TRADE AND TECHNICAL TEACHER'S OPINIONS ON INSERVICE EDUCATION.

Overview & Synopsis

THREE HYPOTHESES CONCERNING THE INSERVICE EDUCATION ACTIVITIES OF TECHNICAL AND INDUSTRIAL TEACHERS AND SUPERVISORS IN PROFESSIONAL AND SUBJECT MATTER AREAS WERE TESTED--(1) TECHNICAL AND INDUSTRIAL TEACHERS DO PARTICIPATE IN INSERVICE EDUCATION, (2) INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES AND CHARACTERISTICS DO NOT INFLUENCE THE TEACHER'S OPINION OF SUCH EDUCATION, AND (3) TEACHERS AND SUPERVISORS BELIEVE THAT MORE SUBJECT MATTER INSERVICE EDUCATION IS NECESSARY. A LIST CONTAINING 22 PROFESSIONAL INSERVICE ACTIVITIES AND 22 SUBJECT MATTER ACTIVITIES WAS CHECKED BY 91 ADMINISTRATORS AND 285 TEACHERS AS TO THEIR PAST PARTICIPATION AND WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE. SOME CONCLUSIONS WERE--(1) TEACHERS PARTICIPATED IN AS MUCH PROFESSIONAL AS SUBJECT MATTER INSERVICE EDUCATION, AND (2) EXPERIENCE AND PREPARATION HAD MORE EFFECT ON THEIR PREFERENCES IN PROFESSIONAL INSERVICE EDUCATION THAN IN SUBJECT MATTER INSERVICE EDUCATION. THE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE--(1) INSERVICE EDUCATION ACTIVITIES IN BOTH PROFESSIONAL AND SUBJECT MATTER CATEGORIES SHOULD BE INCREASED, (2) TEACHERS SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN CHOOSING, PLANNING, AND EXECUTING THEIR INSERVICE EDUCATION ACTIVITIES, AND (3) PLANNERS OF INSERVICE EDUCATION SHOULD BE COGNIZANT OF THE PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF TEACHERS AND THEIR AFFECT ON THE PROGRAM. THE CHECKLIST AND STATISTICAL DATA ARE GIVEN IN THE APPENDIX. (EM)