| Summary: | 碩士 === 臺東師範學院 === 國民教育研究所 === 87 === RESEARCH ON THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF FEMALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS WITH MASTER DEGREE
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to investigate “the professional development of female elementary school teachers with master degree”. The research was conducted to understand what had motivated the teachers to pursue graduate education and what they had expected to gain from the education, and to understand the influence of background variables and intermediate variables (support of important people) on teacher professional development and compare female teachers with male teachers with regard to this aspect. Interviews were also conducted to understand the status of female teacher professional development. In order to achieve research objectives, literature was reviewed to understand the basic concepts, theoretical foundations and related researches of female career development and teacher professional development, and the results would provide theoretical foundations for this research and basis for designing and producing research tools. Then a valid sample of 412 elementary school teachers with master degree was obtained and given questionnaire survey, and the results were analyzed. Furthermore, eight incumbent elementary school teachers with master degree (seven female and one male teachers) were interviewed in person in order to describe more integrally the status of professional development of female school teachers with master degree.
The findings have enabled us to obtain the following conclusions:
1. Generally speaking, psychological considerations have accounted for the motivation of most elementary school teachers to pursue graduate education; motivation in “other aspects” of female teachers is more significant than that of male teachers.
2. Generally speaking, most elementary school teachers have benefited from graduate education most in their professional growth; help in “other aspects” benefited by female teachers is more significant than that benefited by male teachers.
3. Generally speaking, elementary school teachers with master degree gain support of others for their educational ideas, and most support has come from colleagues on campus; compared with male teachers, female teachers are more significant in their perception that they have gained support from “their parents”, “parents of their students”, and “others”.
4. Generally speaking, school administrators have accounted for most cases in which elementary school teachers with master degree can’t gain support for their educational ideas; compared with male teachers, female teachers are more significant in the perception of other aspects.
5. Generally speaking, elementary school teachers with master degree prefer to “continue to engage in academic research”, followed by the expectation to “become a distinguished professional elementary school teacher”; female teachers are more inclined to expect themselves to become “a distinguished professional elementary school teacher”.
6. Generally speaking, with respect to career pattern, female elementary school teachers with master degree are more inclined to balance between work and family life; however, there is no significant difference between female and male teachers in this aspect.
7. Generally speaking, most elementary school teachers with master degree have “fair” or “strong” motivation for advanced education; compared with male teachers, female teachers are more significant in their choosing “fair” motivation.
8. Generally speaking, most elementary school teachers with master degree have made positive changes after graduate education; compared with male teachers, female teachers feel less important about “increase of salary”.
9. Generally speaking, most elementary school teachers with master degree do not feel any change after their graduate education with regard to salary; however, in the aspect of “feeling of being discriminated or taunted”, female teachers are more significant than male teachers.
10. Concepts of teacher professional development should include: (1) universal intellectual skills of teachers, (2) subject knowledge and skills, (3) professional knowledge and skills of education, (4) professional spirits of education.
11. Such factors as different background variables and support of important people of elementary school teachers with master degree can account for teacher professional development.
12. Most elementary school teachers with master degree have stated that they have changed positively after the graduate education.
13. Teacher professional development and career development of teachers with master degree are individually different.
14. Younger teachers with master degree will demonstrate career characteristic of professional maturity with the accumulation of service seniority.
15. Support of “other important people” can influence educational professionalism and overall teacher professional development.
16. Positive professional development of teachers must be dependent on the beneficial factors of the overall environment.
17. Female teachers may take career development directions that are different from those of male teachers because of family factors, social expectation or intentional or unintentional sex discrimination by school administrators.
18. Although some female teachers with master degree have not been able to define their career plan, they have indicated that they can successfully play their professional role.
19. Generally speaking, female teachers with younger children are disadvantaged with regard to teacher professional development.
Based on the above conclusions, suggestions to institutions of educational administration, teachers’ colleges, school administrators, teachers, and future researches are put forward for future reference.
I. Suggestions to institutions of educational administration: (1) establish specific objectives of educational reform; (2) promote the concept of equal education with regard to sex; (3) strengthen the function of professional assistance of supervisory offices; (4) subsidize secondary and elementary school teachers that engage in researches so as to encourage them to conduct “action research”; (5) encourage teachers to conduct further education by removing unnecessary restrictions.
II. Suggestions to teachers’ colleges: (1) a teachers’ curriculum must involve programs that discuss sex topics; (2) a teacher cultivation curriculum must offer programs about career counseling.
III. Suggestions to school administrators: (1) adopt spontaneous learning organizations with regard to in-house seminar and workshops; (2) in-house activities should be in agreement with professional activities of education; (3) school administrators can become important others that can assist teachers.
IV. Suggestions to individual teachers: (1) strengthen teachers’ cognition of teacher professional development; (2) the implementation of sex equality educational programs must begin with the self-perception of teachers.
Key words: master degree, female teacher, teacher professional development
|
|---|
