Dr. Yolanda E. Smith, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Chair

Differences in Professional Development Training Between One Corporation and One Large Texas

Public School District

A Dissertation DefenseBy

Yolanda E. SmithWilliam Allan Kritsonis, PhD

Dissertation Chair

April 8, 2023 Yolanda E. Smith 2

Committee Members

William Allan Kritsonis, Ph.D.(Dissertation Chair)

Ben C. DeSpain, Ed.D

Camille Gibson, Ph.D.

Douglas Hermond, Ph.D.

David Herrington, Ph.D.


Dissertation Defense Format

I. The Problem

II. Purpose of Study

III. Conceptual Framework

IV. Methods

V. Research Questions [5]

VI. Hypotheses (4)

VII. Subjects of the StudyVIII. Quantitative Major

Findings and Review of Literature

IX. Analysis of Data (Qualitative)

X. ConclusionsXI. Recommendations


Concerns in Education

Retention

Shortage

Professional Development

Morale

Salary

Student Achievement


I. The Problem

“Until we improve the methods used to measure the links among professional development, teacher performance, and student achievement, educators will be unable to convince parents, community leaders, and local school boards to provide the sufficient time and funding necessary to improve our teachers’ understanding and our students’ performance” (Hackett, 2005).


II. Purpose of the Study

To compare the professional development training programs in the corporate business world with the professional development training programs in the public education systems using Guskey’s 2000 model.


Purpose of the Study

To determine by what methods do the private corporation and the public education system use in evaluating the overall effectiveness of their professional development programs.


III. Conceptual Framework

Guskey’s Model

Learning

Reactions Outcomes

Organization

Support

Use ofKnowledge &Skills

Quality&


IV. Methods


Methods(Quantitative)

SurveyDescriptive StatisticsT-Test for Independent Samples


Methods(Qualitative)

Questionnaire3 open ended questions

InterviewsCorporate managersSchool district administrators


V. Quantitative Research Questions

1. What are the differences in participants’ reactions regarding the professional development training between public educators and corporate employees as measured by the Professional Development Assessment Tool (PDAT)?


Quantitative Research Question

2. What are the differences in participants’ learning in professional development training between public educators and corporate employees as measured by PDAT?



3. What are the differences in organizational support for professional development between public educators and corporate employees as measured by PDAT?



4. What are the differences in participants’ use of knowledge and skills gained from their professional development training program provided by the corporate sector and public education as measured by PDAT?

(Qualitative)


Qualitative Research Question

5. What are the differences in how the evaluation of participants’ learning outcomes is determined between the corporate sector and public education as measured by Guskey’s model?


VI. Null Hypothesis

Ho1 There are no statistically significant differences in participants’ reactions regarding the professional development training provided between public educators and corporate employees as measured by PDAT.


Null Hypothesis

Ho2 There are no statistically significant differences in participants’ learning throughout their professional development training between public educators and corporate employees as measured by PDAT.


Null Hypothesis

Ho3 There are no statistically significant differences in organizational support for professional development training between public educators and corporate employees as measured by PDAT.


Null Hypothesis

Ho4 There are no statistically significant differences in participants’ use of knowledge and skills gained from their professional development training program provided by the corporate sector and public education as measured by PDAT.


InstrumentationPilot Study

Purposive Sampling

30 NASA employees

30 Educators within one HISD

Test-Retest

Reliability Coefficient = +.88

Changes based on inputs from

Professional Development Experts


VII. Subjects of the Study

QuantitativeEducators: 735 invited; 475

responded.Corporate Employees: 476 invited; 304

responded.Total participants invited 1211; 779

responded. Overall Response Rate was 64%.


VIII. Major Findings: QuantitativeResearch Question 1

Ho1 There are no statistically significant differences in participants’ reactions regarding the professional development training provided between public educators and corporate employees as measured by PDAT.

Reactions N Mean SD t Sig

(2-tailed)


465 20.70 4.15 3.736* .000

Private Corporation

307 19.68 2.86

*Significant at p ≤ 0.05

Decision: Reject Null Hypothesis


Quotes from School District Employees’

“It has affected me positively.”

“Positively, when able to implement.”

“The more chances I have to implement new skills the better I feel.”


Participants’ ReactionsReview of Literature

Comments from participants will tend to be more positive when the content addresses specific problems and offers practical, relevant solutions that can be implemented immediately (Guskey, 2000).

Reactions of participants should be measured on all programs for two reasons: to let the participants know that trainers value their reactions, and to measure their reactions and obtain suggestions for improvements (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2005).


Major Findings: QuantitativeResearch Question 2

Ho2 There are no statistically significant differences in participants’ learning throughout their professional development training between public educators and corporate employees as measured by PDAT.

Learning N Mean SD t Sig

(2-tailed)


463 19.83 4.34 5.482* .000

Private Corporations

303 18.24 3.22

*Significant p ≤ 0.05




“I learn what other teachers do that works and other teachers learn from me. To be successful at any job, you have to communicate with others, learn and change.”

“Sometimes it’s good to hear other teachers talk about their solutions to various issues.”


Participants’ LearningReview of Literature

Champion (2003) states yearlong training programs is another

method used to determine participants’ learning by giving participants ongoing projects and allowing peers or program leaders to gather the data through observations.



Ho3 There are no statistically significant differences in organizational support for professional development training between public educators and corporate employees as measured by PDAT.

Org Support N Mean SD t Sig.

(2-tailed)


462 18.81 4.45 -2.049* .041


304 19.42 3.26




Quotes from Corporate Employees’

“Having a supportive manager goes a long way in affecting employees’ positively including inspiring us to learn new things.”

“ I love having tuition reimbursement for development outside the company and most importantly the support my manager gives me in attending school.”


Organizational SupportReview of Literature

Guskey (2000) stressed that without a systemic approach, organizational factors can hinder or prevent the success of improvement efforts, even when the individual aspects of professional development are done correctly.

Tsarouhas (2004) stated every organization ventures into training in order to meet some intended goal or objective for the purpose of organizational growth.

Lowden (2003) discovered that teachers who had the most effective professional development experiences positively evaluated the organization’s support and change.



Ho4 There are no statistically significant differences in participants’ use of knowledge and skills gained from their professional development training program provided by the corporate sector and public education as measured by PDAT.

Knwldg. Skills N Mean SD t Sig.

(2-tailed)


459 17.45 3.67 6.069* .000


306 16.01 2.32





“In reading class, I think I can easily give examples which are related to life and let my students see the connections to their own lives.”

“Watching students learn based on something new I learned and taught is great.”


Participants’ Use of Knowledge and Skills

Review of Literature “The best professional development helps teachers to think

critically about their practice; to develop new instructional strategies, along with new techniques for creating curriculum and assessments; and to measure how new practices have affected student learning” (Kelleher, 2003, p.751).

Trainers in the business world have struggled for decades to solve the transfer problem: getting people who have demonstrated that they understand learning to actually apply what they have learned on the job (Salopek, 2006).


Overall Effectiveness

Effectiveness Number Mean S.D. t Sig. (2-tailed)


444 76.70 14.91 3.600* .000

Private Corporation

296 73.19 9.36

* Significant at p ≤ 0.05


IX. Analysis of Data

Qualitative

Questionnaire & Interviews

Responses

NVivoSoftware

was used for coding

Frequency andpercentages were calculated & listed

in descending order


Qualitative Research Question

5. What are the differences in how the evaluation of participants’ learning outcomes is determined between the corporate sector and public education as measured by Guskey’s model?


Open Ended Questions used to answer Research Question 5

1. In what ways have your professional development training impacted your work performance?

2. In what ways have your professional development training affected your attitude about learning new things?

3. In what ways have your professional development training enhanced your skills or behaviors?


1. In what ways have your professional development training impacted your work performance?

Emergent Themes Private Corporations

Freq. Percent


Freq. Percent

Learned skills essential to job

30 14.8 62 17.3

Increased productivity/efficiency

24 11.8 68 19.0

Learned something new

22 10.8 36 10.0

Familiar with better techniques

20 9.8 54 15.1

Improved Human Relation

19 9.3 7 2.0

Minimal or no impact 18 8.9 42 11.7


Corporate Employees’ Response from Questionnaire

“Positive impact – understanding of how my behavior and actions affect others.”

“It has made things a little better in terms of dealing with people.”



“I have learned how to listen to others and what they are really saying underneath all their blustering to get at the heart of the issue. I used to get defensive and fight back, now I can easily defuse a situation and turn it into a positive experience for everyone.”


School District Employees’Response from Questionnaire

“It has increased my productivity and ability to reach my students.”

“It depends on how it relates to what I teach. If related directly, then it has a greater impact.”



“It has improved my performance because I get new ideas to use in my class.”

“If I have a choice in what training I take, it has a more positive effect on how I teach my students.”


Interviews:Corporate Managers

“It’s not being done, right now it’s left up to the individual to use the skills they have learned.”

“Leadership development for one management style is based on their personal desire.”


Interviews:Educational Administrators

“All professional development requirements focus on students’ success of learning.”

“The goal of the district which is “student achievement”; it’s the overall process used to determine the link between learning and individual/organizational performance.”


2. In what ways have your professional development training affected your attitude about learning new things?

Emergent Themes Private Corporations

Freq. Percent


Freq. Percent

Eager to learn 38 20.8 63 19.9

No or little change 30 16.4 39 12.3

More positive outlook

20 10.9 38 12.3

More open minded 19 10.4 30 9.5

Realized more to learn

12 6.6 20 6.3

Learned new strategies

11 6.0 43 13.6



“The non-tech, non-ops training has had a negative affect on my attitude about learning new things as trained by my company, but I still retain a strong interest in learning new things through self-directed study.”



“It has enhanced my attitude. I understand the importance of professional development and its profound impact on my teaching.”

“I enjoy attending training because I always want to learn about new strategies that may be better for my students. I always experiment with the new strategies learned.”



“ It’s not evaluated. Managers need to be more proactive in following up with employees to ensure the training received is beneficial towards individual and group growth. Employees are more in control of the choices they make as far as training. Management has always been reactive.”



“Goals of the employees’ is how we evaluate training. The employee set [their personal goals] that they want to achieve. Training & Development offers a list of courses and we simply pick what’s out there.”


Interviews:Educational Administrators

“Surveys are used. Negative comments are taken seriously and look[ed] into to see what could be done differently. Because everyone has a say into the development service they receive, attitudes are changing in a positive way. Learning is becoming a district wide attitude.”


3. In what ways have your professional development training enhanced your skills or behaviors?

Emergent Themes Private Corporation

Freq. Percent


Freq. Percent

Learned rudiments of job

42 20.8 65 19.2

No significant change 23 11.4 54 16.0

Increased productivity/efficiency

17 8.4 76 22.5

Enhanced leadership skills

12 5.9 18 5.3

Saw new perspectives 12 5.9 45 13.3



“It gives you a greater appreciation for those who you work with. I know that to stay competitive in the job market it is necessary to continually increase ones knowledge in all the areas that make the corporation run.”



“Every now and again I am able to attend a training session that I’ve selected to meet specific needs and usually those impact my skills and behaviors positively.”

“It has enhanced my classroom management behavior. I learned skills to teach math and science better.”



“No one from the training and development department has ever contacted our department to see how best they can serve us. As manager, I’m given a budget from my manager; then I divide the money amongst the employees. I give more money to those employees that are on a Leadership Development Plan.”


InterviewsCorporate Manager

“There’s no training available for employees who are not interested in management. Training and Development offers a list of courses and we simply pick what’s out there. No follow up by the training and development department to see how they can enhance the skills of our employees.”


InterviewsEducational Administrator

“With the new direction of the professional development service department, everyone has a say in the type of development training they need. Part of the service contract we have with the professional development department is the evaluation of service they provide at different levels. Constant online surveys are given to see how the participants’ are using the material taught to them and to see what didn’t work and what needs to change.”


Participants’ Learning OutcomesReview of Literature

Lowden (2003) noted that supervisors should be able to observe participants utilizing the new knowledge and skills that they gained as a result of their own professional growth.

Miller (2006) used Guskey’s model in her research and found that the success of student learning outcomes came from teachers and mentors coming together on a regular basis with the primary consultant and discussing what they needed to do to improve student learning.


Guskey’s ModelReview of Literature

Why is evaluation important? Guskey (2000) stated four reasons why evaluation

is important:

(a) Professional development is an ongoing and continuous process, not an event;

(b) It is a systematic effort to bring about change; (c) There is a need for better information to guide

reforms; and (d) There is increased pressure at all levels of

education for greater accountability.


Review of Literature On Evaluation

Both the private sector and public education organizations have to justify money being spent on performance improvement training of their employees. (Blanchard & Thacker, 2007; Guskey, 2000; Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2005; Parry, 1997)


Review of Literature

Blanchard and Thacker (2007) stated training managers come up with many reasons for not evaluating training, some of the reasons are:

There’s nothing to evaluate.

No one really cares about it. (The most common rationale for not conducting training evaluations is that formal evaluation procedures are too expensive and time consuming)

Evaluation is a threat to my job. (Managers fear the result of an evaluation will show failure of their program which will affect their careers).


XI. Conclusion

Quantitative data collected from the online PDAT instrument revealed that public school district employees’ rated their professional development training higher than the corporate employees’ in all critical areas except organizational support .


Conclusion

It can be concluded that the reason the public school district in this study faired better than the private corporation was due to the use of an evaluation model.


Kandola (2000) stated: “Given the enormous amount of training carried out each year and, consequently the enormous amount of money spent on it, it is surprising to find how little evaluation is carried out. Or is it?” (p.30)


XII. Recommendations

Organizations must move away from the one shot evaluation process, better known as participants’ reactions level. Data obtained through this study confirms that participants’ reactions should be considered during the planning process but not as a driver for evaluating the overall success of a program.

In developing a training program, it is important to discover the needs of your customers. Implementation is the key for evaluating participants’ learning.


Recommendations

Participants’ learning outcomes must be the beginning stage of the planning process.

Organizations must develop training programs that are designed with the outcome in mind. Objectives must be clear from the beginning. Evaluation of how those objectives must be met should be established with the objectives.


Recommendations

Organizational support is important for implementation of new knowledge and skills learned. Allowing all participants an active voice in the planning process will ensure the effectiveness of the program.

Organizations should invest in an evaluation process to account for the dollars being spent on employees.


XIII.Recommendations for Further Study

(Public Education) A study should be conducted to explore the

professional development differences between educational leaders across school districts.

A study should be conducted to explore the professional development programs among school districts; one using an evaluative model and non-evaluative models.

A statewide study should be conducted in education using Guskey’s model to determine the overall effectiveness of state mandated professional development programs.


Recommendations For Further Study(Public Education)

A study should be conducted using a different evaluation model to see if the results are similar.

A study should be conducted between rural school districts and urban school districts using Guskey’s model.


Recommendations for Further Study(Corporations)

A study should be conducted examining the correlation between revenue and program effectiveness.

A study should be conducted to explore the differences in training and development programs among Fortune 500 corporations utilizing personal goals versus corporate goals.


Recommendations for Further Study(Corporations)

A study should be conducted to see if corporate employees’ are active participants in the planning stage of professional development training verses those that are not active participants.

A study should be conducted to see if corporate managers are allowed to observe participants utilizing the new knowledge and skills learned that they gained as a result of their own professional growth.


Differences in Professional Development Training

Between One Corporation and One Large Texas Public

School District

A Dissertation DefenseBy

Yolanda E. Smith

Dr. Yolanda E. Smith, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Chair

Education

Transcript of Dr. Yolanda E. Smith, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Chair