inservice Needs of K-12 Teachers of the Lake Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

<p>Problem</p> <p>While an active and costly inservice program exists for teachers of the Lake Union Conference, there appears to be no data on the perceived inservice needs of these teachers. Consequently, there is a need to identify their perceived inservice educational needs for purpose of enhancement and strengthening the existing program. The present study attempts to identify the perceived inservice needs of the K-12 teachers of the Lake Union Conference currently employed within its educational system.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Data was gathered by using the "Lake Union Conference Inservice Assessment" which was a modified version of Ingersoll's <em>Teacher Needs Assessment Survey</em> modified to incorporate the unique place of religion in the curriculum under study. Responses for each item on the Likert-type scale were weighted giving strongly disagree --1, disagree--2, undecided--3, agree--4, and strongly agree--5. Items were ranked using weighted scores. Nine categories were ranked according to the mean of the weighted score, while each item within the category was ranked. Teachers were analyzed as a K-12 group, divided into elementary and secondary, further divided by years of experience and teaching assignment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Responses indicated similar perceived inservice needs, such as integrating the religious concepts into the curriculum, making it applicable to everyday life, motivating and instilling in the student the will to learn on his own. On the other hand, distinct differences were observed such as secondary teachers perceived a greater need for discipline and teaching techniques, whereas, the elementary teachers had a greater need for implementing and supervising individualizing instruction and developing better communication with parents and students.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The K-12 teachers of the Lake Union Conference were cognizant of their responsibility in the development of religious and moral values. It appears the teachers were more concerned about the development of the students in their classroom than their own personal development. Years of experience and teaching assignment had a direct affect on the teachers' perceived inservice needs.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Higher Education Administration EdD

Year

1983

Author dc:creator

• Wright, Hazel R

Contributors dc:contributor

• Edward A. Streeter
• George H. Akers
• Fonda Chaffee

• Teachers
• InService Needs
• Seventh-day Adventist
• Lake Union
• Education
• Teacher Education and Professional Development

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/1563

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.andrews.edu:dissertations-2562